The Surrogate

She put the gifts back in their boxes and stored them under the bed.

She waited until after di

As soon as she opened the secret door, she heard voices. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she crept halfway up the stairs. The voices were coming from Mary Millicent’s room.

She peered through the railing into So

Jamie wondered if So

She knew that Amanda had done this and that she had sat with her son in the candlelight, holding his hand, kissing his lips, remembering Christmases past when he was a beautiful young man and had his whole life ahead of him.

Jamie wondered how long a person in his condition could be kept alive.

She climbed the last few stairs, tiptoed over to the bed, and touched So

She had no doubt that Amanda had genuinely loved her son, who had apparently been a very nice young man. Jamie wondered if So

Amazed at her own daring, Jamie carefully climbed the second staircase far enough to peek under the railing that guarded the stairwell. A small Christmas tree with twinkling lights stood in the middle of the table. Mary Millicent in her wheelchair was wearing a new sweater with the tags still on it. Sitting with her at the table were Amanda and Gus-her children. Gus was telling a story about their father, recalling the Christmas when he drove their brand-new pony cart right into the great hall. He had been wearing a Santa Claus hat and jingle bells were attached to the pony’s harness.

Feeling very much the intruder, Jamie crept back down the stairs.

Chapter Eighteen

AFTER TUCKING THEIR mother into bed, Gus followed his sister down the stairs to So

Gus stood beside his sister at her son’s bedside and watched while she stroked So

“It’s already begun,” she said. “Freda removed the feeding tube last week. She says that starvation is actually a very gentle way to die.”

“How much longer will it take?” Gus asked, staring at his nephew.

“Not long,” Amanda said, kissing Gus’s cheek and stroking his back. “Aren’t we lucky that the Lord allowed us to have this wonderful boy to know and love for twenty wonderful years? Just think of all those lovely memories. We have been blessed.”

One of those memories came to Gus’s mind. So

Gus had to pause and close his eyes for a moment to deal with the ache that filled his chest. And for an instant, he could feel that small, sweet, warm hand in his own. He had loved the boy So

But Amanda refused even to discuss the matter, and less than a week after that conversation, So

If Gus thought there was even the tiniest chance that there was a heaven and he would see So

Amanda smoothed So

Amanda sighed. What must God think of her for having such thoughts? And she banished them from her mind.

Gus was standing beside her, his face buried in his hands. The poor darling. He had vowed never to return to the ranch as long as she kept So

She embraced her brother. Gus buried his face against her shoulder, his entire body shaking with sobs. She stroked his back and kissed the top of his head as she would a child’s and told him that she loved him dearly and that they would always have each other. Then the two of them went around the room putting out the candles before making their way down the wooden staircase. They would have a nightcap before Amanda returned to watch over So

The lights on the Christmas tree had been turned off, but its towering ghostly presence still dominated the great hall. Their footsteps echoed on the stone floor as they crossed to the library, where embers still glowed in the massive fireplace.

Gus turned on a lamp, threw a couple of logs on the fire, and stoked it a bit. Amanda seated herself on a leather sofa facing the fireplace and poured two glasses of sherry from a crystal decanter.

Gus sat beside her. Seated, he and his sister were almost the same height. He leaned back, making himself as comfortable as he could with his short legs jutting out in front of him. How he loved this room. For him, it was the heart of the house-the place where they had come after di