Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

H olly woke up the next day to a visit from the doctor. He poked and prodded, asked questions and generally made a nuisance of himself. But he also told her to take care and not do too much. Last night was proof of that, and more likely the reason he was here this morning.

“You heard what he said, ma petite ,” Mrs. Pettigrew scolded as she pulled on a pair of soft leather gloves. “You will rest today and not do too much. If you need to come up to your room, let Joseph know and he and Mrs. Fraser will take care of you. He will be here until my return, so you needn’t worry about being left alone.”

Holly was sitting up in bed, resting now. Yesterday took more out of her than she thought. She was looking forward to learning some new games and playing them with Joseph and Mrs. Fraser. If she was too tired to dress and go downstairs, could they play here?

“Are you listening, ma petite ?”

Holly nodded. “Yes, of course.”

“Good. Now I must away. I’m having food and refreshments brought to the skating rink, and I want to make sure the people I hired get everything set up the way I want it. I’ll see you later this afternoon, after the party.”

“Have a good time. I hope all goes well,” Holly said.

“So long as no one spikes the punch or we get any uninvited guests eating all the food, things should go smoothly.” Mrs. Pettigrew smiled at Holly. “Enjoy your day with Joseph and Mrs. Fraser.” She leaned toward her. “Don’t play poker with my cook. She’ll win every time.”

Holly laughed. “I’ll try to remember that.”

Mrs. Pettigrew left the bedroom, leaving Holly to her thoughts. She lay back against the pillows and closed her eyes for a few minutes. When Holly opened them again it was to Mrs. Fraser giving her a gentle shake. “Wake up, child.”

She blinked a few times. “Wh-what?”

“Mr. Bradshaw is downstairs. Are you up to sitting in the drawing room for lunch?”

“Oh, yes, of course.” She looked at her nightgown. “Could I wear my dressing gown?”

“You’ve done it before.” Mrs. Fraser grabbed the dressing gown off the end of the bed and helped her put it on. That done she rebraided Holly’s hair, had her put on some slippers, and down to the drawing room they went.

“Good morning,” Joseph greeted. “Or should I say good afternoon?” He crossed the room and guided Holly to the fire. “Sit, get comfortable.”

Holly did, and he covered her legs with a blanket. The warmth of the fire and the blanket made her feel sleepy again, and she didn’t want to dose off on him, so did her best to give him her full attention.

He handed her a cup of hot cocoa, then got one for himself. “Mrs. Fraser brought this earlier.”

“She’s a dear.”

“She frightens me.”

Holly laughed. “Well, I suppose she intimidates those that don’t really know her.”

He looked at her aghast. “You mean she doesn’t scare the wadding right out of you? I find that hard to believe.” He took a sip of hot cocoa. “Divine.”

“Exactly. How can anyone who cooks the way she does and makes such wonderful cocoa be scary?” She took a slow sip of her own cocoa and closed her eyes in bliss.

When she opened them, he was smiling at her. “What should we play? Or would you prefer I read to you?”

She felt tired, but didn’t want to admit it yet. “Why don’t you tell me an adventure tale. Only it must be one of your adventures.”

“Mine, you say?” He laughed. “Well, I’ve not carried off any princesses lately, and I’m no pirate. Even if I was, I don’t have a ship, so there’s that.” He lifted his cup to her. “One cannot have adventures as a pirate without a ship.”

“True. What then will you regale me with?” She gave him a mock pout.

He stared at her a moment, his lips parted, then went to stand before the fire. “Well, let me see. There was the time… oh, no. Best not tell you that. You’ll think less of me. Oh, wait, there was the time…” his face fell. “Nope. Not that either. You’ll think even less of me. Hmmm…”

She smiled as her eyes drifted closed. “Then tell me a story.”

“A story?” he said with a hint of amusement. “You mean, make one up?”

“Why not?” Holly wanted to open her eyes, but it was nicer to keep them closed.

“Very well, a story,” he said. “Now let me think.” She heard him pace back and forth. “Once upon a time, there was a lovely princess. Only… she didn’t know she was a princess. You see, no one bothered to tell her. Not her parents, or her grandparents, and certainly not her brother. So, the princess went through life ignorant of her true station in life.”

“Wait a minute,” Holly said interrupting. “If she’s a princess, then her parents must be a king and queen.”

“Hmmm, more than likely,” he agreed.

Holly heard him sit in the chair near hers. “And the grandparents? Were they the old king and queen?”

“Again, most likely. But, for all we know, they fell on hard times, had to sell off the castle, and go find someplace new to live.”

She smiled, and still didn’t open her eyes. Could she? Oh dear, was she about to nod off?

“So, the princess grew up thinking she was no better than the lowliest peasant,” Joseph went on. “Until circumstances forced her to travel to another kingdom, where she found herself escaping a violent storm and taking refuge in the stables of the queen that ruled over that land.”

“Hmmm…” Holly managed. The warmth of the fire and Joseph’s soothing voice were becoming too much. She couldn’t open her eyes, even when she tried.

“The Queen’s servant discovered the princess hiding in a stall, dragged her out, and took her to the queen. Thankfully, the queen took pity on the princess and allowed her to stay in the castle while the storm raged outside.”

“Lucky princess.” Holly frowned. Did she just say that, or was she dreaming?

“A prince from a neighboring kingdom showed up not long after the storm broke. He took one look at the princess dressed as a beggar, and was smitten by the look the girl gave him. Right before she ran off to hide.”

Holly’s head moved left, then slowly right, but no matter how hard she tired, she couldn’t open her eyes. So she gave up.

“Well,” Joseph went on. “The prince was there to meet not one, but several princesses from which he was to choose a wife. He could have had them come to his kingdom, but his sister was annoying and would have tried to make the choice for him.”

Holly smiled at that.

“Now the queen had seen the look he gave the beggar girl found in her stable and decided to do a little matchmaking. She cleaned up the princess that didn’t know she was a princess, dressed her in fine clothes, and presented her to the prince when the other princesses presented themselves. And guess what happened?”

She shook her head; it was all she could manage at this point.

“The prince picked her!”

Holly felt Joseph take her hand, but it hardly registered. She was falling asleep.

“And it didn’t matter to him that she had grown up poor, or that in essence, she had no kingdom of her own, or riches. She was delightful and pure and all the things he wished he’d become himself. But he could also see how she would make him a better man.”

Holly’s lips parted when he whispered in her ear. “And so, he married the princess, who didn’t know she was a princess, and gave her the life she deserved all along.”

“Should we let her sleep so much? She needs to eat…”

“What?” Holly opened her eyes. “The story…”

Joseph smiled down at her. “That was hours ago.”

She blinked back sleep. “What? Hours!”

Mrs. Fraser attempted to fluff the pillow Holly was leaning against in the chair. “What time is it?”

“Well past lunch time,” Joseph said. “Are you hungry?”

Her stomach growled in response. “Oh, it seems I am.”

“I’ve made a hearty stew and biscuits,” Mrs. Fraser announced. “I’ll fetch the food. I’ve been keeping it hot on the stove.” She left the drawing room.

Holly yawned. “I’m so sorry I drifted off.”

“It’s quite alright. You did too much yesterday. Some food will do you good.”

She nodded. “Help me out of this chair?”

“Of course.” He offered her his hands and pulled her to her feet. “Would you like to walk about until Mrs. Fraser returns with lunch?”

“Yes, please. You were telling me a story?”

He smiled. “A silly story. It was nothing.” He looped her arm around one of his and walked them into the grand hall, then toward the French doors.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“There is a water closet down this way,” he stated simply. “I don’t believe it was part of our earlier tour. But you should know where it is, in case you’d ever like to examine it.”

She looked at him, blinked, then it dawned on her what he was offering. “Oh, yes, indeed.” She blushed a deep red. “Perhaps I’ll examine it now.”

“Wonderful. I shall await you in the drawing room.” He turned on his heel and left. Holly headed in the direction of the library, found the water closet, and made quick use of it. Joseph was so gentlemanly and kind, that sometimes she didn’t know how to respond to him. He was a far cry from Randall or other men she knew.

Finished with her examination, she returned to the drawing room where Mrs. Fraser was spooning stew from a tureen into three bowls. “Lunch is served,” the cook announced.

The three sat down and shared a meal and conversation. Most of which was dominated by Mrs. Fraser, who told them some of the Pettigrews’ adventures when Mr. Pettigrew was still alive. They were grand adventures of the mining towns the Pettigrews lived in when they were first married, the gold strike that made them some of the richest folks in the country, and how it did little to change who they were. Holly was happy to hear the couple didn’t boast about their money or think they were better than everyone else. Instead, they helped people like her who were down on their luck or were having a bad string of it. Holly still didn’t know what would have become of her if she hadn’t picked Mrs. Pettigrew’s carriage house to take refuge in that fateful night, and didn’t want to think of the outcome if she hadn’t. All she did know was that she owed her life to Mrs. Pettigrew and her kindness, not to mention how it allowed her to make some new friends.