Chapter 16

16

Mariah stood at the entrance to the ballroom, her smile so perpetual that her cheeks ached. She couldn’t have let it fall from her lips had she tried. How could she? Today, at least, life was perfect. She stood beside her papa and Cyril—her betrothed!—in front of the cart full of sweets and candies. She handed a bag of sugar plums and marzipan and other delights to each of the children, wishing them a Happy Christmas.

Music danced through the air from the string quartet set up between the Christmas tree and Skylark’s castle, still cloaked. A thousand lights twinkled from tree limbs and chandeliers and the fire in the hearth. It was Christmas. And it was the happiest day of her life. Because she had this family and these people and the man she’d loved since they were children beaming at her side as if he’d just been handed the keys to a kingdom.

Papa intercepted her gaze when there was a momentary lull in the receiving line, sending her a wink. He and Mama had been waiting for them when she and Cyril arrived back at the house two hours ago to thank her for bringing the play they’d missed to them, congratulate them on such a clever and fun adventure—and to share that Louise and Gyldenkrone had asked for their blessing on a quick engagement. The greve wanted to take Louise back to Denmark with him as his fiancée and introduce her to his family, and Louise had been thrilled.

Perhaps they’d been afraid the news would upset Mariah, but she’d put that to rest within seconds, first rejoicing for her sister and then sharing her own news. It was too perfect a match for them to do anything as silly as insist on a long courtship, but they had recommended a Christmas wedding next year, no doubt to give her and Cyril plenty of time to be certain they were certain.

On the one hand, waiting a year seemed torturous. On the other hand, it would be a year of joy as they got reacquainted with every detail about each other. And a Christmas wedding! She couldn’t think of anything better. Marrying at the chapel at Plumford would always be a delight ... but marrying at the chapel at Sugar Plum Manor would be magical.

And now here she stood, knowing that here she would stand for every Christmas for the rest of her life. Well, unless they took one to visit Louise and Gyldenkrone in Denmark some year. She didn’t want to miss their own ball, but the Dane had regaled them with tales of his country’s traditions while they waited for the guests to arrive, and it did sound charming. She’d like to experience it someday, so long as Cyril was by her side as her husband.

That was for some future time, though. For now, this. Her favorite night of the year. The glee of each child who entered, who took their beautifully made candies with such enthusiasm, and who rushed then to the tree, where Professor Skylark gave them each their special nutcracker gift. The rainbow of gorgeous gowns twirling about as the couples danced. The laughter. The music. The peace. The joy.

Cyril took her hand in his as the last of the guests filtered in. “You,” he whispered into her ear, “are the most beautiful woman at any ball ever. My princess.”

Papa had drifted away in conversation with Mr. Nithercott, so Mariah had no compunction in turning to her beloved with a smile that must look every bit as besotted as she felt. “And you are the most handsome prince.”

He looked at her in the same way he’d done just before he kissed her. Of course, he couldn’t repeat that just now, but he would sometime. And she thrilled at the thought. She knew that life wouldn’t be all moments like this—but she thanked the Lord for this one.

He bowed before her, rising again with a smile. “May I have this dance, my lady?”

“With pleasure.”

She’d attended this ball since she was one of the children, had danced countless times at it with nearly every fellow in the room—her father, her brother, their more extended family, the neighbors from both Castleton and Hope, and those from the wider county who wanted to join them. But no dance had ever been like this dance, in the arms of the man she’d spend her life with. Never had she felt more the princess than she did now with her new gown, commissioned to impress a Danish lord who had so wisely chosen her sister instead, with a tiara of glittering Sugar Plum amethysts—or so she’d dubbed them—on her head.

Papa had taken one look at the paste version from the attic and declared she ought to wear the real one tonight, when they were celebrating two engagements as well as the coming of the King of Kings. He’d taken Cyril with him to the safe that held the Castleton jewels, and they’d returned with more than just the headpiece. Cyril had a matching amethyst ring too, its purple oval surrounded by diamonds. And he’d slid it onto her finger with a promise of what was to come.

She didn’t think her feet actually touched the floor all through this, their first dance as a couple.

The music came to a halt after the waltz ended, and Mariah gripped Cyril’s arm, excitement zinging through her. “It’s time,” she whispered. “The unveiling.”

Cyril chuckled. “You’ve already seen it, you know.”

“But not moving. And I haven’t seen them see it.” She motioned to the crowd of children clamoring around the covered castle, bouncing on their toes in anticipation.

Cyril led her to the edge of the room, where they had a good view but weren’t in the way of the children.

Professor Skylark had taken his spot, much as he’d done for the family the other night. But his smile was always at its brightest when he was with children. He spoke to them a moment, asking them what they hoped was beneath the cover—getting answers as varied as the answerers. He asked if they’d been good boys and girls this year. And then, when their impatience was at its peak, he grabbed hold of the edge of the silken cover and gave it a tug.

It rippled down, revealing the castle beneath. Even having studied it before, Mariah still had to gasp in awe. The lights from the Christmas tree twinkled in its tiny windows, and it looked different to her, knowing it was about to come alive.

The professor scanned the room. “Lord Lyons? Time for your prize to shine. I do hope you brought it with you.”

Fred edged his way through the crowd, his wide smile warming a whole different part of her heart. It had been fifteen years since she’d seen him smile like that. Fifteen years since he’d just been Fred, her brother, and not Lord Lyons. Or no. He’d been Lord Lyons then too—he just hadn’t fully realized it yet. Now, it seemed he’d reclaimed a sliver of that boyhood good humor. And she prayed with everything in her that he’d hold onto it.

He held up the golden box and then, with a flourish, untied the white bow and let the ribbon slip away. Unwrapped the paper, lifted the lid, and brandished what it had been hiding.

A small silver key.

He’d probably guessed by now what his prize was, but that would make it no less a treasure. The professor had never, not once, let anyone but himself turn on the magic of his creation. That he’d offered it as a special gift today was no small thing. And given the many times Fred had tried to wheedle him into sharing the honor, it was especially fun that he’d been the one to find it.

Professor Skylark smiled, nodded, and indicated the place hidden in the castle’s base where the key would fit. “Very good then, my lord. Insert the key and twist clockwise until it stops.”

As Fred twisted, the sound of winding gears ticked from the castle. With each additional click, another notch in their own anticipation grew. When finally it stopped, Skylark indicated the switch beside the key, and Fred, catching his breath first and looking up to meet her gaze, smiled and flicked.

The castle sprang to life. Windows and doors opened and closed, the figures that had been installed on their tracks the other night began gliding through their courses, and music unlike any she’d ever heard tinkled out.

She spotted the figure she’d chosen as the hero, dancing with a dark-haired girl in a purple gown, and she smiled. Then she laughed when the other figure burst from another door, his wooden arms raised as if they were on the attack. His appearance sent the other two scattering, though their tracks eventually circled back together. The villain slipped back into his door, and the dance repeated.

She took in the other little mechanical miracles too—the children who slid down the snowy hill and then climbed back up it; the little dog chasing a postman along a narrow street; the flock of birds on thread-slender wires that went round and round the castle, their altitudes shifting as they flew; the carolers that sang at one door, bowed, and moved to the next.

For a quarter of an hour, it held them rapt as they watched each of the mechanical stories play out. But then, as always happened, they learned all the stories, and the children began drifting away, back to the toys they could make move according to their own desires and the treats still waiting to be eaten. The adults returned to their dancing and talking, sipping and nibbling.

Mariah stayed, though, and Cyril with her. More surprising, Louise and Fred both joined her too, and Gyldenkrone with them. They stood for a long moment more, watching the magic of Professor Skylark’s imagination played out in synchronized clockworks.

Louise grasped Mariah’s hand. “Well, little sister,” she said, contentment making her voice richer than ever, “I don’t know how you’ve done it. But you’ve delivered everyone a happily-ever-after this Christmas.”

Mariah smiled but shook her head. “No. It wasn’t my doing—that’s the thing. It was everyone coming together that made it possible. That’s where joy is always found.”

“True.” Louise leaned over, bumping their shoulders together. “But sometimes ... sometimes we need a bit of help to see it.”

Sometimes they did. And if she could be the one, now and then, to deliver that help, then she would count it as the deepest honor. She would bring any joy she could to whomever the Lord put in her path.

She and Cyril, their family and friends ... and all who crossed through the Almond Gate and into the heart of Sugar Plum Manor. Here, she prayed, they would always find the heart of Christmas waiting to welcome them home.