A Christmas Bride Part 9

"And what name would you have given yourself?"

She started to answer, then sighed. "I don't know."

When Timothy cursed lowly, she knew he had not expected her to hear his oaths. She wanted to a.s.sure him that she did not blame him for his playful question. It was not his fault that she could not remember her past enough to guess what she might have been called before he asked her to become his Serenity Adams.

Picking up a rag dog, Serenity said, "This is well loved."

"I think it was the very first toy I was ever given," he replied.

"You certainly received many more."

"Enough to fill this whole nursery. Each New Year's morn, I would leap out of bed and run down the stairs to see if any gifts awaited me." He smiled as he sat on the floor, tucking his feet beneath him as he must have done when he was the child who owned all these wonderful toys. "The anxiety was eased a bit, because on Christmas Eve, Grandfather would put aside the gift I had made him for his birthday, so he could tease me about how he had to open his before I could open any of mine. Then he would open it Christmas morn and let me pick one gift to open that day, too."

"Which was your favorite gift?"

"That I gave him or that he gave me?"

"Both."

He smiled. "All right. Both are easy to answer."

"Your favorite gift from him first."

"This." He pulled a box out of a cubbyhole along the wall and opened it. Spilling its contents onto the floor, he picked up several of the blocks and set them atop one another. "I spent hours building all sorts of structures with these." As he put another block on the stack, he said, "My favorite gift I gave my grandfather was a clock that I had made myself."

She pulled a pillow from the pile on the window seat and set it between her and the sharp mullions on the window. Leaning back, she asked, "You made a clock?"

"Yes. I think I was about twelve." He gave her a sheepish grin. "Of course, I took apart one of the antique clocks to see how a clock worked before I put mine together."

She laughed. "What did the earl say?"

"He thanked me for my gift and then asked when I would be able to pay him for the repairs to the old clock. I did weeks of ch.o.r.es in the stable to pay for that. It taught me to consider the consequences before I made a decision." He paused as he was putting another block in place. "Apparently it did not teach me well enough, or I would not have needed to drag you into all this."

Serenity put the pillow aside and set herself on her feet. Taking care that her dress did not brush the blocks, she crossed the room to where a rocking horse was hidden under a dusty sheet. She drew back the sheet and touched the horse's head. The creak that came from the rockers was the only sound in the room.

"I think you did consider the consequences, Timothy. Otherwise you would never have agreed to the offer Felix made to me. You did not want to hurt your grandfather by showing him that you had been false with him."

"Or maybe I was just determined to do anything to avoid taking the blame for my out-and-outers." He dropped the blocks back into the box. Putting it away, he stood. "You have been very careful not to lay the blame for this at my feet, where it so obviously belongs."

"I need not. You know the truth."

"I know that I could not renege on the offer Felix had made you to help your brother and sister."

Her brother and sister! When had she last given them any thought? Like the rest of her life before the accident, they seemed nebulous and unreal.

"Have you heard anything of them?" she whispered.

"Not yet, but I expected it to be at least a fortnight before I would hear from London." His mouth tightened into the caricature of a smile. "There are so many things and places that need to be checked."

"Are there that many schools?"

"Apparently so."

Serenity closed her eyes. "I know I must have patience, but I know as well that if my brother and sister are found, they will be able to tell me of the past that I have lost."

"And you will have a family of your own again."

"Yes."

"That is important to you, is it not?"

She nodded. "That is one thing I know with every ounce of my being, something that could not be forgotten unless my heart stopped beating. Family is deeply important to me, just as it is to you. It seems that, in that way, we are very much alike."

"In others, we are very different." He ran a single fingertip along her shoulder to the lace beneath her chin. His finger brought her face up toward his. "A complement and a contrast."

She edged away. "Timothy, there are no others here to be bet.w.a.ttled by our apparent affection."

"That is true." His eyes glittered like dust motes dancing in a sunbeam. "Do you long only for apparent affection? Should I believe the words on your lips or the longing in your eyes when I touch you?"

She gripped his sleeves. "Believe both, for both are the truth."

Cupping her elbows, he drew her back to him. "But you will deny us the pleasure we could share with a single kiss?"

"A single kiss?" She shook her head. "Should I believe the words on your lips, Timothy, or the longing in your eyes that tell me a single kiss is not what you are thinking of?"

"You are a wise woman, and I am witless." He released her and brushed his hand against her hair, smoothing it back from her face. When her breath snagged upon the delight she could not control, he said, "It seems I named you for the wrong virtue, Serenity."

"What would you have named me?"

"Prudence seems a more apt name at the moment."

"On that, we agree again." She turned and walked out of the nursery.

When he did not follow her, she wondered if he was the smarter one, for she doubted if she could have resisted the longing in his voice if he touched her again. She was not sure how she would from now on. She must find a way, because soon, she hoped, she would remember her past, and her present with Timothy would be over.

Nine.

Timothy heard the laughter as soon as he turned the corner in the long hall that led toward the south wing of the house. The sound was unlike any other laughter in the house, for one voice was childish and the other slid along him like an eager caress.

Serenity ... He had not had two words alone with Serenity since their discussion in the nursery. Each time he saw her, when he had taken a respite from his work finis.h.i.+ng up the paperwork on the new factory and reading the reports on the next project or from trying to make that accursed page-turner work for Theodora, she had been with others-usually with Grandfather as they discussed plans for the Twelfth Night celebration, because the earl seemed as smitten with her as a youth suffering from his first calf love. Timothy understood that all too well.

Theodora's laugh soared along the hall, startling him. He did not recall ever hearing her laugh with such enthusiasm. Mayhap Serenity had been right to chide them all about the child. They had begun to treat her with as much solemnity as if they were at her funeral instead of helping her enjoy the years she had been granted. He had been astonished how Grandfather had heeded Serenity's calm suggestions that Theodora should be included when they were en famille at dinner. Even Felix's arguments that no other child that young had ever been allowed to join them for dinner had not kept Grandfather from agreeing with Serenity.

Tonight would be the first test of Grandfather's decision, so Timothy had wanted to be certain Serenity knew what she-and Theodora-faced. He would have to guard his words carefully not to upset the child, who must be excited about the unexpected privilege.

The laughter drew him along the hallway. He stood in the doorway, not daring to move. Serenity was sitting on the floor, papers scattered around her. A few strands of her black hair had fallen from the single braid that bound it down her back. They framed her face, accenting its heart shape. Sitting as she was, her gown, a sedate green the same shade as the holly hanging from the window, revealed her ankles and a hint of the slender legs above. His fingers recalled those enticing curves as he had carried her from the carriage and again here up to her rooms upon their arrival.

"Yes, that is right," Serenity said as she folded the page again, drawing his attention back to her face and her smile that set it aglow. "Watch. Now I am going to fold it four more times." She smiled at Theodora.

"When can I cut it?" Theodora asked, her voice buoyant with antic.i.p.ation.

Timothy frowned. Was Serenity out of her mind? The child could not lift both hands. Serenity would be deranged to think the child would be able to manage the folded sheet and a pair of scissors.

"Just a minute." Serenity chuckled. "There. That last fold is always the toughest." Picking up a pair of scissors from the floor, she knelt beside Theodora's chair. She put the folded page beneath her knee to keep it from opening and reached for Theodora's left hand.

Timothy did not dare to breathe as Serenity curled Theodora's fingers around the handles of the scissors and then held them there with her own hand. Drawing the piece of paper out from beneath her knee, she held it between the open scissors.

"Where first?" Serenity asked, smiling at Theodora.

Although he could not see Theodora's face, he could hear her smile. "Top on your side."

"Top right," she replied. "Big cut or small one?"

Theodora laughed with more excitement than he had ever heard from the child. "Big one. Please, a big one, Serenity."

"All right. Hold tight. I am going to need your help to cut through all of these layers."

The sharp snip of the scissors was loud in the room. Theodora's giggle was followed by more orders of where she wanted Serenity's a.s.sistance to cut into the folded paper. When Serenity set the scissors on the floor, she looked toward the door.

"Are you going to lurk there or come in?" she asked.

"Who is it?" Theodora cried.

"Your Uncle Timothy." Serenity motioned gracefully toward the door and smiled. "He has been watching you cut out your first snowflake."

Timothy came into the room and sat cross-legged on the floor beside a stack of white paper. "Snowflakes?" He picked up a handful of white specks that had fallen from her scissors. "These?"

"No." Serenity unfolded the piece of paper she held. "This."

"It's beautiful!" cried Theodora, her eyes wide as she stared at the design that was echoed over and over. The small cuts had created the facets of the snowflake.

"Serenity, that is quite incredible," echoed Timothy. "You did that simply by folding a page and making those snips out of it?"

Kneeling beside Timothy, Serenity sat back on her heels as she folded another slip of paper. "The best thing is, like real snowflakes, no two are alike. I thought we would make some to hang in the windows, so when the guests come for the earl's birthday party, they will see the house all decorated for Christmas."

"You are going to hang them?"

"Actually I thought I would have one of the footmen do that."

"Not me?"

Theodora laughed again when he twisted his face into a pout. "Do you want to be part of our snowflake decorating, Uncle Timothy?"

"I cannot imagine anything I would enjoy more than sitting and chatting with the two prettiest ladies in Cheyney Park while we make snowflakes that I can hang in the windows." He glanced at the ceiling. "And a few here so you can pretend you are sleeping in a snow den."

"A snow den?" Theodora's eyes widened again. "Like a bear hibernating?"

"You may hibernate if you want to miss your great-grandfather's party and all the fun of Christmas," Serenity said with a smile. She glanced at Timothy and saw his smile waver. Sweet heavens, she could not believe that the family would leave this darling child here alone while the rest of them gathered together. Mayhap it would depend on how this evening's meal went. Now was not the time to speak of that, for she did not want to upset Theodora.

"Can he help, Aunt Serenity?" Theodora continued, clearly oblivious to Timothy's reaction. "Please?"

"Can I, Aunt Serenity?" Timothy asked with a chuckle.

Serenity handed him a piece of paper to hide her flush of pleasure at his teasing. Her own family was lost to her, and she loved being considered a part of this one, despite all its oddities. Mayhap she had misread his expression. After all, peculiar as it might seem, Theodora knew him better than she did.

"How could I say no?" She laughed, letting her dismay sift away. "It will be amusing to watch you hang what we cut."

He picked up the single snowflake. "Shall I start with this one?"

"Yes!" Theodora clapped her hand against the arm of the chair, her face pink with excitement.

Serenity put her hand on Theodora's knee to calm the little girl. Now she was not mistaking Timothy's expression, for she shared his disquiet. "While Timothy has a ladder brought, you and I can make more snowflakes."

"An excellent idea." He stood. Putting his hand on Serenity's shoulder, he said, "I trust you will have several of these done by the time I return."

"Enough to make a whole den," Theodore replied.

"So many?" he asked, his fingers stroking Serenity's shoulder.

"You may be surprised," Serenity said.

His finger curled up along her cheek. "I find that I always am."

She gazed up at his smile. Nothing she did, no matter how much she avoided being with him, made any difference. Each time they were together, whether alone or with others, even the most chaste touch suffused her with pleasure. She wanted to stand as he pulled her into his arms and up against his strong chest.

When he walked out of the room, she stared down at her hands. They tingled with the longing to touch him, even as casually as he had touched her.

Serenity shook that beguiling thought from her mind when Theodora begged to make another snowflake. Keeping her hands busy would be the best way to prevent them from giving in to her yearning. As she laughed with Theodora, she concentrated on creating pretty designs to please the little girl.

"Will Miss Hayes be at dinner this evening?" Theodora asked suddenly.

"Yes, I believe so. She and your cousin Felix and Aunt Ilse all should be there, too."

"Will you sit beside me?"

"Of course, and your great-grandfather will, too."

"And Timothy will sit beside you." She giggled when Serenity unfolded another snowflake. "Nurse tells me that you and Uncle Timothy like to kiss. That is why you want to get married."

"Why did she tell you that?"

"I asked." Theodora grinned. "I saw Felix and her out in the garden kissing, and I asked Nurse about it."