Christmas Eve had found all of them back at the cabin, and it appeared that the Lightollers were determined to be there the entire day. They had arrived early, with the Vanderbilt's cook in tow who had promptly hustled me out of the kitchen for the day. I had paused a moment to watch him, unpacking not only his tools and ingredients, but a full dinner and silver service. Which meant that Sylvie and I were currently watching Roger and Trevor muck about in the snow, with no responsibility aside from enjoying ourselves.
She bounced Mavis in her arms, "They really haven't managed much of a fort, have they?"
"I think those are supposed to be walls." I gestured to the lumpy mounds the boys had been focused on piling up. "Or maybe they're for snowballs later?" She shrugged, but was smiling as she watched the boys work on their fort. I was smiling too, for I saw a pair of men hiding in the trees and acting much like boys themselves. Will and Lights, both bundled up in sweaters and mittens, were very clearly stalking the boys and doing a bad job of it. The boys paid no notice though, focused as they were on their defenses.
Sylvie look aside at me, "Should we tell them?"
"No, let them surprise them." I chuckled, seeing Will and Charles kneel down and begin packing snowballs together. "This should be fun." Underneath the massive pines, a war was swiftly being planned. Roger and Trevor had finally caught sight of the men arming themselves, and scrambled to do the same. Sylvie and I settled in to watch, debating who would strike the first blow. It wound up being Roger, flinging a snowball and hitting a tree beside his father's head.
Lights gave a whoop at that, returning fire and striking the walls. As mushy as they appeared, they held up to the assault and the boys started throwing more snow. For the smaller size of their ammunition, they were faster and were quickly getting better at aiming. I gave a little cheer as Will started across the field from the trees, an armful of packed snow cradled close as he moved closer to get better aim.
Then a snowball struck him in the shoulder, and he loudly cried out as he fell to his knees. More snow struck him, and he fell back into the snow and proceeding to groan as if he were dying. Charles darted out from the trees, falling to his knees beside Will. I could hear Will coughing, "Save yourself!"
"No, not without you!" Lights loudly called, and was promptly struck in the back by a pair of snowballs. He staggered, his hands going to his chest. Roger and Trevor peeked out over their walls, and another pair of snowballs struck their father. Lights stumbled to his feet, groaning and choking as he struggled a few more feet before dramatically falling to the ground, giving a single loud cry and lying still.
Sylvie stood, smiling at me. "Come, we should greet the victors." The boys were laughing as they ran to their mother, who complimented them and sent them inside to warm up. She dipped down, picking up a small bit of snow and placing it in Mavis's hand. I was smiling as she stood over her husband, still in his death throes, and watched her gently hold Mavis out and tickle her. With a burbling laugh the snow was dropped, right into Charles's face. "There, now you've lost to all our children."
"And what mighty warriors they are." He jumped lightly back to his feet, kissing her cheek. "Come on now, those two are going to try and weasel chocolate out of the cook and I intend to get some."
I sent them off with a wave as I made my way to Will, lying still in the snow. "Well, I'm not sure if I should reward you, losing to a couple of boys. I had thought more highly of you, my warrior Scot."
His eyes were still closed, only his lips moving. "If you don't think Lights planned every move-"
"Oh, I am well aware he did." I laughed, holding out a hand. "And you two followed it to perfection."
"Indeed," He moved quickly, getting back to his feet and a handful of snow finding its way under my shirt collar and down my back. He was laughing as I wiggled, trying to get it out and cursing him while I did so. "Ana, come here. I can get it out."
Oh, I knew exactly how he would get it out and I was not losing my shirtwaist out front when the Lightollers could see me through the windows. "You're lucky I haven't hit you!" I shivered as I felt the snow melt against my skin. I bent over, picking up some snow of my own and flinging it into his face. He barreled into me, hauling me over a shoulder and starting towards the house. I kicked my legs ineffectually, "Oh, I am going to get you William!"
"Ah, but I've captured you." He chuckled, "And now I'm taking my prize inside to get warm." Will opened the door easily, and I did my best to pout as he slung me down onto the settee before heading to the kitchen.
Lights, currently cuddling Mavis close to him, laughed. "It looks like you caught yourself a snow princess, Will." He seemed to consider me for a moment. "Hopefully she doesn't melt in here, would be a nasty mess to mop up."
I snorted, "Very funny, Lights."
"No, what's funny is my being here." He stood, walking closer to the fire. "Here I was, with them a leave from White Star for Christmas and what do I come home to? A letter from your mother, begging us to come to New York. And then my boys were at me, pleading to go. What could I do but pack them up and heave to across the ocean again." He bounced little Mavis in his arms. "With this one in hand too, and then it's all shopping and packing in New York to come down here, to some backwater town and cram ourselves into your little cabin in the snow." He looked to me, his eyes bright. "Now, I do not know what William here has been doing to help you in your time of need, although you seem better than the last time I saw you. But I shall require one thing from you, Anastasia. No crying, not on Christmas, for there is no reason to cry. Your family is here, and your friends, and I will brook no sadness at this time of year."
I smiled, feeling my heart swell a bit. "I haven't been sad for some time now, Lights, but I promise that I will only be happy today."
"You can be mad if you want," He cocked an eyebrow, "It seem to me that our Scot finds it funny." Will seemed to find that statement itself funny, laughing from the kitchen as he came back with mugs and a pot of hot chocolate. Charles considered it for a moment. "Are you sure you want to give the boys a treat for beating us?"
"Are you sure I should give you some?" He tossed back, but filled mugs for everyone. "Call them in, to the victors go the spoils." The boys were brought over, politely thanked their Uncle Will, and sat by the fire to drink. Sylvie rejoined us, having settled Mavis down upstairs for a nap, and took Light's mug the second he had looked away. She only smirked when he acted flabbergasted to find it missing. Throughout the day, others began to trickle in. First the Vanderbilts and Mother, with the Fields occupying the second carriage.
Morgan pulled me aside as Abe, Will and Lights fell to talking. She stopped in the library, running her fingers along the shelves. "You look well."
"I am well." I pulled one of the curtains open even further, trying to get as much of the weak winter light, which was slowly waning away as the afternoon wore on, into the house as I could. "It's been much easier out here, I haven't felt sick for some time."
"I am sorry I couldn't come when you were feeling ill," She joined me by the window, "I hope I didn't cause any of it."
"Oh no, Morgan." I took her hand, "It wasn't your fault at all."
"You at least ate the gingerbread?"
"Yes," I laughed, giving her hand a squeeze. "It was much better than the one I made here." I held her hand as we made our way back to the parlor, currently taken over by Rigel who was sprawled out and receiving attention from all the children. "I've gotten better at cooking, but it's a hard road."
She laughed, "Then I'll just have to come over and teach you!" Then she leaned close and whispered, "Much like I taught you about other things, and I hope you've been putitng them to use out here." I ducked my head, feeling a blush build. "After all, there's nothing like being all alone with your husband for such a long time." With a cackle she left me to drape her arms around Abe and hold him close.
Ezekiel groaned, "Mother, really, must you?" She replied by pulling Abe aside and kissing him, bringing a groan from all of the Fields boys. Ezekiel looked to me, "Please, for the love of God, do not kiss your husband like that in front of me."
I chuckled, "But when you're not around, it's alright?"
"And what if I wanted to kiss my wife?" Will's voice sounded from behind me. "Am I allowed that?"
Ezekiel sighed, "If you must, although please don't let my sisters see. I don't think I want to have that discussion with them quite yet." Will chuckled, then leaned over and kissed me. I held him close for some time, even slipping a little tongue into his mouth just to draw a groan out of Ezekiel. "Really, I do not need that."
Morgan tittered from Abe's side, "Well, then I shall let Samantha know that you won't be calling on her when we get back." Ezekiel flushed a bright red, drawing a laugh from both of his parents, and his brothers.
I looked to him, "You finally found a girl?"
"Well, I had to start looking once you found him." He jerked his thumb at Will. "Mother was still holding out hope until you came back with a ring, even though I refused to consider it." He shot Morgan a glare, "And then I met Samantha one night, at a dance hall. No one had asked her to dance yet, and I couldn't figure out why. She's very pretty, and, well." He blushed even harder. "She dances very well, and she loves the girls."
Abe grinned widely, lifting his daughter up onto his knees. "That she does, and her family is quite respectable. Her father runs a bank, and her mother keeps track of his books." That drew a snort from Mother, and Abe sighed. "Of course, so long as he liked the girl I wouldn't care what her family did." Mother nodded at that, quite pleased. I had to admit, I was too. His brother all had girls of their own, they were waiting for them to make captain to get engaged and that would no doubt be soon. James and Liz were making cow eyes at each other, while Oscar rolled his eyes and stood before loudly saying that he was going to check how dinner was getting on.
It seemed that dinner was getting on quite well, for in short order the table was laid and the food brought out. There was a general shuffle around the table, for we did not have enough chairs to seat everyone. The chairs from the parlor were brought over, as were the ones from the library, but Ezekiel still wound up sitting on the floor in front of the parlor table. The Vanderbilt's cook had done a marvel, roasting an entire goose and managing to plate a number of side dishes.
Once the goose had been presented, it fell to the men to argue amongst themselves about who should carve the goose. Abe offered to, as our closest family friend. Richard claimed the honor, as the eldest man present. Oscar threw his hat into the ring, saying that he would hate for any of them to get grease on their clothing. Eventually, Mother simply sighed and looked over. "William, this is technically your house. Will you please carve for us?"
Will stood, bowing his head. "Gladly, Ruth." The knife and fork were handed over, and plates were duly filled. Sylvie offered a brief grace, and everyone set to. Of course, the main dish of Christmas Eve was not the goose, but dessert. Platters of cookies were brought out, pies were magically conjured from the kitchen and a massive bowl of eggnog was brought out for the adults to indulge in. Ice cream was available for all thought, and a thin volume was produced from Mother's pocket. Will took it with a smile, "Shall I?"
Lights, currently considering his eggnog with an air of suspicion, glanced over. "Shall you what? Drink this swill?"
"It's quite good if you'd taste it." Abe chuckled, helping move the chairs back over by the fire. "As for what William was asking, he simply wanted to know if he should begin reading."
Morgan, at his arm, smiled. "It's a tradition, we read it every year."
"It?" Lights lifted his glass to his lips, tasted the eggnog, then took a healthy swallow. "What are we going to be reading?"
"A Christmas Carol," I waved both him and Sylvie over near the fire, Sylvie having just come back from feeding Mavis upstairs. "My father's copy, he read it every year. Now Will reads it for us."
"Ah, of course it's Dickens." Light snorted, setting his glass aside. He caught up his wife's hand, taking the baby from her. "Well that's hardly fun for me, I don't suppose we could all join in?"
"He's got a point, I'd like to read as well." Oscar, rather jolly and on his second glass of eggnog, grinned. "Anastasia? It is your house after all."
I glanced to Will, who smiled and nodded. "I suppose we all can, we'll just have to pass it around." Roles were quickly argued over and settled on. Abe would voice Scrooge, helped out by Rachel who had decided that her father needed help due to his woeful acting skills. Mother was granted the role of Mrs. Crachitt, while I took on the burden of Fred's unnamed wife, who I declared to be named Clara. Oscar fought Will over the role of Fred, only being granted it when he agreed to voice the Ghost of Christmas Past with the appropriate eeriness. Various other small parts were passed around, although we all had to laugh at Charles loudly declaring that he would accept no other character than the Ghost of Christmas Present.
His boys, both with bowl of ice cream and cookies, found it a lark to see their father take on the part, almost yelling his lines with a bombastic fervor. I had to admit that I could barely keep myself from laughing when he had settled on Will's other side, both of us leaning over to read the lines while Oscar and Abe peered over his shoulders. It was a close event, but a fun one and by the end of the story we all were tired, full and ready for sleep. Children were drowsily bundled into coats and cloaks, farewells were given and the carriages slowly picked their way back to town.
Will and I were so exhausted that we simply settled in for the night with a kiss, and it seemed we had barely set out heads down before Christmas Day had dawned and the cook was back in the kitchen, although with a beef roast this time. Will and I traded the gifts we had gotten for each other, a book on flower gardening from him and a hand sewn shirt from me, before we were besieged by our guests again.
More gifts were pressed into our hands, finery from the city and some British bits from the Lightollers. Apparently everyone had left their gifts with us, for Lights was handing out packages into Sylvie's hands and then into Roger and Trevor's. Liz gave James a handkerchief covered in embroidery, while he gave her a beautiful gold bracelet that I was quite sure Richard had helped him purchase. The strangest package though was one that Mother gave to me, but it was not from her. "A man at the inn wanted you to have it, I have no idea what it is."
"His name wouldn't have been Beaufort, would it?" I chuckled, opening it and revealing a photograph. It was old, but still clear behind the glass of its frame. Two men, both in uniform, were posed and looking to the camera. I could see a younger Beaufort in one of them, and I considered the other man for a moment. "Is that Grandpa Hiram?"
Mother leaned closer, "You know, I think it is. I never would have thought to find a friend of his out here." Grandfather had a solid face, with a most impressive set of muttonchops bristling out from his cheeks. His uniform was clearly his formal one, for there was no way he could have worn such elaborate epaulettes in an ironclad. His sword was most certainly not formal though, rather battered but no doubt sharp. I looked closer at his face, I could see a certain set to the jaw that I saw in the mirror, but at least I had escaped the overly stern expression he had.
"Neither did I." I took the picture upstairs and packed it into my trunk, wrapped in a sweater to keep it safe. Will and I had already packed most of our things, meaning that the cabin would be bare again. Although at least it would have furniture, and I was already planning to have things sent up here for I foresaw Will and I coming back up here quite often in the future. When I returned, it was to a grinning Lights at the bottom of the stairs. I pursed my lips, "What are you planning?"
"Something you'll enjoy." He chuckled, "Now, just watch." He turned back to the parlor, where the children were still playing with their new gifts. I followed just a step behind, watching as he bent down to press a kiss to Sylvie's cheek and pat Mavis on the head before turning to his sons. "Roger, Trevor, I have another gift for you." That got their attention quick enough, and Charles was the immediate focus of the room. He pulled a paper from a pocket, "Now, you know we'll be going back to the city tomorrow."
A pair of nods.
"And that we'll be returning to Southampton after the New Year."
Another set of nods.
"And, your mother and I feel," He cast a fond look back at Sylvie. "That since you boys have behaved yourself on this trip, and if you behave yourself on the way back, we will get a puppy." I laughed as the boys instantly sat straighter and Trevor was running his fingers through his rather messy hair. Lights turned the paper in his hands around, revealing a rather blurry picture of a puppy. The boys looked at it for a long time, and I could make out whispered conversations about names and tricks they were going to teach it.
I patted Charles's arm as I went by him, "You were right, that was rather entertaining."
"He's already bought the puppy." Sylvie whispered, "An English Sheepdog of all things."
"A responsible dog that will care for those two." He whispered back, "And that one, once she starts walking." When I rose though, he caught me around the shoulders and walked me to the library. I couldn't help but grin at the light in his eyes as he looked out. "Now, Ana, once that puppy's grown, I shall have need of Rigel."
"To keep her company?" I raised an eyebrow, knowing where he was headed.
He snorted. "In a sense, but you must have considered that he could be studded out. I would be quite happy to get some pups out of him, and with the bitch I've got, I have no doubt they'd be a fine set."
"So you would steal my dog?" I teased, "Here I thought Will had fought you for him."
"I'd bring him back." He chuckled, "First class ticket, nothing but the finest soup bones and cream for him on his crossing."
"I'll consider it, but you haven't taken one thing into account."
"Oh?"
"That's if Rigel will even consider breeding her." Rigel had never shown any inclination towards that sort of behavior, but I did have to admit that the thought of puppies made my heart go all warm. A dozen little black balls running around, yapping and wrestling, it would be wonderful. And the boys, plus Mavis, would no doubt love them. Mother would love them too, and despite all her protestations, I had no doubt she would come to love a puppy to keep her company. Charles followed me back to the parlor, where Will had pulled out a deck of cards and was losing quite badly to Mary and Rachel in some card game.
Roger and Trevor were hanging off his shoulders, giving him advice. "Play that one Uncle Will!"
"This one?" He pointed to a different card.
"No!"
"But I think this one is better." Will grinned as he set the card down, and Mary played another one and quickly took his card into her pile. "Why did you have me play that?"
"I didn't!" Roger groaned, and eventually Will was chivvied out out of the game as the boys took over.
Will chuckled as he came over, "Lights, I hope you weren't despoiling my wife."
"Not at all," I moved to his side, "Instead he's planning to despoil Rigel in the future."
That led to Will laughing loudly, and we settled into a pleasant time. Sylvie and I each brought out some sewing to work on, while Will read a book and Charles hovered over Roger and Trevor and advised them on their card game. Ezekiel and his brothers were bent over their textbooks, reviewing questions for their exams. I could hear Will mumble out the answers as they went over everything, leading to chuckles from everyone else as the boys started to ask their questions louder to get his attention. Christmas dinner was served early, for the children were falling asleep on their feet. They'd spent
Eventually all of our guests headed back to the inn while Will and I spent our last night in the cabin. Standing on the porch, looking out at the snow covered ground and smelling the pine trees, I found I would miss it. But it would be here, waiting for Will and I to come back and for us to bring the Lightollers back with us. So even as the Bishop men helped load our trunks into our rail car, I wasn't upset. We could always come back, and it would be nice to be back home to spend a few more days with Charles and his family before they headed back. I couldn't help but laugh as Charles stretched out over an entire bench simply to annoy Roger who was send scrambling to his feet.
I was going back happy, surrounded by friends and family.