Mistletoe and Mischief by Patricia Wynn Page B

commensurate with his bulk. Charles realized the boy had seldom spoken above a mutter, and he now put this down to shyness. Nan and Sammy were overcome by the sound of their son's golden tones.
    Louisa had listened with her hands clasped together, and when the song had ended, she applauded enthusiastically. Charles thought she deserved an accolade herself for the way she had handled the villagers' timidity.
    One of the women passed the Vessel Cup, and Charles, feeling suddenly expansive, dipped deeply into his pocket for a coin. Since this was far larger than the halfpenny requested, the singers' eyes opened wide and a few said, “0-o-oh!” Louisa flashed him a sunny look.
    Nan Spadger said, “And now, tha' must take a leaf from t' Saviour, yor lordship and miss.” When Louisa hesitated, she plucked one for her and added, “It's good for t' toothache.”
    Charles accepted his solemnly and, with a brief bow, dismissed them with thanks. Louisa added hers, and then they retreated inside the parlour so the door could close.
    As soon as Sammy pulled it to behind them, they glanced at each other and Louisa started to giggle. Charles gave in to laughter, as well.
    He held up his leaf. “I hope you mean to keep yours, in case the toothache should befall you. For myself, I intend to hide mine under my pillow.”
    Louisa held hers up and twisted it this way and that to examine it.
    “What do you think, Charles? Is one supposed to eat it or rub it on the affected tooth? Or perhaps it is to be drunk in an infusion like tea. I would hate to waste such a useful remedy by using it improperly! “
    She gave a final chuckle and then said, “But we should not laugh. What a charming custom! And not one we have in London, I believe. I particularly enjoyed the part about the children 'that round the table go.' I could just see a large family with a dozen or so cheerful faces clustered about their dinner.”
    Charles could see the table, too. And the strange thing was that he saw Louisa sitting at its head.
    But before he could ponder this, Louisa chattered on. “I shall have to ask Mrs. Spadger about it tomorrow and get her to tell me how to use the leaf. I would have asked the singers, but I was afraid to frighten them.”
    “You were marvellous with them, Louisa. With such tact, you have the makings of a good political hostess.”
    Louisa grimaced. “I suppose by that you mean that I am an accomplished liar.”
    Charles was taken aback. “Not at all. It is a useful talent to prevaricate in harmless ways to make others feel at ease. I thought you handled them magnificently.”
    A warm glow spread over her countenance. “Why, thank you, Charles. And I will add that you were quite generous, too.”
    He felt himself redden and shifted from one foot to the other. “Oh, that. It was nothing. You must know how insignificant that was to me.”
    “Yes, I daresay it was,” Louisa said, moving back to the table. He followed her and held her chair for her. “But it shows a willingness to give, and I am certain you must find many worthy things to do with your wealth.”
    On the way to his own chair, Charles halted guiltily as he realized how completely she was mistaken. He searched his mind frantically for an instance of his own charity and, aside from the vicar's needs at Wroxton, came up short. Of course, he was terribly busy, but the truth was he took his own wealth so much for granted that he seldom thought of sharing it. If he ever felt compelled to do so, more often than not he forgot the impulse before he acted upon it.
    Taking his chair and avoiding her eyes, he resolved to do better in future, and for the rest of the evening, steered the conversation back to safer ground.
     
    Chapter Six
     
    In the morning, Charles tried to take a brisk approach to their departure, but he found that Louisa, though up, was far from ready.
    “I'm afraid the packing is taking longer than I expected,” she explained at breakfast. “I want to take