Tis The Season for Secrets (Village of Yule #2)

32. Juliet

“ W hat the hell was I thinking?” Juliet paced outside a store with a large perfume bottle and several smaller versions scattered around. She hadn’t meant to take the bell, but when she’d been decorating the mantle with gold tinsel, the glimmering orb had caught her eye. When the cursive name Frost shone up at her, she couldn’t believe that Will had removed it from the chest before returning. Before she’d thought it through, she’d ended up on some random street in Yule. She blamed Judy Garland for making her wish she had a family like in the movie and sparking her desire to see her mom.

She tucked the bell into her pocket and wrapped her arms around herself. She had been expecting to find her mom, but like that day in the library, clearly the bell had a mind of its own. Thankfully, Will had given her one of his oversized fleeces before they’d gone tree shopping so she’d be extra toasty. The cold still nipped at her nose, but it bought her some time. She hadn’t got the chance to grab a coat before the bell took her to Rudolph knew where.

A couple of people stumbled out of a crowded pub; the laughter and music was comforting. Juliet considered going inside for a hot chocolate or whiskey to warm up. And, more importantly, to ask if they had the number for Eloise. She opened the door, only to spot Mrs Klaus and a woman in a wheelchair she hadn’t met. Juliet guessed she must be Lou, from what Lyla had told her about Mason’s elder sister. Now wasn’t the right time to run into them, and Juliet turned sharply, not wanting to be caught.

Sneaking away, she made it back to the perfume shop and tried to pick a direction. She didn’t get the chance before a woman slammed into her, dropping an armful of wrapped presents.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” Juliet exclaimed, crouching in the snow to help her collect the presents before the green and gold wrapping paper was ruined.

“No, please don’t apologise. I was the one who crashed into you. I’ve been running around trying to get some last-minute shopping done before the stores close. I stacked them so high I couldn’t see where I was going.” The dark-haired woman laughed, taking the presents from Juliet.

With all the presents collected, Juliet dusted the snow from her knees. Face to face, she recognised the woman from the Hall of Guardians, except her dark hair wasn’t pulled back so severely. Instead of the deep red pant suit, she looked far more approachable in an oversized cream woolly hat and long puffy pink coat.

“We’ve met before.” The woman smiled, getting there first. Juliet wasn’t sure if it was an excited or nervous smile. “You were at the Hall of Guardians the other day. Seems we’re destined to run into each other.”

There was something in her eyes that Juliet thought she recognised, but she was too embarrassed that she’d nearly toppled the woman twice in one month to focus on it.

“Did you find the boarder were looking for? No one mentioned having a visitor. But many come and go over the season, so you might have missed them.”

“Right, they probably went somewhere for the holidays,” Juliet said quickly, breathing into her hands. The cold starting to set into her bones.

The woman’s eyes narrowed. “You should really have a coat on. I don’t live far – just one street over behind the perfume shop,” she said. “You can borrow one of mine.”

Juliet hesitated. “I should get back. Is there a sleigh rank around here?” She didn’t trust the bell to return her back to Will’s, since this was the second time it had sent her on a wild goose chase.

“The night before Christmas Eve? You’ll be waiting a while. I could call you one from mine and you can wait out of the snow?” the woman offered, balancing the presents and the bag on her shoulder. Juliet’s teeth started to chatter, so she didn’t argue. She didn’t want to return to Will’s a popsicle.

“You can have a seat anywhere, I’ll just pop the kettle on and call you a sleigh,” the woman said, taking off her coat and hanging it on a hook by the front door. Juliet admired the blush pink couch and bright floral wallpaper.

“I’m sorry to impose. I hope I’m not interrupting your plans,” she said. The warmth of the house was greatly appreciated.

“Please don’t be silly. I don’t think my arms could handle another parcel. I was getting some of my students a few stocking fillers. Some don’t go home for the holidays, so I like them to have something on Christmas morning. Thankfully, I ran into you, which stopped me from getting carried away,” the woman answered, heading down the corridor to the kitchen. Juliet figured she must be a guardian instructor. Wait, she must know my mom! Maybe she can tell me where she lives.

“I’m Juliet, by the way,” she called out, looking around the small, cosy sitting room. The tree by the frosted front window was decorated with various shades of pink and rose gold baubles. On the wall above the fireplace were beautiful antique picture frames.

“Is this your daughter?” She picked up one of the frames on the mantle, only for her hand to tremble as she got a better look at the little girl with pigtails. Her mouth went dry as she recognised the pink Barbie birthday cake from her sixth birthday Diana had made for her. She dropped the frame, and the glass cracked over her young, toothy smile.

“Are you alright?”

Juliet heard footsteps nearing and knelt to pick up the photo, unable to even find the words to apologise.

“Leave it! I don’t want you to cut yourself,” the woman fretted, gently taking the frame from her hands and setting it down on the mantle. She examined Juliet’s hand, frowning as she noticed the yellow bruising.

“I punched someone,” Juliet found herself saying. “But they deserved it.”

The woman looked proud. Juliet took her hand back and stared, recognising herself. The bone structure, her round eyes, and the same shade of pink lips. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it the first time.

“You’re Eloise?” she stammered. “You’re my mom?” Her dark hair, despite being flecked with grey, had the same honey highlights as her own. There was no mistaking the resemblance.

“Please don’t be angry. I knew it was you when we bumped into each other the first time.” Eloise’s brows pulled together; the fear in her eyes confirmed Juliet was right. “I didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t want you to run off. You didn’t have a coat on. Not that it’s my place to tell you what to do, or how to dress. What am I saying? Yes, I’m your mum. I’m sorry, I didn’t want this to go this way.” She looked to the mantelpiece. “The pictures… I didn’t think. I’m so used to seeing them every day, and I never thought you’d come here. I mean, not never, but once we’d met properly.” She covered her face with her hands.

“Now I know where I get my nervous rambling from.” Juliet said, giving her a break.

Eloise’s expression softened. “I’ve made a right mess of this. I understand if you want to leave, but please let me get you a coat first.”

Silence fell between them, and Juliet tried to digest the situation.

“I was trying to find you. The bell brought me to the perfume shop… I thought it had led me wrong, but you were inside shopping,” she said slowly, realising it had brought her to exactly where she needed to be. “I can stay, if you want me to?” The words left her before she thought too much. “I mean, it’s the reason why I’m here, why you gave me the chest?”

“Of course I want you to stay!” Eloise pulled her into a tight hug, and Juliet froze, unsure of how to react. Sensing her discomfort, Eloise released her sheepishly. “Sorry.”

As odd as it was for Juliet, she couldn’t imagine how nervous her mom was after waiting to meet her for so long. Suddenly, she worried that she wouldn’t live up to the idea of the daughter her mom had been wishing for all these years.

“What do we do now?” She fidgeted. There was so much to say, and yet she couldn’t think of anything.

“I can make us some coffee. We can talk, or watch a movie? Mochas are my favourite, and I’d have chocolate with every meal if I could. Training the new guardians keeps me fit and healthy,” Eloise rambled, again.

Juliet didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she saw so much of herself in her mom. She could listen to her all night.

“Your grandmother, Rose, told me you like Miracle on 34th Street? I think I only have the tape, but I can find it.” Eloise made for the old box TV, and Juliet didn’t know what came over her, but she wrapped her arms around her mother.

Immediately, she began to pull away, not wanting to overwhelm her. Before she could, Eloise engulfed her in an all-encompassing hug. Tears slipped down her cheeks. Home.

“I’m so sorry, my darling.” Eloise’s tearful words broke through any anger or hurt Juliet had held on to for so long. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”

Juliet wanted to put a wall between them, make Eloise earn the right to be close to her, but she couldn’t. Not when she could hear and feel all the love pouring out of her heart. A love she’d never felt from her father.

“You’re so beautiful. You look like my mother; she’ll be so happy to see that someone in the family shares the dimple in her chin.” Eloise released Juliet, but held her face tenderly. “I’m so proud of you – of how you’ve handled everything with such grace. I couldn’t believe it when you gave the chest back. Those letters belong to you, and you had every right to keep them. I’m so sorry for putting you in this position; I wish there had been a better way. But I have to say that I’ve never regretted you or trying to have you in my life for a second. I only regret that I couldn’t have been there for you every step of the way.”

Hearing that she wasn’t a mistake was the only thing that mattered. Juliet swallowed the wave of emotions.

“Giving up the chest was the right thing to do,” she said firmly. “I didn’t want you or Will to get in trouble. You’re far more important to me than a magical bell and some letters. Will told me you know about Dad’s threats to reveal what you’d done, and I didn’t want to bring you or your family any more hurt.”

“That should be the last thing on your mind. None of this should have landed on your shoulders,” her mom assured her.

“Still, I wanted to protect you. And not only you– the Klaus family have been so kind to me, and I didn’t want to involve them in our mess.”

“A mess is an understatement,” Eloise agreed, taking her hands. “But you’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”

Juliet nodded. “I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay, though. I’m worried about Dad—”

“You don’t have to worry.” Eloise sat her down on the couch. “As much as I don’t want to believe that your dad would go so far, that he would try and keep you from me, once the council sign off on your legacy petition then he can’t do anything to stop you or us from being in each other’s lives.”

Even after so many years and so much hurt, there was still a trace of love in her mom’s eyes for her dad. It broke Juliet’s heart to realise Eloise still had some faith in him.

“The heartbreak killed him, or at least the person you knew,” she said, recalling her father’s last pleading letter to the woman he loved.

Eloise sighed. “I can’t say he was the only one. I loved him with everything I had, but losing you nearly killed me. When I received his letter about being together, I wanted to give in, but we literally came from two different worlds. I worried that over time we would start to resent each other for all we’d given up. I was sure Reginald would never truly leave us in peace; your father was his world. I was young, scared, na?ve, and I’d been raised to follow the rules, and when a deal was struck, I did as I was told by those I thought knew best. I don’t even want to think about the time we’ve lost.”

“What if Dad reports us when he doesn’t get the bell tomorrow night?”

“My family is happy to accept you as a legacy, even if your dad tries to intervene. Once the paperwork is complete, it won’t matter. I don’t know if Will has mentioned it to you yet, but there’s one way the council is most likely to accept your petition. I don’t know how you’d feel about it, and it’s quite a big change. But I wondered… if you’d consider changing your name from Frost to Heart.” Juliet could hear the excitement and nerves threaded in her mom’s words.

The thought of being able to stay in Yule, of seeing her mom and Will without the fear of being discovered, without feeling like a criminal, was too good to be true. “But I’m still a Frost.”

“By blood, yes. However, the council won’t lift the ban on the Frost family, nor you, so long as you bear the name.” Getting up off the couch, Eloise went to a small antique writing desk with the same red envelopes Juliet remembered from the chest. “That being said…” Eloise handed her a thick piece of cream paper, similar to the birth certificate she’d seen in her father’s study.

“Legacy Citizen of Yule. Juliet Heart,” she read aloud, and ran her fingers over the last name. “I don’t understand.”

“When a legacy wishes to return from the Outside, and they haven’t lived in Yule before, they’re given a legacy certificate as a way of saying this is their home, and they’re gifted their own bell. In your case, if you accept your birthright as a Heart then you can stay in Yule– you can come and go as you please. It’ll be your home whenever you need or want it, without question or fear.”

“All I have to do is change my name? And sign this piece of paper? Does this mean I can’t see any Frosts?” Juliet asked. Her first thought was of Beth. Giving up her sister would be impossible.

Eloise took her hand. “Will mentioned your sister Beth. You can absolutely still have her in your life. As to whether she’ll ever be able to come to Yule or even know about it, I don’t know. Even issuing you this new certificate is a grey area. My family have signed to say that you are under the guardianship of the Hearts to show the council that they’re standing with you.”

Juliet saw the hope in her mom’s eyes. She stared at the certificate and saw where she had to sign under a long line of Hearts. A whole family waiting for her. One signature, and she’d no longer be a Frost. She’d no longer have to bear the name of those who resented her.

Still, to change it felt like stripping herself of the only identity she’d ever known. To separate herself from her sister and even her grandmother. Yet she knew that they would want her to be happy. To find her home.

“Please don’t feel any pressure.” Eloise read the uncertainty in her silence. “This is a big decision, and we’re asking a lot of you. We’ve only just met, and I’m asking you to give up your name and to accept a new family of people you’ve never met. I’m sure you’ve got mixed feelings, given the past. I’ll be the first to admit that my family weren’t supportive of your father or my relationship. However, don’t for one second think they wanted you to be punished for our choices.”

It eased Juliet’s mind to know that her extended family wanted to meet her, regardless of the past. They were doing the right thing now. “If I sign, no one will get in trouble? Will and the Klaus family won’t be in trouble because of us?”

“My sweet girl, no. But if you decide to become a part of Yule, I want you to want it for yourself, and not just because you’re worried about others,” Eloise said.

“I want to stay, or at least to have the freedom to come and go without having to worry. It’s just a big step, and as hard as my relationship has been with my family, to just let it go…” Juliet wondered if she was clinging to the enemy she knew, rather than risk her heart with a bunch of strangers. But Lyla, Will, and even Mason, who’d risked his own reputation and broken his own laws to help a stranger, told her that as terrifying as it might be, Yule could be her second home. A new chapter.

She stared into the familiar brown eyes of the mother she’d never known. She only had one question.

“Do you have a pen?”

Eloise’s hand shot to her mouth as though she couldn’t believe it. “A pen, yes. I’ve got a pen. One second– are you sure? Do you not want some time? Please don’t feel any pressure.”

“I don’t want to dwell on the past any longer. I want us to start anew, and I want to be able to call your home my home. Given all the kindness I’ve witnessed, and the magic of it all, I don’t think I could say goodbye to it or…”

“To Will,” Eloise finished for her.

Juliet nodded. “You know about us? You aren’t upset that we broke the rules?”

Eloise shook her head. “Mrs Klaus told me after she gave you my letter. She was worried about you and Will. As much as I don’t want to share you so soon, he has a kind and loyal heart. I couldn’t be happier that you found each other.”

“I think he found me is more accurate,” Juliet pointed out with a smile.

Her mom flushed. “Sorry about that. I never expected when I sent him to look for you that you’d end up together. Who was I kidding? I should’ve guessed, considering my own past. Like mother like daughter.”

The phrase was music to her ears. This was going to take some getting used to.

“Do you have someone?” Juliet asked, though there was no trace of anyone else in the house. She hoped her mom hadn’t been alone all these years.

“I did.” Eloise patted her hand, and the happiness in her voice was tinged with sorrow. “I was married for a time, but he passed away some years ago. The trainees at the hall have always been my children. Trust me, they keep me busy, so I don’t have time to be lonely. After my husband passed, I felt how short life was and I didn’t want to wait another day or spend another season without you. I wish I could’ve come to you sooner, but I’m ashamed to say that I was terrified of being rejected. It was easier to think of you as a possibility than not be able to live up to the idea of the mother you deserve.”

Juliet understood her hesitation. To live up to an idea was impossible. However, she hoped in time that they would learn to love each other as they were.

“To be honest, if you’d turned up on the doorstep talking about magic bells and told me that Santa Klaus was real? I probably would’ve called the cops,” Juliet chuckled, resting her hand over her mom’s.

“Enough tears,” Eloise said, tipping her head back. “Now, I’ll make the drinks and find that tape. We are celebrating.” She rose from the couch, leaving Juliet with the certificate.

She looked again at her new name. Of all the emotions swirling inside, she’d never expected such relief to settle in her heart.