Page 118 of The Christmas Invitation
Mark, who’d begun scowling at Piers again, grinned at her.
‘It’s too dark now to attempt the return journey today, anyway,’ Lex said. ‘And the temperature is dropping, so it wouldn’t be a good idea.’
‘Well, Piers, if you can’t get back tonight, whatarewe going to do with you?’ asked Clara. ‘Perhaps you ought to ask Mark very nicely if he’ll put you up till the road is open.’
‘I’d much rather not,’ Mark said shortly. ‘And he wouldn’t find it comfortable with the place upside down. But I’ve had an idea: Flora might take another lodger at the guesthouse.’
‘A guesthouse? But surely it can’t be open at this time of year?’ Piers said.
‘No, and Deirdre’s over-wintering in Australia, as usual,’ said Henry. ‘But her niece, Flora, who I expect you met when she was Teddy’s nanny, is there and she’s already taken in one stranded visitor.’
‘Heturned up uninvited too, and he’s stuck there till tomorrow, at least,’ said Clara. ‘Flora might take you in as a paying guest.’
Piers appealed to Henry. ‘Henry, you and I have been friends for years – you can’t really mean to turn me out of the house!’
‘You were George’s friend, never mine,’ Henry said. ‘And of course I’m not proposing to throw you out into the snow, like in some Victorian melodrama, just find you alternative accommodation.’
‘I don’t see why I can’t stay here,’ Piers said, reseating himself comfortably on the sofa. ‘I’m sure you must have a room for me in a place of this size.’
‘No, actually, every single room is occupied by myinvitedguests,’ Clara said.
‘Then I expect a couple of the younger ones won’t mind sharing, to make room for me,’ he suggested.
‘They might not, butIwould,’ said Clara. ‘I’ve allocated the rooms and that’s that.’
She sounded totally inflexible, and River, who had quietly come in just at that moment, said apologetically, ‘I fear you may also be stuck with me for a day or two more, though I’m sure Moonflower and Bilbo would put me up if—’
‘Oh, we don’t wantyouto leave us at all,’ said Henry.
‘No, you’re welcome to stay as long as you want to,’ said Clara, and Piers glared at River.
Sybil timidly faltered out, ‘I … expect a bed could be made up for me elsewhere, Uncle Piers. Perhaps Tottie wouldn’t mind if—’
‘Now, I thought we’d dropped the “uncle” long ago, because we’re on suchdifferentterms these days, aren’t we?’ Piers said to her in a far from avuncular way, and she blinked at him, nervously.
‘Sybil isnotgiving you her room and that’s that, Piers. I’m not changinganyof my arrangements to suit your convenience … though I suppose if we can’t find an alternative, it will have to be a camp bed in the library.’
‘A camp bed? You can’t be serious!’ Piers turned to appeal to Mark. ‘Dear boy …’
‘Mark is economizing on his central heating at the moment, but I expect you’d soon get warm, helping him to strip wallpaper and that kind of thing,’ said Henry with a gentle smile.
‘I’m afraid my health would not allow that,’ Piers said, horrified.
‘Perhaps it would be best if I rang Flora, then, to see if she can take you – at a special Christmas rate, of course,’ Clara said.
‘Best idea,’ agreed Tottie. ‘You’d be warm and well fed till you can get away and, with luck, the road will be open enough tomorrow to let you go home.’
‘But you wouldn’t want an old man to spend Christmas alone?’ he said pathetically.
‘You have two adult children and several grandchildren,’ Henry pointed out.
‘They don’treallywant me. Their mother poisoned their minds against me years ago, after the divorce.’
‘Then you could spend Christmas very cosily at the club with your old army cronies, couldn’t you?’
Den brought in the trolley, laden with china, teapot and cut slices of seed cake.
Teddy stopped making vrooming noises and crashing his toy cars about and crawled out from behind one of the sofas.
