“I have not heard you thank me for the lemon drops.”
“Thank you for my lemon drops, dear,” she said, her laughter trailing softly behind her as she left for the kitchens.
Oliver shook his head. It was true that over the last few days, he had not seen Claire so much on her favorite spot by the window sill. Perhaps it truly was as his sister said, that she was feeling much better and the pain of her grief was fading.
If so, then he was thankful that he was able to offer her whatever measure of ease and comfort that he could. He never could bear to see her so woebegone or sad.
Of course, he also owed it to Trixie for tipping him on to the little things that made her older sister happy—which was why he bought her a box of her favorite sweetmeats, too.
He also promised to take her along on another carriage ride, which caused the younger girl to dance around in joy.
Trixie loved the outdoors far more than her older sister did and staying cooped up in a London townhouse for any extended period of time was bound to drive her mad, eventually.
And Trixie going insane was almost guaranteed to drive the rest of the household insane.
Oliver shook his head and went into his study. It would be time for luncheon soon and he could not wait to see the smiles on their faces when they saw their favorite treats.
* * *
Claire looked up from her notebook, her brow scrunched up delicately as she surveyed the rough sketch she had just drawn.
Over the past few days, she had felt so divinely inspired. It was like the heavens just opened up to grant her a surge of creativity, starting from that one carriage ride to the book that Oliver had given her just yesterday.
Of course, it also helped that she had a steady supply of her favorite chilled custards.
Or maybe Father is just guiding me from heaven,she smiled to herself.
Whatever it was, she was thankful for it for it gave her some respite from her grief.
Trixie, too, had taken to going out of her rooms more often, her spirits returning as she sought Claire out more often than she had.
For Claire, that seemed to be much better than her sister pouring her entire life into the textbooks she hated. Although she knew that Trixie needed to apply herself to her studies, it was also a cause of concern for all of them when she stopped asking to go out, preferring to stay indoors all day and study.
It was far more worrisome than having her sister up at the crack of dawn to wreak havoc on the entire household.
A loud, insistent rapping on her door snapped Claire out of her thoughts as a small smile stole into her lips.
And there she is.
Without waiting for a reply, Trixie burst into her sister’s rooms with a rather jubilant smile, plopping down onto an upholstered seat in a most unladylike fashion.
“Pray tell, what has you up in such high spirits?” Claire asked her sister mildly.
“Oh, nothing!” Trixie grinned, although if her smile was anything to go by, it was certainly something exciting. “It is just that I chanced upon Avery unloadingboxesof my favorite sweetmeats from the carriage this morning!”
Claire watched as her sister clapped her hands in glee. It would seem that His Grace finally heard the complaints in her heart.
“Well, you must learn to exercise moderation or you will be setting yourself up for a dreadful toothache!” she warned.
Trixie pouted at her. “Oh, you are no fun at all, Claire. If I were to have a toothache from eating sweets, then it would be well worth it.”
“Yes, but if you had a toothache then you will be unable to eatmoreof those,” Claire laughed, her eyes twinkling. “In addition to that, you will not be able to enjoy much of anything, for a toothache has the strange tendency to just ruin most anything enjoyable.”
She stifled her laugher as Trixie looked at her in horror. Her younger sister had never had a toothache, although Claire had tried it once in her youth. It was an experience she did not bother to repeat as it was singularly one of the most painful in her entire life.
“What a dreadful thought!” her younger sister exclaimed. “Still, those sugar drops are just so lovely, don’t you think?”
“Yes, but you know that I am partial to my custards,” she winked.
