Prologue

Christmas Eve, Present Day

C old, hungry, and travel weary, Hilde stepped out of the taxi and into the gray slush by the side of the road. Without waiting for her to move, the driver took off, splashing her with damp snow as he sped away.

She sighed. Christmas spirit was not what it used to be.

Thankfully, she wore boots under her trousers to keep from getting wet, but her legs and feet were still cold. Stepping onto the freshly shoveled sidewalk, she made her way down the street through the old town in the fading light of day. As she walked down the sidewalk, she scanned the remaining open shops looking for that last perfect gift for her darling niece.

One of the shops, Elinor’s Fine Linens and Things, caught her attention. Inside, beautiful scarves stacked along a table with a sign that read Fifty Percent Off . The bell above the door announced her entrance. The shop was small with one register toward the back. A wall of cubbies hosted folded sweaters. Pea coats hung in various colors on a rack near the sweaters. At the back wall was a variety of winter boots and shoes. Neatly folded scarves were stacked on the table in the center.

She paused at the scarf table. Some of them appeared to be handmade, knitted from the finest wool. She ran her hand over the top one in a beautiful shimmering pink. But pink was not her niece’s favorite color. It was blue. A deep blue one with shiny thread intermingling with the chunky stitches caught her eye. As she held it in her hands, she closed her eyes and thought of the child.

Marigold was rosy-cheeked with bright blue eyes and ringlets of blonde hair framing her cherub face. She was bubbly and sweet and full of light. Since Hilde had no children of her own, she loved to dote on the girl, her sister’s only child.

Hilde headed to the register with her treasure and placed it on the counter. The woman smiled as she began to ring it up.

“It’s lovely, isn’t it?” the woman said. “We sell a lot of these handmade scarves.”

“It's beautiful,” Hilde said with a nod.

“A woman in Scotland knits them from the wool of her own sheep,” she continued. “I’m not sure why she started sending them to me to sell, but she wanted to make sure I always kept some in stock during the winter. Would you like it gift wrapped?”

As the woman held the scarf in her hands, Hilde swore she saw the wool shimmer in the low light of the shop. But, no, that was only an illusion. Even so, goosebumps broke out on her arms and skittered down her spine. Her gut tingled as she realized she was meant to buy that scarf from this shop on this day for a special girl.

“Ma’am?”

“Oh, yes, please. That would be lovely.”

The woman beamed as she wrapped the scarf in Christmas tissue. She then tied it with an elaborate Christmas plaid bow and slipped a piece of holly in for decoration. She handed her the package and the receipt.

“Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas to you, too,” Hilde said, taking the small package.

She left the shop and started down the street. But something made her pause and glance back. The shop lights were off and the sign was turned to CLOSED. She must have been the last customer of the night. It was, after all, Christmas Eve.

There weren’t many taxis at this time of night, especially on Christmas Eve after dark. She would have to walk the rest of the way to her sister’s home. Lucky for her, Drumchapel Village, in which her sister’s family lived, was quite close to the small shopping area.

By the time she arrived at the two-story house at 323 Crown Lane, her tired old bones were cold and weary. The white house was outlined in cheery holiday lights from roofline to ground. The bushes were covered in lights. Even the old live oak tree in the yard was wrapped. Everything about the house was magical.

Her sister really did love to decorate for the season.

She climbed the porch stairs, rang the bell and waited. Moments later, a shout from inside and then the door swung open. Her sister, rosy-cheeked and bright eyed, greeted her with a smile.

“Hilde, you made it.” She waved her inside. “You look frozen.”

“I walked from the shopping area.”

“You walked ? Are you mad? Give me your coat.”

Before Hilde could put down the gift and slip out of the coat, Linnea was already pulling on the shoulders. She slid one arm out and then the other.

“Jack, Hilde is here!” Linnea called.

Jack, her brother-in-law, was busy snoozing in his recliner in front of a showing of It’s a Wonderful Life. His response was a soft snore.

“He doesn’t want to see me anyway. Where’s my niece?”

“She’s upstairs in her room. She’s not feeling well.” Linnea tried to hide the concern in her voice but failed.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“I’m not sure. I thought I’d take her to the doctor after the holidays if she doesn’t get better.”

Linnea started up the stairs, motioning for Hilde to follow her.

Marigold’s bedroom was the first one at the top of the stairs. Linnea opened the door with a flourish.

“Look who’s here, Marigold.” She waved to Hilde.

Sleepy-eyed Marigold blinked owlish eyes as she sat up in her bed. Her room was decorated for a small princess with pink walls and princess furniture. She had a canopy bed with twinkle lights strung up to give the room a warm, inviting glow. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer played on the television across from the girl’s bed.

“Hi, auntie,” she said around a giant yawn.

“Hello, princess. I brought you a gift.” She handed her the small package as her sister exited the room.

“Can I open it now?” the girl asked. A bright smile was on her face.

“Yes, of course.”

“Mummy doesn’t let me open presents on Christmas Eve,” she said as she stared down at the package with the plaid bow.

“Well, this can be our little secret.” Hilde pulled up a plush stool and perched on the edge of it.

Marigold giggled and pulled open the ribbon, then shoved aside the paper. The lovely scarf shimmered in the soft light of the room. She hadn’t imagined it then. The material really did have a luster to it.

The girl stared at it for a long moment. It occurred to Hilde that the scarf was a much too grown-up gift for her. Perhaps she should have gotten her a plush toy instead. But she pulled it out of the wrapping and held it up, then cradled the soft material against her cheek with a smile.

“It’s soft,” she said.

“Let me help you.”

Hilde took the scarf and wrapped it around her neck in a stylized fashion making the young girl appear far more older and sophisticated than she actually was. In her mind’s eye, she had a vision of the girl grown and just as beautiful as ever.

“There, now,” Hilde said.

“Thank you, auntie.” She granted her a smile and sounded grown up.

Hilde always thought she was wise beyond her years. She was somewhat of an old soul, so the gift of the scarf appeared to be appropriate for her.

“Are you going to tell me a story, auntie?”

And then just like that, she sounded like a little girl again.

Hilde grinned. “Of course, I am.”

Marigold sat up straighter in the bed, her eyes alight with joyful anticipation. “What story will this be? One about Christmas?”

“Even better. One about Christmas and a pair of magical shoes.”

Before she started, her sister came in with a cup of steaming tea for her and hot cocoa for Marigold. She kissed her daughter on the head.

“Aunt Hilde brought me this gift!”

“I see.” She fingered the soft material. “It’s lovely,” and then to her sister, “and so grown up. She’s only six. And I thought we agreed no presents on Christmas Eve.”

Hilde merely shrugged. She sipped her tea, giving Marigold a wink over the rim.

“Don’t stay up too late if you want Santa to come.”

“I know you and Papa are Santa, Mummy.”

Her sister’s eyebrows raised in question.

“I didn’t tell her,” Hilde said.

“I’ve always known, Mummy,” the girl said.

“We’ll see in the morning, won’t we?” Her sister turned to her then. “Not too late, Hilde.”

She waved away her sister as she left the room and closed the door behind her. “Now, let’s see. Where was I?”

“A Christmas story about a pair of magical shoes!” Marigold reminded her and bounced in the bed.

“Ah, yes. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl. She lived with her stepmother and stepsisters, but they weren’t nice to her. She worked as a servant in her own home.”

Marigold gasped and shook her head. “That’s so mean.”

“Yes, but then one day, a pair of shoes changed her life…”