Twice Upon A Time (Unfinished Fairy Tales #2)(64)

As we head down to the dining room, I decide that I have to go out again. I can’t be around Edward when Krev’s magic is still strong, especially when Edward is eager to take our relationship to the next level.

After finishing my daily round of letters and scanning through today’s paper, I call my maids.

“Amelie, I’m going to visit Poppy Montgomery. Have the kitchens prepare a suitable basket and ask Bertram to prepare my carriage. Mabel, I need to change into a dress of dark color, and of a material that’s easy to wash. Just in case.”



* * *



The parlor maid looks doubtful when she opens the door, and she cautions me that her mistress is putting the ‘little tyrants’ to bed. I hesitate, wondering if I had better hand her the basket of baked goods and go to The Bookworm instead, when Poppy’s voice floats from the second floor.

“Is that Kat at the door? Let her in! I want to see her.”

And so I trudge up the stairs, full of anticipation. Poppy’s hair is frazzled and her dress wrinkled, but her smile is bright and infectious.

“Kat, dear, what took you so long? You promised you’d come visit me soon.”

“I’m sorry.” I resist the urge to pinch Little Katriona’s cheeks. “Our schedule was full from day to night when the Moryn emperor came to visit, and . . .”

One of the twins starts bawling.

“Sebastian, you were supposed to fall asleep after I fed you!” Poppy groans and rushes to the crib while clutching her twin daughter in her right arm.

As if infected by her brother’s wails, Little Katriona starts to scream like she’s going to have a career in opera in the future. Looks like we won’t be able to have a normal conversation unless the babies fall asleep.

“Mercy me, she is hungry again!” Poppy exclaims, flinging a smock over her dress. “I swear, with so many times I have to feed her during the day, she’s going to resemble a balloon.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Can you help me put Sebastian to sleep? I’ve been trying so hard to have them wake up and go to sleep on the same routine, but they haven’t been adapting as well as I hoped. Seems that little Katriona is determined to feed on her own without her brother. She’s awfully stubborn.” Poppy looks up and gives me a mischievous wink. “Maybe it has something to do with her namesake.”

“Oh, I’m sure it has.” I have to smile as well. “So how do you usually put a baby to sleep?”

“Try to give him a simple massage. Rub his back, his feet, and his tummy. Sebastian really likes it. Oh, and sing while you’re doing it. The softer and slower the tune, the better.”

I freeze for a moment. I thought I had learned enough of what I needed to survive in Athelia, but I have yet to remember an entire song. There were times when Lady Bradshaw had me practice on the piano, but I was so incompetent that I can barely remember anything now.

But Poppy is already lifting little Katriona out of the crib and spreading a towel and pillow on her lap. Sebastian looks up at me expectantly with large, limpid eyes, as though he understands what his mother just said. Maybe if she is fully occupied, she won’t notice what I’m singing.

“All right, little fellow,” I say under my breath. “You are going to have the honor of hearing a tune that no one else in this world has ever heard.”

I hum the common lullaby that Mom used to sing to Paige when she was still a baby. While I sing, I reach out and gently massage Sebastian’s tummy in small circles. I know this lullaby by heart, since my parents’ relationship had drastically gotten worse since Paige’s birth. Dad had thought he would be able to go off to focus on his dental degree, but then a new baby had to arrive. So many times, I had witnessed Mom wiping her tears as she tried to sing Paige to sleep.

“Kat? Why are you crying?”

I realize that a big, fat tear had dropped on my arm, wetting my embroidered sleeve. “Oh, nothing. I just thought of something in the past.”

Poppy cradles little Katriona in her arms, the latter as quiet as a mouse now. “That tune you were humming . . . was it from your world?”

Wow, Poppy can be super perceptive sometimes. And then I’m reminded that she is the only person in Athelia, apart from Edward, who knows that I am from another world.

“Yes.”

Poppy gets me a handkerchief. “There. Suppose we put the twins to sleep and go downstairs. They sleep more soundly if we leave them alone.”

It doesn’t take long to see both babies breathing quietly, eyes closed, sleeping side by side. It’s difficult to imagine what a racket they must make when awake. Poppy takes off her smock, gathers the dirty towels, and beckons to me. “Let’s go,” she whispers.

In the kitchen, we discover that the cook has returned with a fresh batch of scones from the market. Poppy tells the cook to boil some tea and leads me to the sitting room.

“Take one.” Poppy pushes the plate of scones to me. “No, take two. As many as you want. Those scones won’t taste as good if they go cold.”

I do as she says. The buttery smell is heavenly, matching the tangy taste of dried cranberries sprinkled on the tops.

“I suppose you must miss your family,” Poppy says, a sympathetic look in her eyes. “When I got pregnant with Sebastian and little Katriona, I did miss my mother so, especially when Jonathan was working long hours. It must be even more difficult for you, Kat. Is there no way that you can see them again?”