Page 5 of My True Love Gave to Me

"I feel marvelous!" She waltzed up to him and handed over the note for him to inspect.

He read the note, grumbled, then passed it to Herald. She should be angry that he would share her personal correspondence without her permission, but she was too delighted with Simeon's cleverness to take him to task.

"Why are you so happy?" her father demanded. "This has to be the least romantic gift of all time. It's a half-dead cactus covered with barbs and a random bullet."

"No, Daddy," she said, her heart awash with love. "It's a cartridge in a prickly pear tree."

Over the next week, the sofa table in the King house parlor came to host an odd menagerie of gifts. The vase filled with Herald's hothouse roses remained firmly in the center of the table—per her father's instructions—even though the petals had begun to wilt. A handful of other elegant gifts preened on either side of the vase. Herald had presented her with a beautiful music box two days ago and a stationary set with a pair of fountain pens just this morning. Yet those items didn't command the attention of Anna's friends, Heloise and Beverly. Easily recognizable items couldn't compare to the lure of the unconventional.

"Just look at these gloves." Heloise picked up the pair of white church gloves and held them toward the window to better see the fine stitching at the inside of the wrist. "Mary Shepherd must've done the work. Her stitches could rival a professional seamstress. Just look at the details on that shell."

"Turtle gloves. I get it." Beverly adjusted her spectacles to see the gray-on-white embroidery better. "No one will even notice the turtles are there unless they know to look for them." A tiny sigh escaped her. "It's like a private love note you can carry with you out in the open."

Anna nodded, taking the gloves from Heloise and laying them carefully back in the small box they'd come in. "I plan to wear them to the Christmas Eve service next week." Where she intended to sit next to the true love who had gifted them to her.

"Why is there an old crate on the floor?" Beverly crouched down to peer at the slatted wood cage Anna insisted on keeping on display despite the fact that it was empty.

Anna crouched down beside her friend and pointed to the letters painted across the top. From France.

"Ah. Let me guess. You have three new hens in your coop?"

"Yep. Mama says they're good layers, too."

The girls stood to find Heloise reaching a finger out to gingerly touch the prickly edge of a dried, brown thistle. "I count four of these bur things on this stem, but I don't see what that has to do with the birds from the song."

"It took me a while, too," Anna admitted. "Mama was the one who figured it out. On the fourth day of Christmas, the song's true love gave her four colly birds. Mine gave me four cockleburs."

Heloise's brow cleared as understanding dawned.

"A prudent substitute." Beverly nodded her approval. "What would you have done with four blackbirds flapping about in the parlor, screeching and making a mess everywhere? Those burs aren't exactly attractive, even with the red silk ribbon tied about the stem, but if you dry some lavender or other flowers, you could make a bouquet to dress them up. One that would last several years."

"What a great idea!" Anna squeezed her friend's hand. "I think Mama hung lavender to dry in the attic last summer. There may still be some up there she hasn't sewn into sachets yet. I'll ask her about it."

"I'm guessing these are goose eggs." Heloise pointed to the wire basket on the far side of the roses. Inside sat six over-large eggs. "But what happened to the five gold rings?" She touched Anna's arm and dropped her voice. "Did Simeon have to skip Day Five? Gold rings are so expensive. No one would blame him. In fact, it proves him to be a man of good sense, doesn't it, Bev?"

"Absolutely."

"You two are the best." Anna grinned, touched by their loyalty. "But no, Simeon didn't skip Day Five."

"Then where . . .?"

Anna patted the edge of an empty, white plate with the tip of her finger. "Simeon's mother made me five of her famous doughnuts. Perfectly round, perfectly golden, and perfectly delicious. Best rings I ever ate." She grinned, and her friends laughed.

"You're so lucky," Heloise said, giving her arm a light swat. "Elizabeth Shepherd makes the best doughnuts in the county. No wonder the platter is empty."

"We all ate one the moment they arrived, even Herald, though he didn't seem to enjoy it very much."

"That's because he was tasting his defeat," Beverly declared with saucy surety.

Anna giggled.

Until she saw her father standing in the doorway, scowling at her. She choked down her laughter and schooled her face into a more sober cast.

"Yes, Daddy?"

"There's a delivery for you at the front door."

Anna shot a glance at her friends as her heart rate doubled its speed. Would Simeon deliver it himself, this time? She hadn't seen him in a week. His gifts always came with a note, but they'd all been delivered by someone else. No doubt it was awkward with Herald always around, but she missed him.