Page 90 of One More Christmas at the Castle
‘Youcould skate and I’ll watch and admire,’ I suggested. ‘And Henry has already had the same idea. He found some skates in the Garden Hall cupboard that more or less fitted,once he’d put on two pairs of thick socks, and has already gone down.’
‘Come on, then. Sabine’s boots will probably fit you and I know Asa’s are the right size for me.’
‘Oh, I don’t think I could borrow Mrs Powys’s boots!’ I said hastily.
‘She won’t mind. All the skates in the cupboard are free for anyone to borrow.’
I was still a bit dubious, but they did fit and before I knew it, we were heading down to the frozen lake, where Henry circled, hands clasped behind his back, like someone from one of those old Dutch scenes of frozen canals.
The sky was clear and coldly blue, but it had turned much colder again. Any snow left was just a thin, crispy layer.
Henry waved as we drew near and sat on a bench to put on our skates with cold fingers.
I stood up shakily and nearly fell straight down again, before I’d even stepped on to the ice.
Xan took my arm in a firm grip. ‘Come on, I’ll teach you and I’ll try not to let you fall.’
He helped me on to the ice and Henry zoomed over and took my other arm.
‘Easy does it!’ he said, as I felt my legs sliding off in two different directions.
‘It’s not easy at all!’ I snapped, trying to jam my knees together and stay upright.
‘Bambi on ice!’ Xan said, laughing, but after a while I got a little better and Henry resumed his circling again.
Xan propelled me forward and I tried to move my feet in the way he’d told me to, though I did have a couple of falls. My legs soon started to ache, though, and the boots seemed to weigh a ton.
‘Now you’ve straightened up and got your balance, you’re moving much better,’ he said encouragingly, and we went right round the pond.
‘That’s it,’ I said, when we got back to the bank near the bench. ‘I’m afraid I’m finished. My legs have gone trembly.’
‘You’ve done very well,’ he said.
‘Well, I did improve …’ I said dubiously. Maybe, with a bit of practice, it might even be fun!
‘If you could just help me back to the bench, Xan, then you can go and have a good skate and warm up and I’ll go back to start lunch.’
‘OK,’ he agreed, and while I changed the boots for my wellies, he went back on to the ice.
Unencumbered by my ungainly presence, his tall, slender figure moved elegantly across the frozen lake and I watched him for a few minutes before getting up and heading back.
I was almost halfway up the terraces when I looked up and saw that Mrs Powys and Nancy must have returned, for they were leaning over the balustrade that bordered the lawn, watching the skating figures below.
I didn’t think they’d spotted me, so I took a side path into the woodland and followed the track up to the herb garden, where I could cut across into the Garden Hall.
After all, I was carrying Mrs Powys’s white skating boots and, despite what Xan had said, I still had a sneaking suspicion she might not like my borrowing them.
26
Boxed In
Early that afternoon, I began making my preparations for the Christmas tree decorating ceremony. I threaded thin green cord loops through the holes in my Christmas biscuits, ready for hanging, and put some aside for our own little tree.
The mince pies were already defrosted – the special ones, like tarts with star-shaped lids – which I now frosted with a little water icing.
Meanwhile, Henry had found a big glass punch bowl, the kind with small cups that hooked all around the rim and a matching ladle.
He washed and dried these carefully – they didn’t seem to have been used for years – and then assembled the ingredients he’d need to make his mulled wine.
