Page 95 of One More Christmas at the Castle
‘Not at all.’ I began to roll out a huge disc of pale marzipan and, when it was big enough and of even thickness, I dexterously folded it in half over my rolling pin and flipped it on top of the cake.
‘I suspect you’ve done that before,’ she said with a twinkle, as I smoothed the top and then pressed down the sides, before cutting off the excess round the base with a butter knife.
‘Just a few times!’ I admitted. ‘I enjoy this part, especially the icing and decorating.’
‘Royal or fondant, for this one?’
‘Oh, royal. Just a simple whipped-up snowy effect and then a selection of old cake decorations on top. I’ve found a tin of them in a drawer and since some of them look very old, I’m hoping they date from Mrs Powys’s childhood.’
‘It’s very kind of you and Henry to take such pains to try and give her the Christmas she wants.’
‘It’s what we do best,’ I said. ‘And, given the circumstances, we want it to be as close to the old celebrations she remembers as possible.’
‘I can see you’re terribly organized – as is Sabine herself. She likes everything worked out in advance … even the course of her illness …’
She sighed, looking pensive for a moment, then brightened and added, ‘I suspect you know what we are all going to eat for every single meal until after the other guests leave!’
‘Pretty much,’ I admitted. ‘I make a habit of cooking extra batches of anything that will freeze, so that makes things easier when I’m busier later. But of course, Christmas dinner itselfhasto be worked out in advance like a plan of campaign, with defrosting, preparation and cooking times, all leading to everything being ready to go on the table at the same time.’
‘And of course,youare too professional to forget to defrost the turkey, as I most memorably did one year!’
‘Definitely! It’s a gigantic one, too, so it needs to go into the oven early on the day.’
I put the cake back on its stand under the glass dome, while I cleared away the bits of marzipan and the used utensils. Icing sugar does seem to drift everywhere, like fine snow …
‘As soon as Sabine’s free, I’m going to take her out for a run in my car,’ Nancy told me. ‘I thought we’d go to the big garden centre over near Hexham and have lunch there – and Lucy also said she’d be out gallivanting with her friend Daphne again, though I sincerely hopenotat the same garden centre. Sabine tolerates Lucy’s fussy little ways so much better when she sees much less of her.’
‘I think you’re right, but I’m sure Lucy is kind-hearted and means well. I don’t think she’s terribly interested in gardening, though.’
‘In a way that’s a pity, because it has become Sabine’s main interest, especially the Winter Garden.’
Henry came in, carrying the Liberty box with the flaps firmly folded down, and said they were all done with the mysteries and Mrs Powys had gone to get her bag and coat, so Nancy hurried out.
‘They’re going to lunch out and so is Lucy, so there’ll only be us and Xan for lunch today,’ I said. ‘Did you manage to decide which guest gets what?’
‘Oh, easy-peasy,’ he said airily. ‘And Mrs Powys has written the tags, so now I only have to make pretty parcels of them and pop them under the tree.’
‘I thought the presents were to go by the place settings on the table at Christmas dinner?’
‘Change of plan, darling.’
‘Won’t those few small parcels look a bit lonely under that giant tree?’
‘I expect there’ll be more presents later. For a start, when I carried Nancy’s luggage upstairs, I noticed an open holdall that seemed to be crammed full with cellophane cones of home-made fudge. I suspect she’s going to dole those out to everyone as presents.’
‘Home-made gifts always seem nicer than bought ones, somehow.’
‘If she’s going to put those under the tree, they’d better go up on a little table, so Plum can’t get at them,’ he suggested.
‘Good idea! He’s so greedy.’
‘Do you want to look at the silk scarves before I wrap them?’ he offered. ‘They’re absolutely beautiful, a mix of old style and modern.’
‘Better not, in case I start to long for one myself,’ I said. ‘They’re out of my price range.’
‘OK, I’ll take them into our sitting room to wrap, out of your way. After that I think I’ll go and collect all the greenery for the garlands and swags. Do you and Xan want to come? We won’t have to hurry back, if everyone else is out to lunch.’
‘I don’t know about Xan – you’d better pop and ask him – but I can if you give me an hour, because now I know I don’t have to make a proper lunch, I think I might as well carry on and ice the cake.’
