Kate rested her chin on her hands and sighed. Papa wasn�t coming home early, and it was raining, too, so she and Mother couldn�t go out to the market where Isabel had said there was a man weaving Spanish shawls on a loom set up right on the spot. Kate had envisioned a very small, very colorful shawl woven just for her. At least, Mother had hinted at the possibility.
But now everything was spoiled. Papa wasn�t here, and the rain had imprisoned her in the house. Even Isabel had deserted her�Saturday afternoon being one of her half-days off. Kate sighed again as she considered that sometimes life could be very unfair.
�Why, Kate, whatever are you doing?� Victoria Wardell materialized from the parlor.
�Thinking.�
�I see. What are you thinking about?�
�That it�s not fair that Papa can�t come home for our special time, and it�s raining so we can�t go out and see the man weaving.�
Victoria sat down on the step below her daughter. �Yes, it�s too bad.�
�I think I feel sad.�
�I�m very sorry, Kate, but it can�t be helped. You know that.�
�I know, but I feel sad anyway.�
Victoria succeeded in hiding her smile. �Well, I feel a little sad, too.�
�You do?�
�Yes, I look forward to your Papa�s Saturday afternoons off as much as you do.�
�But you and Papa will go out for dinner tonight. You always do on Saturdays.�
�I expect we will. Are you going to sit here on the stairs all afternoon?�
�I don�t know.�
�You could play with your dolls�goodness knows you have enough of them!�
�Twenty-two.�
Victoria shook her head. �If your Papa continues to bring home dolls, there won�t be space for you in your own room!�
�I know.�
�We could read a book.�
�No, thank you.�
Victoria searched her mind. �Well, then, suppose we go upstairs and clean out my armoire?�
Kate frowned. �Clean out your armoire?�
�Yes�that�s the very thing that needs doing, and I�ve been putting it off.� Victoria stood up and held out her hand. �Come along, Kate.�
Kate�s expression just missed a scowl. Cleaning out an armoire didn�t sound like much fun. It didn�t sound like any fun at all. However, she�d been taught that well-brought-up-little girls didn�t argue, so she got up obediently and slipped her small hand into her mother�s.
In her bedroom, Victoria threw open the doors of the walnut wardrobe. �I have more clothes than I need, even though I leave so many things at the ranch.�
�You have beautiful clothes, Mother.�
�As do you. Your father likes to see his ladies look lovely.�
�Here, Kate, you carry all my waists to the bed and lay them out. Perhaps I�ll dispose of some�or perhaps I�ll find another place for them.� She took a silk and lace creation from its place and handed it to Kate.
�This is your very best,� Kate observed, carrying it to the bed. She held it up in front of her and checked her reflection in the full-length oval mirror in the corner.
Victoria turned around. �It�s almost long enough to be a dress for you!�
Kate pirouetted on her toes. �It�s so pretty!�
Victoria�s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. �Here, Kate, let�s put it on you.�
�Why?�
�Take off your dress.� Victoria rummaged in a drawer for her best petticoat, also silk with lace edging.
In a few minutes, Kate had been transformed from a rather sulky five-year-old into a vision of loveliness in white silk and lace.
�It�s almost like Audra when she got married!� Kate caught her breath as she caught sight of herself in the mirror.
�All you need is a veil.� Victoria whipped the lace cover from the round table beside the fireplace and draped it expertly over Kate�s auburn curls. �There�that�s perfect!�
�Oh, yes!� Kate whispered. �Oh, Mother!� She stood transfixed.
�Now�as the mother of the bride, I must be suitably clad also.� She went back to the armoire. �I�ll wear my blue silk.�
Once Victoria was changed, the two sat at her dressing table and inspected the contents of her jewelry case. �Here, Kate, what do you like?�
�Audra wore your pearls,� the child said softly.
�And so shall you!� Victoria fastened them around her neck. �And I�ll choose the sapphire pendant that your father gave me when we married.�
�Before I came.�
�Not so long before,� Victoria laughed. �Now�how do we look?�
�We�re�we�re gorgeous!�
�I think so, too!�
�Mother, when I get married, will Papa walk down the aisle with me like Jarrod walked with Audra?�
�Yes, of course! He�ll be so very proud of you, Kate darling!�
�Papa�s very handsome, isn�t he?�
�Very handsome.�
�He�s the handsomest man in the whole world! And the best Papa, too!�
�He tries very hard to be the best for you.� Victoria gazed at her small daughter with mixed emotions. She�d be grown up all too soon�a bride in real life. Would she and Royce be here then? She shook the thought away. �You�ll be a beautiful bride, Kate.�
�As beautiful as Audra?�
�Of course!�
By the end of the afternoon, the armoire was almost empty, the bureau drawers open and rummaged through, and the bed a shambles�but Kate had been, in turn, a bride, a fairy princess, a fearful witch, and finally, a colorful gypsy. Victoria looked around the room. �Oh, my, Kate, what a mess we�ve made! Your Papa will come home and think we�ve been very useless this afternoon!�
Kate, still wearing her bright red petticoat-skirt and wrapped in a multi-colored shawl from Victoria�s trunk, climbed onto the bed and followed her mother�s gaze. �But we�ve done something,� she said slowly. �We�ve done a lot.�
�We�ve made a lot of a mess!� Victoria laughed.
Kate shook her head slowly. �We�ve played.�
�We�ve certainly done that!�
�Mignon�s mother never plays with her. Neither does her nurse.�
�Well.�
�Mignon�s mother would never let Mignon wear her best waist or petticoats�or her pearls.�
�No?� Victoria asked absently, beginning to fold the discarded petticoats.
�No. Mignon�s mother makes us play in the nursery, and the nurse won�t let us play with but one toy at a time. And Mignon can�t muss her clothes or her hair.�
Victoria glanced at Kate. �Your hair is certainly mussed, but never mind. I�ll brush it when I clear up in here, and you�ll be all ready for Papa.�
�Mignon�s mother never brushes her hair. Her nurse does, and she pulls.�
�Hmmm.�
Kate yawned and stretched out among the jumbled garments on the bed. �Mother, did you play with Audra?�
�Well�not as much as I wish, Kate darling.�
�Why?�
�Audra didn�t like to play that much. She liked to be outside with her brothers and�her father.�
�You play very good, Mother.�
�Thank you, darling. I�ve had fun, too.�
Kate yawned again. �I don�t think I feel sad anymore.�
�Oh, I�m glad, Kate! I feel happier, too!� Victoria walked to the bed and looked down at the little girl�s drooping eyelids. Suddenly hers felt heavy as well, so she lay down and cuddled the child in her arms.
�I love you, Mother,� Kate murmured.
�Oh, Kate, I love you, too! So very, very much!� Victoria closed her eyes and inhaled the warm, clean scent of the small miracle snuggled against her.
*******
Royce had a fleeting moment of anxiety as he entered the house just at five o�clock and found the downstairs deserted. �Victoria? Kate?� There was no answer. He frowned. It wasn�t like them to be away when he came home. He was accustomed to their immediate appearance whenever he opened the door.
�Victoria? Where are you?� His call was met with only silence.
A knot of fear began to form in his chest. Where are they? Has something happened?
He took the stairs two at a time and rushed to the half-open door of his bedroom, then stopped dead still at the sight of the room strewn with articles of clothing, hats, gloves, and handbags. And there, in the middle of the roomy four-poster bed, lay Victoria and Kate curled together with their arms around each other.
He caught his breath, still not really sure what had happened, but relieved to see the two people closest to his heart. �Victoria?� he whispered, crossing the carpet.
Her eyes fluttered open. �Oh! Oh, Royce!�
He smiled. �What happened in here?�
She smiled back. �We were playing.�
�Playing?�
�Umm.� She turned her head to look at Kate�s small face framed by the varicolored shawl. �This is Madame Fifi le Floosy. For two shiny pennies she�ll tell your fortune.�
�The two of you are my fortune.� He sat down on the bed and caressed her hair, then Kate�s.
�We felt sad without you this afternoon, so we had to occupy ourselves somehow. Was the meeting successful?�
�Oh, yes. Forbes signed the contract. It will mean a tidy increase in profits.�
�I�m so glad.�
He leaned over and kissed her. �Isabel will be back this evening to look after Kate while we go out for dinner?�
�She said so.�
�Tomorrow afternoon I�ll make it up to Kate.�
�She wanted to go to the market and see the weaver.�
�We�ll do that right after church then.�
�She�ll be so pleased.�
Kate stirred. �Papa?�
�Yes, I�m home, Kate precious�or should I say, Madame Fifi?�
Kate rolled over on her back and giggled. �I was a bride and a fairy princess�and a witch, too!�
�Were you, precious?�
�But now I�m Kate again.�
�I think I like Kate best.�
Kate reached to touch his cheek with the tips of her fingers. �Do you know what, Papa?�
�No, what?�
�Mother plays very good.�
�Does she now?�
�And you know what else?�
He kissed her fingers. �No, what?�
�You and Mother are my very best friends in the whole world.�
Royce had to look away a moment before he answered. �Thank you, Kate.� He kissed Victoria again. �Perhaps since we�re very best friends, we should all go out to dinner tonight.�
�I agree.� Victoria smiled up at him.
*****
Kate�s head rested against Royce�s shoulder as he carried her upstairs shortly after ten o�clock. �I think Madame Fifi has kept later hours than she�s accustomed to,� he murmured to Victoria.
�I hope she doesn�t fall asleep in church tomorrow.�
�I suppose it won�t scandalize anyone if she does.�
Kate never woke as Victoria removed her clothes and slipped her nightdress over her head. Royce drew the covers under her chin. �You are loved,� he whispered in her small ear.
They paused at the door for a last look at their sleeping daughter. �She thinks her Papa is the handsomest man in the world,� Victoria said softly.
�And what does Kate�s mother think?�
�Oh, she agrees wholeheartedly!�
Royce slipped his arm around her shoulders. �Well, I�m the most blessed anyway.�
�We all are,� Victoria murmured. �We are all so very blessed.�
THE END