Victoria bit off the thread with which she had just sewn a button onto one of his shirts. �They�re quite popular with children. Kate certainly likes them.�
�But all this about wolves eating up little goats and girls�don�t you think that�s frightening?�
�Kate�s quite enraptured with Little Red Cap, and after all, she�s saved in the end, and the wolf gets his comeuppance.�
Royce shook his head and laid the book aside. �She asked for that one again tonight.�
�I wouldn�t worry about it.�
�She�s only five.�
�More to the point, she�s papa�s princess.�
Royce grimaced. �Am I too protective?�
Victoria rose and crossed the room to fold herself into his lap. �You�re a wonderful father, Royce.�
�Sometimes I still wonder at even having the chance to try.�
�We were meant to have her.�
He brushed her hair with his lips. �We were meant to have each other.�
************
�There�s going to be a stage production of Little Red-Cap,� Royce told Victoria a few weeks later. I saw an advertisement for it in the newspaper this morning. Do you think Kate would enjoy it?�
�She�d adore it.�
�Then I�ll buy tickets tomorrow. It�s put on by a traveling company from New York.�
�Are you sure it�s for children?�
�Oh, yes, that was clearly stated.�
�Then by all means, let�s take her. It will be quite an occasion�her first theatre production!�
�Perhaps we might have a late supper afterwards.�
�Perhaps a matinee would be better. We wouldn�t want her to fall asleep in the middle of the play.�
�I hadn�t thought of that. I�ll get tickets for the matinee.�
They told Kate that evening. �Oh, Papa, really and truly real people on the stage?�
�Yes, certainly.�
�And a real wolf?� Her eyes mirrored satisfaction at the idea.
�Only an actor dressed as a wolf, Kate precious.�
�I wish he was real.�
Royce glanced at Victoria. �Well. . .�
�An actor will be even better than a real wolf, Kate,� Victoria said briskly. �Real wolves can�t talk, you know.�
�But they can eat up little girls.�
Royce frowned. �This is all make-believe, you know, Kate.�
Kate sighed. �I know. But I do wish it was all real.�
Victoria tried not to smile. �It will be real enough, darling.�
********
Victoria�s words rang true. Half-way through the production, Kate had transferred herself from her seat to her father�s lap and, on occasion, hid her face against his shoulder. �Do you think we should leave?� he whispered to Victoria.
�I don�t know.� She leaned toward Kate. �Kate, darling, do you want to go home?�
Kate shook her head firmly. �No, but�but will the huntsman come soon to kill the wolf?�
Victoria patted her. �Very soon, I think. Look�there he is now.�
********
�It was a very nice play, Papa,� Kate said without conviction as her parents tucked her into bed that night. �Thank you very much for taking me.�
�Are you sure you understand that it was all make-believe?� Royce asked, tucking the covers around her.
�Yes, Papa. The wolf wasn�t real�was he?�
Royce visualized the hairy creature with the long fangs that had prowled the edge of the stage, causing many of the children in the audience to shriek with fear. �No, of course not.�
�He was�big.�
�He was just a man wearing a costume,� Victoria said. �I expect he�s having supper right now with the others and looking forward to a good night�s sleep just as you are.�
Kate sighed. �Maybe he has a little girl like me.�
�Very likely,� Royce said quickly.
**********
On the balcony, Victoria lit Royce�s cigar and settled herself in the chair next to his. �It really was an excellent production.�
�I rather wish we hadn�t taken Kate. It frightened her.�
�Only temporarily. She�ll be all right.�
�I hope so.�
But she wasn�t. In the night, her screams awakened her parents and brought them running into her room. �He�s here!� she sobbed. �The wolf�s in my room! He�s under my bed, and he came out and sat and looked at me!�
�Oh, Kate, there�s no wolf,� Victoria said, gathering the child into her arms. �It was all pretend, darling.�
�No, he�s there!� Kate insisted. �He is!�
Royce picked her up. �Well, he�s not under our bed, precious,� he said as he carried her down the hall.
Tucked snugly between her parents, Kate cried herself to sleep.
The next night, she woke screaming again. �He came out and said he was going to eat me!�
And again, Royce carried her down the hall to their bedroom for the rest of the night.
**********
�What are we going to do?� Royce asked Victoria when he brought her coffee the next morning.
She looked down at Kate, curled like a kitten in the middle of their bed. �Clearly, something must be done, but we need a plan,� she murmured.
�A plan?�
�Yes. I�ll think about it today and let you know what I come up with tonight.�
Royce shook his head. �I can�t bear for her to be terrified like this.�
�It�s only at night. She forgets about it during the day.�
He stifled a yawn. �I don�t, and neither, I�m guessing, do you.�
Victoria laughed softly. �We do seem to be going backwards, don�t we? And Elspeth isn�t here to take up the slack at night!�
�Perhaps letting her go wasn�t wise.�
�She wanted to move on, Royce. She had such a good opportunity with the Flauberts, and it was clear that Kate was outgrowing a nurse.�
�Yes, well, I�m going to dress and go to the office. Perhaps you can go back to sleep.�
�We�ll be fine,� Victoria said, lifting her face for his kiss. �Don�t worry.�
**********
When Royce arrived home that afternoon, Victoria informed him that she had a plan.
�Will it work?�
�I think so. I hope so.�
�What is it?�
�You�ll play your part better if you don�t know,� she said mysteriously. �Trust me.�
�I don�t think I have a choice if we want our nights to pass uninterrupted in the future.�
She smiled. �Just trust me.�
That night they walked Kate upstairs to her room. She didn�t protest when Victoria unbuttoned her dress and handed her a gown from the bureau drawer, but she looked suspiciously at the bed.
�Now, Kate,� Victoria said in her no-nonsense voice, �I should like you to tell me more about the wolf who lives under your bed.�
Kate�s eyes darted nervously around the room, and she shook her head.
�You said you�ve seen him.�
�I�I did.�
�What did he look like?�
Kate edged closer to Royce who was sitting in the rocking chair. �He was big�really big! And all hairy, and his teeth were long and white, and his eyes were red and. . .� She stopped for breath and dived into her father�s waiting arms. �He wants to eat me!�
�Did he tell you that?�
�N-no, but he sits there and looks at me, and. . .�
�I see. Well, suppose I just have a talk with him.� To Royce�s amazement, she dropped to the floor and peered under Kate�s bed. �Mr. Wolf�oh, Mr. Wolf, I�d like to speak with you.�
She leaned forward as if listening and nodded her head from time to time. Kate sat up straight in Royce�s lap and stared at her mother. Finally Victoria turned around. �Well, that clears everything up!�
�Did you really talk to him, Mother?�
�Of course! His name is Frederick, and he has no intention of eating you up.�
�But�but, he said. . .�
�You simply misunderstood him, Kate darling. Poor Frederick has a very sad story.�
�He does?�
�Oh, yes. He had two little cubs, and they were killed by the huntsman who mistook them for the cubs of the wolf who was stalking little Red Cap. Frederick misses them very much.�
Kate�s eyes narrowed. �Why is he living under my bed?�
�He�s afraid the huntsman will kill him, too, and he is completely innocent of any evil intentions. Why, when he was telling me his story, two big tears rolled down his cheeks! I felt very sorry for him!�
Kate slipped down from Royce�s lap and took a few steps toward her mother. �Why is he always looking at me?�
�Why, to make sure that you�re safe!�
�But that�s what my guardian angel does.�
�Yes, indeed, but Frederick keeps an eye on you, too. He�s quite a nice wolf, darling.�
Kate advanced a few steps further. �Are you sure?�
�Oh, yes. Come over here and talk to him.�
Kate obeyed slowly, hunkering down beside her mother and peering under the bed. �I don�t see him.�
�He�s hiding in the darkest corner he can find. Speak to him.�
Kate put her lips together stubbornly, then sighed in resignation. �Mr. Wolf? Frederick? Are you there?� She looked at her mother. �I don�t hear anything.�
�I believe I heard him answer you.�
Kate sighed again. �I�m sorry about your cubs. I wish the huntsman hadn�t killed them.�
She plopped down beside her mother. �If you like it under my bed, I suppose you can stay, but. . .but I do wish you wouldn�t come out and stare at me at night.�
�He says he won�t.�
�And I don�t like to see your big teeth either.�
�He says he�ll keep his mouth closed.� Behind her, Royce laughed aloud, but she silenced him with a stern look.
�And your eyes are all red and scary.�
�He says they�re really a nice soft brown, but they�re red from crying so much.�
Kate thought a moment. �I would really like to be your friend, Mr. Frederick Wolf.�
�He says he�d like that, too.�
�Would you like a blanket to sleep on?�
�He says he would. Royce, if you�d be so kind as to get the extra blanket from the bottom drawer of the bureau. . .�
Royce rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, but he did as he was asked.
Kate pushed the blanket under the bed. �Here. I hope you�ll be comfortable.�
�He says thank you.�
Kate yawned. �You�re welcome.�
Royce deposited her in the bed, then reached down to give Victoria a hand up. �You are either brilliant or positively. . .�
She held up her hand. �Not now. Later.� She tucked the covers around Kate. �Goodnight, darling. Sleep well and have the sweetest dreams.�
Royce bent to kiss his daughter. �You are loved, Kate precious.�
She was asleep before they closed the door.
Royce waited until they�d closed their own door before confronting his wife. �Now what was all that about?�
�I suppose we�ll know if we don�t hear her screaming in the night.�
�You made all that up, of course!�
She winked at him and took her nightdress from the bureau drawer. �Whatever you say.�
She was almost asleep when she heard Royce say, �Frederick!�
�Quite a nice wolf,� she murmured. �But totally traumatized by past events.�
�Victoria, you are. . .�
She draped one arm across him. �Goodnight, Royce.�
**********
From the journal of Dr. Katherine Barkley Wardell:
I don�t remember when Frederick quit his lair under my bed, but I don�t think he moved with us to Nashville. I remember being somewhat unenthused about having him inhabit my room, but Mother�s assurances that he was quite a nice wolf�and a very sad one�melted my heart enough to allow him his refuge.
Years later I told John about him, and one night I heard him telling Vicky, who was six or seven, the story. I was almost sorry to hear both of them giggling uncontrollably. �A wolf! Oh, Johnny, there was a wolf under Mother�s bed?�
�She says so.� At sixteen, John was quite the man of the family.
�You don�t think there�s one under my bed, do you?�
�Of course not. I wouldn�t allow it.�
�Oh.�
�But there might be one in your closet.�
Vicky shrieked.
I was about to intervene when I heard John say, �I was only teasing, Vicky. I�d never let a wolf or anything else frighten you.�
�Truly, Johnny?�
�Cross my heart. You�re my baby sister.�
�I�m not a baby, Johnny!�
�You�re my baby sister. You�ll always be my baby sister, like Mother is the baby sister in her family even though she�s grown up�and a doctor to boot.� I peeked through the partially open door in time to see John hug her affectionately. �I�ll always take care of you, Vicky.�
And he did. He was her rock. When Charley died at Pearl Harbor, John managed to get a telephone call through from Washington. When she joined the WACS and was stationed in California, he wrote to her regularly, even when he was sent overseas. He gave her away to Richard when they married at the end of the War. He was there, pacing the floor with Richard for the birth of all three of her children. He has been everything to her that Nick, Heath, Jarrod, and Gene were to me.
She could ask for no more.