All was dark and peaceful, the stillness of the night hovering gently in Rosalind's room. She was on the verge of falling to sleep when-
"Rosalind," Skye whispered, "I need some advice." With a sigh, Rosalind gestured for Skye to come in. Tiptoeing across the cold floorboards, Skye slid under the covers.
"What is it?" Rosalind prepared for a rant about Pearson's latest attempts to get Skye to go out with him or complaints about Jane's stuff slowly taking over her side of their room.
"Remember last summer, at Point Moette? When Jeffrey and I went to see the moose?" Rosalind nodded, remembering times in New Jersey with Anna. She had heard about Jeffrey waking her up to see some moose, but just a general idea.
"I didn't want to tell Jane; she'd just tease me and probably write some stupid poem about it. But Jeffrey said something about wondering if we'd ever get married." Skye flushed and stuffed her face into Rosalind's pillow.
"To each other? Good grief." Rosalind smothered a laugh, picturing Jeffrey and Skye together. It wasn't actually that bad, she thought.
"That's what I said. And now I get a fluttery feeling thinking about that moment. What does it mean?" Skye's voice was muffled by the pillow, but Rosalind could easily understand. That fluttery feeling rose up inside her every time she thought about Tommy. She couldn't say it was love, though; Skye would…well, she wasn't quite sure what Skye would do.
"Don't worry about it; just enjoy yourself when we go to visit Jeffrey at Birches tomorrow. For now, though, just concentrate on getting some sleep. We've got a long drive to Moette." Rosalind pulled up the covers just in time to get some before Skye hogged them all. The soft sounds of sleep were soon heard from Skye's side of the bed.
Rosy went over all she knew about Birches. Hoover, she'd heard from Skye, was something to watch out for. Batty would introduce them, she knew. Animals seemed to gravitate toward Batty, Hound never leaving her side.
Another creak came from the doorway. It was Jane, notebook and pen in hand, brow furrowed. "Rosy, I need some help. It's for-"
"Sabrina Starr, and you want some answers to questions. Come on in." Rosy sighed; it didn't look like she'd be getting any sleep tonight. Jane had been pestering with constant questions about boyfriends, how you know you're in love, and whether or not love at first sight was real. Mentally preparing herself for a barrage of questions, Rosalind scooted over in the bed to make room for Jane.
"Actually, it's about Skye and Jeffrey. Have you seen the way he looks at her? It's almost like when he's playing the piano or talking about music. His eyes get so animated with a gorgeous light, straight from the heart. Could this be love?" Jane sighed dramatically, eyes wide, a broad smile. This would be perfect research for her next Sabrina Starr novel. But first she had to have a plan.
Slightly surprised, Rosalind took a moment before answering. Yes, it was a question about love, but not quite what she was expecting.
"Umm…I haven't as I wasn't at Birches. But Jane, if it is, just leave it alone. Skye and Jeffrey will come together on their own, and I'm sure meddling from you, despite good intentions, is a bad idea. And, you need sleep. Like I told Skye, it's a long drive to Moette." Jane nodded seriously, with absolutely no intention of sleeping at all. She was furiously scribbling in her blue notebook, hand flying across the page. Soon, however, her eyelids began to droop and Jane reluctantly put away her notebook and settled in.
Maybe I will get some sleep around here tonight, thought Rosalind. I only have one more sister, and she is thankfully asleep. She closed her eyes and quickly opened them again at the sound of a whisper on her doorstep.
"Shush, Hound. We're on a secret mission and spies are silent." Batty appeared in the doorway followed by Hound as she entered the room. They both leapt onto the bed.
"What do you need, Batty?" asked Rosalind tiredly.
Batty's head drooped. Whispering, she said, "I guess I'm not that good of a secret agent. But I wanted to ask you about Jeffrey."
"You're a good secret agent; I was kind of expecting you to come anyway Batty. Please tell me your question doesn't have to do with love." Sister though she was, Rosalind couldn't take much more questions about love. Jane was exhausting the subject after reading Pride and Prejudice.
"Not unless you count music love. Do you think Jeffrey will let me play piano with him? Do think this year I'll get my own?" Batty gazed up at Rosalind, eyes innocent.
With a slight smile, Rosalind made more room in her bed (though there wasn't much left) for Batty and hugged her.
"Yes," she whispered into her hair, "Jeffrey will love to play piano with you. You both are fantastic musicians and I know he's glad that he has at least one Penderwick to talk music with."
Satisfied, Batty nestled into the covers and soon was lightly snoring. Rosalind looked at the door, smiling in relief that this was the last of midnight interruptions. Maybe now she'd get some sleep. Drifting off, she didn't notice Mr. Penderwick as he peeked in the door, smiling at the sight of all four girls together, sisters forever. They would always have each other.