Page 100 of The Christmas Invitation
As we started down there was a loud roaring noise and Lex said, ‘That must be Tottie and Sybil on the quad bike. They were going on ahead to make sure everything’s ready for the Gathering.’
That must have been quite a sight, the bird-headed Tottie and Sybil, hurtling off into the darkness.
‘Did she still have her head on?’ I asked.
Lex gave me a strange look. ‘Have you taken something?’
‘Oh, don’t be so stupid,’ I snapped, anger dissipating some of the lingering shock. ‘I don’t even drink that much, let alone anything else! I just had this vision of Tottie driving off on the bike with her mask still on, that’s all.’
‘I suppose that would be fairly weird,’ he admitted. ‘But I expect she’s taken it off, though Sybil’s probably driving.’
We mingled with the last of the audience walking down the track and River, still a spectral symphony in silver, fell into step next to us. He had Tottie’s bird head mask under his arm, which answered that question.
River seemed to sense some tension between us, or perhaps it was the way Lex was still gripping my arm, like a gaoler.
‘Are you all right, Meg?’
I shook Lex off and linked my arm through River’s instead.
‘Fine. I just had a bit of a stumble near the edge of the ledge and almost went over. It was quite a shock.’
‘She thinks someone tried to push her over,’ said Lex sardonically.
‘No, I don’t really, it justfeltlike that, but it must have been a gust of wind, catching me off balance,’ I said shortly. ‘Now I’m just cold. Come on, River, let’s walk down together.’
Lex strode off ahead, but when we got to the bottom he was waiting by the pick-up and insisted on driving us up to the house. It was hardly worth the drive, really, for although Underhill was hidden round a bend of the tree-lined drive, it was barely a couple of hundred yards away.
There were a few other cars parked in the courtyard, including Clara’s. The big front door to the house, illuminated by twin lamps of giant dimensions, was open on to the inner passage that led to the hall. Warm yellow bands of light fell across the steps and the snow-sprinkled cobbles.
When Lex turned the engine off we could hear the whispering of crisp snowflakes hitting the windscreen.
‘Now for the Gathering,’ said River, adjusting his mistletoe crown and gathering his long robes together preparatory to getting out. ‘Come along, Meg.’
At that moment I’d rather have simply gone home because not only had I turned shaky again, but I felt as if I’d been dragged backwards through a thorn bush, which, actually, I had. Bits of me were starting to hurt where I’d landed hard on the edge of the drop and my hands felt like prickly pears.
However, since River was already out of the pick-up and waiting, there was nothing for it. He gave my arm an encouraging squeeze. ‘Let’s see if anyone looks guilty,’ he suggested, as if this was some kind of murder game. Lex gave him one of his sardonic looks and walked off ahead of us.
The hall, which I’d previously thought a dark, chilly, echoing space, now presented a totally different aspect. It was ablaze with light and a huge log fire burned brightly in the vast hearth. It was so warm, that I suspected that someone – probably Sybil – had turned up the heating as far as it would go.
She’d probably been the one who’d decorated the room with swags of ivy, holly and mistletoe, too.
Clusters of people were gathered about, several of them around a long trestle table that bore a glass punch bowl at either end and, in the middle, a giant dark cake, from which a large portion was already missing.
The players had taken off their costumes and parked the heads, cloaks and tabards under the table, but most people were peeling off layers now.
I removed my own anorak and tried to smooth my hair down, but it hurt my hands. I noticed one or two of the nearest people were staring at me, so I must have looked dishevelled … or maybe it was just the pink hair?
Most of them, though, were so busy eating, drinking and talking that they hadn’t even been aware of our arrival, and those who had, didn’t look particularly guilty. It was just agroup of ordinary people having a good time, most of them total strangers to me, and I began to feel a bit silly and wished I hadn’t told Lex I thought I’d been pushed.
I was just wondering whether to try to find a cloakroom to clean myself up a bit when a small black and brown shape wriggled through the forest of legs and threw itself at me, barking ecstatically.
‘Pansy!’ I scooped her up and held her tightly, while she licked my chin enthusiastically.
Lex appeared with three steaming glasses, the kind in metal holders with handles, and gave one to River and another to me. I tucked Pansy under one arm and took a cautious sip.
‘Hot toddy – you look as if you need it,’ he said.
It was an unexpectedly kind thought and I took another sip. It tasted spicy and of oranges and … something else. ‘Is it alcoholic?’
