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Epilogue
Christmas Day
One Year Later
“Mama, wake up!”Tiny hands patted her face until Agatha finally opened her eyes. Henry, their two-year-old adopted son, stood in front of her, his eyes bright and his face stretched into a smile. Her husband and son stood dressed in front of her, smiling. “Good morning, Charles. You let me sleep too late again.” She smiled.
“Mama,” Henry said, tugging her hand as she sat up and reached for her robe.
“He has been up for a while, judging from the voices in the hall. I heard Mrs. Stone offer to take him to the kitchen—possibly for some biscuits,” Charles said, grinning.
“That sounds lovely,” Agatha said, cinching her robe. “I am quite ready for breakfast,” she added.
“Merry Chwithsmas!” Henry exclaimed, clapping his hands.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Please, come in,” Agatha called.
Miss Miles, Henry’s nurse, nervously stuck her head into the room. “I apologize, my lady. We have been playing games, and Henry took hide and seek a little too seriously. It will not happen, again.”
“It is quite all right, Miss Miles. It seems he is most eager to go downstairs,” Charles inserted.
The nurse’s face lit up with a smile. “You are right about that, sir!”
“We will be down in a thrice,” Agatha said, ringing for her maid.
Charles reached over and gave his wife a kiss and picked up his son. “I will take him back to the nursery for a few minutes until Lady Bentley is ready. We shall be right down. In the meantime, take time to break your fast and relax the rest of the day. We will take care of this little man.”
“I appreciate this so much. Thank you, Mr. Bentley. Thank you, my lady.”
As Miss Miles left the room, Mary, her lady’s maid entered. “We must ’ave you ready to face the day, my lady,” the older plump woman said, cheerfully.
“Yes! I think the burgundy velvet with the gold ribbon would be perfect for today.” Mrs. Spencer had delivered her new dresses only this week, and Agatha loved them all. “There is nothing like a new frock to help cheer a body.” She had also commissioned dresses and new trousers for the orphanage children.They should have been delivered yesterday,she thought.I will send a note and check on them,she decided, holding onto the bedpost as Mary cinched the back of her dress.
“Mary, can we make the curls loose? I had a slight megrim yesterday and want to make sure it does not return today.”
“Yes. I have a lovely style in mind, my lady,” she said, with a grin. Less than twenty minutes later, Mary handed her a looking glass and stepped back, encouraging her to look. “’Tis lovely.”
Agatha angled the back of her head and the looking glass in order to see the larger mirror behind her. Charles had shown her the trick. “It is beautiful. Thank you. I need one more thing and I will feel ready to venture downstairs.” She opened the drawer to her vanity and withdrew the silver locket and turned so Mary could fasten the chain about her neck.
“Aye, that is a beautiful locket. Yer ’usband has good taste,” the retainer said, admiring the necklace.
Noise from downstairs, in the front of the house, drew their attention.
“My goodness! It sounds like we have been invaded. Are we expecting anyone?” she asked her maid, not really expecting an answer. The maid shrugged and smiled.
Sounds of giggling and laughter beckoned her to move more quickly. When Agatha rounded the corner at the foot of the stairs, her pulse quickened. Sitting and standing in various places around the festively decorated rooms was her family!All of them.
Seeing her arrive, Walters quickly walked up and announced them. “Lord and Lady Clarendon, their son, Mr. George Thomas, and Lady Romney and her son, Mr. Edward Collins have arrived, my lady,” he announced.
“Thank you, Walters.”
“Hello, Agatha,” Alice said, hugging her sister-in-law.
“Merry Christmas, Alice. I do not know what to say. We had not expected you...”
Her husband cleared his throat. “Actually, we have. We all wanted this to be a surprise and have been planning this for weeks.
