Page 7 of Mistletoe and Kisses
Mary’s heart sank. She had been waiting patiently for weeks until Hugh had left for Scotland so she could quietly pack her things and leave the university. Her earlier relief at his departure was now crushed by seeing him standing before her. The look of angry disappointment on his face added to her woes.
She had hoped to avoid this conversation until after Christmas, because knowing Hugh and his ingrained sense of justice, she had a strong inkling as to how he would react to the news that she was now living in a boarding house.
She straightened her back and steeled herself for the inevitable conversation. “I have taken a room at number sixty-two Market Street, and I plan to tutor students from there during each college term,” she replied, nodding toward the green door of her new lodgings.
His eyes narrowed. She could almost hear his brain processing her words. When he looked at the bag containing all her worldly goods which she clutched in her hands, Mary held her breath.
“But they threw you out? Put you on the street without a thought for your future? he said.
“Not in so many words, but yes, I was asked to vacate the rooms. The new professor will be coming sometime after Christmas,” she replied.
Hugh’s face darkened. “Your father gave the university thirty-three years of faithful service, and yet they cannot even see their way to allow his daughter to remain in the only home she has ever known. And to top it all off, it is Christmas!” he said.
Mary sensed one of Hugh’s rants about the spirit of Christmas and the true meaning of the holy celebration was imminent. When she saw Charles Alexandre climb down from the coach, holding his infant son in his arms, she almost cheered. No matter how angry he was, Hugh would not dare make a scene in public, and especially not in front of his family.
She was wrong.
Hugh immediately turned to his brother in law. “Do you know what those cads at the university have done, the week before Christmas?” he said.
Charles looked from Hugh to Mary, then down at his sleeping son. He stopped and kept his distance a yard or so away.
“They have thrown her out!” bellowed Hugh.
Charles took a step back. “Yes, you had already mentioned that. I might just leave this to my wife.”
Charles retreated back toward the peaceful sanctuary of the coach. Adelaide’s head appeared in the doorway and the couple exchanged a few brief words. Even from where she stood, Mary could see that the news of her changed abode had not been well received. Bless the Radley family and their need to preserve the sanctity of Christmas.
Adelaide hurried down from the coach and marched over to where Hugh and Mary stood.
“Is it true? They have evicted you?” asked Adelaide.
Mary lifted her travel bag and held it close against her stomach. Hugh and Adelaide were her friends, but even as they both rose in her defense, she felt the need for protection. “Yes. No. I mean. Oh.”
If she didn’t take the heat out of the moment, the pot was about to boil over. She had a vivid image of both Hugh and Adelaide marching up to the faculty dean and giving him a piece of their collective mind. Charles and Will would no doubt be pressganged into service to support the cause.
Mary took a deep breath and summoned her courage. The last thing she needed was for the Radley siblings to stir up a fight with the head of the school whose students she was relying upon to make her future living.
“They asked me to vacate some months ago. I dillydallied about it until they were forced to send me a second letter earlier this month. It is all my fault I am having to make the change so close to Christmas,” she said.
The truth was, she had ignored much of what had happened during the year; her father’s sudden passing left her numb to nearly everything other than the absolute necessities of marking overflow exam papers, some sleep, and bringing Hugh his supper each night. She had not had the strength to consider leaving the only home she had ever known. To know that she would no longer be counted as a member of the university family was beyond her grief-clouded mind.
Adelaide, bless her, was having none of it. While Hugh seemed to have calmed down a notch, his sister was just getting riled up.
“So, what you are saying is that you will be spending Christmas alone in a boarding house room with no family,” said Adelaide.
Mary clutched the bag tighter to herself, suddenly feeling very alone in the world. She should have written to her mother’s family in Devon and asked to visit for Christmas. Not that she actually knew them, but still, she chided herself for the oversight.
“Hugh, take Mary’s travel bag. Mary, come with us and get into the coach. You are coming to Scotland. We will not allow you to spend Christmas on your own.”
Words of feeble protest struggled to her lips, but when Mary saw Hugh’s tight-set jaw as he stepped forward and took a hold of the bag, she knew they would be to no avail. She released her grip on the travel bag, giving him a wan smile as he tucked it under his arm.
“Good. That is settled. When we return after Christmas, I shall have a word with the dean,” he said.
Mary followed Adelaide and Hugh back to the coach. As she took her seat inside, Charles leaned forward. “You weren’t seriously thinking that they were going to let you spend Christmas on your own, were you? The Radley family’s Christmas motto is that no one gets left behind.”
“Unless of course you are abloodystubborn duke,” muttered Adelaide.
Chapter Six
