A Christmas Collection by Stella Cameron & Joan Hohl & Loretta Chase & Linda Lael Miller

Author:Stella Cameron & Joan Hohl & Loretta Chase & Linda Lael Miller [Cameron, Stella & Hohl, Joan & Chase, Loretta & Miller, Linda Lael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Anthologies, Historical Romance
ISBN: 9780380768332
Amazon: 038076833X
Barnesnoble: 038076833X
Goodreads: 699219
Publisher: Avon Books
Published: 1992-11-27T11:00:00+00:00

When Livy woke on Christmas morning, she found an angel on her pillow. It had golden hair and a tiny gold halo and silk wings and gold threads in its white silk robe. There was one just like it on Delia's pillow.

They gasped and exclaimed and laughed and hugged the angels. At last they noticed the two adults standing by the bed.

Then they noticed Mr. Greyson's hand, which was tightly clasping their mama's.

Twin blue gazes lifted questioningly to their mother. She quickly erased her smile.

"As you can see, I found him," she said.

"Oh, yes. Thank you, Mama," Delia said.

"Yes, thank you, Mama," Livy echoed.

Their voices were breathless.

"I thought I had better hold on, so he doesn't get lost again," Christina explained.

"Yes."

"Oh, yes."

"But I can't hold his hand forever," she went on. "And so I was thinking I might marry him."

Two eager nods.

"But then he would be your papa," she said dubiously, "and that might be rather a bother, you know. We should have to go live with him in his house, and give him kisses every single nightùmaybe sometimes even in the daytime. And sometimes I would have to let him tell the bedtime stories, and I am quite sure that now and then when we were naughty he would scold us."

Their gazes swung to Marcus.

"Well, I might," he said.

They looked at each other.

Christina heaved a sigh. "Perhaps we'd better not marry him," she said. "It will be a great deal of work."

They considered.

After a moment, Delia said, "I'll help you, Mama."

"Me, too," said Livy.

Marcus released Christina's hand to sit down upon the bed. "Are you quite sure?" he asked. "I would try my best not to be a terrible bother, but—"

"Oh, you won't be." Delia hastily crawled out from under the bedclothes to pat his arm reassuringly.

Livy quickly followed. "I'll help you be good," she said.

Marcus looked up at Christina. "Well, Mama?"

"He's very nice," Delia said, patting his head as though he were a puppy.

"He can teach us to cook," Livy pointed out. "And he sings funny songs."

"And he speaks French."

"And he can make the sled go very fast."

"And he has gold speckles in his eyes."

"And he came on the star."

Christina blinked. "He what?"

"On the star?" Marcus said, equally startled.

"You remember," Delia said as she crept onto his lap. "The clock chimed twelve times and the star fell. And you came."

"And I came," he said wonderingly.

Livy elbowed her sister onto one knee, and claimed the other. "The angels sent you on the star to be our papa," she explained.

His eyes met Christina's.

"I see," she said. "Angels. That explains everything. Well, he shall have to marry us, I suppose. I wouldn't dream of disappointing the angels."

At this the twins went into transports. They hugged him and kissed him and jumped up and down. Then they flung themselves off the bed to hug and kiss their mama and promise to help her take care of him. Then they grabbed their angels and rushed out to shriek the news to the household.

Christina called out a rebuke, which was completely ignored.