Page 163 of One More Christmas at the Castle
Henry and Dom had driven down for the newspapers and Henry said the roads were rivers and it had been an interesting drive, but he didn’t see why any of the guests who wanted to leave shouldn’t be able to get away later.
Olive and Frank emerged from their interview with Sabine looking both pleased and surprised, and even Nigel, after his, was less huffy and almost back to his usual cheerful and hearty self.
Simon walked over, arriving looking as if he’d had a shower with all his clothes on, though he wouldn’t even stay for a cup of coffee after he and Henry witnessed the will.
‘I need to get back, because the plumber’s coming about the boiler and Sophie wants to leave as soon as she has her car,’ he explained. ‘The cottage was freezing last night and she hardly slept, so she just wants to get away.’
Xan gave him the note for her that Mr Makepeace had written and Simon added, rather miserably, ‘Sophie’s been offered a flat-share by a friend in London.’
I thought, for his sake, that was probably a very good idea.
We all waved goodbye to Olive, Frank and Nigel, though not before Lucy had flung her arms around her brother’s neck and wept copiously. You’d have thought he was leaving for Australia, not just up the road to Alnwick.
Sabine gave the departing cars one final, royal-style wave, with her arm bent from the elbow, and then we all followed her back into the warmth of the Great Hall … which Plum, very sensibly, had never left.
‘You’llhave to wait to find out what I’ve left you in my will, Dom,’ she told him, with that triangular grin. ‘You might call it a dowry!’
‘Do you think I need one, before anyone will marry me?’ he asked, then smiled at Henry.
‘A little nest egg is always useful, dear,’ Nancy told him.
‘Lucy,’ said Sabine, ‘let’s have our little private moment together before lunch, shall we?’
It was a command rather than a suggestion, and poor Lucy looked faintly terrified.
‘Timothy, you had better join us, too – come along,’ said Sabine, and led the way briskly out of the hall.
During lunch, which Nancy had told us we were expected to join, Lucy was in floods of tears – but of happiness and gratitude.
‘Dear Cousin Sabine is buying me a little cottage of my own in Wallstone –andgiving me an income from the estate, too,’ she explained.
‘That’s a very excellent idea,’ approved Nancy without surprise, so that I was sure she’d already known about it.
‘Of course, I wouldn’t be far away and could come and help you whenever you wished, Cousin Sabine,’ Lucy said earnestly.
Since she was as much use as a chocolate teapot, Sabine was unlikely to take her up on this offer, but she thanked her gravely and said she knew she couldalwaysrely on her.
‘There’s the sweetest little end-terraced cottage right on the Green,’ Lucy said, and the moment lunch was over, she excitedly rang her friend Daphne and then drove down to see her.
Before Dom set out with Mr Makepeace, I left him and Henry alone in the kitchen, to have a private moment.
But they were not to be parted long, for before they left, Sabine kindly told Dom that, if he liked, he could come over for Sunday dinner and spend the day with us …
‘We’re going to have sausages with mustard mash for dinner tonight – simple but comforting. And the brandy butter ice cream to follow,’ I told Henry when he followed me back to the kitchen, looking rather downcast, even if he was to see Dom again on Sunday. Then: ‘Put the kettle on and sit down, Henry. I need to talk to you.’
And when I’d made us both coffee, I told him about my talk with Sabine and Nancy earlier.
‘Nancy is going to shut her house up and come and stay with Sabine until … well, the end. AndI’mnot going back to Cheshire in the New Year. In fact, Xan and I are going to get married as soon as we can and make our home here!’
‘Well, that’s lovely,’ he said, his cherubic smile appearing. ‘And in any case,Iwas about to suggest that we wind the business up straight away and return any deposits to our irate clients – because I intend moving in with Dom!’
‘Oh, Henry!’ I cried. ‘How wonderful! I thought it was serious.’
‘Mutual hugs and congratulations, darling,’ Henry agreed, getting up and suiting the action to the words. ‘And if it all works out, we might be following you and Xan down the aisle before long!’
At dinner that night, Sabine regarded the depleted group at the table – me, Henry, Xan, Nancy and Lucy – and said, ‘It’s been a most enjoyable, not to mentioninterestingChristmas, but I have to say, it’s very nice to be just us again.’
‘It certainly is, and I’ll be happy to get back to work tomorrow,’ Xan said. ‘Dido, are you going to help me again?’
