portmanteau.”
She looked and drew out a lovely green merino pelisse, trimmed with white fur at the collar and cuffs and a pair of pretty white boots which even looked to be the right size. Beneath it was a miniature pelisse identical to the first, but in blue. With it was a dainty little blue dress with a charming lace collar. And the sweetest pair of tiny fur-lined red kid boots, perfect winter wear for a little girl. Ellie’s eyes misted. He’d brought a wedding outfit for Amy, too. And of the finest quality. She wondered how he could afford it, but it didn’t matter.
She smiled a wobbsmile and hugged him. How did she ever deserve such a dear, kind thoughtful man? “Thank you, Daniel. I don’t know how—”
“Come on, love, let’s get you to that church, or we’ll be anticipating our vows. The sergeant shall escort you and Amy. I shall meet you there, as is proper.” He pulled out a fob-watch and consulted it. “Shall we say one hour?”
“One hour!” gasped Ellie. “Two, at least. Amy and I need to wash our hair and—”
“Very well, two hours it is,” he said briskly and kissed her mouth, a swift, hard, possessive promise of a kiss. “And not a moment longer, mind! I have waited long enough!”
Freshly prepared for Christmas, the church looked beautiful. Small and built of sombre grey stone, it glowed inside as the soft winter sunshine pierced the stained-glass windows, flooding the inside with rainbows of delicate colour and making the brass and silver gleam. It smelt of beeswax and fresh-cut pinewood. Greenery decorated the softly shining oak pews and the two huge brass urns on either side of the altar were laden with branches of holly and ivy and pine. Braziers had been lit, taking the chill from the air, throwing out a cosy glow.
Ellie and Amy, dressed in their new finery, stood at the door. The sergeant, looking smart and neat in what Ellie guessed was a new coat, had gone to inform Daniel and the vicar of their arrival. Ellie, suddenly nervous, clutched Amy’s hand. Was she doing the right thing? She had only known Daniel a matter of days, after all.
She loved him. But she had loved once before…and had been badly mistaken. She had never felt for Hart half the feelings she had for Daniel. Did that mean she had made the right choice this time…or double the mistake? She shivered, feeling suddenly cold. Amy’s little hand was warm in hers. A tiny white fur muff dangled from her daughter’s wrist. A gift from Daniel…
“Are you ready, love?” The deep voice came from her right. Ellie jumped. Daniel was standing there, with a look in his eyes that drove all the last-minute jitters from her mind.
“Oh, yes. I’m ready,” she said, and with a full heart laid her hand on his arm.
“Then lead the way, Sergeant and Amy.”
Gravely the sergeant offered his arm to the small girl. Like a little princess, Amy walked solemnly beside him down the aisle. As they reached the altar, Amy’s attention was distracted. “Look, Mama, the vicar has a dolls’house, too,” she whispered.
Ellie followed her daughter’s gesture and her hand tightened on Daniel’s arm. To the right of the aisle at the front of the church sat a Christmas diorama on a small wooden table. A stable, thatched with straw, was surrounded by carved wooden sheep and cows and a donkey.
Over the building a painted wooden star gleamed. Inside the stable stood a woman in a blue painted robe, a woman with a serene expression and kind eyes. Beside her stood a tall dark-haired man smiling down at a child not his own, with love in his eyes and his heart.
Like the man at Ellie’s side.
offered hight="0em" width="1em" align="justify">Amy stared at the diorama in fascination. She was too small to remember it from the previous Christmas. “The vicar’s dolls’house has a family, too—a mama and a papa and a baby, just like us, only I’m not a baby any more.”
Ellie glanced up at the tall man by her side, looking at Amy
She looked and drew out a lovely green merino pelisse, trimmed with white fur at the collar and cuffs and a pair of pretty white boots which even looked to be the right size. Beneath it was a miniature pelisse identical to the first, but in blue. With it was a dainty little blue dress with a charming lace collar. And the sweetest pair of tiny fur-lined red kid boots, perfect winter wear for a little girl. Ellie’s eyes misted. He’d brought a wedding outfit for Amy, too. And of the finest quality. She wondered how he could afford it, but it didn’t matter.
She smiled a wobbsmile and hugged him. How did she ever deserve such a dear, kind thoughtful man? “Thank you, Daniel. I don’t know how—”
“Come on, love, let’s get you to that church, or we’ll be anticipating our vows. The sergeant shall escort you and Amy. I shall meet you there, as is proper.” He pulled out a fob-watch and consulted it. “Shall we say one hour?”
“One hour!” gasped Ellie. “Two, at least. Amy and I need to wash our hair and—”
“Very well, two hours it is,” he said briskly and kissed her mouth, a swift, hard, possessive promise of a kiss. “And not a moment longer, mind! I have waited long enough!”
Freshly prepared for Christmas, the church looked beautiful. Small and built of sombre grey stone, it glowed inside as the soft winter sunshine pierced the stained-glass windows, flooding the inside with rainbows of delicate colour and making the brass and silver gleam. It smelt of beeswax and fresh-cut pinewood. Greenery decorated the softly shining oak pews and the two huge brass urns on either side of the altar were laden with branches of holly and ivy and pine. Braziers had been lit, taking the chill from the air, throwing out a cosy glow.
Ellie and Amy, dressed in their new finery, stood at the door. The sergeant, looking smart and neat in what Ellie guessed was a new coat, had gone to inform Daniel and the vicar of their arrival. Ellie, suddenly nervous, clutched Amy’s hand. Was she doing the right thing? She had only known Daniel a matter of days, after all.
She loved him. But she had loved once before…and had been badly mistaken. She had never felt for Hart half the feelings she had for Daniel. Did that mean she had made the right choice this time…or double the mistake? She shivered, feeling suddenly cold. Amy’s little hand was warm in hers. A tiny white fur muff dangled from her daughter’s wrist. A gift from Daniel…
“Are you ready, love?” The deep voice came from her right. Ellie jumped. Daniel was standing there, with a look in his eyes that drove all the last-minute jitters from her mind.
“Oh, yes. I’m ready,” she said, and with a full heart laid her hand on his arm.
“Then lead the way, Sergeant and Amy.”
Gravely the sergeant offered his arm to the small girl. Like a little princess, Amy walked solemnly beside him down the aisle. As they reached the altar, Amy’s attention was distracted. “Look, Mama, the vicar has a dolls’house, too,” she whispered.
Ellie followed her daughter’s gesture and her hand tightened on Daniel’s arm. To the right of the aisle at the front of the church sat a Christmas diorama on a small wooden table. A stable, thatched with straw, was surrounded by carved wooden sheep and cows and a donkey.
Over the building a painted wooden star gleamed. Inside the stable stood a woman in a blue painted robe, a woman with a serene expression and kind eyes. Beside her stood a tall dark-haired man smiling down at a child not his own, with love in his eyes and his heart.
Like the man at Ellie’s side.
offered hight="0em" width="1em" align="justify">Amy stared at the diorama in fascination. She was too small to remember it from the previous Christmas. “The vicar’s dolls’house has a family, too—a mama and a papa and a baby, just like us, only I’m not a baby any more.”
Ellie glanced up at the tall man by her side, looking at Amy
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