Page 94 of The Secret Christmas Library
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The wind was still howling; the snow was still up.
‘We can’t go back out in this,’ said Theo, with feeling. He was remembering his time out in the maze, and not with relish. ‘We’ll die. It’s over a kilometre away. In the pitch black and a howling storm.’
‘How you can have a house on your property that is so far away you can’t get to it,’ said Mirren. ‘Every time I think I’ve got my head around it, I forget again.’
‘Nobody’s doing another Captain Oates,’ said Jamie. ‘We’ll get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll look in the morning. All of us, Bonnie.’
Bonnie nodded. ‘Aye,’ she said.
Mirren’s head was whirring. She knew she wouldn’t get a moment’s sleep. Her fire was burning once again – once again laid by Bonnie, the room made nice by her. How could she work all hours, looking after this house for ungrateful people who . . . well, she supposed the grandfather had not been ungrateful; he’d paid for her education, bequeathed her the trust fund Jamie had mentioned, the house that was hers outright; the running joke that she was actually better off than any of the legitimate McKinnon offspring.
But that had not been the real reason, had it? She had stayed to look after her family. Both sides.
Mirren washed up and, as usual, got into her pyjamas, then added socks, two jumpers and a hat before hopping into the four-poster, but it was no use. Even her book was no good. She tossed and turned, and got warm, but not sleepy, not at all.
Above the persistent wailing of the wind, she stiffened. She had heard a creak. Definitely a creak. She sat up, wide awake.
If it was Theo,stillchancing his arm after all his nonsense, she was going to tell him a thing or two about backing off. Bonnie would be busy downstairs, or busy downstairs.
Which left one person. Or about five thousand angry ghosts, or a witch, or even that stupid duck, back for revenge. But she didn’t think it was any of those.
Mirren’s heart started beating faster. She got out of bed, glad of the firelight, and picked up her torch again. She advanced towards the door.
‘Hello?’ she said, quietly. ‘Who’s out there?’
There was another creak, very close, but no response.
‘Enough,’ said Mirren and threw open the door.
Standing there, looking sad but defiant, was Jamie.
‘I thought you didn’t creak,’ was all she could think of to say.
Mirren glanced up and down the corridor. He was alone.
‘Is this a bad time? Were you asleep? Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.’
‘You were creaking about outside my door!’
‘I know. I figured if you were really asleep you wouldn’t notice, but if you weren’t, you’d hear me.’
‘No,’ said Mirren. ‘I wasn’t asleep.’
‘Can I come in? It’s freezing out here.’ He looked at her pyjamas, socks, hat and two jumpers combo. ‘Although I don’t want to impose on a lady when she’s in her nightwear.’
Mirren looked back at him for a moment. Thought of all the reasons why this was a bad idea; all the reasons it couldn’t work.
And then she told herself, well, if it was just a dream, a break in her normal, quotidian city girl life, then she was going to make it count.
‘You can come in,’ she said and swung open the heavy door.
Mirren drew back towards the fire; Jamie followed her without saying anything.
‘I couldn’t sleep.’
‘Me neither.’
