Read Online A Winter Scandal by Candace Camp - Free Book Online Page A

grinned and held his hands up to her, and something melted inside Thea. She picked him up, and he latched onto the shoulder of her dress with one hand. With the other, he reached out to pat her cheek, his gaze steady on her face.
    He wore the customary white baby gown, with knitted bootees on his feet and a knitted sweater atop the gown. He had been sitting on a small blanket in the manger, and a tiny knitted blue cap was beside it. Thea wondered if he was warm enough. Even though they were inside the stone church, it was still quite cool. Thea had taken off her cloak as she worked, but she realized that now, after doing nothing but sitting for a while, she was chilled.
    “Are you cold?” Thea picked up the little blanket and wrapped it around the baby, tucking the little knitted cap in her pocket. “It’s a shame you aren’t old enough to talk.”
    She went back into the church, which was warmer than the vestibule, and sat down in one of the pews to think. Try as she could, she could come up with no reason for his being in the manger unless someone had purposely abandoned him. She had heard stories of babies being left at a vicarage or a church. However, it seemed unlikely that someone could want to get rid of this child. He was utterly angelic in appearance, and he looked not only well fed, but was dressed in clean, new clothes.
    Still, clearly, he could not have gotten into the place on his own, and whoever had put him in the manger had immediately fled. The other thing that was quite obvious was that Thea had to do something.
    The first task was to get him out of this cold church. Thea set the baby down while she put on her cloak, then she pulled the knit cap onto his head. He did not seem to appreciate this, for he shook his head and grabbed at the cap, pulling it off. Thea persevered, pulling it on again and this time tying it quickly beneath his chin. She wrapped the blanket tightly around him, pulling up a flap of it to cover his head, and carried him out of the church and across the bridge to the vicarage.
    She went in the side door into the kitchen, generally the warmest room in the house. Their housekeeper stood at the table, rolling out dough. She turned to look at Thea, and her eyes went wide.
    “Miss Althea! What do you have there?”
    “A baby.” Thea took off the blanket and draped it over one of the chairs.
    “I can see that ’tis a baby. But why are you carrying him? And who is he?”
    “I wish I knew.” Thea untied the cap and pulled it off as well, exposing the cluster of shining curls.
    “Oh, my! Look at that; he’s just like an angel, ain’t he?” Mrs. Brewster came over to look at the child more closely, wiping her hands off on a towel.
    “I thought the same thing myself.” Thea stroked her hand across his head, the silky curls soft beneath her fingers.
    “But how—”
    “I found him. He was in the church.”
    “The church?” Daniel’s voice sounded from the door. He walked in, his eyes on the piece of paper in his hands. “Who was in the church?” He lifted his head when there was no answer. “Good God!”
    Thea couldn’t hold back a chuckle at her brother’s stunned expression. “ He was in the church. I haven’t a clue what his name is.” The baby made a rude noise with his mouth and bounced in Thea’s arms, and Thea laughed again. “Isn’t he beautiful?”
    “Yes, I suppose so. But, Thea, I don’t understand.”
    “I don’t either. I was decorating the church with the boughs I got this morning, and I heard an odd noise. When I went out to check, I found this baby in the manger.”
    “In the manger!” If possible, Daniel looked even more astonished.
    “Yes. It seems like Providence, don’t you think?”
    “It seems like a bad jest to me,” Daniel retorted. “You have no idea whose he is?”
    Thea shook her head. “I’ve never seen him; I’m certain of it.”
    “Aye,” Mrs. Brewster agreed. “Me either. You wouldn’t forget this one.”
    “But what