Mr.Fawkes frowned.“Kris Kringle, you say?”
She took his ear trumpet and placed it to his head.“Mr.Pringle.”
“Mr.Pringle!”The old clerk beamed at Christopher.“Do you like Christmas?”
“Very much,” Christopher answered immediately.He wasn’t certain whether Mr.Fawkes referred to the holiday or the town, but in either case the answer was an enthusiastic yes.
What was there not to like about a winter wonderland where one could experience the joys of Christmastide year-round?Not that he would stay that long, of course.Coming to this castle was like visiting another country.Marvelous for the first month, and then his feet itched to be off on the next adventure.
“May I fetch either of you a refreshment from the buffet?”he asked, ensuring he kept his words loud and crisp for Mr.Fawkes.
The old clerk chortled with more mirth than the comment deserved.“I’ll take care of that myself.”
“What did he think I said?”Christopher whispered to Virginia as the elderly gentleman ambled toward the spiral stair leading to the guest wings.
Virginia gazed back with wide eyes.“Can we ever truly know another’s mind?”
“Fair enough.”He felt his spirits rise.“Perhaps the night is improving.You and Mr.Fawkes were the first to approach without inquiring after my brother’s whereabouts.”
“I know where he is.”Her smile was self-satisfied.“The turtledove has found its nest.”
Christopher had never thought of his brother as particularly birdlike, but the analogy was otherwise sound.After a lifetime of flitting from bed to bed, Nick had finally found his permanent home.
“Now it is up to you to find yours,” Virginia added.
“I am on the hunt,” Christopher assured her.
She cast a skeptical glance about the castle’s luxurious reception hall.More footmen than guests remained.The vaulted ceiling and vast interior only made the emptiness more profound.
At this time of the evening, most of the villagers were either abed, or wherever they intended to pass the night.The castle’s kitchen would keep the refreshment buffet stocked at all hours, but the party was clearly over.
“I may not meet my bride tonight,” he acknowledged.
Virginia graciously refrained from saying,Obviously.
“I must bid you goodnight,” she murmured instead.“I must take my cat for a walk.”
“Not to the aviary,” he reminded her.
She nodded.“Perhaps next week.”
After Virginia headed upstairs, Christopher turned toward the exit.Although he, too, was staying in the castle—it was the only “inn” for miles—he was far from ready to retire.Night was when the heavens came alive.
His jaw tightened.If his prized telescope hadn’t been damaged on the trip north, he’d stay out until dawn admiring the sky.
Especially on a night as clear as this one.
With determination, he strode to the castle exit to see how many stars he could spy with his bare eyes.A movement not far ahead caught his interest.
Just across the garden stood a cluster of about a dozen individuals, all with their heads tilted skyward and their fingers pointing above them.
He stepped closer in surprise.This far from London, he was usually the only gentleman astronomer about.This motley group appeared comprised of adults and children, male and female alike.
He turned to one of the door attendants.“Have you any idea what those people are doing?”
“Sky-walk,” the footman replied without hesitation.“First Saturday of every month, castle guests tour the grounds, peering up at the stars.”
A sky-walk.
