Page 74 of The Secret Christmas Library
‘Bonnie?’ said Mirren, as Bonnie set down steaming plates of black pudding, haggis and eggs. Esme’s eyes grew moist with longing. Theo on the other hand looked rather green. Bonnie looked up.
‘This is for you. It’s not much,’ said Mirren.
‘And also, not yours to give,’ pointed out Esme.
‘No, I realise that,’ said Mirren. ‘I thought we could read them here.’ It was a copy of a book calledLongbourn. ‘I wasn’t sure if this was appropriate,’ said Mirren. ‘If it isn’t, I’m really sorry. I just work here too.’
Bonnie turned it over. It wasPride and Prejudice, written from the point of view of the servants. Mirren tensed in case she was offended – but Bonnie immediately softened.
‘Thank you,’ she said, looking Mirren in the face for what felt like the first time. ‘Thanks for this. I think . . . I will read it.’
‘You don’t have to,’ said Mirren.
‘No, I will, thanks,’ said Bonnie, holding it close.
‘Come on,’ said Jamie. ‘Hurry up and eat! The sun is up! Well, nearly.’
‘Where is this maze?’ said Theo. ‘Maybe it’s so far away that one of us should actually stay back here and, you know, hold the fort.’
They looked at him.
‘The fresh air will do you good,’ said Mirren, with no sympathy whatsoever.
Esme sighed. ‘It’s on the far side of the loch,’ she said.
‘Why is everything so far away?’ groaned Theo. ‘We have a London garden square. Everything’sright there.’
Mirren’s mum’s suburban garden was the size of a pocket handkerchief, so she didn’t mention it. ‘We could do with a tramp,’ she said. ‘Christmas Eve morning walk after our huge breakfast.’
It was indeed huge, and after several refills of tea even Theo looked as if he might be ready to go.
‘I know what we need,’ said Esme, nodding towards the boot room.
‘No, don’t,’ said Jamie. ‘You’re terrible anyway.’
‘I am not!’
‘You are! Always used to lean on the gardeners!’
‘Oh, well, yes,’ said Esme. ‘But that was before I spent that winter in . . . ’ Her voice trailed off as she mumbled something that might or might not have been ‘St Petersburg’.
‘What are you talking about?’ said Mirren.
‘You’ll see,’ said Esme.
‘You’d better check it,’ said Jamie, the little furrow appearing.
‘If there’s ice on the inside of the windows, then you know it’s fine,’ said Esme. ‘Come on, you old woman! Let’s GO!’
And she leapt up, Theo groaning in her wake.
38
All trussed up, Jamie flung open the boot room side door on to the gravel driveway. Esme looked at the sky, then at her still-buried, now-frozen car, and sighed.
Jamie hefted up a bag, and stomped out, without his snowshoes today, just thick boots.
‘We need crampons really,’ he said.
