Chapter 2
The household settled back into a happy and relaxed atmosphere. The snow continued for the next two days and by the third day the conditions were ideal for the young and adult men to become boys. Liza and Lily put on their cloaks and made their way to the Dower House thinking that nobody had seen them leave.
They spent some time checking that Miranda and Lucinda were well and needed nothing and then made their way on to David and Grace’s gatehouse. Grace decided to come back with them to the main house as there were one or two items that she would like from the kitchen.
Of course all the men and boys were in hiding and waiting for them and suddenly they were bombarded from all directions.Not again, thought Liza as she attempted to pick herself up and fight back. Help then came from an unexpected source as Bella ran down the front steps hurling snowballs as she went. It was such a shock to see her that momentarily the men stopped and stared, and she managed to hit the Duke full in the face, taking great pleasure in doing so.
The snowball fight went on for nearly an hour and it was a very unfair match with ten men and boys against four women. Finally Liza, Lily, Grace and Bella managed to get back into the house through the kitchen, much to the amusement of all the staff.
“I really thought that I had managed to avoid them this year,” sighed Liza.
“I suppose that happens to you every year,” said Bella. “I must make a note to be better prepared next year.”
“How am I going to get back to the gatehouse without getting caught again?” asked Grace.
“You’ll just have to wait until they finish,” said Liza, “and I’m not going to help you because they’ll all start throwing snowballs at me again.”
They dried off quickly in front of the fire in the drawing room. “That was fun,” announced Bella. “We got in some good shots, but there were too many of them for us. They’re not very fair, are they?”
“No, I have always found that fairness is not