down like lead rock.
"Are you crazy, woman? Why would you climb up here."
She ran over to him and threw her arms around his neck. "Are you okay? He said he was going to push you. Oh, Edward!" Then she began to cry.
A commotion came from below and three guards came up from below.
"There's our troublemaker," Ed said.
MacFarland was still out cold and they rolled him over and handcuffed him. Ed looked at her, then at MacFarland again. "You hit him with your purse?"
"Yes." She sniffled, then took out a handkerchief. "It has a hammer in it."
Ed released her and looked inside the bag. A lead headed hammer lay in the bottom.
"It's been there for a few weeks. I forgot to take it out."
"Come along, Idalie. Let's get out of here. And on the way down you can tell me all about the hammer, my love."
Chapter 11
In all the commotion, Idalie forgot to tell Edward about the doll. By the time she crawled into bed, exhausted, she decided she should surprise him as well as Penny. There was not much time. She rose early so she could start working on the doll's face before work. She patch-filled in on the large chip in the doll's forehead, and glazed the whole face to cover the small cracks and repainted the mouth. The head would be dry by the time she got off work.
On her lunch break, she hired a cab to take her to a supplier for a new wig and a hand without broken fingers.
"I'm sorry, " Miss Everdeane. "These are all the wigs we have left. This time of year there isn't any inventory, not with all the rush jobs this close to Christmas. and we're the only supplier in the city."
There were only three doll wigs. One was a bright orange red and the other two were short brown wigs.
"The blonde wigs are the first to go, you know."
Idalie stood there for a few seconds before she asked, "If I find the hair, can you stitch together a wig?"
"Oh yes. It would only take an hour."
She reached up and removed her hat, then unpinned her hair and the man, inhaled sharply. "Cut what you need."
"Miss Everdeane, I--you--I mean. Your own hair? Are you certain?"
"Do it quick, sir. I must get back to work."
A few minutes later she tucked what was left of her hair into a knot, a small knot, and replaced her hat, which now sat lower on her head. "I'll be back before six," she said briskly and left the shop. She got into the waiting cab and directed him back to the store. She touched her hair. Her head felt so light. She sagged back against the leather seat. It was going to be a long day, and an even longer night.
The Christmas tree was delivered by mid-morning on Christmas Eve. Penny was so excited she was jumping around like a kangaroo. Idalie was at work, but she promised to be there in time for dinner, an elaborate meal that he had ordered to celebrate the holiday.
By mid afternoon, Edward was standing in a cluster of wires and questioning the placement of these newfangled electrical Christmas tree lights. Candles were easier. You clipped them to a branch and lit them...then prayed there wasn't a fire. Every house with a tree had always had a water or sand bucket nearby.
Someone was at the door and Ed heard a familiar voice before his Aunt Martha walked into the room, stopped, imperiously surveyed everything and said, "It looks like I'm here just in time. Come here, boy, and give me a hug. I've been in every port but New York since leaving England."
By 6 o'clock Ed poured himself a bourbon. Everything was ready. Martha had taken charge and the house looked like Christmas and smelled like roasting beef and cinnamon apple pie. Why he'd thought he could do all this one Christmas Eve was beyond him. the doorknocker sounded and he meet Idalie in the entry, where Baxter was taking her hat and coat. She handed Baxter a large shopping bag and a box and told him to put them where no one could find them, then she turned to face him and he knew all was good in the world. She was dressed in midnight blue velvet, a fabric that clung to her figure and made her eyes look the deepest blue he'd ever seen. Her hair was different, smaller, tighter, and it didn't look as if it