Greetings readers! Long time no see! Things have finally begun to settle down on campus, so here, for your enjoyment, is the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Haunted Mansion.
XXXXX
"Do you really think Emma will go for it?" Jamie asked.
She and Aggie ran just behind me as we hurried down the long, narrow hallway towards the kitchen, where I suspected – or at least hoped – that things were beginning to settle down.
"It doesn't matter if she does, as long as my father says yes. He'll be able to talk her into it." I called over my shoulder.
"And if he says no?"
"Oh, don't be silly, Jamie!" Aggie chided.
As we turned the corner, raucous laughter reached our ears, and I could see two groomsmen stumble out of the kitchen doorway a few feet down, assuring me that though the party we'd deserted was rapidly approaching its end, the evening's festivities were far from over.
"Oo, I'll bet Emma is just loving that." Jamie muttered as we watched several other servants emerge after them, all talking and laughing much too loudly to be sober.
They hardly paid us any mind as we came towards them, and though our large skirts made the task quite perilous, we were able to push our way through the small entourage to stagger rather ungracefully into the room beyond.
The kitchen was one of the largest rooms in the manor - with its high ceilings and enormous, roaring fireplace – and as such, it made the mess that we walked into seem much worse than it possibly was. The floor was covered in a thin layer of flour and sugar, looking appropriately as though a light snow had just occurred, and the long table which occupied the room was filled with a mix of empty trays, half-filled wine glasses, and mixing bowls that were thoroughly coated with batter. It would surely take hours to clean this mess up, maybe even days. This made it all the more surprising to find my father now sitting alone at the table, leaning calmly back in his chair with his feet propped up and contentedly puffing away on a pipe. His eyebrows raised curiously as we entered.
"What? Finished with Christmas already?" He queried, removing the pipe from his mouth.
"Well, the ball wasn't quite what we hoped it would be." I explained.
Though I meant to speak lightly about what had occurred, father's eyes lit up in alarm and he sat a little straighter in his chair.
"Nobody hurt ye, did they?" He quickly inquired.
I opened my mouth to answer, but Aggie beat me to it.
"There were these two horrible old women who called her a half-breed, but Jamie and I showed them good- didn't we, Jamie?"
"Aggie!" I hissed at her, stomping on her foot.
"Ouch!" She yelped, glaring at me indignantly. "Well, we did!"
I didn't bother to scold her any further. Instead, I looked anxiously back at my father and my stomach clenched at the guilt that was splayed across his features - the exact reason I hadn't planned to tell him about the confrontation.
"Father, I'm alright. Really." I tried to assure him.
My words seemed to give him little comfort, though, for he gave a heavy sigh, letting his feet fall to the floor and setting his pipe aside.
"I had hoped that the holiday spirit might prevent ye from havin' to face that kind of ugliness tonight. I'm sorry, my darlin'. I should've warned ye further." He grimaced, suddenly looking very weary.
"It was nothing." I insisted vehemently, coming to his side and kneeling down next to him. "Just a pair of old crones with nothing better to do than cause trouble. It wasn't your fault, father, please don't look at me like that. It makes you look old."
His eyes twinkled at my bluntness, and the tiny smirk that crossed his lips allowed me to relax as he gave my cheek a soft pat.
"I hope ye girls gave 'em hell." He joked half-heartedly.
"Oh, we did!" Aggie joined in eagerly, rushing around to his other side. "You should've seen Jamie! She practically threw them out of the party!"
"Is that so?" My father smiled, turning his head towards where Jamie now stood staring at her feet by the doorway, her cheeks both red in embarrassment.
"They were being rude, and so I told them to leave." She shrugged.
"Is that how I came to be in the pleasure of your company, then?" Father asked.
"Oh, no! We were going to go back to our room, but then Lizzie came up with a wonderful idea!" Aggie chirped excitedly.
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, I perked up, suddenly remembering why I'd brought us here in the first place.
"Father, where is Emma?"
As if on cue, the door on the other side of the room swung open and Emma bumbled inside, her arms full with empty trays, which she deposited unceremoniously on the table in front of father with a loud clang.
"Thank heavens the night is almost over." She gasped exhaustedly. "It'll be months before I can even think about cookies again."
"That's alright. It'll be months before we can eat them, too." Aggie nodded.
Emma's head turned towards us, and for a moment she stared at us blankly, as though trying to comprehend the sight of the three of us standing in the kitchen still dressed in all our finery. And then:
"What on earth are you three doing here?" She exclaimed. "Oh, god, there's flour everywhere! Get those dresses up off the ground!"
She rushed over to us and grabbed ahold my skirts, hoisting them up and shoving the fabric into my arms, then doing the same to Aggie, much to all of our amusement.
"Go on, out with you!" She urged us, running over to Jamie and trying to push her out the doorway.
"Emma!" I called to her.
I let my skirts fall and swiftly walked forward to grab hold of her arm.
"We have something we'd like to ask you." I told her.
"Out into the hallway, then we'll talk." She ordered firmly.
"Emma…" Aggie groaned.
"Out!"
Knowing there was no use in arguing, the three of us begrudgingly but swiftly made our way out into the hall, driven by our eagerness to explain the plan before the night had passed us by. As soon as we were all out the doorway, I turned back to Emma with my hands clasped together pleadingly.
"Now may we tell you?" I implored her.
She gave a satisfactory nod.
"Yes." She said. "Now you may tell me."
"Could we have a party, Emma?"
I blurted the question out without hesitation. Emma's eyebrows shot up to her forehead and a stunned look came over her face as she stared at us for several long moments, obviously trying to determine if we were joking or not. When she realized we were all gazing up at her quite earnestly, she let out a disbelieving laugh.
"And what, may I ask, have you been doing all evening?" She asked us.
Jamie shook her head dismissively.
"No, no, not like that! We want to have our own private party – for all of us." She tried to elaborate.
Of course, this only seemed to confuse our companion even further.
"What do you mean by that?" Emma's head tilted in bafflement.
"Oh, you know!" Aggie prompted her. "All of us! You, and Ezra, and William! Tell her, Lizzie!"
She nudged me a little too roughly in the side and I shot her a sharp look before turning back to Emma and stepping forward to explain the thoughts that had occurred to me as the three of us were sitting on the grand staircase.
"Well, you see…while we were at the ball, there were some not so friendly people there…and they said some things that made us think it would be better if we just left. But then, I thought…that is…what I mean to say is that it is still Christmas Eve, and…well…what with the ball winding down and everything…I thought that maybe the six of us could celebrate our own Christmas together. After all, there's still plenty of food left, and all it would take is a few decorations." I reasoned.
"We could use one of the parlor rooms!" Aggie chimed in.
"Please, Emma?" Jamie begged. "It's Christmas!"
Said woman looked between the three of us with her lips pursed in hesitation, and I felt my spirits droop as she let out a regretful sigh and began to shake her head.
"I'm sorry, girls." She apologized. "There's just too much work to be done. The kitchen will be a disaster tomorrow if I don't get it cleaned tonight!"
"Ah, lighten up, Emma!"
I stood up on my tiptoes to peek over Emma's shoulders and smiled when I saw my father leaning against the doorframe behind her, coming to our rescue just as I knew he would.
"What, do you want to clean all of that up?" Emma frowned, turning to him with her hands on her hips.
The corners of his eyes crinkled as he let out a loud chuckle, stepping forward and placing his hands on her shoulders.
"The girls are right, Emma. Christmas only comes around once a year, and it's a time to spend with family, not with dirty dishes."
"But the kitchen-!"
"Will still be here tomorrow mornin'. Besides, if ye ask him nicely, I'm sure St. Nicholas will gladly send ye some extra hands." He promised her with a smile.
For one very long moment, she simply stared at him, and I worried that perhaps my brilliant plan wasn't so brilliant after all. But then the corner of her lips slowly turned upwards.
"You'd better make good on that, or you will find yourself with a lump of coal for breakfast." She threatened, though her tone was light and teasing.
Relieved smiles broke out on all of our faces.
"Yay!" Aggie, Jamie and I all cheered, running forward and throwing our arms around her, and nearly stumbling over in the process.
"Oh!" A surprised squeak slipped out of Emma's mouth as we struggled to catch our balance. "Alright, alright girls! Let's put our focus on the task at hand! Now, are we having a party or not?"
XXXXX
The parlor room was decorated with everything that we could get our hands on in fifteen minutes, from the ribbons Jamie and I swiped from the bannisters, to the pillows that Aggie had carried down from our bedrooms. It may have looked tacky to the outside eye, but for our purposes, it was absolutely perfect. The three of us sat lounging on said pillows now, while Emma looked for Ezra and father messed about in the kitchen on a "secret project".
"Lizzie?"
I raised my head to look over at Aggie, who was lying on her stomach with an unusually somber expression on her face.
"What is it, Aggie?" I asked, brow furrowing in worry.
"Why didn't you want us to tell your father about what happened?"
Ah.
That lowered the mood a bit.
I sat up a little more on the pillows, biting my lip as I contemplated the best way to approach this particular subject.
"…Because my father has already had enough troubles to last a lifetime." I answered quietly. "The last thing I want is for him to think he has to worry about me too."
A long moment of silence followed my words, and though it was not entirely uncomfortable, there was a new heaviness in the air that made me wish Aggie wasn't always so insistent on knowing everything.
"You mean your mother…right?"
This time, the question came from Jamie, and I turned my head look at her in surprise. Her face reddened sheepishly.
"I didn't mean to be so forward, it's just…you mentioned other troubles and I just assumed…" She trailed off.
"It's alright, Jamie." I gave her a reassuring smile, though my mind was rapidly turning.
I was all too aware that I was throwing opening a door I'd barely been brave enough to crack in six years…but if there was a time and a place I was going to do it, then why not here? On Christmas Eve with my two dearest friends in the world? If I didn't do it now, God only knows when I would be able to find the strength to do it again. And so, with a soft sigh, I continued.
"You both know that my mother was a slave."
They nodded.
"That was how she and my father met, of course. She worked in the house of my great uncle, Mr. Conall Henshaw, and my father's family were frequent visitors there. Anyways, my father says that he liked my mother from the very start. He used to sneak around the house and talk to her while she did her work, and…after a while…they realized that they had feelings for each other. But they didn't think anything could come of it. You see, my father's family were very loving towards him, but towards slaves…they were some of the most vicious owners in all of Arkansas. My father says he once saw a man whipped within an inch of his life for talking too loudly to the overseer."
"Oh, that's awful!" Aggie cried out. "Why, if Jamie and I were whipped every time we talked too loudly, we'd be dead by now!"
My lips gave a small twitch at her revelation.
"Well, to get to the point, there was very little chance that my father would be permitted to marry her. But they cared too deeply for each other to break it off. So the only thing left to do was run."
Jamie and Aggie both gasped.
"They ran away together! Oh, how romantic!" Jamie swooned, flopping down onto the pillows and raising a hand to her forehead dramatically.
"What happened then?" Aggie urged me to go on.
"They escaped to Illinois on the Underground Railroad. People were more accepting of their relationship there, but they thought, for their own safety, that it would be better to avoid most company. All the money they had was used to buy some land out in the country, and the house they built there is where I was born." I finished my tale.
"How old were you when your mother died?"
My heart leapt to my throat as Jamie asked the question I'd been hoping to avoid at all cost. I closed my eyes as vague memories pushed themselves towards the front of my mind, bringing me back to one of the darkest times I could remember. When I spoke again, my voice was shaking.
"…I was five. My father and I both knew she'd been sick for a while, but then, out of the blue, she took a turn for the worse. She started coughing up blood. I wasn't even allowed to see her. The doctor gave her a week to live, and…she died three days later. I've never seen my father look so miserable. If it wasn't for me, I think he might have followed her."
Both of the twins were silent.
"My father was willing to give up everything for my mother and me. That's why I do everything I can to make sure that he doesn't have to worry so much. I can't let him carry my burdens when he has so many of his own." I explained.
"…We understand, Lizzie." Jamie spoke gently, as if worried that saying the wrong thing might break me.
"I don't hear any festivities goin' on in here!"
The dark spell that had settled over the room suddenly broke as my father pushed through the door carrying a tray with six steaming mugs, and wearing an old top hat with a Christmas wreath around the rim. Jamie, Aggie, and I shared a quick glance – silently agreeing to push aside the previous conversation – and leapt up to our feet, eagerly running up to take three of the mugs from him and allowing relaxed smiles to appear on our lips.
"It wouldn't be Christmas without some of Emma's famous hot chocolate, now would it?" Father grinned.
"Since when do you know how to cook?" I asked him cheekily.
"Since when did ye start gettin' so smart?" He retorted, setting the tray down on a side table and pinching my arm.
As I let out a yelp and squirmed out of his reach, the door opened once again and Emma entered the parlor, dragging along Ezra right behind her.
"Look who I found!" She sang out.
"Ezra!" Jamie, Aggie, and I exclaimed gleefully.
"Yes, yes, you got me here!" He smiled wryly. "But only for a little while. All the guests will be leaving soon, and you haven't seen anarchy until you've tried to get almost two hundred drunk socialites back into 30 or 40 different carriages."
"Ah, never mind that, now." Father patted him on the back. "I say it's time we start things off with a little music! Ezra, would you do the honors?"
"That's what I'm here for, isn't it?" He joked.
He made his way over to the piano near the far wall and as he took a seat at the keys, and Aggie and Jamie wasted no time in dashing up – wide-eyed and rosy-cheeked - beside him.
"Jingle Bells, Ezra! Play Jingle Bells!" Jamie pleaded.
"Well, by all means, your wish is my command." He remarked amusedly. "On my count everyone."
I hurried forward to take my place next to the girls at the piano with Emma and father following close behind – the latter of which smiled down at me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder with a gentle squeeze.
"One, two, three, and-!"
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh, hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
We're dashing through the snow
In a one-horse open sleigh
O'er the fields we go
Laughing all the way!
"Ha, ha, ha!" My father's booming laugh echoed through the room.
Bells on bob-tail ring
Making spirits bright
Oh what fun it is to sing
A sleighing song tonight!
Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh, hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh!
A day or two ago
I thought I'd take a ride
And soon Miss Fanny Bright
Was seated by my side;
The horse was lean and lank
Misfortune seemed his lot,
We got into a drifted bank
And then we got upsot!
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh, hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh!
"Hey!"
We all cheered and clapped as Ezra finished the last notes of the song with a flourish.
"Thank you, thank you." He grinned cheerfully. "Any requests from the party?"
"What about 'Joy to the World'? That's a festive one!" Emma suggested, placing her hands on her husband's shoulders.
"That it is, my dear." He smiled affectionately up at her. "Shall we, then?"
His fingers struck up the first few chords, and the girls and I began to bounce on our toes to the rhythm.
Joy to the world!
The lord is come!
Let earth receive her king!
Let every heart prepare him room!
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and heaven and nature sing!
As I opened my mouth to continue the next verse with the others, father suddenly turned to me and took my hands in his, pulling me away from the piano to twirl me endlessly about the room. Laughter burst from my lips, and I'd soon forgotten about the lyrics entirely. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the twins take hands and begin to spin each other around, and just like that, the four of us were dancing around the room, giggling and squealing so loudly that we could hardly even hear the music we were supposed to be moving too – though Ezra hardly seemed to mind as long as Emma's arms were around his neck.
As my father continued to twirl me around and around, my head began to spin just as fast, and I was caught off guard when he let go of one of my hands to spin me out. My momentum caused my other hand to slip out of his, and for a brief second, there was a feeling of flying through space, with no sense of direction or idea where I was headed. The answer came rather quickly.
"Oh!"
I finally felt myself hit something firm, but soft, which gave way slightly as I stumbled into it. My hands reached out to prevent me from slipping down onto the floor in my dazed state, and when they grasped onto the fabric of a waistcoat, I automatically assumed that my father had managed to catch me, and allowed myself to press my cheek against his chest as I tried to get my bearings.
But then another possibility came to mind.
This…this is my father, isn't it?
As soon as the thought hit me, my grip immediately loosened on the jacket I was clutching, and I could feel my heart begin to speed up a little. Very slowly, I let my hand trail up to the shoulder of whoever had caught me and then down his arm.
…I know this shape.
Letting my hands be my eyes, I boldly raised my fingers up to brush against the figure's neck, and when I felt soft strands of thick hair, my breathing dramatically sped up. I knew exactly who it was.
Without a moment's hesitation, I lifted my head to meet a pair of familiar, dark eyes.
"Edward." I whispered.
The expression on his face was foreboding, to say the least. His usually warm and soft features were pale and hard, as though he'd been sent to deliver some terrible piece of news…and as I spoke his name, his eyes were filled with pain. It frightened me.
"Edward, what's-"
"Elizabeth, I need to talk to you. Alone."
Even the strength of his voice had been taken from him.
I looked back over my shoulder to see that while the others were still occupied by the dance, my father was watching us carefully, and when I caught his eye, he gave me an understanding nod.
With a mind full of fear and dread in my veins, I turned back to Edward, who took my hand in his and led us hastily from the room.
XXXXX
I tried to keep the panic that was welling up inside me at bay as Edward pulled me along through the ballroom, which was now empty save for a few stragglers that were either lying unconscious in the corners or making their way lazily towards the guest rooms. My skirts flew in a tangled mess around my legs as I struggled to keep up with his determined stride, and as he led us out into the armor hallway, I was sure that his hand in mine was the only thing saving me from falling flat on my face.
"Edward." I was barely able to gasp out. "Please, what's wrong?"
He didn't answer me.
Instead, he dragged me with him to the staircase and we began our ascent back up into the heart of the mansion. It had been only hours ago that he was whispering words of comfort in my ear and trying to coax me down these very stairs. What had happened since then?
What did Lady Gracey say to him?
I barely had time to contemplate these thoughts as we reached the top of the stairs and continued down the hall at a breakneck speed, heading towards the staircase the would lead us up to the third floor, where the study was. It was as we approached these stairs that Edward's grip on my hand suddenly tightened, and I released a pained cry.
"Edward, you're hurting me!"
These words appeared to finally get through to him, and I nearly wept with relief when he came to a halt, instantly releasing my hand and turning towards me with an expression so full of sorrow that I regretted even mentioning my pain, which slowly ebbed away as I held my wrist to my chest. As I stared up at him, wide-eyed and distraught, I wanted nothing more than to throw my arms around him and tell him how much he truly meant to me – that I would do anything if it meant taking away his torment and returning my best friend to me. But my feet were as heavy as stone, and I could do nothing but continue to gaze up at him in worry and dismay.
"I'm sorry, Elizabeth." Edward spoke softly. "But this cannot wait another moment."
"But why? What's happened?" I beseeched him.
He paused for a moment, looking over my head back down the hallway and then glancing at the door beside us.
"Come here." He directed, moving over to the door and quietly clicking it open to let me enter.
I hesitantly did as he told, only realizing where he had taken me when I spotted the enormous, canopy bed to my left and the ebony desk – which was stacked high with papers – to my right. It had been years since I'd been in this room, and for good reason. These were Edward's private chambers.
As the Edward shut the door behind him, I turned and looked at him in exasperation.
"Edward, what are we doing? Do you know what people would say if they saw me here?"
"I told you. I need to talk to you." He muttered.
"And it had to be here?"
"Elizabeth." Edward sighed. "Just listen to me."
The exhaustion in his eyes prevented me from pushing the matter any further, and I gave him a small nod. Of course, if I'd known what he was going to say, I would have fled the room that very moment.
Edward himself looked greatly uncertain about his next words, opening his mouth as if to speak, only to clench his jaw shut and turn away with a frustrated hiss, pacing over towards his desk, and placing his hands against the wood, shoulders tensed in agitation. After several seconds of unbearable silence, he turned back to me.
"Look, before I tell you this…you have to know that I meant what I said to you that night in your room. About staying together, and being there for you." He began, sounding as if he were trying to get the words out as soon as possible.
"…Alright." I responded cautiously.
My answer didn't appear to make him any more willing to go on, for he grimaced and directed his gaze to the floor.
"The thing is that…tonight, my mother, she said…what I'm trying to say is…oh, hell." He cursed, turning around to once again lean against the desk.
My palms began to sweat as I took a small step towards him, and my heart was thudding ominously in my chest as if it knew something I did not.
"Elizabeth…Elizabeth, I'm leaving Gracey Manor."
Nothing in the world could have prepared me for that.
I could feel my eyes grow wide in horror and I was sure my face was as white as a ghost.
"You…you're what?" I choked out, hardly daring to believe the terrible words he had just uttered.
Reluctantly, Edward turned back around to face me, and suddenly the regret and sorrow in his eyes had a new meaning.
"My mother and I had a long talk tonight about my future, and my responsibility to the household. It's my duty to carry on my father's name, Elizabeth…and in my case, that means living up to the expectations that others have set for me. Besides, it's not like it will be forever. Just a few years at the university in New York, and I'll be back here, I promise. Please don't look at me like that."
I wanted to scream at him. To call him a liar and a backstabber and every other name my mind could think of. Yet all I could do was stare at him blankly.
"Ramsley is actually the one who found the program – it's really quite excellent." Edward prattled on, though whether it was nerves or whether he was truly trying to convince me, I couldn't tell. "I'll learn everything there is to learn about being a gentleman, but I'll be out in the world, Elizabeth! Exploring new places, meeting great people, doing extraordinary things! Please…say you'll try to be happy for me."
Happy? Be happy about what? About the fact that he was breaking his promise to me? That he was leaving me? Be happy to spend four years without him, and to have him come home a complete stranger?
"I can't." I hissed through gritted teeth.
"Now, Elizabeth-"
"No!" I strode towards him angrily. "You promised me you would always be here for me, Edward! You swore to me that as long as you were here, I would never have a reason to fear – do you remember that?"
"Of course I do! Elizabeth, please-!" He stepped forward so that we stood chest to chest.
"Then why are you abandoning me?"
"Elizabeth!"
"Was it because I came tonight? Is that why they're sending you away?"
From the back of my mind, I could hear Ramsley's threat from all those years ago echoing inside my head: I will not hesitate to take the necessary steps to remove you from this home…by any means necessary.
Was this his plan? To send Edward away and then get rid of me for good?
"No, of course not!" Edward shook his head vehemently.
"Then why? Why are they separating us?"
I felt my face grow warm in embarrassment as tears began to well in my eyes, and Edward's gaze softened.
"Elizabeth…" He sighed. "…I know it doesn't seem like it, but my mother and Ramsley are only doing what they believe is best for me. They want me to continue my education as far as I can, that's all."
He raised his hand up as if to wipe away one of my tears, but I coldly stepped back, ignoring the hurt that appeared on his features.
"How do you do it?" I breathed.
His brow furrowed in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"How can you trust that man? He has hated me ever since the day I came here, Edward, and I don't know why! What did I ever do to him?" I asked bitterly, rubbing away the tears which had started to drip down my cheeks.
"Elizabeth, Ramsley is a good man." Edward frowned, suddenly sounding rather defensive.
"Then why is it that you and your mother are the only ones that are able to see that?!" I snapped at him.
"Hey!" He shouted, lunging forward and grasping my shoulders with a speed and animosity that terrified me. "You don't know the first thing about that man. He's been like a father to me! And if sending me to school is what he thinks is best, then I shall trust his judgement."
My heart fell like a heavy rock to my feet.
"I just don't understand how leaving the manor- how leaving me, and the girls, and Emma, and Ezra could possibly be the right thing to do! Don't you see the way they control you?! This isn't like you, Edward!"
"You don't understand!"
"No, you don't understand! I know that your father isn't around, but my father taught me that when two people make a promise to each other, they keep that promise, no matter the consequence!"
"Damn it, Elizabeth!"
Edward turned away to slam his hands down angrily on the desk behind him.
"You're only a child!"
My eyes widened in shock as I staggered back, devastation sinking into my gut like lead.
I was hurt…and I was furious.
Edward in the meantime had frozen where he stood, as if just realizing the words that had burst from his mouth. After a long, suspenseful, excruciating moment, he turned to me, his face pale and fearful.
"Elizabeth…I swear to you…"
"No, Edward."
His face fell.
"Go ahead. Leave me. I'm glad you've found where your heart truly lies!"
My voice broke, and without another word, I turned and stormed out of the room – but not before hurling one of my shoes directly at Edward's head.
Merry Christmas.
XXXXX
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