Page 64 of One More Christmas at the Castle
‘I bumped into Simon the first time I came up here and he told me lots of interesting things about the site,’ I said. ‘Apparently, it was more of a garrison, with living quarters for families, too, hence the Mithras temple and the extensive remains of heated baths. All mod cons.’
‘I know they discovered a few clay tablets incised with invitations and messages, so there was some kind of social life going on,’ Xan said. ‘They found a lot more of them at another site a bit further along, though.’
‘Oh, yes, I remember visiting that one,’ I said without thinking, then quickly went on: ‘I was taken to visit various sites along the Wall when I was a child, though I don’t remember ever coming here.’
‘Visitors tend to flock to the important sites with more facilities. The visitor centre and café here were only a couple of wooden huts until the new one was built about fifteen years ago. I came for the opening. Asa cut the ribbon and then downed most of the bottle of bubbly,’ he said with a reminiscent grin. ‘Though, of course, he’d supplied it in the first place.’
We circled round what a large sign proclaimed to be a communal loo – and yes, Simon had already imparted the information that the Roman idea of loo paper was to keep a sponge on a stickin a jar of vinegar next to each toilet seat – when Plum fell into a shallow trench and had to be fished out again.
Xan tucked him under his arm, where he hung limply, his pink tongue lolling tiredly out of his moth.
‘Plum hasn’t got a lot of energy,’ I commented.
‘No, but he’s almost seven, which I think for a dog is sort of middle-aged – and he’s only got little legs.’
‘How did you come to choose a King Charles spaniel?’
‘I didn’t! I was visiting Nancy, who lives near me just outside Oxford, and she was looking for a new home for him because his elderly owner had passed away. Nancy decided I needed a dog for company.’
‘You’ve known Mrs Kane a long time?’
‘All my life. She and Sabine were students at Oxford together and were at each other’s weddings, too – best friends for ever! So the Kanes were always welcome visitors here, or on Corfu. Nancy lost her husband about ten years before Asa died. He was a nice man – a vicar. I expect that’s what influenced Nancy to move from academic work to being ordained herself.’
We skirted a wall and came out near the visitor centre, before turning to walk back along the lower part of the site.
To our right, the land fell away steeply, with outcrops of rocks, and I hoped Henry would check it out before any more snow arrived and he tried snowboarding down it.
There was still no sign of Simon, but I thought he’d be hunkered down in front of the fire, if he had any sense.
‘So, if you visited the area as a child, did you come from around here?’ Xan asked suddenly.
‘No, it was just a holiday,’ I said quickly.
‘Oh, right. I was sure Henry said you live near each other in Cheshire.’
‘We do – we have a pair of grace-and-favour lodges at thegate of one of his relative’s country houses,’ I said. ‘But I come from west Lancashire originally – a very small market town called Great Mumming. I imagine being brought up on Corfu was a lot more interesting, though!’
‘My parents were living and working in Athens when I was born, though I still had wonderful holidays at the old house on Corfu,’ he said. ‘And then, when I came over here to school, Mitras Castle became a bit of a home-from-home.’
‘Great Mumming wasn’t exciting, but a nice place to grow up in,’ I said. ‘My granny lives there, with her friend Dora. They’re both widows and share a passion for travelling, but when I came along and she became my guardian, I put a bit of a crimp in that for a while!’
And I don’t know how it came about, but I found myself explaining the tangled history that had led to Granny first adopting my father, and then taking on me – the result of Dad’s brief liaison with another university student – at a time when she and her friend were looking forward to a retirement spent globetrotting.
‘So Granny isn’treallymy granny, but she has a great sense of duty.’
‘Poor little girl!’ Xan said gently. ‘Duty doesn’t sound much fun.’
‘Oh, we love each other, in our own way, and she soon managed to arrange things so she and Dora could travel again. My childminder lived on a farm and her son was my best friend, so I often stayed there in the holidays …’
I tailed off, because Liam’s betrayal was still a painful spot deep in my heart.
‘Later, I went to a small boarding school and often spent the summer holidays with a friend,’ I added, before realizing that might take me into difficult waters. I certainly didn’t want tomention Charlotte! ‘Once I was old enough, I visited Dad in California. He’s the curator of a large private art collection.’
‘You know, Dido, I think your upbringing sounds a lot more interesting than mine!’ he said. ‘Are you ever called Di, by the way? I keep meaning to ask.’
‘No,never!’ I lied, darting a suspicious look at him, but just then I slid on a patch of snow and had to grab him to save myself.
He tucked a hand through my arm companionably and said, ‘It’s a bit slippery just here. Hang on to me till we get back through the gate.’
