Page 97 of The Christmas Invitation
‘Truly, you are a Renaissance man and know something about everything, River,’ I told him as I wished him goodnight. He’d come upstairs carrying a glass beaker of some strange herbal tea that he liked to drink last thing. It smelled like old hay sprinkled with earthy spices, and possibly was.
When I looked out of my bedroom window next morning, the sky was still a heavy, half-mourning lavender grey and a fresh layer of snow gleamed below. But then the first pale tingeof rose-gold appeared behind the furthest hills and I thought perhaps it would be another day like the last, with the sun eventually thawing the snow and ice from the roads.
That would be good for the Solstice ceremony … and I’d promised River I’d have that talk with Lex today, if I could get him alone long enough. I hoped so because, now I’d made up my mind, I wanted to get it over with.
Wondering exactly what I’d say and how he would take it made me late down for breakfast, but I found everyone still seated around the kitchen table, the air redolent with the mingled scents of freshly baked bread and coffee.
‘We thought you were going to stay in bed for ever, like Sleeping Beauty,’ Teddy said, waving his cereal spoon at me, like a slightly dripping and utilitarian magic wand.
‘Youdid,’ said Tottie. ‘The rest of us didn’t get up that early this morning, either.’
‘I thought if Meg was still asleep when Lex came, he could be Prince Charming and kiss her to wake her up,’ Teddy said, and I felt myself go pink.
‘I was just looking out of the window and daydreaming, I’m afraid.’
Den cut me a couple of slices from the still warm loaf, which had sunflower seeds on top, and Tottie passed the honey.
They’d all been discussing the weather when I came in and, like me, thought it would thaw later.
‘Once the sun goes down again, it’ll be very cold for the ceremony, but we start as soon as it’s dark, which, of course, this being the shortest day of the year, is mid-afternoon. We’ll be back at Underhill carousing before the roads start to freeze.’
‘I’ve rung Lex to tell him you’ll take the part of Old Winter, River,’ Henry said. ‘Unless Fred can’t get over, he can just watch this year.’
‘Fred’s the Straw Man, with bundles of straw tied round him,’ explained Tottie. ‘It was probably corn originally, but the heads have dropped off over the years.’
‘Interesting,’ said River. ‘What are the other characters?’
‘Mark will be the Green Man, with a leafy mask affair, Bilbo has antlers attached to a leather hood, Tottie wears a bird mask and Len, who is the gardener and groom at Underhill, has a hood with ram horns. I’m sure it’s all to do with ensuring fertility, abundant food and that kind of thing, after the birth of the New Year.’
River nodded. ‘I’m sure you’re right, and we do something similar at the Farm, though when I began it I took elements from several ancient rituals to add to my own.’
‘Having enough food was the important thing when our ancestors first began holding the rite – animals, crops and game,’ agreed Clara. ‘And the symbolic banishing of Old Winter to make way for spring.’
‘I like Tottie’s bird mask best,’ said Teddy. ‘I’d like to wear that one, when I’m grown up.’
‘You can, because I’ll probably be past it by then,’ said Tottie. ‘I’ll be able to watch you instead of the other way round.’
‘Clara and I remember the ceremony from when we were children in Starstone,’ said Henry. ‘The whole village used to walk up there in procession with torches, it was wonderfully exciting: the dark night, the sky and the bright star over the stone, the fire crackling and the strange figures moving around the Starstone.’
‘It stillisexciting,’ said Clara, ‘especially when Old Winter suddenly appears from the cave. Even though I know what will happen, it’s a thrill when he emerges and walks around declaiming his lines.’
‘I hope I do the part justice,’ River said. ‘Henry is going to run me through my lines later.’
‘I was a baby when the reservoir flooded the valley,’ said Tottie regretfully. ‘I only remember the ceremony from later, when there weren’t so many people left to attend it. But still, it’s really magical. Even when I knew who the performers were, they took on the persona of their characters during the ceremony. And now I’m part of it!’
After breakfast, Clara and Henry went off to work and I borrowed Lass and took her into the study to draw. I’d taken a couple of biscuits with me, so I had her complete attention.
When I’d finished – it was another little sketch intended as a gift – I moved my easel and painting gear into the conservatory at the spot where I’d drawn Tottie.
A large wicker cone-shaped basket lay on the table, already filled with fruit, glossy citrus leaves and the feathery ends of carrots: the perfect cornucopia!
When I was ready for action I could still see Tottie and River meandering round the garden as if it was midsummer and not a freezing cold and snowy day, so I went into the kitchen to fetch a cup of coffee.
Teddy and Den were in there and very mysterious about a surprise they were cooking up …
Tottie was in the conservatory when I went back, and she took up her pose. Through a gap in the foliage we could see River, wrapped in his flowing cloak, standing in the middle of one of the knot gardens by a spiral box tree, with his arms raised up to the sky. His back was turned to us and, apart from the rainbow-striped pixie hat, he looked rather impressive.
‘What’s he doing?’ asked Tottie.
