Julia handed Malcolm a cocktail.

“I’m delighted I had this dinner to have fun with; I have the chance to make the dishes I always want to make for my family Christmas dinner, but am never allowed to—my family never wants to fuss with tradition. Here’s the cocktail I made for all of us to start the night with.”

Malcolm took a sip, and his eyes widened.

“Goodness, Julia. I feel sorry for your family that they don’t have the chance to experience this drink.”

She grinned at him.

“I hope that will be your feeling throughout this entire meal.”

He was just about to take another sip when something occurred to him.

“Did my late addition to the party make trouble for you? If so, I apologize.”

She glanced over his shoulder.

“Absolutely not. You don’t think Vivian is the kind of person who wouldn’t check in with me about that before she invited you, do you?”

He laughed.

“No, we’ve both known her only a few days, and we know that she isn’t. But then, I’ve known you for years, and I know you’re the kind of person who would always say yes to that type of request, even if it threw your entire plan into chaos.”

She grinned at him.

“You know me too well, Malcolm. But I promise, that wasn’t the case.” She turned slightly and smiled at someone behind him. “I think you’re going to want to see this.”

Malcolm spun around and saw Vivian walk into the room. She had on a dark red dress, her hair was down, and her smile was dazzling. He hoped it was for him.

“You look incredible,” he said in a low voice when she came over to him and Julia.

She looked away and smiled.

“Thank you. Merry Christmas.” She smiled at Julia. “Merry Christmas, Julia. The sitting room has been transformed in just the past hour. Who can I thank for this?”

Julia nodded at the corner.

“That would be James. He’s excellent at decorating.” She handed Vivian a cocktail. “I love your dress.”

Vivian looked down at herself and smiled.

“Thank you. It’s all Maddie, of course. Thank goodness for my daughter.”

Malcolm touched her elbow. This was the first time he’d ever seen her not covered from head to toe against the weather. It was nice to reach out and touch her arm and feel her smooth skin, and not just her wool sweater.

“Your daughter is clearly a very talented woman,” Malcolm said, “but she’s lucky she has you to do her talents justice.”

Malcolm heard a voice next to him.

“I’m lucky I have my mother for many reasons, but yes, that’s one of them.”

Malcolm turned and smiled. Maddie looked a lot like her mother.

“Maddie, this is Malcolm Hudson, the queen’s private secretary.” Vivian’s cheeks were pink, either from the fire or from their compliments. “Malcolm, this is my daughter, Madeleine Forest.”

Malcolm and Maddie shook hands and smiled at each other.

“Malcolm, thanks for entertaining my mother for the past few days while I’ve been so busy here,” Maddie said.

She had no idea how much he’d enjoyed himself with Vivian, did she?

“The pleasure was all mine. And—”

Julia handed Maddie one of her special cocktails.

“For you, to celebrate a job well done,” Julia said to Maddie. “We have a lot of good drinks in store for us tonight: we’ll have champagne for our next course—some of it courtesy of Malcolm here—and some great wine with dinner, a gift from the Duke and Duchess to all of us.”

Maddie took a sip of her cocktail.

“Ooh, what is in this? And don’t tell me it’s a secret recipe. My boyfriend is a huge cocktail fan, and he would love this—I promise I won’t tell anyone else.”

As Maddie teased the cocktail recipe out of Julia, Malcolm stood just as close to Vivian as he dared, and wished they were alone in this room. Or any room, really. He wanted to be able to kiss her without people around them, he wanted to be able to tell her the plans he’d made for their tiny holiday, he wanted to know for sure her smile was just for him.

“All right, I’ll show you the bottle, but you have to swear you’re just going to tell your boyfriend and not a single person in the United Kingdom,” Julia said to Maddie.

Maddie held up her hand.

“I swear! And if it’s a brand we don’t have in the U.S., it would be a perfect gift to bring back to him from this trip.”

Maddie and Julia walked off, presumably to go inspect the alcohol, and he and Vivian were left alone.

They weren’t completely alone—James and a few other Sycamore Cottage staff and friends of staff were still milling about the sitting room, drinking Julia’s special cocktail and eating the cheese straws she had in vases on the tables. But this was likely as close as they’d get, at least until the twenty-eighth.

“I’m so pleased you invited me to dinner,” he said. “I wouldn’t have missed you in that dress for the world.”

She smoothed the dress at her hips. That quick, nervous motion made him smile.

“I’m glad you came,” she said. “I have no idea what Julia has in store for us, but whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be delicious.”