The Hallow'een party was a notable success. It was made up mostly of students from Branksome Hall (the girls' school), and Upper Canada College (where Colby and Tracy attended), as well as a few children Jane had gotten to know around the development. Abbie, dressed as a Hollywood screen siren, was in her element, bossing the younger ones around and taking charge of the "best costume" contest.
Bustling, sonsy Mrs. Westin, with little Edwin firmly attached to her side, was stationed by the refreshment table, greeting each guest with her trademark welcoming smile and kind words.
Tracy, a loud, cheerful pirate in the midst of a group of boys from school, was in his element with the various games: bobbing for apples; blind man's bluff; relay races; and the like.
Eden, her dusky beauty highlighted by the Egyptian princess costume she wore, was busy organizing Marilyn (appropriately dressed as a fairy) and her friends into groups for a scavenger hunt. She and Jane had spent two days hiding items and writing out clues, the work accompanied by bursts of giggles as one or the other came up with something they found particularly witty or clever.
Colby (who scorned the idea of "dressing up") was on the back porch with a group of his friends, discussing baseball and hockey and other such "masculine" topics.
Jane, meanwhile, was everywhere at once, brining food out from the kitchen, advising Abbie about prizes for the costumes, helping Marilyn's group decipher one of Eden's more confusing clues, and generally making herself useful. Her costume had come about as the result of a conversation with Mrs. Kane a few days before Hallow'een.
They had been talking about family history, and Jane confessed that she didn't know much about her ancestors.
"Well, there's no doubt that your father's side is Scottish, not with a name like Stuart," said Mrs. Kane briskly. "Who knows, maybe you're even distantly related to royalty. Mary, Queen of Scots, was a Stuart, and her son James became king of England."
Jane laughed. "I doubt I'm a princess, though Dad does call me Queen Jane sometimes."
Mrs. Kane's eyes twinkled merrily. "Perhaps not, but it is fun to imagine. Now, I can trace my family on my mother's side back to Sir Francis Drake, the famous … or infamous … English privateer, but I'm afraid he's the only famous person in my lineage."
Jane rested her chin on her hands, leaning her elbows on the sturdy table. Her marigold eyes turned soft and dreamy as she thought about Queen Elizabeth and her cousin, the tragic Mary Stuart. "What must it have been like to live in those days?" she mused.
"Dangerous," answered Mrs. Kane. "Especially if your surname was Stuart."
Jane came out of her reverie and laughed. "Maybe so, but it still would have been thrilling. I've always been fascinated by Mary, Queen of Scots. I learned in school that when the executioner went to hold her head up to the crowd, the curls came away in his hand, revealing that she was wearing a wig, because her own hair had turned completely grey. Can you imagine what she must have gone through?"
Mrs. Kane shook her head. "She wasn't completely innocent herself, though. She did conspire to take Elizabeth's throne, and she is still strongly suspected in the murder of her own husband."
"Yes, but everything she endured!" Jane pressed. "Besides, none of those accusations have ever been proven. I refuse to believe it."
Mrs. Kane smiled. "Loyal to your family to the end? You know," tilting her head to one side, "I have some old fabric up in my attic that could be made into a marvelous costume from Elizabethan England. Have you chosen a Hallow'een costume yet?"
Jane shook her head.
"Well, then!" Mrs. Kane stood up briskly. "That's settled. From Jane Stuart to Mary Stuart in a few simple steps. Come on," catching Jane's hand girlishly. "Let's go upstairs and start on your costume!"
So it was that Jane appeared on Hallow'een in a black velvet gown with a white neck ruffle, a heart-shaped cap on her russet hair, and a simple gold cross around her neck. Oddly enough, the old-fashioned gown suited her perfectly, bringing out the character of her face and highlighting her strong bones.
Mr. Kendall had watched her walk to the Westins and shook his head.
"There," he said, apropos of nothing, "goes a beautiful woman."
Eden, passing now with another group of giggling little girls, winked at Jane. "I think we're a success, Queen Mary."
Jane set down her tray of punch and straightened her cap. "I believe you're right, Cleopatra."
Eden shook her head impatiently. "How many times must I tell you? Not Cleopatra, but Nefertiti. Remember?"
Jane hid a smile. "Sorry."
Eden truly did look like an Egyptian; her dark eyes outlined in some of Abbie's black eye makeup, her mouth enhanced by red lipstick, her brown hair mostly covered by an elaborate headdress, garbed in white linen with gold bracelets around her wrists and slim brown ankles, and a heavy gold necklace around her throat.
Jane was sure she must be freezing, but if the girl was at all cold, she gave no sign of it, not even when, toward the end of the evening, Tracy came bursting inside with some of his friends.
"It's snowing!" he yelled.
They all tumbled outside to look, even Eden in her flimsy garb and sandaled feet. Sure enough, fat white flakes were floating out of the night sky, landing on their delighted faces and sticking to their hair and eyelashes.
"Soon it will be Christmas!" shouted one of Marilyn's friends.
Eden and Jane exchanged wry glances. "And just like that, Hallow'een is forgotten," sighed Eden. "So much for all our hard work."
"Nonsense," said Jane. She raised her voice. "Hot cider for everyone inside!"
The snow was forgotten as the children raced back into the house, ready for warmth and sweets.
The lawn was thickly covered in white stars when the party finally ended. Jane was staying the night so she and Eden could talk over the delights of the evening. It was her first time ever sleeping over with a friend, and she was slightly nervous, but it turned out to be fun. Abbie crept in with hot chocolate and leftover cookies after everyone else was asleep, and the three girls laughed and chatted about the party until the wee hours of the morning, when they all fell asleep wherever they happened to be sprawled.
Despite the late night, Jane woke up early the next morning. She giggled as she looked at Eden, curled up in a ball atop her bed, black eye makeup smeared all over her cheeks, and Abbie, whose platinum wig had slipped off her head and now covered most of her face.
Jane didn't bother to wake either of them. Filled with a sudden longing to be home with Mother and Dad, she changed out of her now-wrinkled costume into a grey wool skirt and red sweater. She wrote a short note to Eden and Abbie, telling them she had gone home, and slipped down the stairs and out the front door.
The snow had continued to fall all night, and now a carpet of white covered everything, as far as the eye could see. Jane drew in a deep breath, silently rejoicing in this silent, mystical world.
"Oh, even Mr. Kendall would have to find beauty in this," she murmured under her breath.
"Going home, Jane?"
Jane didn't quite jump, but she barely escaped it. "Colby Westin!" she exclaimed, glaring at the tall boy who had appeared practically out of nowhere. "What are you doing?"
"Walking you home," he replied with a shy grin. "You didn't think I'd let you go home by yourself, did you?"
Jane couldn't help but notice what a difference a smile made to Colby's typically sullen face. He and Eden shared the same dark coloring, but whereas she glowed with life and vibrancy, Colby was withdrawn and usually went unnoticed.
"Well, thank you," she replied. "But I am capable of walking home by myself, you know. It's only a few blocks."
"I know," he shrugged, falling into step beside her. "But I thought I'd be a gentleman." He glanced at her sideways under heavy brows. "You … you don't mind, do you?"
"No," Jane answered absently. She was distracted by a robin redbreast that had just landed on a snow-covered tree branch and trilled out his song loudly to the world. How Jane loved the robins! So pert and confident. Nothing ever bothered them.
The walk back to Jane's house was uneventful. Colby didn't say anything, and Jane didn't feel particularly inclined to talk herself. She, who could carry on a conversation with anyone, old or young, on Prince Edward Island, found herself at a loss for words around the eldest Westin boy. They had so little in common! In fact, Jane couldn't think of one thing to talk to him about. He was interested in sports and school events, while she liked to talk about people and ideas. He was shy, preferring not to get acquainted with people, while Jane made friends on every corner. He was a thinker, she a doer.
In short, Jane decided, they had absolutely nothing in common. Still, at least he had the sense not to interrupt the beauty of the morning with chatter. So she put her taciturn companion out of her mind and focused instead on the patterns the sunlight and shadows made on the new-fallen snow.
Her home was capped with a soft blanket of snow. Dad was outside in the yard with Happy and Bubbles as Jane and Colby approached. Jane's heart leapt at the sight of him.
"Dad!" she called, forgetting her companion and breaking into a run.
"Well, Janekin," Dad grinned, hugging her tight while the dogs leapt on her in a frenzy of excitement. "So you decided to return? Things were dull around here without you, Jane, decidedly dull." He nodded at Colby. "Thank you for walking her back. Would you like to stay for breakfast?"
Colby shook his head, red creeping up around his ears. "No thanks," he said brusquely. "I need to be getting back. See you, Jane."
"Goodbye," Jane said absently. She ran up the steps to the door, eager to see Mother and tell her all about the party, Colby already forgotten.
Author's Note: my apologies if anyone found the brief bit of history in here boring. I'm a huge history buff, especially British history, so it tends to sneak in places without my realizing it. Oh, and Sir Francis Drake really is an ancestor of mine on my mother's side :)
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