Page 41 of Christmas Secrets

“All right. I will.” Percival cleared his throat and then took her hands and stared directly into her eyes. “Holly, I want to marry you. I would like us to be husband and wife and live at Rothbury Castle from now on.”

“Serfs need the permission of their lord to get married,” she said without thinking, not yet used to, or perhaps not really believing she was free.

“Holly, didn’t you hear Lord Henry?” asked Percival. “You don’t need his permission because you are no longer a serf of Kestwick.”

“For the record, I give my permission anyway, even though you don’t need it,” said Henry.

“Oh,” she said, feeling happy yet sad at the same time.

“I was expecting a little more of a positive response than that.” Percival pulled away, but she grabbed his shoulders and looked directly into his eyes.

“Of course, I want to be your wife, Percival. I told you, I love you. So that should go without saying.”

“Then, why don’t you seem as happy as I feel about all this?”

“Well...” She looked over at Lord Henry. “What about my brother, Lord Henry? Where will he be living?”

“With me, of course,” said Henry. “At my castle in Kestwick. He’ll be raised as my son.”

“Holly, I don’t want to live with that man.” With his toys clasped in his little fists, Noel ran over to Holly for protection. She jumped up and picked him up in her arms, latching him to her hip.

“Noel, Lord Henry is your father,” she told him. “It is only right that you should live with him and get to know him.”

“I have my good friend, Henry the horse. I don’t want another friend named Henry. I don’t want to live with him. I want to stay with you.” The little boy shyly buried his face against her shoulder.

“Oh, my. I think I made a mess of things,” said Henry. “I can’t blame the boy for not wanting to live with me. He doesn’t even know me. I guess I just figured... I understand,” said Henry, the happiness draining from his face. “Perhaps in time, things will change and you will change your mind, Noel. I truly hope so because I would like to start being a good father to you. That is, the father I always wanted to be.”

Holly looked at Percival and shrugged. She didn’t know what to do and wanted this to be a happy ending for everyone.

“Noel,” said Percival, getting up off the bed. “Where do you want to live?”

“I want to live here. In grandmother’s house,” said the little boy.

“Here?” Percival smiled. “But this is such a little cottage. You have the chance to live in a big castle and have your own bedchamber.”

“I share a bed with Holly,” said Noel, not sounding excited at all about this opportunity.

“There will be lots of children for you to play with,” Percival told him. “Children your own age. You will make lots and lots of new friends.”

“Will you be there with me?” asked Noel.

“Me?” asked Percival. “Well... no. My home is here in Rothbury.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” said Henry. “You and Holly are welcome to live at Kestwick. I’ll give you your own chamber right in the castle. Then you will be there with Noel so he won’t feel lonely.”

“Noel?” Holly looked at her little brother. “How does that sound?”

He looked at his toy horse and pretended the animal was whispering to him. “Henry says we can go there sometimes, but only if we can stop back home and pick up the rest of his friends.”

“Of course, we can,” said Percival, ruffling the boy’s hair.

“What do you mean by sometimes?” asked Holly.

“I like the cottage,” said the boy. “It feels like... like home.”

“So do I,” agreed Holly, not sure she’d ever be able to get used to life at the castle. It was so different than the life she knew. She wasn’t used to such grandeur or such fancy meals. While living somewhere besides a small hovel would be nice, she really didn’t need all the other frivolities that nobles were used to. “Percival, couldn’t we just live here?” she asked him.

“Here? In this broken-down hovel, when we have two castles to choose from?” Percival looked and sounded repulsed, as well as a little forlorn.