The Chocolatier's Wife (83 page)

“Who
is that?” Cecelia whispered.

“My aunt.
She and
those with her made this place.”

“They have
great magic,”
Cecelia said in
awe.
“Will
they stay long?”

“Traditionally
,
th
e
tow
n
onl
y
pay
s
fo
r
the
m
t
o
sta
y
unti
l
noon
,
whe
n
the
observance
s
ar
e
ove
r
an
d
the
y
chang
e
thi
s
plac
e
bac
k
a
littl
e
fo
r
th
e
f
ina
l
ball
.
M
y
aun
t
ma
y
sta
y
unti
l
m
y
wedding
,
bu
t
th
e
res
t
wil
l
probabl
y
mov
e
on.”

She
took
a
seat
next
to
Henriette,
Cecelia
on
the
end.
Henriette
glared
at
William,
who
accidentally
managed
to
get
himself
situated
behind
Tasmin. “Don’t
look
so,
Mother.
Father
stands
behind
you,
Andrew
behind
his
wife.
‘Tis only fitting
I take my place here.”

Cecelia
tugged
on
his
arm,
and
he
bent
over
to
hear
her
whisper
for
just his and Tasmin’s benefit,
“What will she complain about when you two are finally wed?”
He
laughed,
his
cheek
brushing
Tasmin’s
for
a
second
as
he straightened.

I
am
happy
,
she
thought
with
a
bit
of
amazement,
as
the
new
Bishop,
an earnest looking
young man,
rose and
went to the altar.

He had no
scrip,
no
book.
He gave everyone a
calm smile.

“I
am
Bishop
Augustine
Darrow, and
my
ship
settled
in
to
port
but
an hour
ago.
My
voyage,
like
the
voyage
of
any
life,
was
filled with
hardship. Toil
that
seemed
to
be
for
nothing;
pain,
and
suffering,
and
loss.
But
here
I
am,
exactly
where
I
am
supposed
to
be,
in
my
appointed
time.
Proof,
indeed, that
if
we
let
our
lives
be
dictated
by
the
Lord’s
will,
we
shall
find
ourselves precisely
where
we
should
be.
All
we
need
is
p
a
tience,
and
faith.
Now,
let
us pray the prayer that King Alistair
prayed on
the day of the Last
Battle.”

Tasmin
took
a
deep
breath
and
let
it
out
slowly,
forcing
her
mind
not
to wander,
but
to
concentrate
on
the
prescribed
words.
She
could
hear
the
low rumble
of
William’s
voice
behind
her.
Beside
her
Cecelia
spoke
softly.
The prayer
in
her
land
must
have
been
slightly
different,
for
she
stumbled
as
if trying
to
guess
the
words, so
that
Ta
s
min found
herself
praying
the
more slowly, so that her friend would be able to take cues from
her voice.

“It
was
darkness that
brought
me
here,”
the
young
Bishop
said,
“but
it will be light that helps me to remain.”

“Amen,”
Tasmin
said fervently, and
William
squeezed her shoulders.

It
did
not
take
them
long
to
return
home
after
that,
and
Tasmin
regretted it in
a
way,
for
they retired to the parlor
to all sit in
quiet contemplation.

“You are
welcome to join
us,” she said softly to Cecelia, “or
you can
use the
fact
you
aren’t
actually
a
relation
as
an
excuse
to
slip
away.
No
sense
in both of us being bored out of our
minds.”

“Do you mind?
It’s
not as if we can
talk.”

“I
think
you
should
retire
to
my
room
and
sew
something.
I
know
there must
be
some
mending
that
cannot wait
another
second,”
she
said
with
a smile, and
watched as Cecelia bowed and
quickly
left.

William
was
stripping
his
gloves
off
and
putting
them
on
the
table
next to
the
door.
Their
eyes
met
in
the
mirror, and
he
gave
her
a
comforting smile. Her reply was a
sigh as she went into the parlor.

The
only
seats
were
on
the
sofa
between
the
two
women,
a chair
by
the door,
or
a
rocking chair
by
the
window.
She
took
the
rocking chair,
even though it had no
pa
d
ding, with a
grateful heart.
There were two chairs
and the
sofa
arranged
around
the
fire,
and
the
other
men
had
taken
the
fireside seats.

William followed
her
in
and
settled
into
the
chair
by
the
door,
looking thoughtful.
They
all
let
the
silence
take
them
over,
the
room
filled
with
the bittersweet
scent
of
wood
smoke
and
the
crackle
of
the
fire.
She
wondered how
she
would
avoid
feeling
sleepy,
for
the
room,
while
not
precisely
toasty, was
warm
enough,
especially
in
the
cu
r
rent
outfit
she
wore,
and
she
felt
her head wanting to bob.

“In
the
North,
I
hear,”
William said,
“they
discuss
things
during
this time,
family
member
to
family
member,
so
that
contemplation
is
not
just
a self-centered
thing,
but
a
chance
to
bring
thoughts
and
worries
out
into
the open and
see others’ perspectives.”

“How
very
interesting.
Pity
we
are
not
in
the
North,”
Justin said
in
his raspy,
rarely
used voice.

There
was
a long
pause,
and
silence
settled
again.
Tasmin
thought
that Justin
had
succeeded
in
silencing
William, which
she
thought
was
rather sad.
Her thoughts went wandering again.