Julia kept watching out the front window for Garrett. It was Christmas eve and she and Garrett were hosting their first dinner party as man and wife in the house at the Seafarer’s School. The house on Poppinbrook Street was being renovated and should be ready for them to move into by spring. Garrett had decided it didn’t need to be torn down. It needed to be lived in.
It was a bitter cold day but fires had warmed the room and the pleasing aroma of fresh-baked fruit pies filled the air. The staircase, the doorways, and all the tables had been decorated with greenery, berries, and ribbons that had been made into bows. From the far corner of the drawing room, Julia heard the violinist and cellist tuning their instruments. In keeping with the Christmas spirit of mistletoe and holly, and in celebration that she no longer had to wear a widow’s garb, Julia had chosen a candlelight-colored gown with garnet-colored ribbons accenting the waist, sleeves, and hem of her skirt. Nestled around her neck were the three strands of pearls held together with a ruby clasp Garrett had given her the day they married.
He was late returning home. If only he would take a carriage to White’s or wherever he was going as did most gentlemen, he’d be home by now. But no, the rogue preferred to walk everywhere he went. Julia didn’t mind, most of the time, but their guests were due to arrive soon.
“Can we come out now?” Chatwyn called from the drawing room.
“No,” Julia answered, turning her head toward the corridor. “Stay where you are. You must not spoil the surprise. I will let you know when you can come out.”
When she glanced out the window again, she smiled. Garrett was striding up the walkway, the winter wind causing the tail of his cloak to fly out majestically behind him. She would never get tired of seeing him come home to her.
Unable to contain her happiness and wait, she rushed to the door and opened it. “You are late,” she admonished, with no real irritation in her voice or expression.
He took off his hat and replied, “You are beautiful.”
Garrett laid his hat, packages, and gloves on the table. He threw off his cloak and swung Julia into his arms and kissed her sweetly, before looking deeply into her eyes and saying, “Can we change the date of the party so I can have you all to myself tonight? You are so ravishing l don’t want to share you with anyone.”
She laughed. “I will be all yours after everyone has left for the evening. Now we must hurry.” She pushed out of his arms. “Our guests will be arriving in less than half an hour, and you have to change, but first, Chatwyn and I have a surprise for you.”
His expression softened and he pulled her back into his arms once again. “Are you?” His eyes questioned her. “Are you with child?”
“No,” she gasped. “Oh, no. I’m sorry, my darling. I didn’t mean for you to think that. That would be a surprise to both of us. It never crossed my mind you might guess I’m in the family way. Not only that but we haven’t been married long enough for me to be with child.”
His eyes narrowed and he quirked his head a little, looking doubtfully at her.
“Well, I suppose I could be, but never you mind about that right now—I’m not with child.” She looked behind her. “Chatwyn, you can come out now.”
Garrett reached down and kissed her lips, her cheeks, and down her neck. “You look delicious and you smell heavenly,” he whispered.
“And you are misbehaving.” She gently pushed out of his arms again. “Chatwyn, where are you?”
From down the corridor her son came walking out of the drawing room, leading an old gray Irish wolfhound behind him. The top of the tall, lanky dog’s head reached above Chatwyn’s shoulder. His shaggy hair was thinning, and missing in some places. His big body was emaciated and his limp pronounced.
Julia’s heart melted all over again as she watched the old dog. “We found him in the park today. He clearly doesn’t belong to anyone so we brought him home for you. I know he looks shabby, but you can see he must have been a magnificent dog at one time.”
“He still is.”
Garrett couldn’t have said anything that would have pleased Julia more. “You have a new family, and now you have a new dog, too.”
Garrett laughed and dropped to his knees as Chatwyn and the dog stopped in front of him. He first rubbed Chatwyn’s head and said, “Thank you,” and then he patted the dog.
“Do you like him?” Chatwyn asked.
“He’s perfect. This hound might be old but he hasn’t lost his noble posture, has he?”
“No,” Chatwyn said, “but he can’t see well. He keeps bumping into walls and furniture.”
Garrett looked up at Julia as he cupped the dog’s gray muzzle with one hand and rubbed his ears with the other. “He has soulful eyes, and he’s just the kind of dog I need.”
Julia’s chest heaved. “I’m so glad you like him, too. He may not see well but he’s gentle. I thought he’d look grand lying by your feet in the evenings when you sit down to read and have a brandy.”
“All gentlemen should have a dog as grand, Julia. Thank you.” Garrett glanced back to Chatwyn as York moseyed up and nudged his shoulder. He patted York with one hand and the wolfhound with the other. The two old dogs were already friends. “It’s a good thing you found him when you did. He’s skin and bones.”
“I helped Mama get him home.”
“I’m glad you did. What’s his name?”
Chatwyn shrugged and looked up at Julia. “We don’t know. Mama said he’s your dog. You should be the one to name him.”
“All right. That seems fair. What’s your favorite name for a dog?” he asked Chatwyn.
“Bear because bears are strong and fierce like me.” Chatwyn puffed out his chest and made a growling noise.
“It just so happens that Bear’s my favorite name, too. So his name is Bear.”
“I’ve never had a dog by that name, but it is a fine name for him,” Julia said to her son. “You can take him back to the book room now,” she said to her son.
“Wait, before you go.” Garrett rose and handed one of the packages he had brought to Chatwyn. “I have something for you, too. These arrived on one of my ships today. Open it.”
Chatwyn tore off the lid of the wooden box. His eyes widened. “It’s an elephant, and a tiger. This is a lion, and there’s a giraffe in here, too.”
“Your own menagerie of wooden animals to play with.” Garrett glanced at Julia for approval.
She gave him an indulgent smile.
“What sound does a lion make?” Garrett asked Chatwyn.
“Roooar!” Chatwyn yelled.
Garrett laughed and looked at Julia again. “He needs a little practice. Perhaps he should hear a real lion roar some time.”
“No promises,” she answered in the same light tone.
“I’m in no hurry.”
“Take your menagerie upstairs,” she said to Chatwyn. “Have Miss Periwinkle re-comb your hair and change your waistcoat. Our guests will be arriving any minute now and they’ll all want to say hello to you before you’re put to bed.”
Chatwyn stomped up the stairs with his gifts. York turned and started down the corridor. Bear followed him.
Julia turned to Garrett. “You have very little time to dress before dinner.”
“I’ll make it,” he said. “First I have something for you.” He picked up the other package he’d brought in with him and handed it to her.
Julia smiled, knowing it was a book, but with the wide dark blue ribbon she couldn’t see the title. She untied the bow and read, “Quick and Easy Recipes for the Novice Cook.”
“You’ll note there are two pages bookmarked,” he said with amusement in his eyes. “One is on the page that has a recipe for bread, and the other for soup. Just in case you want to try making them a second time.”
Julia laughed. “You are terrible. You know Brina and I vowed never to try to cook again.”
“I’m not so sure about that. You never cease to amaze me with all you do and try to do.”
“That was very sweet of you. I would like to read through this and find out what we did wrong.” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his mouth. “Now I’m the one wishing we were going to be alone all night.”
“Can we ask our guests to leave early?” he questioned.
“No, but we can hurry them along by asking Mrs. Lawton to skip the meat course.”
He studied on that a second and said, “No.”
Julia laughed. “I didn’t think so.” She gave him another quick kiss and said, “Now off you go or I’ll be receiving our guests alone.”
“One more thing, my love. How did it go when you went to see the duke today?”
Some of Julia’s merriment faded. “He still can’t speak or get out of bed. Mrs. Desford said the doctor doesn’t have much hope he’ll ever recover.”
“And how are you feeling?”
“Sorry for him. Chatwyn has asked about him and I think I’ll take him over to see the duke after Christmas.”
Garrett smiled. “Every day you make me happy that you fell in love with me.”
Julia felt a deep abiding love for Garrett. “You make me happy every day, too.”
Half an hour later the drawing room was filled with music and soft chatter. Brina arrived late and Julia met her in the vestibule. She looked happier than Julia had seen her in a long time. “I’ve been waiting for you to arrive,” Julia said, “and you look so lovely. Come have a glass of champagne.”
“I will, but before we join the others I wanted to tell you that I’ve decided I’m not going to join the Sisters of Pilwillow Crossings or any other abbey.”
“I suppose it sounds heartless of me, but I’m glad to hear that.”
“You are the least heartless person I know,” Brina answered. “I think I could eventually learn to do the work that would be required of me but decided I would be of more help to them if I started a society of ladies who, like me, want to help in other ways. We could roll bandages for wounds, knit scarves and mittens. That sort of thing for the sisters to hand out to those who come. At first it seemed like such a small thing to do, but a scarf handed to someone who doesn’t have one is not a small thing, is it?”
“No, it’s a worthy thing to do. I’ll be the first one to join your society.”
Brina nodded. “I knew you would, but it will have to wait for a while and that’s because I’m leaving for Paris after Boxing Day.”
Julia held her breath. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve written to my Aunt Josette and asked if I could come for a visit, and I’ve heard back from her that she’d be delighted for me to come and stay as long as I wished.”
“You know I’ll miss you, but I understand. It will probably be good for you to leave London for a while and see her and Paris. I’m going to believe you’ll be back in time for the Season.”
“We shall see. Now, I’m going to take some fruit tarts up to Chatwyn before he falls asleep.”
“Really, Brina. He doesn’t need anything to eat this close to bedtime.”
“I know, but I don’t know when I’ll see him again, so let me spoil him with a treat tonight.”
“Of course, but you are coming back, aren’t you? I mean we—the school needs you. The sisters need you.”
“I’ll be back. I simply don’t know when.”
Julia watched Brina go up the stairs and felt an arm slide around her waist. She turned and faced Garrett. “Is Brina all right?”
“Yes. She wanted to see Chatwyn. She’ll be leaving for Paris in a few days.”
His gazed lovingly caressed Julia’s face. “I think that will be good for her.”
“It will. I think she is finally ready to put the past behind her.”
Garrett reached down and gave Julia a quick kiss. “It takes some of us longer to do that than it does others.”
“Yes,” she answered.
“I love you, Julia. I’m glad she is the one going to Paris and not me. My journeys have come to an end.”
“Yes,” she said. “You have come home.”
“Merry Christmas, my love,” Garrett said, and kissed Julia on the lips.
She thrilled to his touch.