Page 65 of One More Christmas at the Castle
‘You’ve already got Plum to carry,’ I pointed out, but didn’t release myself.
‘I expect your experience of Christmas was a lot more traditional than mine in Greece,’ he said, as we picked our way around the icy patches. ‘The first one I spent with my parents at the Castle was quite an eye-opener!’
‘Not really, Granny and Dora weren’t that big on Christmas. I think the novelty had worn off and it was all too much work and fuss. As soon as I turned five, we used to spend the break at a small country house hotel near Bath. Then, much later, I spent a Christmas with some of Henry’s family in a huge, cold mansion in Norfolk. I learned so much from their wonderful cook, and about all the Rudge family Christmas traditions, too, though they seemed to do things in their own slightly peculiar way.’
‘I assume that was after you’d come back from your road trip abroad with Henry? He told me you met at university and then the summer after you graduated, a group of you set off around Europe in an old car.’
‘Yes, but the others dropped out after a while. Henry and I kept going and we were away a lot longer than we’d originally intended.’
Henry, I thought, seemed to have told Xan a lot. But then, so had I … he was too easy to talk to!
‘We both came back with lots of ideas – and in my case, recipes too – not to mention the inspiration for Heavenly Houseparties. Henry also started his blog and I began to turn all the material I’d collected abroad into a series of little books of recipes and reminiscences, and was lucky enough to find a publisher.’
‘Those sound fun!’
‘They come out annually, just before Christmas and they’re all calledA Tiny Taste of …This year’s isA Tiny Taste of Andalusia. I’ve brought my box of author’s copies with me, because they’re always handy to give as gifts, so you could have one, if you like?’
‘I’d love it. Wrap it up and give it to me for Christmas!’
I looked doubtfully at him, but he seemed to be serious. ‘OK. Andyou’vewritten quite a lot of books too, haven’t you?’
Naturally, I’d already checked him out on Amazon …
‘I turned my post-graduate dissertation into a biography, which sold well enough for the publisher to take another … and I just kept on going after that.’
He suddenly smiled and added: ‘Chilling out in front of that film with you and Henry took me right back to my student days again. It was fun.’
‘I don’t think we’ve ever grown out of that phase,’ I said ruefully.
When we were back on the sheltered path down to the house again, he put Plum down.
‘It’s time I was back and making lunch,’ I said.
‘And I should be working, though Sabine does keep telling me this is a holiday, too. But there’s so much more paperwork in the study than I envisaged. I need to crack on with it before her other guests get here.’
‘Yes, I suppose you’ll have to stop and be sociable for a bit, after that,’ I agreed.
Henry had gritted the stone slab bridge over the stream andthe paving in front of the door to the Garden Hall … and I hoped he’d remembered to top up the water in the steamer my Christmas pudding was cooking in.
When I left Xan towelling dry Plum’s wet tummy and went into the warm and slightly steamy kitchen, I saw hehadremembered and all was well.
I told him about the rocky slope below the Roman site.
‘Maybe I’ll take a look at the terrain after lunch, then, because with a bit of luck we might get more snow.’
‘As long as the guests can still get through, I don’t mind,’ I said, as Xan came in to make himself a mug of coffee to take back to the study.
‘I’m going to take the Land Rover down the track through the woods to look at the Christmas tree plantation later this afternoon,’ Henry said. ‘Why don’t you both come with me?’
Xan paused, coffee mug in hand and said, ‘I was hoping Dido would help me in the study for a bit, really.’
‘I will, but then I’ve got a lot of food prepping to do, because Simon’s coming for dinner.’
‘You’ll still have time to take a quick look at the Christmas trees, though, especially if I make the afternoon tea, and I know you want to,’ Henry said persuasively.
‘All right,’ I said, giving in. ‘Xan, what about you?’
‘OK, and maybe we should take something to tie around the tree we choose? I wouldn’t put it past Henry to bring back one twenty feet high, if left to himself.’
