Page 160 of One More Christmas at the Castle
‘I hope I’ve been fair to everyone,’ Mrs Powys said. ‘For although the bulk of the property will go to Xan, I hope I’ve made a fair and equitable division of the rest. I will speak to you, Nigel and Olive, in the morning before you leave – that is, if the roads are unfrozen enough to make that possible.’
As if on cue, heavy rain began to hammer the windows behind the drawn curtains.
‘It sounds as if the thaw might be setting in early,’ said Dom, grinning, and then said kindly to Mr Makepeace, ‘I think Sophie drove you here, but if you like, I could easily drop you home tomorrow. It’s not much out of my way.’
‘Thank you, dear boy,’ said the solicitor.
‘Excellent, but not, of course, before the will has been signed,’ said Mrs Powys. ‘Henry, you will have to be one of the witnesses and we’ll get Simon over to be the other.’
‘All right, I can text him and let him know,’ agreed Henry. ‘Though I expect if it has thawed by then, he’ll come over for Sophie’s car anyway.’
‘I could be the other witness,’ suggested Dom.
‘No, because you’re in the will. But don’t get your hopes up, it’s just a little mention,’ she told him.
‘Cool!’ said Dom.
‘Well …’ said Mrs Powys brightly, leaning back and surveying the variety of expressions on her guests’ faces, ‘now all that’s satisfactorily settled, we can enjoy the rest of the evening, can’t we? And, Dido, when you and Henry bring the coffee, you must stay and join in.’
We all rose when she did, but I heard Xan say, ‘Can we just have a quick private word, Sabine?’ before they went out together.
‘Well, you could knock me down with a feather,’ Henry murmured in my ear. ‘Would you like a strong cup of coffee when we get back to the kitchen, or a stiff shot of the cooking brandy?’
‘Both, I think,’ I said. ‘Then pinch me, because I think I’m having a seriously weird dream.’
Our willing helpers soon had everything cleared away, but I let Henry take the coffee through while I lingered in the kitchen, needing a few minutes to myself … and I must have been there longer than I thought, for Xan came to fetch me.
‘You can’t hide in here for ever!’ he said, pulling me into his arms, and would have kissed me except I held him off so I could see his face.
‘I know, but I simply wanted a bit of time to think it through. Xan, is thisreallywhat Sabine wants?’
‘She says so. We’re to go and talk to her in the library tomorrow, right after breakfast.’
‘Professor Powys, in the library, with a double-headed Minoan axe?’ I suggested, and he grinned.
‘No, she seems to have entirely buried any hatchets.’ He looked at me seriously. ‘She’s quite right about Mitras Castle: it’s a special place, but it should be a family home, too … and we could make itours.’
Then, as his arms tightened around me, the irresistible smile reappeared. ‘The sooner we start, the better!’
Sabine
That evening, I was suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of exhaustion, which wasn’t surprising, for it had been quite a day.
Nancy urged me to go up to bed and said and she’d follow shortly, so it was no surprise when she came into my boudoir ten minutes later, bearing the inevitable flask and two mugs.
‘I’m so glad you’ve rediscovered the joy of cocoa,’ she said, putting them down on the table and starting to unscrew the top of the Thermos.
‘In conjunction with, rather than instead of, my usual whisky nightcap.’
‘Of course! But cocoa really is the most comforting thing I know. The cup that cheers,’ she said. ‘We had a very late night yesterday and I know you were still tired this morning, even if the adrenalin rush of getting to the bottom of poor Sophie’s problem revived you!’
‘PoorSophie?’ I questioned.
‘She can’t help her kleptomania. Nor, I suppose, her stupidity, which evidently led her to forget exactly what it was she’d taken from the house of Dido’s friend, until it was too late.’
‘She strikes me as unpleasant as well as stupid,’ I said. ‘Theonly person I feel sorry for is Timothy, but I expect he’ll revive, once she’s not under his roof any more. He has written her a note, which will probably make for uncomfortable reading.’
‘Before they accepted your invitation I expect she assured him that she was cured and he believed her,’ Nancy said.
