Holiday Hearts

Chapter 3

Noel couldn't stand the look of fear in Shelby's pretty green eyes. Never mind that he was her boss, sort of, right now they were in this together and he was the only person she had to count on. He wrapped his arm around her corseted waist and pulled her close.

"I think so," he admitted. "I haven't finished looking around - I wanted to wait here until you woke up, but I have poked my head into the rooms adjacent to this one. They look almost exactly like I remember the miniature."

She leaned into him and clutched at his hand with her own and Noel tried not to notice how smooth her skin was. "So, did somebody lace the eggnog with LSD, or what? Because these things don't really happen. I'm an accountant for goodness' sake."

"Your guess is as good as mine, Shelby. My dad has always maintained that there's real magic in the holidays, but I never thought he meant anything like this." It was the only thing he could think of while he'd paced the room waiting for her to wake up. Somehow, the Christmas magic his father had always promised was his birthright had caught up with him and bitten him on the ass.

One coppery eyebrow lifted skeptically as she looked up at him. "Magic?"

He shrugged. "You have any better ideas?" Against all his better judgment, he was inclined to believe it - especially since that's what the sampler said.

"You've got a point. So fine, magic. Now how do we get out of here?"

He almost saw the little logic wheels turning in her brain. Shelby was an accountant. Her mathematical thought processes were the polar opposite of his artistic ones. Maybe between them they could figure out a way back to reality.

"First, maybe we should look around. There could be instructions somewhere," he suggested. He didn't think either of them were inclined to wait the three days until Christmas Eve, though spending those days alone with Shelby had some real potential.

"And maybe there are other people," she reminded him. "For all we know, the entire staff could be here. There were what, five or six buildings?"

"Something like that." He kicked himself for having not thought of that before. "This house was what - three stories? There could even be people upstairs. Think you're up for walking in that outfit?" It looked damn good on her, nipping in her dainty waist and emphasizing her generous bust, but he didn't think she wanted to hear that right now.

Pulling out of the circle of his arm, she cast her boots a dubious glare then nodded. "I'll manage." She reached up to push a stray lock of hair off her face then touched the back of her head. "Jeez, they even put my hair up. This is too totally weird."

"I liked it better down," he said before he could censor himself. She'd had it pulled back with a barrette before, and he'd been admiring the way it hung to the small of her back, straight and shining. Now it was twisted up into an intricate roll just above the nape of her neck. Seeing that vulnerable spot bare, it was all he could do not to kiss it.

When she cast him a confused glance, he shrugged. "So I think you have pretty hair. Sue me."

"Umm - thanks, I guess."

Forestalling further conversation, he held out his elbow and she took his arm as he led her toward one of the two archways opening off the parlor. One led to the front foyer and he didn't think they were ready to leave the house yet. The rear one opened into an honest-to-god library. The gaslights were burning in here as well.

"Oh, this is gorgeous," Shelby exclaimed. "I always dreamed of having a house with a library. You think the books are real?"

How was he supposed to know? "After we're done exploring, maybe we should look in here to see if there are books on magic." Shelby did walk over and scan the desk, which was perfectly neat and devoid of papers.

"The clock over here is running," Noel stood in front of a grandfather clock that ticked away. "It says seven o'clock. It was about what - four when we were at the party?"

"Just a little after four," Shelby agreed as she checked through desk drawers. "So if the clock is right, we were out for about two and a half hours."

"Think anyone's noticed we're missing yet?"

"Well, when I looked out the window, I didn't see any giant faces looking in at us, so I doubt anyone knows we're in here." She shoved the last drawer shut and straightened. "But I'm sure Jana has figured out I'm gone. We usually walk home together."

He held out his arm again and she took it. "Well, maybe she'll say something to my dad. If anyone on the outside knows how to get us out of here, it's probably him." He had a lot of work he wanted to do before taking time off for the holidays, so he was hoping they could find a way out of here before Christmas Eve.

They searched the rest of the house and found no other people. There were six bedrooms and two bathrooms that had to be the height of Victorian technology. To their intense relief, the plumbing actually worked, so one need was taken care of. Only one bedroom had lights and a fire burning - the master, with its big canopied bed. Decorated in ornate patterns of burgundy, navy and even more gold, the room was a sumptuous retreat. A pair of bathrobes hung on pegs on the door and slippers sat beside them. There was even a hairbrush on the dresser and soap in the bathroom, just as if people actually lived here every day.

Every room in the house was festively decorated for the season, each detail of everyday life perfectly in place. But there was not a single other occupant. They were completely alone in the mansion.

"It's weird," Noel said as they went back down the grand staircase. "I'd swear the layout and design is almost exactly the same as my grandparents' house outside London. The colors are different and most of the furniture, but the basic structure is identical - I wonder if this was a copy of their house, the way it was during the Victorian era?"

"Could be," she agreed. "That might explain why this was the most detailed of the buildings. Maybe the rest of the village was just made to accompany this."