The Christmas Card: The perfect heartwarming novel for Christmas from the Sunday Times bestseller. Dilly Court
as long as she wants.’
‘If Alice leaves then I’ll go with her.’ Flora jumped to her feet. ‘Will I see you tomorrow, Uncle Rory? Are you coming to dinner?’
He nodded, smiling. ‘I am indeed. My landlady is the worst cook in London, and probably the worst cook in England, so I have to come here if I want a good meal.’
‘I’m glad,’ Flora said earnestly. ‘I mean, I’m not glad that she’s a bad cook, I’m just happy that you’ll be here on Christmas Day. I only wish that I could see my real mother and give her a present.’
Forgetting everything other than the child’s needs, Alice slipped her arm around Flora’s shoulders. She met Rory’s concerned look with a question in her eyes that she could not voice in Flora’s presence.
He nodded, seeming to understand. ‘I’m sure she was well compensated and now lives in a degree of comfort. She wanted the best for you, Flora.’
‘Will you take me to see her, please?’
‘Much as I’d love to make you happy, I’m not sure that would be the right thing to do. I can’t go against your father’s wishes.’
Flora stamped her foot. ‘He’s not my father. I want to know who my real father is, and I want to go and see my mother. If you don’t take me I’ll run away and I’ll find Blossom Street. That’s where she lives; Smithson said so.’
Alice laid her hand on Flora’s shoulder. ‘You can’t do that, my dear. She might not be there now and you would be all alone in a part of London you know nothing about.’ She turned to Rory. ‘You shouldn’t encourage her, sir.’
He nodded, frowning. ‘Yes, you’re right. What Miss Radcliffe says is true, Flora. But I’ll see if I can find out exactly where she is living. I can’t promise anything, but I might be able to arrange for us to visit her, if that would set your mind at rest.’
Flora’s eyes shone with excitement and she jumped up and down. ‘Yes, I want to see her more than anything in the world. I think it must be a lovely place where she lives with trees covered in pink blossom and the sun is always shining. Sometimes I see her in my dreams. She’s beautiful, like a golden angel.’
‘I think you’re old enough to learn the truth about your family,’ Rory said, frowning. ‘I’ll see what I can do, Floss, but I have to go now as I have an important business appointment. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
Alice followed him to the door. ‘You shouldn’t tell her things just to make her happy. This could end badly.’
He met her searching gaze with a hint of a smile. ‘I promise to do my best for everyone concerned. I wouldn’t hurt Flora for the world.’
Flora was tired after playing in the snow and needed little persuasion to go to bed that evening after supper. Alice helped her to wash and put on her flannel nightgown, and when Flora was comfortably settled she read her a story, but Flora was asleep before the tale ended. Alice put the guard around the fire and blew out the candles before leaving the room, and as she made her way downstairs she racked her brains in an attempt to think of a suitable present for Flora. She was still deep in thought when she reached the entrance hall where she met Rory, who was also about to leave the house.
‘I wasn’t expecting to see you, Mr Dearborn.’
‘My meeting finished early and I had to come this way to give my brother some papers. Is Flora behaving herself?’
Alice suppressed a gurgle of laughter. ‘She’s being an angel.’
Hoskins opened the front door, staring at a point somewhere above their heads with an impassive expression.
‘Good night, Hoskins,’ Rory said easily. He proffered his arm to Alice. ‘It’s starting to snow again. We could share a cab.’
The steps were coated in ice and Alice accepted his help. ‘Thank you, but I haven’t far to go.’
‘I believe you’re residing in Queen Square. It’s quite a long walk on a cold and wintry night.’
‘Alice. There you are. I’ve been waiting for a good half-hour.’
To Alice’s dismay Horace appeared as if from nowhere. Snowflakes sparkled on his top hat and the shoulders of his caped greatcoat.
‘I didn’t ask you to meet me,’ she said angrily. ‘I’m perfectly capable of finding my own way home.’
Horace uttered a whinnying snort. ‘Now, now, my dear, we’re about to become engaged, so I am in some way responsible for your safety.’
Rory’s expression gave nothing away as he released Alice’s hand. ‘May I be the first to congratulate you, sir?’
‘And who may you be?’ Horace demanded.
‘This is ridiculous.’ Alice looked from one to the other, shaking her head. ‘We do not have an understanding, Horace. That was my aunt’s idea and had nothing to do with me.’ She could feel the cold seeping through the worn soles of her boots and she shivered. ‘I thank both of you gentlemen, but I wish to be alone.’ She marched off, leaving them standing on the pavement.
‘Where is Horace?’ Jane stood in the dining-room doorway, hands clasped together as if in prayer. ‘He was told to meet you and bring you home.’
Angry words rose to her lips but Alice could see her mother standing behind Jane with an anxious look on her pale face. ‘I don’t need my hand held by him or anyone, and he seems to think that I’ve agreed to our engagement.’
‘You have no choice,’ Jane said coldly. ‘You obey me in this or I wash my hands of the pair of you. Horace needs a wife and you and your mother need a home.’
‘Have you no pity, Jane?’ Beth’s voice broke on a sob. ‘How can you be so hard-hearted?’
Jane turned on her in a swirl of black silk. ‘My heart was broken when my dear Robert departed this world. How dare you question my judgement? You ruined my brother with your spendthrift ways, and your daughter seems to take after you. She would be a fool to turn down an offer from a man like Horace.’ She pointed a shaking finger at Clara, who was standing by the open front door. ‘Close the door, Snippet, you foolish child.’
‘Yes, ma’am, but I think I see Mr Hubble walking through the snow.’ Clara clapped her hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle. ‘Oops. He’s come a purler.’
Jane strode across the floor to push Clara out of the way. ‘Horace Hubble, get up this instant and stop acting the fool.’ She waited until he had limped into the hall before slamming the door. ‘Just look at you, Horace. You’re plastered in snow.’
Alice covered her mouth with her hand, trying hard not to laugh.
Horace shot her a baleful look. ‘I suppose you think it’s funny, but I could have broken a limb.’
‘Well, you obviously didn’t,’ Jane said impatiently. ‘I gave you explicit instructions to wait for Alice and see her safely home, instead of which you act the fool, sliding around in the snow like a five-year-old. I despair of you sometimes, Horace.’ She turned on her heel and marched into the dining room. ‘And don’t think you can stay for dinner because you are not invited. Having two extra mouths to feed is an expense I could well do without, and you have an appetite like a horse.’
Alice felt almost sorry for Horace, who hung his head, looking sheepish. The tip of his nose had turned from red to blue and he was shivering convulsively. He clutched his top hat to his chest. ‘That’s rather harsh, Cousin. A drop of hot toddy would save me from catching a chill and it’s a long walk to West Smithfield.’
‘I do not hold with strong spirits, as you well know. A glass of sherry wine on special occasions is acceptable, as is communion wine, but strong drink is the work of the devil. Now go home and leave us to have our meal in peace.’
Horace