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“He can use Edmund’s. I think they will be only a little big. Or, if they are too large, Mother’s pair might fit. She’s planning to come later, and even if she does, she said she doesn’t plan on skating.” Julien tilted his head toward the pile. “So I brought both sets, just in case.”

With Farrendel leaning over her shoulder, Essie sorted through the skates, setting aside Paige’s and Mother’s sets. “Is this Edmund’s pair?”

“Nope. Those are mine.” Averett’s voice came from behind Essie.

She glanced over her shoulder to see Paige and Averett strolling down the path from Winstead Palace. Ahead of them, three-year-old Bertie and one-year-old Finn raced through the snow, giggling as they fell into Essie, hugging her.

“Auntie Essie!”

“Aun’ee Esssee!”

No sooner had Essie hugged them with her free hand than they turned and flopped against Farrendel.

“Ncle Farrennel!” Bertie gave Farrendel a wide grin.

Finn shouted something that was probably Farrendel’s name, but it was so garbled it was hard to tell.

With lots of laughter, they all got their skates on, buckling the skate onto the bottoms of their boots. Farrendel fit into Edmund’s skates with the front buckle tightening over the tips of his toes.

Julien swept up Bertie and placed the boy on his shoulders. Bertie squealed and gripped Julien’s ears with his mittened hands, grinning and kicking as Julien sped off across the pond.

Finn was too little to want to sit on anyone’s shoulders, so Averett held his hands and skated with Finn shuffling his boots on the ice in front of him.

Essie started off on the ice slowly, getting the feel of being on skates again. Paige joined her, and they set off around the pond.

Paige’s purple hat was pulled tight on her head while a matching purple scarf was tied around her neck. She glanced at Essie. “It has been nice having you here. But you will probably return to Tarenhiel soon, won’t you?”

“Probably.” Essie reached out a hand to steady Paige as she wobbled.

Farrendel whipped by them, as light and graceful on skates as he was when spinning and flipping through the air on the spindly tree branches. He spun in a circle around Julien and Bertie, shooting off a handful of his sparks high in the air, making Bertie giggle.

A smile tugged on Essie’s face. “Farrendel is himself again, and it would be good to spend some of the winter in Tarenhiel.” The elven forest must be lovely, all frosted with snow. Essie didn’t want to miss seeing it. “But we’ll be back. We’re planning to split our time more evenly between Tarenhiel and Escarland, so you won’t be able to get rid of us that easily.”

Paige smiled and wrapped Essie in a one-armed hug. “Good. Three months with nothing but letters was far too long.”

Yes, it had been, though Essie had been so busy getting to know Farrendel and her new home that the months had probably seemed a lot shorter to her than they had for Paige.

Ahead, Julien and Farrendel halted for a moment as Julien passed Bertie from his shoulders to Farrendel’s. Bertie’s grin grew even wider as he gripped Farrendel’s pointed ears as tightly as he could with his mitten-covered hands. He whooped as Farrendel set off, this time at a slower pace.

Essie couldn’t help but admire the way Farrendel’s movements were strong and sure, his balance perfect even with the additional weight on his shoulders. He was himself again, but more himself than he had been since she married him, with a broad smile and a chuckle that she could occasionally hear above Bertie’s squealing and the slice of the skates against the ice.

“It is good to see him having so much fun.” Essie skated more easily as she got the feel for the ice beneath her.

“He will make an excellent father someday.” Paige gave her a grin and one of those knowing looks.

“Someday.” Essie tried to give a nonchalant shrug. She and Farrendel hadn’t even been married a year yet, and they had spent most of that time figuring out how to even be married. It was a little soon to start seriously thinking about children as more than a someday thing.

Farrendel skated up to them, holding Bertie out to Paige with that disgusted wrinkle creasing his nose. “Um, here, you take him.”

Shaking her head, Paige took Bertie. “Let me guess. A dirty diaper.”

Farrendel gave a small shudder, as if he was thinking about rushing back to Buckmore Cottage to toss himself in the shower.

Laughing, Paige skated away, carrying Bertie. The nanny hurried over and took Bertie. Her hands free, Paige retrieved Finn from Averett, and Averett grinned as he raced across the pond toward Julien.

Farrendel held out his hands to Essie. “Would you like to go faster? I will not let you fall.”

“Is that a promise?” Essie took his hands, and he whirled her around so that her back was to him. With an arm around her waist, Farrendel glided into motion once again.