A Heart Worth Healing

Chapter 8

Christmas came and went without much fanfare. To her dismay, Kirsty discovered that Derek did not have any Christmas spirit. He would not let Kirsty decorate the house, saying that it would be too much work for the staff to clean up afterwards. The only thing he would let her do was decorate a Christmas tree in the living room. The only time he pretended to be in a holiday spirit was when they had to go to a concert or dinner party. Kirsty thought he was a hypocrite for acting one way out in public and another way at home, particularly when he gave his employees huge bonuses and a lavish Christmas party. Kirsty remembered the bright, cheery holidays she spent with her parents and grandmother. There had been so many types of candies and sweets that Kirsty would always make herself sick from eating too much. And the gifts were always special. Her parents had believed in giving gifts from the heart, not the toy store. Kirsty could remember running to the Christmas tree early on Christmas morning, full of excitement and joy. She had loved to watch her parents open the gifts she had made for them. They were always something she had made herself, usually pasted together sloppily, but always displaying a great deal of effort.

Singing Christmas carols and feasting at dinner had always been the highlight of Kirsty's holiday. She had missed celebrating the festivities in recent years and looked forward to doing it again. But Derek was not being very cooperative, to say the least.

She often had a cup of tea with Maggie in the afternoons when no one else was around. It gave her an opportunity to chat with Maggie without Derek finding out. Kirsty often took advantage of such occasions, as they were the only way she could find out anything about Derek's past. She and Maggie were in the solarium and Derek was at his office, so Kirsty was certain they would not be overheard. Kirsty finally asked Maggie why Derek was to reluctant to celebrate the holidays.

"Well, you see, Miss Kirsty," Maggie began, taking a sip of her tea. "Mister Derek's parents were not what you'd call.....devoted. They were always busy with their own affairs. And I do mean affairs."

"No," Kirsty murmured. "I can't believe that."

"Well, 'tis true, miss. Mr. and Mrs. Gibson did not try to hid their associations. As a matter of fact, I can remember them bragging about them on several occasions."

"That must have been a terrible environment for Derek to grow up in," Kirsty commented, her voice full of pity.

Nodding, Maggie explained, "It wasn't just the affairs, miss. It was the parties, the drinking, the gambling. Mister Derek's grandfather would probably have turned in his grave if he knew what the family had become. I'm surprised there was anything left by the time Mister Derek came of age. And as for Christmas, well, you can imagine that his parents forgot about him then as at most other times of the year."

"That's terrible," Kirsty commented, wondering how Derek could have been happy in a situation like that. "He must have had a very lonely childhood."

"Aye, miss," Maggie replied, taking another sip of her tea. "It was lucky for mister Derek that myself and some of the other servants were around to make it a little cheery for him. But nothing can compare to a parent's love, I'm afraid. Such a shame his parents had to die so young. They might have come to their senses a bit and appreciated mister Derek before he became.....isolated. I doubt he would ever admit anything about what I'm telling ye, miss, but because you seem to care about him, you might be able to do something about it."

Kirsty nodded, her mind whirling with impressions and sympathy for what Derek must have gone through. She thought deeply about what Maggie had said. Maggie was right, Kirsty thought. Despite his outward control and confidence, Derek always did seem like he was apart from everything, even his emotions. Kirsty wondered if he was capable of feeling anything at all. Maybe all he needed was someone to show him how happy his life could be, Christmas included.