Page 87 of One More Christmas at the Castle
‘I know how you love it,’ Nancy agreed.
‘I do, and a body such as the National Trust would do that. Of course, it wouldn’t be a family home any more, but itwouldgo on.’
‘I’m sure when you’ve considered it carefully over Christmas, you’ll do what is right – foreveryoneconcerned,’ she said, with gentle certainty.
‘I hope so. And, by the way, the Archbold line is nottotallyextinct: do you remember my telling you once that Xan’s grandmother Rose Fellowes and Asa and I discovered a family connection way back?’
Nancy gazed at me. ‘I do, now you come to mention it, by way of some long-forgotten ancestor who emigrated to America?’
‘That’s right. You know what these old American families are like for lineage – there were family bibles and documents tracing the link.’
‘Not so much a link as the very finest, almost invisible thread!’ she said.
‘So is silk, but strong for all that.’
‘Well …’ she murmured pensively after a long moment, ‘you have given me a lot to think about! But I suspect you’re already well on your way to making up your mind. I’ll pray for you to make the right decisions.’
‘Thank you,’ I said, and reached for the decanter. ‘A last snifter before bed?’
‘Why not?’ She held out her glass. ‘I don’t often get the chance to let my hair down these days.’
Then she sat back and cast another of her searching, bright glances at me. ‘Why do I still get the feeling you’re holding out on me about something?’
‘I have absolutely no idea,’ I said firmly, and turned the conversation back to our student days again.
25
Gingered Up
Yesterday evening, once our work was finished, Henry dragged in our modest Christmas tree from the outbuilding, smelling deliciously of cold pine needles, and set it up in one corner of the staff sitting room.
We had brought a box of baubles for our own artificial tree and, since we’d packed that one away again, we could use those.
Henry put on the DVD of that old favourite,White Christmas, because although you can’t watch anything while trimming a tree, we liked to have it playing in the background.
I’d just begun by fixing the fairy to the top of the tree, when Simon called in on his way home from an evening event at the university. He came in diffidently, as if unsure of his welcome, but was easily persuaded to stay and help – and so was Xan, when he and Plum came in a few minutes afterwards.
‘Hi, Simon,’ he said. ‘It looks like I’ve just made it in time to join in the fun!’
‘Has everyone else gone to bed?’ Henry asked. ‘I wondered if they might stay up later, now Mrs Kane is here.’
‘Oh, Nancy said she doesn’t keep late nights either and hoped I wouldn’t mind amusing myself. But Sabine told her Isometimes play billiards with Henry, or occasionally, we watch a film.’
‘Occasionally being every night,’ I pointed out.
‘Yes, but she doesn’t know that,’ he said. ‘Nancy said that sounded like fun and made sure Lucy didn’t linger behind when they went up to bed. She has a nice firm but kind way with her.’
‘I know. She’s already told Lucy that while she herself is staying here to keep Mrs Powys company, Lucy can take a holiday and do what she wants, which seems to be joining in the village activities as much as possible.’
‘I can see Mrs Kane will be a force for the good,’ Henry said with a grin.
‘She insists we call her Nancy and told me she hadn’t answered to anything other than her first name, or “Rev Nancy”, for years.’
‘Perhaps Sabine will unbutton a bit under her influence,’ Xan said. ‘I’d be surprised if the pair of them weren’t upstairs in her boudoir right now, swapping old memories and generally catching up.’
Henry fetched some beer from the fridge and we restartedWhite Christmasbefore getting on with decorating the tree.
Our collection of baubles, mostly found by me in junk and charity shops, varied from antique glass fruit to sixties trumpets, bells and birds. Our plastic fairy was attired in a crêpe-paper dress, fanned out and up behind her head and had been tarted up with glitter glue by Henry, who loved a bit of sparkle.
