There…there was the painting that had hung in the bathroom of their first house, and in her father’s room after the new house was built. Cecily couldn’t say why, but it reminded her of her mother, though she had only spent a few months of her life with her.

Gracing the wall above the fireplace was another of Cecily’s favorite paintings — Miranda. She had always identified very strongly with the young woman, standing helplessly on the rocky shore as the tempest wrecks a ship full of strangers — strangers who turned out to be quite handsome. Cecily remembered thinking that all shores were rocky, that waves always tore ships apart, until she finally ventured out on the sea herself, and it brought her safely here to Annabel Island, where the waters were always calm.

But Cecily was anything but calm. She felt agitated and sad, and being surrounded by so many familiar things, the hopeless yearning that had characterized much of her younger years stormed back over her. She was no longer Miranda — she was the ship, cracking open, and Max was on the shore, watching and waiting, unable to do anything.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Cecily slipped unnoticed out of the room and made her way to the study. Once there, she collapsed in a chair and put her face in her hands. The kiss from Max, the memories it dredged up of Samuel and James, seeing her father again, wandering this eerie replica of Brayton Hill, thinking of her mother — it was too much for her to take.

After a few minutes, the door opened, and Arianna stepped in, closing it behind her.

“I thought you might be in here.” Her tone was soft and full of kindness as she walked towards Cecily.

“How did you know?” Cecily asked, pressing her fingers against the edges of her eyes to catch her tears. She attempted a smile, but it was difficult.

“This was always your favorite room,” said Arianna. “You spent a good deal of your time here.”

“Yes, with James, mostly,” Cecily said, not thinking. She laughed ruefully to hide her embarrassment.

Arianna soured at the mention of the man who had nearly ruined her step-daughter. “Yes, well…” was all she could utter. Another uncomfortable moment passed between them.

“The goose is almost done,” Arianna said finally, her gentle expression returning. “We’re going to sing some carols before dinner. Will you come join us?”

“Yes…yes, of course.” Cecily smoothed back her hair. “Just give me a moment. I’ll be out shortly.”

Arianna rested a hand on Cecily’s shoulder, then left the room. In her chair by the fire, Cecily heaved a sigh and tried to sort her tumultuous thoughts. Hearing the first chords of “Deck the Halls” sound joyfully from the living room brought her back into the present, and as she heard the voices of the people she loved joining in, she felt a sudden urge to be out there with them, not drowning in confusion and self-pity in the study. With a deep breath and one last dab at her eyes, Cecily stood and made her way back to the celebration.

In the living room, Carol and Madeline seemed to be in charge of song selection, while Paulina plunked away. The mood was festive, indeed, and no one stared at Cecily or asked her where she had been.

Everyone joined in on a high-spirited rendition of “Ding Dong, Merrily On High” and had just finished the song when Sarah, the Braytons’ new housekeeper, appeared in the doorway. A hush fell across the room as all eyes fixed upon her, expecting her to call everyone to the Christmas feast.

“Dinner!” cried Madeline, a bit prematurely.

“No, not just yet, my dear,” said Sarah cheerfully. “We have guests!”

She scurried back through the doorway and turned to beckon the guests forward. “They’re all in here, if you please,” she said with bright formality. In the living room, Harry and Arianna exchanged glances and shrugs, while Cecily felt rather nervous. Who on earth could it be? More ghosts from her past?

Much to her relief, it wasn’t anyone to be nervous about — it was Dr. Charles Dunnavant and his wife, Lily. They stood in the doorway and bestowed generous smiles upon the gathering as Sarah announced their names.

“Well!” cried Harry, hurrying forward to welcome them. “The famous Dr. Dunnavant! What a great pleasure to meet you.” He shook Dr. Dunnavant’s hand vigorously. “And Mrs. Dunnavant, welcome. This is my wife, Arianna.”

“It’s nice to finally meet the famous Dr. Brayton and Mrs. Brayton,” said Charles graciously. “I apologize to everyone for our unexpected visit. We simply had a message we wanted to deliver in person. Two messages, actually. The first is that we wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and I hope you will enjoy it without the tasty goose, because we’re taking it home with us.”

“Charles!” gasped Lily, but she was laughing in her astonishment. “Pay him no mind,” she reassured Harry, “he can’t pay anyone a visit without threatening to spirit away their dinner. But I don’t think he’s ever made good on it. Have you, dear?”

“Not once!” boomed Charles, “but there’s a first time for everything, you know.” Charles grinned benevolently as Harry chuckled. “As for the second message, we’d like to invite you all to the First Annual Winter Carnival this New Year’s Eve, in the field by Sandero Bay.”

“The palace!” shouted Madeline, even more excitedly than she had shouted “Dinner!”

Charles laughed. “Yes, yes, that’s right. The palace. I hope you’ll all be there. We’ll have firecrackers and fortune tellers and…well, I don’t want to give away too much. Just make sure you dress warmly — I don’t believe this cold spell will let up anytime soon. Well, we should be off — we have a few more houses to visit yet before we go home to our pilfered goose.” He gave Lily a wink, and she smilingly shook her head.

“Won’t you stay and sing a carol with us?” Harry asked. “Just a short one?”

Charles looked at Lily; she nodded happily, and the two of them joined everyone at the piano as Paulina launched into “Here We Come A’Wassailing”.

And they sang all six verses. And two songs after that, before the Dunnavants finally left them to their unspoiled feast.