“My Lord, Asa. Slow down!” the judge cried.

“Faster!” Lucy yelled.

“Much faster!” I shouted. With the wind stinging my cheeks, I almost felt I was back at sea.

“Asa!” yelled the judge. “You will flip this sleigh! You will flip it and what will I tell the Holdridges?”

Asa laughed. “I have it, Uncle! I can win it!”

“Is it worth risking life and limb?”

Lucy and I looked at each other “Yes!” we yelled. “Faster!”

We shot into second but couldn’t compete with Charlotte’s best horse and rig. She and Ben Stone were the first to the groundskeeper’s cottage. We coasted in moments after.

I vaulted from my seat before Asa could hand me down, and we tromped into the cottage’s little parlor, brushing snow from our coats and hats. A warm fire and hot chocolate awaited us. We sipped it from clay mugs and stood around the hearth, thawing our frozen hands.

“What fun that was!” Liesje said.

“Fun?” Judge Latimer shook his head. “I have had fun before—that wasn’t it.”

Asa dropped a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, Uncle. My competitive spirit got the better of me.” His hair was coming away from its queue in damp curls, and his cheeks were flushed a healthy red. He looked very much like Asa Lane right then.

“You did nothing wrong, lad, except fail to win.”

“The way back is mine.”

Ben Stone’s eyebrows shot up. “Care to make a wager, Mr. Latimer?”

“Now hold on,” Charlotte said. “We’re not going back yet. First we’re going to the pond for a skate.” She looked through the window. “And we must go now, or we’ll lose the light!”

For this, the judge chose to stay behind. I expected Asa to stay with him, but he joined the group as we headed back outside and walked down a path to the frozen pond.

There, the groundskeeper had skates for anyone who wanted them, but only Ben Stone and two of his friends accepted them. For a little while, as we watched them speed past in races and attempt jumps and turns, I didn’t feel the war at all. Not a scrap of it. It was just laughter and snowy beauty. A window of pure joy. I didn’t see who threw the first snowball, but it didn’t matter. In moments everyone was throwing them.

I ran behind a tree and plunged my gloves into soft powder, packing it into a tight ball. I knew who I wanted to make suffer; I’d been waiting a long time for this. I was going to put a ball of snow right between those deep blue eyes. I peered out, searching for Asa’s black cloak and gray cap.

“That must be for me,” he said behind me.

I threw as I spun. Asa ducked. The snowball struck the back of his head, exploding in a burst of white powder.

“Well thrown,” he said, brushing the powder off his shoulders and scooping it away from his neck.