Page 32 of One More Christmas at the Castle
‘Maria’s going to show us where that is this morning,’ Henry told her, ‘and I can relight the boiler in the cellar, if need be, too.’
‘Good.’
She unclipped the first page and started on the second.
‘I like to have open fires in the dining room and sitting room in winter. A forestry management service looks after the trees on the estate and provides us with a supply of logs, ready to chop for firewood.’
‘Maria’s going to show us where those are stored too,’ I said.
The pen made another brisk upward sweep, after which shemade sure we understood the arrangements with the cleaning service, who would be coming in the morning, Wednesdays being their day.
‘A team of them go right through the house very thoroughly, including changing the beds. One of them spends all morning in the laundry room, washing and ironing – there’s one of those rotary ironing machines there, for large items like towels and bedding. Any dry-cleaning is hung on a special rail and will be brought back the following week.’
‘It’s such a luxury to have a separate laundry room and someone to do the bulk of it, though I can keep up with any other laundry during the rest of the week,’ I said.
‘AndI’ma dab hand at pressing delicate things,’ Henry said, with one of his delightful smiles, and Mrs Powys’s lips twitched, so that for a moment I thought she was about to break into an answering smile.
‘Magic Mops will be carrying out an extra deep clean next week, before we put up the tree and decorations.’
She looked up. ‘By the way, I’m always out on Wednesdays. I go into Hexham to have my hair done and lunch out. Lucy also takes herself off to some church bunfight in Wallstone. Xan will be working in the study all day, I expect, but the cleaners won’t go in there without permission.’
‘Just Xan for lunch tomorrow, then,’ I said, making my own note of it.
‘If he’s hard at work, he might prefer a tray of sandwiches and coffee in the library,’ Henry suggested. ‘I’ll ask him, Dido.’
‘Now, as to the everyday catering,’ continued Mrs Powys, as if neither of us had spoken, ‘we’ve always kept the freezers, store cupboards and larder well stocked, in case we’re snowed in, which happens occasionally, or the roads are so icy its dangerous to attempt to drive anywhere. There’s probably quite alot in the freezer that needs using up. I don’t think Maria has ever plumbed the depths.’
‘I’m going to do a complete stocktake later today,’ I assured her.
‘You will see from the file that I order quite a lot from Fortnum and Mason – preserves, bottled fruits and pâté, for instance. I usually do that myself. I can use the computer perfectly competently, I simply prefer to dictate most of my emails to Lucy, which at least gives her some purpose in life. Unlike me, she can touch-type, since she used to be a secretary, but she’s not very competent at that, either.’
Poor old Lucy! I was starting to feel sorry for her, though it did sound as if she had involved herself in the affairs of the local village and, I hoped, made some friends there.
‘Maria puts in the weekly supermarket order, using this computer, so you can do the same. I expect she’s told you about the staff credit card, which is kept in the desk drawer?’
I nodded, thinking this was a very trusting way of going on!
‘I have an online account with one of the big supermarkets in Hexham and a wine merchant. You will also find a good delicatessen in Corbridge, and there’s a general shop in Wallstone, which is about four miles away. That’s where Lucy collects our newspapers from, though they will deliver groceries, if you order a large amount at astronomical prices. You can walk there quite easily, using the path from the bottom of the estate, but of course, it’s all uphill coming back.’
She paused again, then added, reminiscently: ‘My Scottish nanny was a great walker and on most fine days she would lead me down to the village on my Shetland pony …’
Then she came back from the past and gave an unexpected, rather gamine, three-cornered smile that suddenly made her look much more attractive. ‘Since Lucy is a church hen andattends all the services and various meetings in Wallstone anyway, she can always bring back anything you suddenly need.’
‘I can do all the online ordering,’ Henry said, ‘and I have the van, so I can also pick up any fresh supplies we need between deliveries. That’s no problem.’
Mrs Powys’s pen made another brisk tick and she moved on to what I hoped was the final page on her clipboard!
‘I usually put in an extra big Fortnum and Mason order before Christmas. We must discuss it, Dido.’
This seemed extravagant, but it was her house and whatever she wanted was fine by me.
‘Certainly, Mrs Powys. Could you tell me whether you usually order a Christmas cake and pudding from them, or if you would like me to make them? I’m happy to do so, if that’s what you would like, and I have an excellent quick Christmas cake recipe.’
‘Yes, do make them and I’ll cross those off the list. It’s only since Mrs Hill left that I’ve had to buy them. The cake decorations, the round pudding mould and the set of silver charms must still be stored somewhere … Mrs Hill used to wrap the charms in tinfoil before stirring them into the pudding, so we found them easily.’
‘Yes, I do that, too. I wouldn’t want one of the guests choking on a charm!’
‘That would definitely not be lucky,’ Henry agreed cheerfully.
