Snowbound Fairy Christmas

by Hunt, Brenda

  But then on second thought, he wasn’t going to pass up the chance to make her understand what she had done. He stepped out of Dulcey’s room. He left Peggy at her bedside. He would take a few minutes to make his mother understand exactly how he felt, how badly she had hurt him, how badly she had hurt Dulcey

  As she came walking to him, her head held high like she hadn’t been responsible for any of this. All he saw

  was a manipulative bitter woman, who would never be happy and would never let anybody else be happy. He had to convince himself, he was looking at his mother, the woman who had given him birth. At the moment, he couldn’t see that woman. All he could see was the woman, the cause of why his wife lay beyond the door behind him, fighting for her life. A life that was meant to be lived with him and Abby. His hands itched to take her and shake her.

  “Nathaniel, I had to see you, to explain to you,” the countess began. She had to make her son understand. It had all been a grave misunderstanding. Leta was sick and didn’t know what she had done. She had to make him understand, she had nothing to do with any of this. Yes, she did not like this Dulcey woman. Yes, she thought this Dulcey woman was not the right woman for her son or for their family. No matter, what the letter the Baron wrote, it would not undo the fact, this woman was a witch.

  “There is no explanation you can give me Mother that will make any of this right. Your maid tried to murder my wife because you were upset with her. Your constant harping that my wife was a witch, that we were all in danger, drove your maid to protect you. I believe, I have the facts, do I not?” His words were terse. He was having a most difficult time in controlling what he really wanted to do to her.

  “Nathaniel, please-----” she began again. The anger she saw in his eyes frightened her. But it wasn’t only anger, it was disgust, it was outright loathing. She could feel it like a blast of frigid air hitting her full on. He was just upset at the moment.

  “You are to pack your bags, Mother. Worth and several men from here will escort you and Leta to Northcutt Hall. You and Leta will be under constant surveillance and should either of you move off the property, I will have charges brought against both of you.” He could no longer bear the sight of her. He turned to go. She put her hand on his arm to stop him.

  Her touch nearly pushed him over the edge. “Take your hand off of me, Mother.”

  “Nathaniel, please I never meant for any of this to happen, believe me,” pleaded the countess. “Northcutt Hall, if I remember correctly is in the middle of nowhere. It is like you are banishing me to a life of seclusion. I was not directly responsible for any of this. This is much too harsh, Nathaniel. I will go back to Shefley Hall instead. All my things are there, Nathaniel. It is my home, and I will not allow you to turn me out of my own home. ” No, Nathaniel must listen to reason. He had always been a biddable boy. Surely this was a decision he had made under duress.

  “I will see to it your things are packed and shipped to you. Northcutt Hall is your home now and under the circumstances, I can send you wherever the hell I want to.”

  “Nathaniel, do not use that foul language with me. I am not responsible for any of this. I see no reason why I should be punished such as this. Please, be reasonable about this.” He could not be doing this, he simply could not.

  She was lucky it was only foul language he was using. “The fact, that you were not directly responsible for this, does not matter to me, Mother. Directly or indirectly, it happened and I can never forgive you for that. You destroyed Caroline and Grayson and now you have tried to destroy my life because of your arrogance. I will not allow you anywhere where you can destroy someone else. You had better pray all the way to Northcutt Hall that Dulcey survives this because heaven help you, if she doesn’t.” Nate shuddered because he could not think along those lines. “Good bye, Mother,” Nate turned and walked back into Dulcey’s room and closed the door in his mother’s

  face. He could no longer abide the sight of her or be in her presence. Peggy still sat at Ducley’s side just as he had left moments before.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Lady Shefley sighed deeply and turned and walked back to her room. Simmons followed her. Nathaniel was upset. Once he got over the shock of all of this, he would change his mind. He would not hold to this imprisonment. He was just upset. He would calm down in a few months. After all, none of this was of her doing. Leta had acted on her own accord. It was not her fault that Leta was so devoted to her. No, she firmly believed in time, Nathaniel would see that. Till then she would bid her time. She firmly believed he would eventually see the truth. She had not been behind any of this.

  She shuddered at the thought of Northcutt Hall. She had never been there but she did know it was rather out of the way. Very far from London. She would just have to keep up her correspondence with some of her old friends until this ridiculousness was over with. Nathaniel could not stay angry with her for very long. He would come to his senses. She was his mother, after all.

  She turned and walked back down the hall to her room where Leta awaited her, hopeful her packing was complete, though she did not understand why Worth wanted to leave now. She hated traveling in the night, but Worth was being adamant. Talking to Worth had been impossible. He blamed her for Caroline’s death. He had to have colored Nathaniel’s opinion in all of this. She did not like Worth and did not understand why he was escorting her. She truly wished now, she had been more persuasive when Nathaniel had insisted they come here all those weeks ago. Then they never would have met this witch woman.

  Chapter 18

  The sweetest of all sounds is that of the voice

  Of the woman we love.

  Jean de la Bruyere

  It was morning, the sun shone brightly through the windows, but nothing had changed. Dulcey lay still as she had throughout the night. Peggy had brought him a breakfast tray but it lay untouched on the chest by the door. Several times through the night he had dosed off only to dream in the predawn hours he had lost her. He sat by the side of her bed and held her hand against his cheek. He brought it to his lips and kissed her palm. He loved the response it brought forth from her. But at the moment, there was no response. He hung his head.

  No, he could not, would not give up. She never would.

  He leaned over and whispered. “My love, please come back to me. You are my love. You are my life. You have made me whole. I did not know I was not, until I met you. Perhaps, you are a witch, for you have truly bewitched me. But I think I agree more with what you told Abby. You are a fairy princess, my fairy princess. Abby misses you. Please, my love, she has lost so much. She cannot lose you. Neither can I. Oh, my fairy princess, come back to me.”

  But there was no response. Just the steady sound of her breathing. He took comfort in that. She was still alive. As long as there was still breath, there was life within her, there was hope.

  A soft tap on the door interrupted his thoughts. Peggy had left moments ago. It would not be her returning so soon, besides Peggy did not knock. Nate opened the door. Abby stood in the hall just outside of the door. She looked up at Nate with those big blue eyes of hers and the most woe be gone look on her face. He should have taken a few moments to reassure Abby.

  “Where’s Miss Franny?” he asked softly.

  “I accidently spilled my milk,” explained Abby, as though that explained everything.

  Nate smiled. He saw Miss Franny hurrying down the hall and raised his hand to halt her.

  “Are you worried about Dulcey?” asked Nate.

  Abby bit her bottom lip and nodded her head.

  “She’s still sleeping,” answered Nate.

  “Can I see her Uncle Nate? I promise, I won’t make any noise to wake her up. I’ll be very quiet, I promise,” Abby pleaded. She was scared.

  Nate smiled. He knew how worried she was. She didn’t understand it all. He wished he didn’t, but he did.

  “Just for a moment. Dulcey needs her rest.”

  Abby nodded.

  “All r
ight then. Be very quiet,” instructed Nate as he took her small hand in his and lead her back into the room. Miss Franny waited outside in the hall.

  Slowly, he walked over to Dulcey’s bedside, watching Abby carefully. He stopped.

  Abby looked up to Nate and asked softly, “She’s sleeping?”

  Nate nodded.

  “Who’s gonna make Dulcey better? She talks to the fairies and they tell her. Have the fairies come to make her better?” she whispered. She didn’t understand.

  Nate sighed. How did he explain it to Abby when he didn’t understand himself?

  “This is what I know. Dulcey knows how to help people with her medicines.”

  “The fairies teached her. She told me so Uncle Nate when you were sick,” explained Abby.

  “Yes, Poppet, I know. And she has taught Dr. Meade, who is taking care of her now.”

  Abby nodded. “Can I talk to her? Will she hear me?”

  “I’ve been talking to her. I believe she hears us. She’s resting, getting better.”

  Abby nodded again. “You rested too, Uncle Nate and got better.”

  Nate smiled and nodded. That just a little over a fortnight ago. It seemed more like a lifetime ago.

  Abby leaned over to Dulcey. “Uncle Nate said you’re gonna get better. I told the moon last night, to tell the fairies, they needed to come and give you their medicine.” She took off her moonstone necklace and put it on Dulcey chest. “This will bring the fairies to you. And when you’re better you can give it back to me.” She leaned over and gave Dulcey a kiss on the cheek. She turned to Nate and said, “Now, the fairies will come for sure and make her all better.”

  Nate could only nod. The tears in his eyes and the lump in his throat made speaking impossible for him. He took her hand and escorted her to the door where Miss Franny awaited her. At the door, Abby turned and hugged Nate then followed Miss Franny down the hall assured she had called the fairies to take care of Dulcey now.

  Nate turned and walked back to Dulcey’s side. The moonstone necklace Dulcey had given Abby still lay on her chest. He rubbed the moonstone between his fingers.

  “Any fairies out there? Abby believes you are. Please, do your magic and bring my Dulcey back to us. She is very important to us. She is our fairy princess.” He placed the moonstone necklace back on her chest and laid his head on the bed beside her and let the tears flow.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Dulcey slowly opened her eyes. Her body ached. She didn’t understand why. She sighed. She was lying in her bed. Why her bed? She remembered her wedding. The ceremony was beautiful. Nate had looked so handsome standing at the altar waiting for her. So many of the town’s people had filled the church, but the breakfast that followed afterwards was fit for the king. Evers and the staff had decorated the grand ball room with such love and had truly out done themselves. She smiled as she remembered. She had felt like the fairy princess she had told Abby about in her nightly stories.

  She turned her head. Nate was asleep sitting in the dark green winged chair at her bedside, her hand clasped in his. Why was he sitting there?

  Why was he---- and suddenly she remembered--- the glass of champagne----the vision. She jerked her hand in response to the vision.

  Nate immediately awakened and found himself staring into those beautiful pixie green eyes of Dulcey’s. That they stared back at him filled his heart with joy. She was awake. She was alive. He let out a deep sigh of relief and smiled. “Hello, my love.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the palm.

  It sent shivers through every part of her. She remembered those feelings. Dulcey smiled back. “Hello, my husband.” She whispered back.

  “Have I told you how beautiful you are and how much I love you?” He finally felt like he could breathe again. The weight in his chest was gone.

  Dulcey smiled and nodded, then turned serious. Nate looked tired, his hair disheveled like he had run his hands through it over and over again. His cravat was missing. He looked haggard. The stubble of his beard shadowed his face. Something was amiss. “I think, I need to have a long talk with Simmons. You, my husband look like hell.”

  Nate chuckled. She was concerned about him, about how he looked. “That’s because I have been in hell these past two days. Simmons has tried, believe me, my love.”

  Dulcey looked puzzled. “Why?”

  “Do you remember anything? Anything of what happened at our wedding breakfast?”

  Dulcey nodded and looked away. Yes, she did remember. That memory is what had made her jerk her hand out of his.

  How did she tell him, his mother had tried to poison her? This was his mother. It was so clear. She saw Leta, his mother’s maid place two drops in her glass. She saw it as clear as if Leta did it right in front of her eyes. The champagne barely touched her lips when she saw the vision.

  “You saw who poisoned you?” asked Nate. He had to know, if she knew.

  Dulcey nodded. “Leta.” She looked to Nate for his reaction and found none. “You know?”

  Nate nodded. “Worth found out. She says Mother was not aware of her plans. Mother says she knew nothing of it. I tend to believe them. Why, I’m not sure.”

  “Did Leta say why?” Dulcey asked, curious. She had had no dealings with Leta. Why would she do this, if not for his mother’s sake?

  “Yes. Leta has been with my mother since mother was a young girl,” explained Nate. “She has always been devoted to my mother. I believe she has no family. Mother is everything to her.”

  Dulcey nodded her head in understanding.

  Nate continued. “Mother kept going on and on about you, how you were a witch. She even asked the servants about you because my mother asked her to. But none of them would tell her anything. So all she had to go on was what mother said. She hated seeing my mother in such distress. Mother mentioned on several occasions how everything would go back to normal, if you were to suddenly disappear. If you were no longer here, all could go back to normal. With you out of the way, she thought mother would have nothing to worry about again. It seemed, she became obsessed with the idea. Mother’s harping on the fact that you were a witch and all of us were going to burn because of it, frightened her. She feared Mother would burn. I’m afraid in her old age, she has become unbalanced. She believed you were a danger to us all. ”

  Dulcey sighed. She should have seen it. Actually, she had to a certain extent but she had not paid attention to it as she should have. The wedding, marrying Nate had been more important and all the good had overshadowed the bad.

  “What has happened to her?” Dulcey did not want her harmed, even though Leta had tried to kill her. She felt sorry for the poor woman. To be so devoted to a person such as the Countess, must have made for a miserable existence.

  Nate looked away for a moment, hesitant, but decided it was best to tell Dulcey the truth. “Mother was insistent. Worth and I decided to allow her to stay with mother. I informed Mother, I could no longer trust her or Leta. Mother and Leta have been banished to Northcutt Hall near the Scottish border. It is one of the properties that belong to Shefley name. She is to be as far away from all of us as I could possibly send her.

  Worth and I both thought this was the best solution for all involved. We did not want this information getting about, especially in London. I had to consider Abby, as well. I have left detail instructions that her behavior and Leta’s is to be monitored. I am to get monthly reports until further notice.”

  Nate looked at Dulcey for understanding. As much as he wanted to kill them both when he was first told, he knew he could not, after all this was his mother.

  “I hope you can understand why I did it this way?”

  Dulcey nodded. How could she not. It was an uncomfortable situation. “Nate, she is your mother. Yes, I understand. How is Abby with all of this?”

  Poor Abby, she thought. To be frightened by her collapse and then to have her grandmother sent away. Poor child must be so confused.

  Nate smiled. Her first concern
was with Abby. That was so like Dulcey.

  “Abby has been especially worried about you. She has escaped from Miss Franny several times over the last couple of days to come here to sit and talk to you. At first we tried to stop her, but Dr. Meade thought it would do you good to hear her voice. She will be most pleased to see you awake as will everyone about. We have all been worried.”

  “I will be glad to see Abby and reassure her that I am recovering. I’m certain she has missed our nightly stories.” She seemed to remember Abby’s voice and Nate’s calling her.

  “She has not once mentioned your stories, but she did give your moonstone necklace back to you, temporarily, till you woke up. She believed it would help the fairies find you and make you well,” replied Nate. No matter what Nate or Dr. Meade had told her, she had continually showed up at Dulcey’s side determined the fairies would come and make Dulcey well.

  Dulcey smiled. “She must have truly been frightened.”

  Nate brought her hand to his lips again. “Yes. So was I. I was so afraid I was going to lose you.” How did he explain to her, the terror that gripped his soul when he thought he had lost her? Now looking at her smiling face, everything had changed in that heartbeat.

  Dulcey smiled. She sensed his fear. “You were never going to lose me. I was here all this time.” She needed to reassure him, she was here. She had never left him, even though he may have thought she did.

  Nate wanted to tell her how worried he had been, how worried everyone had been but now that she was awake and talking, he could not bear to tell how serious it had been. Let her believe as she must.

  Dulcey continued, “While I was asleep, mother, father and Lord James came to visit with me. I stood with them at the edge of the bed, looking at me lying in the bed. They told me they loved me but I could not stay with them. I needed to come back to you.”