Page 151 of The Christmas Invitation
Lex leaned over the back of the sofa and murmured in my ear, ‘Love is in the air, and not just Zelda and Mark! Flora already seems to have her claws firmly into Rollo.’
I turned my head and looked up at him. ‘She doesn’t hang about, does she?’ I whispered.
‘At least it doesn’t look as if he’ll make a nuisance of himself with Henry, so if we can keep Piers from getting near Sybil, everything should be fine.’
There had been no room for Piers on the sofa next to Sybil, when he returned from the drinks cabinet, having helped himself uninvited to a whisky, for she had Tottie on one side andRiver on the other. I could hear snatches of their conversation: River seemed to be translating the strange symbols round the hem of his purple tunic to them, with occasional interpolations from Clara, sitting opposite.
Piers had had to settle for the less-favoured man-eating sofa, and when Den beat the gong for dinner it didn’t want to disgorge him. It must have spat him out eventually, though, because he arrived in the dining room just as we were taking our seats around the table, at Clara’s direction.
Sybil was placed at the opposite end to Piers and next to River, while Piers was safely corralled between Lex and Mark. The old convention of alternating male and female guests was not something Clara went in for anyway.
In honour of the occasion, we drank rich ruby elderberry wine with our dinner, with lemonade for Teddy. Piers took a sip of his wine and pulled a face, then drained the rest in one.
That was no way to treat something so delicious. I bet River asked Tottie for the recipe later.
We pulled the crackers, which were the ones Teddy had chosen at the Friendship Mill and contained small vintage wind-up cars, hats and jokes.
Everyone, even Piers, put on their paper crowns and read out the bad jokes while we were eating our hot mini salmon en croûte. Then Lex and River helped Den bring in the main course: the large, capon-shaped nut roast had turned out perfectly and sat on a lordly willow-patterned platter. It was flanked by dishes of glistening golden-brown roast potatoes, sprouts, bread sauce, glazed carrots, and a large blue and white striped jug of thick gravy. There were jars of relish too, including the Fiery Fiesta chilli one I’d brought with me. I hoped the picture of a red chilli wearing devil horns and holding a pitchfork on the label would warn everyone about the strength of the contents.
The elderberry wine was obviously strong too, for after Henry filled Piers’ glass a second time, his nose and cheeks became even redder and his eyes more glazed.
The curtains were drawn to gain the full effect of the flaming Christmas pudding when it was carried in. I’d never actually eaten it before and it was very rich and solid, served with white sauce and brandy butter. I could have had trifle instead, but I thought the pudding would be worth experiencing, even if I had indigestion for a week after this crowning moment of gluttony.
At the end, when the plates had been cleared, champagne glasses were put out and a bottle of Tottie’s elderflower champagne poured for a toast.
‘Happy Christmas, everyone,’ said Henry, and we all echoed him and clinked glasses. Then he tapped a spoon against the bottle for silence and said he had a second toast to propose: ‘I’m delighted to say that Zelda and Mark are engaged.’
This was unexpectedly fast, though of course not really a surprise to most of us except Teddy, who stared at his mother, brow wrinkled, as if trying to work out the implications of this news.
We all offered our congratulations. Then Flora called down the table to Henry, in her sweet, carrying voice, ‘You have another toast to propose too – Rollo asked me to marry him earlier today!’
Rollo took her hand. ‘Yes, this wonderful woman has agreed to take me on!’
That sounded more like she’d accepted the position of his nanny, but then, I suppose in a way she had because she must have grasped what he was like by now: needy, self-obsessed and not quite as talented as he thought he was.
‘We knew we were right for each other from the moment we met, didn’t we, Rollo?’ she said.
‘We did and now I’ve told Mother our news, she’s longing to meet you even more than before,’ he agreed.
Good luck with that one, Flora, I thought, but maybe she’d be equal to the task.
‘Good heavens, that was quick!’ said Tottie, and I thought Zelda and Mark looked slightly put out at sharing their special moment.
Henry hastily proposed the toast. ‘Rollo and Flora!’
‘Rollo and Flora!’ we all echoed, except Piers, who had remained slumped silently in his chair, drinking the elderflower champagne in small sips as if it was medicine.
By now the proceedings finally seemed to percolate through to what was left of his brain, for his eyes suddenly focused on Sybil at the far end of the table, whose hand River was squeezing as he murmured in her ear – probably assuring her that the Goddess had arranged the union of Zelda and Mark and would pour blessings down upon their heads – and he said loudly and commandingly, ‘Sybil!’
She started and turned her head to stare at him like a rabbit in the headlights.
‘I believewealso have something to celebrate, my dear, do we not?’
Sybil turned ashen and her mouth opened and closed silently.
‘Sybil and I decided yesterday to tie the knot, for why live apart when we can live together?’ Piers said, only slightly slurring the words. ‘We will be able to divide our time between Underhill and my flat in Chelsea, the best of both worlds.’
The reaction to this announcement was not quite in the same league as the previous two. In fact, there was a stunnedsilence, broken only when Mark stared at his mother aghast and demanded to know if this was true.
