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Chapter Six
Of course, themorning was a different matter. Griz woke to a long, languorous loving, a tender giving and receiving of pleasure that was their long-awaited gift to each other.
It was Christmas. They were alone together in an empty house with no one to disturb them or even expect anything of them. Now that he was home, this was exactly the fun she had imagined it would be.
They rose together, eventually, rambling about the house in dressing gowns. Griz released Vicky into the garden, while Dragan stoked the stove and made coffee, and between them, they cooked breakfast to eat in bed, a naughty, childish luxury like a midnight feast she recalled with her siblings, although with Dragan, what came after was not childish at all.
When at last they washed and dressed each other, it was almost midday, and past time to begin roasting the goose Cook had prepared for them before she left. When the bird was in the oven, they danced around the kitchen for a little and then decided to take Vicky for a walk while their meal cooked.
“I have a gift for you first,” Dragan said, producing a small box from his pocket.
She took it, smiling, and fished her own gift to him from behind the vase.
Grizelda’s family had never been short of money, and her father kept her generous allowance going even after her marriage since Dragan’s earnings were little and erratic by comparison. As a result, to save embarrassment, their gifts to each other were never ostentatious or expensive, tending more toward the amusing or the token.
For Christmas, she had bought him a small gold and sapphire tiepin, simply because it had caught her eye. It had cost more than her other gifts, but she wanted him to have it. Still, she didn’t really want him to notice its quality.
She opened the box he had given her and found a silver ring, dulled with age but exquisitely engraved with Celtic designs.
“Oh, Dragan,” she breathed, drawing it from its velvet nest. “It’s beautiful.”
“It’s very old, and I suspect worth a lot more than I paid, but I thought you would like it.”
“I love it.” She slid it onto her little finger, where it fitted perfectly, as she showed him, smiling.
He took her hand and kissed her fingers. “And this is the smartest pin I’ve ever owned. Perhaps you would oblige me?”
“I hoped it would suit you, soon-to-be Dr. Tizsa, who already has a salaried if the occasional position of great seriousness with Her Majesty’s government.”
“Sometimes my own importance overwhelms me.” He took the opportunity of holding her while she placed the pin and patted his lapels.
“Most festive,” she approved and kissed his lips.
“Thank you,” he murmured and took a longer kiss, a pursuit from which they were distracted by an unexpected knock on the door.
Vicky barked and stalked out of the room as though with disapproval.
“Who could this be?” Griz wondered, slipping from his arms. “Dr. Cordell, perhaps?”
“I imagine he is busy with his own family,” Dragan replied, admiring his pin in the mirror while Griz went to the door.
On the doorstep stood Elizabeth Westley.
Griz blinked in amazement. “Mrs. Westley!”
“Merry Christmas,” the lady said with a somewhat tentative smile. Her voice was nervous, too. “My housekeeper just told me that your husband was away, and I did not like the idea of you being alone over Christmas. So, I spoke to my husband and my daughters, and we would all be honored if you would care to join us for Christmas luncheon.”
“Oh, how kind! Please, come in.”
“I called myself, to be sure you would know I mean the invitation. I—” She broke off as Dragan appeared at the drawing room door, holding Vicky.
“Dragan came home last night,” Griz explained. “Please, will you join us in a glass of sherry?”
“Oh, no, I am intruding, and from the delicious smells, I gather you already have your own luncheon underway.”
“True, but it is not nearly ready to eat,” Dragan said, dropping Vicky to the floor so that she could delicately sniff Mrs. Westley’s skirts.
“I was thinking about you, actually,” Griz said, urging her into the drawing room. “After my visit to you yesterday, I wanted to tell you that the man I found apparently died of heart disease. It was likely to have been sudden in the end, although the symptoms were probably already known to him.”
