Page 23 of How the Duke Saved Christmas

“I’m not here!” the little girl shouted back.

Clara bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Margaret appeared in the open doorway, along with Aaron and Benjamin. She placed her hands on her hips in her best governess imitation. “I couldhearyou, you know.”

Clara whispered into Susannah’s ear. “Tomorrow, I’ll teach you to play hide-and-seek, shall I?”

She giggled and cradled her doll the same way Clara was cradling her.

“We’re sorry we teased you.” Margaret undercut the sincerity of that apology by crossing her arms in irritation and rolling her eyes. She nudged her brothers. Both boys nodded in agreement and looked guiltily at their shoes. “Come back, and we’ll let you string cranberries.”

Oh no…“Perhaps you can do that tomorrow,” Clara interjected as she imagined a needle going through a red berry and straight into Susannah’s little finger. Tonight would give her plenty of time to hide all the needles. “Susannah and I were just talking about what other kinds of decorations we could make for your uncle.”

“Like what?” Margaret took a curious step forward, and the boys followed.

“Well.” Clara patted the mattress beside her in invitation for all the children to pile into bed with her. “We had the idea of turning spools of ribbons into big bows to decorate the conservatory. Wouldn’t that be grand?”

“What else?” Aaron asked.

Clara leaned forward and smiled as she tweaked his nose. “What wouldyoulike to make?”

He giggled and shyly pushed his spectacles into place on his nose. “I don’t know!”

Clara trailed her gaze between all four children as she asked, “Well, what are all of your plans for the holidays?”

Margaret wrinkled her nose. “Plans?”

“Of course. All the grandest London parties are perfectly planned out down to the smallest detail, and they all have a theme. Let’s start there. What will our theme be?”

“Holidays!” Benjamin interjected.

“Familyholidays,” Margaret corrected. “We’re away from Mama and Papa this year.” A faint sadness colored her voice. “They can’t come back from Vienna to be with us, so we’re with Uncle Michael. He’s usually alone here at Northbourne Park with only the servants and villagers, so let’s make it a family holiday for him.”

Pushing down any visible sadness and guilt at the thought of Michael being lonely, Clara rested her palm against Margaret’s cheek. “I think that’s a lovely idea.”

The girl blushed and looked away, but not before Clara saw the pleased look on her face.

“So where do we start?” Clara prompted. “What are the family events he’s most looking forward to, do you think?”

“Christmas Eve,” Susannah piped up, only for her brow to furrow as she added, “but he’ll make us go to church.”

“Even so, that still leaves plenty of time between sunset and midnight services for fun. What would you like to do?”

“A party!” Benjamin exclaimed.

“With games—like snapdragon and hide the bean,” Aaron added excitedly. “And music and presents.”

“And on Christmas Day, we could open the house and invite all the villagers and tenants to celebrate with us,” Margaret decided with a firm nod. “Uncle Michael said his family used to do that when he and Papa were boys.”

“So did mine.” Clara smiled, not wanting the bittersweet memory to show on her face. “What else?”

“We’ll decorate the whole house for Uncle Michael,” Aaron said. “With paper angels—”

“Familiesof angels,” Susannah reminded them. Then a thought struck her, and she looked up at Clara, puzzled. “Do angels have families?”

Clara squeezed Susannah against her. “I’m certain they do, with sisters who are yet too small to work sharp needles and scissors.”

She softened that warning with a short tickle that sent the little girl into a fit of giggles.