THE CHRISTMAS KISS
by Augustina Van Hoven
Chapter 1
The Governess
With an effort, she focused on what Mr. Mason was saying.
“It grieves me, Ms. O’Sullivan, to have to let you go. But I know how attached Mary is to you, and if she is ever to have a bond with her new mother, she cannot have you here acting as a distraction and a barrier. I’m prepared to give you an extra month’s salary as a severance, and a good reference. I’m sure that someone of your talent and abilities will be able to find a suitable position very quickly.”
Anna swayed from the shock. It was the dead of winter. A suitable position was going to be hard to find. If she had to stay at a hotel or a boardinghouse, her savings and her severance pay would be gone in a few months.
Shock or not, this was her new situation. She’d faced difficult times in the past, when her own mother died and she was forced to find work to support herself. She could make it through this.
Anna nodded at Mr. Mason. “I understand. I am sorry to be leaving, but I wish your family the best. And I appreciate your…generosity.” The words almost choked her, but it wouldn’t do to make a fuss about her situation and lose the severance he was offering.
Mr. Mason sagged as if relieved to have the conversation over without too much histrionics. Without another word, she fled the library for the little room beside the nursery that had been her home these past five years. She didn’t have much to pack, but her sorrow would add significant weight to her luggage.
****
True to his typical style, Mr. Mason left the next day for New York, saying he would return in one week. He left it to her to break the news to Mary. As Anna had expected, Mary was devastated. She cried for hours and refused to eat. Anna tried to console her, telling her that she was getting a real mother and, possibly in a year or two, a brother or sister. That seemed to help.
They decided since they were going to be together for only one more week, they would set aside the schoolwork and make it a time of fun. That way, they would both have happy memories to look back on.
Anna wanted to have one of the footmen go to the forest and bring back a Christmas tree so they could decorate it, but Mrs. Burns, the head housekeeper, overruled her. She said Mr. Mason’s new wife would want to decorate the tree in her own taste and might even be bringing some personal ornaments with her. She and Mrs. Burns compromised by having a footmen chop down a very small tree that would fit on the table in Mary’s room. For two days, she and Mary made their own decorations and hung strings of popcorn, ribbons, and ornaments made of paper and cloth on the tree.
The next day they helped Agnes, the cook, in the kitchen, baking cookies and making custard pudding. They played with Mary’s dollhouse, had tea parties in the morning room, and made a formal gown for Mary’s favorite doll.
When the last day came, the weather was clear and crisp and the snow was thick on the ground: a perfect day to play outside. They built a snowman outside the dining room window and gathered some small pine branches for Mrs. Burns to place around the house. After lunch, they climbed a large hill near the side of the house, one they’d climbed hundreds of times over the winters, dragging a sled and anticipating the thrilling ride down. The hill—smooth, steep, with a three-foot shelf midway down—sent the sled airborne for a few feet before landing back on the hill and finally slowing down as the ground flattened. The sled was a long one made to hold two people. A rope tied to the two handles gave it a minimum amount of steering.
It took them a while to haul the heavy sled up the hill. When they reached the top, they sat on a large rock and rested.
Mary leaned up against her. “Anna, I don’t want you to leave.”
Anna gave her a hug. “I know, sweetheart. I don’t want to leave either, but your new mother is coming tomorrow and she will take care of you.”
“I want to write to you. I want to be able to tell you things. It won’t be like talking to you, but at least I won’t lose you.” Mary sniffed.
Anna pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and handed it to the little girl. She knew full well that Mr. Mason would never allow Mary to write. He wanted Mary and his new wife to become like mother and daughter. He was right. If Anna stayed, Mary would always come to her rather than her stepmom.
“I’ll tell you what, I promise to answer every letter that you write.”
The wind was picking up, and it was getting colder. They finally prepared to slide downhill. Anna sat in the front so she could hold the rope and steer. Mary sat behind her, clinging to Anna’s coat, with her feet on the sled on either side of Anna’s hips.
The sledding conditions were perfect. The snow was a four-inch layer of soft powder. The sled picked up speed as they headed down the steep incline. Everything was going well until the runners hit a rock hidden by the snow. The sled lurched hard to the left, and Mary lost her grip, coming off the sled and rolling in the snow before stopping. The loss of her weight made the sled go even faster. Anna was afraid to let go and roll off in case there were more hidden rocks.
The sled hit the shelf and flew through the air higher and faster than Anna had ever traveled before. She was frightened and clung to the steering rope.
The air in front of her seemed to shimmer. Her gloves slipped off the rope, and before she realized it, she and the sled parted company. She fell into darkness.
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