Biltmore Christmas Page 16

As Peggy followed, she enjoyed the comfortable, homey feel of the house. It reminded her of the orphanage, warm with Mama Elsie’s special touch. “I love your home,” she offered as they entered the kitchen. Thoughts of Christmas entered her mind again. Would the schoolteacher decorate it in greens? Would it smell of Christmas treats and pine like Mama Elsie’s did?

  Heat and the scent of ham-filled beans clung to the women.

  “Thank you, Peggy. Go ahead and sit at the table.” Emilia moved to the woodstove and began making coffee.

  Peggy stopped in the center of the room at the drop-leaf table. She set the basket in the center and removed the cover. Then she took her coat off, hung it over the chair back, and sat.

  Her gaze moved about the kitchen. It looked much like all the other kitchens in the area, but she did notice three fruit-and-vegetable prints hung on one wall. She pointed to the pictures. “Those are very pretty.”

  Emilia looked over her shoulder. “Those were painted by one of my past students. He worked on those for three years and then gave them to me for Christmas his last year of school.” She carried two steaming mugs to the table.

  Peggy joined her. She found that she liked the schoolteacher more than she’d planned. Perhaps together, they could help Joshua.

  Mark and Joshua drove up to the servants’ entrance. “You be on your best behavior, Joshua. It’s not often the outdoor staff gets to mingle with the house staff.”

  “I will. Miss Peggy said she’ll meet us here at eight thirty.”

  True to her word, Peggy stepped out of the door. She wore a blue calico dress. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at them.

  Joshua jumped from the wagon and hurried to her side. “Hi, Miss Peggy.”

  “Good evening, Joshua. Did you bring your books?” She folded her hands in front of her dress.

  “Sure did. They’re in the wagon. I’ll be right back.”

  Mark watched his son race back to the wagon. He grinned at Peggy. “Are you sure this will be all right?”

  She returned his smile, revealing even white teeth. “I’m sure. We have permission from the head housekeeper.”

  “Here they are!” Joshua held up the books.

  Mark climbed down and handed the reins to the stable hand, who stood beside the wagon.

  “This way then.” Peggy entered the house. She led them into a hallway. At the first door, Peggy turned and showed them into the servants’ sitting room.

  “Wow!” Joshua exclaimed in a loud voice as they entered the room.

  “Joshua.” Mark growled the boy’s name. He, too, was a little awestruck by the beauty of the room.

  “Sorry. That came out a little too loud.” Joshua continued to follow Peggy into the room. She sat at a small table and motioned for Joshua to join her.

  “You may sit in that chair, Mr. Ludman.” Peggy indicated a rocking chair off to the side.

  He made his way to the chair and sat. Two other women occupied the small room. They were sewing and chatting in low voices. It was a nice space, clean and furnished to allow the occupants’ comfort and activity. He noted a board game on a small table in one corner. A secretary graced another wall.

  His gaze moved over his son and Peggy. Their heads were together as they looked down at the book Peggy had chosen to read. Josh’s young voice stumbled, Peggy’s joined his, and Mark caught the smile she aimed at Josh.

  Her encouragement was just what the boy needed. He continued reading in a steady voice. Peggy’s head was at such an angle that her neck was exposed; soft curls rested against her creamy skin. His fingers twitched at the thought of touching her hair again.

  A giggle from the other side of the room drew his attention. The women looked down at their sewing, easily hiding their faces from his view. Had he been staring? Mark leaned his head against the chair’s back and closed his eyes.

  What was it about Peggy Bradford? She was pretty to look at. Her interest in his son was endearing. And her sweet voice sent a shiver down his spine.

  His thoughts turned to the feelings he’d experienced when he’d courted Joshua’s mother more than a decade ago. Molly had been the daughter of their next-door neighbor. They’d been friends since childhood, and it had been expected that they should marry. He loved her in a different way than he loved Peggy.

  Mark’s eyes popped wide open. Who said anything about loving Peggy?

  CHRISTMAS CUT-OUT SUGAR COOKIES

  Ingredients:

  ⅔ cup sugar

  ⅔ cup lard

  2 slightly beaten eggs

  2 cups flour

  ½ teaspoon salt

  1½ teaspoons baking powder

  Instructions:

  Mix all ingredients together until mixture forms a ball. Place dough in covered bowl. Refrigerate four hours or overnight. Next day, on floured board, roll out to about ¼-inch thickness. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters of your choice. Bake until edges just start to brown.

  Chapter 6

  MOLASSES CANDY

  Peggy pulled her prettiest churchgoing dress over her head and quickly buttoned up the front. Mark would be there any moment to take her into Asheville. She couldn’t believe it had been two weeks since she’d started her lessons with Josh in the sitting room. The brush flashed through her hair. Excitement crackled within her body much like the static electricity between the brush and hair.

  Mark and Josh had become a big part of her life at Biltmore. Every day Joshua gained more confidence in his ability to read, and she had made a friend for life in the young boy. Her heart skipped as she thought of Mark. He’d been a constant companion with his son each evening. His dark-brown eyes warmed to sweet chocolate every time she caught him gazing at her. The ready smile on his lips brought joy to her life. Thoughts of spending a lifetime with the two of them had entered her mind more than once during the last two weeks.

  A soft knock at the door pulled her from her musings. She quickly slipped the last pin into her hair. Peggy pulled her sweater on as she walked across the room.

  A kitchen maid smiled at her when she opened the door. “Mr. Ludman is waiting for you at the back entrance, Peggy.”

  “Thank you, Sylvia.” She took her pocketbook down from the nearby hook and closed the door behind her. “We’re going into Asheville this afternoon. Can I get anything for you?” She expected her chocolate-loving friend to ask for a box of chocolates.

  “No thanks. I’m going tomorrow.” Sylvia walked with her toward the kitchens. “Chef McConnell said not to forget the boxes of molasses candy. He’s excited that you made some for his mother, too.”

  “I was happy to make it for him. Chef McConnell really is a good man, and his mother is a friend of Mama Elsie’s, so I’ll leave them with Mama Elsie, and she’ll get them to his mother.” Peggy knew she chattered unnecessarily but felt nervous.

  “That’s nice. Have a good time.” Sylvia waved and continued on to the main kitchen.

  Peggy headed for the housekeeper’s pantry, where she’d left the candy. She lifted the top box off and left it for the housekeeper with a note thanking her for allowing her to teach Josh in the servants’ sitting room. Peggy hurried to the door. Just before exiting, she stopped, took a deep breath, and straightened the lightweight jacket she wore over her best dress. She stepped across the threshold and offered what she hoped was her best smile.

  “You look lovely,” Mark said as he took the candy. He placed it in a wooden box under the seat and then helped her up into the wagon.

  “Thank you, Mr. Ludman.” She sat and smoothed her skirt. “Are we picking Joshua up on our way to town?”

  Mark pulled himself up onto the seat. The wagon swayed. “No. I hope you don’t mind, but he and my father-in-law had some extra things they wanted to do today. So it will just be the two of us. And since no one else is around, can you please call me Mark?”

  She felt the flush fill her face. A full day with Mark. Alone. “I don’t mind, and I suppose I can.”

  As the wagon rolled alon
g, Peggy searched for something to say. She’d counted on Joshua to make things light and merry. A cool breeze tugged at her hair.

  “While you visit with your family, I need to do a little Christmas shopping. I know it’s early, but I may not make it back into Asheville and want to get Joshua at least one store-bought gift.” Mark smiled in her direction. “I can’t believe there are only ten more days until Thanksgiving.”

  Peggy surprised herself by saying. “I know what you mean. Mark, if you don’t mind my coming along, I’d like to do a little Christmas shopping myself.” She’d planned to go, anyway. “The kitchen staff has been talking and planning for the holidays, and my understanding is that the closer they get, the less amount of time we’ll have to ourselves.” Peggy tucked her hands in her skirt.

  “Good. I could use some help, if you have the time.” Mark held the reins in his hand with ease.

  “I’ll try. What kind of help do you need?” She turned sideways on the seat to face him.

  “Help with Christmas. I’ve never been very good at it. Molly always took care of those things, but since her death, I’m afraid I haven’t done a very good job of it.” He glanced over at her once more before turning his attention on the horses.

  “Molly was your wife?”

  The muscle in his scarred jaw tightened. “Yes, she was.”

  Maybe she shouldn’t have asked. “I’m sorry.”

  “No, I brought her up. Molly’s been gone five years. You have nothing to be sorry for. We were best friends since childhood. I loved her very much.”

  Something in the way he said Molly’s name brought out an emotion that Peggy had never felt before. She looked down at her hands. Was she jealous of his wife? Heat filled her cheeks. Maybe it was too soon to be on a first-name basis with Mark, after all. He still loved his wife. Even though Peggy knew she’d fallen in love with him, she’d not be second to any woman. Dead or alive.

  “Enough about that. Can you think of something Joshua would like for Christmas?” His brown gaze drifted across her face before returning to the road.

  They ate lunch at a small diner, Mark’s treat to Peggy for helping him shop for Joshua. Thanks to her, Christmas morning Josh would find a small tin toy, a boy on a sled. When Josh turned the key, it would roll across the floor. The perfect gift for a ten-year-old. He also had marbles and a slingshot to add to his small mountain of gifts.

  Peggy had done some shopping, too. Her bags were a little heavier than his, but he didn’t mind carrying them asshe looked inside the windows and oohed and aahed over the many items on display. Since he’d talked about his wife, she’d been a little less friendly, but he had only himself to blame for that. Five years of marriage had taught him a few things, like how to read the signs of a woman trying to keep her distance.

  While she’d visited with her family, he’d done a little shopping on his own. His mind had worked on how he felt about Peggy. He’d have to assure her that his love for Molly would never die, but that there was room in his life for a new wife. They’d only known each other a few weeks, but Mark knew he loved her very much. And he planned on telling her so, when the time was right.

  He arrived to pick her up and watched as she waved good-bye to Mama Elsie and her youngest sister Melissa. “I had a great day, Mr. Ludman. This has been fun.”

  There it was again. She’d started calling him Mr. Ludman again. Why had he mentioned Molly today? Lord, help me to find a way to explain to her that my love for Molly is different than this new love I have for her. “For me as well.”

  He pulled the wagon to a stop in front of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. He felt Peggy’s curious gaze upon him as he studied the triangular windows of the church. “Have you ever seen this church?” Mark asked, knowing she probably had.

  “Yes, I have. Why do you ask?”

  “I just wondered.” He continued to study the building as he tried to figure out how to say what he wanted to. “Do you know if it replaced another church in this spot?”

  From the corner of his eye he saw her study the church. “No, I don’t believe it did.” A smile graced her beautiful features. “I love the stained glass windows. They are simple and beautiful.”

  He looked fully at her. Like the church, Peggy was simple and yet very beautiful. “Me, too.”

  She twisted the fabric of her dress and began speaking fast. “They consecrated the church on July ninth of this year. I didn’t attend the service, but I understand it was wonderful. Did you attend?”

  Mark took her hands within his own. Her wide eyes stared at him as a soft pink filled her wind-kissed cheeks. “No, that was a few months before I met you. We’d just moved here.”

  “Oh I see.” She looked down at their clasped hands. He looked at them also. Hers were small within his. Mark rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand. It felt soft. Then he turned them over and looked at her palms. “You know, I think there are people who attend this church who went to another at a different time. What do you think?” He raised his eyes and saw her quick nod.

  “I really don’t understand this conversation, Mr. Ludman.” Peggy tugged at her hands.

  Mark smiled and released her hands. He scooted closer to her on the seat. “I’m not sure how to explain it, so I’m using the church as a reference.”

  “Explain what?” Peggy’s light-blue eyes looked up into his.

  His heart rate picked up. “That I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  She scooted away. “That can’t be possible. Just this morning you were telling me you loved your wife.”

  This was it, the moment of truth. He had to make her understand. “I did, very much. But Molly has moved on to heaven, and I’m still here. She would want me to go on with my life, find a new love. A different love.” Mark reached out and touched a soft curl that had escaped the confines of the style she’d placed it in earlier in the day.

  “Mark, I can’t be second to Molly.”

  He released the curl and slid his palm along her soft jaw. “I’m not asking you to, Peggy.” He felt her cheek press into his hand ever so slightly. “Molly and I had a different kind of love than what I’m feeling for you.”

  “I don’t understand.” She pulled her face away.

  Mark looked back to the church. Lord, please help me. “This church is new, much like our relationship.” He turned back to her, and she nodded that she understood. “The people who attend it now attended another church at another time. This church is new, different, and they love it. They might still miss their old church but know that they can’t or won’t return to it.”

  Her gaze now rested on the new building. “So now they are dedicated to this church? Is that what you are trying to tell me? That you loved Molly, but you can’t go back to her, and so you are looking for a new relationship?” Confusion and understanding battled within her voice.

  “Yes, you are the first woman I have met in five years who makes me want to dedicate my life to her.” His voice came out a whisper. His heart beat in his chest like the wings of a bee. God, please let her understand what I’m trying to say.

  Peggy looked back at him. “I need time to think about this, Mark.”

  He picked up the reins and turned the horses toward the Biltmore mansion. “I will give you the time you need, Peggy. Because I believe God has brought us together.” Mark looked up to the sky that reflected the blue in Peggy’s eyes and prayed it was so.

  MOLASSES CANDY

  Ingredients:

  1 quart molasses, maple is best

  1 teaspoon soda Buttered pans Roasted corn, optional

  Peanuts, optional

  Walnuts, optional

  Almonds, optional

  Hazelnuts, optional

  Instructions:

  Take one quart of molasses; boil until crisp when put in water; then stir in one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little warm water; stir until well mixed. Pour into buttered pans. Pull part until white and make into sticks. In the remainder put roasted
corn, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts.

  Chapter 7

  GINGERBREAD

  Mark hauled a bale of hay into the cow’s pen and cut the straw binding that held it together. He sighed. Two days had passed since he and Peggy had returned from town. Had he scared her off with his talk of falling in love?

  He inhaled the sweet fragrance of hay and feed. Maybe he should have waited? Mark stomped to the barn and sat on the bench beside the open doorway. Why couldn’t he have just kept his mouth shut?

  “Hi, Papa. What are you doing out here?” Joshua sat beside him on the bench.

  Mark grinned at his son. “Taking a break.”

  “Break from what?”

  He laughed. “Work, son. I am working.”

  Joshua shook his head. “I know you are working, but what are you working on?”

  He dropped an arm around his son’s shoulders. “Feeding cows at the moment. Want to help?”

  A look entered Joshua’s eyes, and a smile spread across his face. “Sure.” He jumped to his feet. “What do I need to do?”

  It dawned on Mark that he didn’t involve Joshua enough in his everyday life. “First, we’ll find you a pair of gloves. Then I’ll show you where to get the hay and which cow pens we still need to do. Still want to help?”

  “Yep.”

  Mark stood and stretched. If Peggy didn’t come around, he’d still have Joshua and his father-in-law. He almost laughed. A far cry from a woman and companion for life, but still nice to know he had loved ones he cared about and who cared about him.

  As they loaded the hay wagon, Mark and Joshua talked. Mark learned Joshua was doing much better in school now, and he knew it had to do with Peggy and her encouragement. His son talked about books. He had found a Farmers’ Almanac and told his father he’d like to try his hand at farming. Mark had to admit that he felt the same. Maybe they’d look into buying a small piece of land in the spring.

  “Papa, what do you think of Miss Peggy?” Joshua cut the line on the bale of hay Mark had just dropped into the pen.