Page 73 of The Secret Christmas Library
Mirren came over and stood behind Jamie. The sky behind the trees was bright pink and gold – breathtaking colours. As she stared, the stag appeared once again, his horns high in thetrees, part of the wild forest itself. She noticed Jamie incline his head, ever so slightly, as if nodding in respect – and it didn’t seem weak, or ridiculous; it seemed absolutely right.
‘It’s going to be the most beautiful day,’ she said, quietly amazed, really, that she would ever say that on a day so cold you could quite clearly see where Jack Frost had been, his fingers leaving traces all over the insides of the windows. But she meant it. ‘Happy Christmas Eve.’
He turned to look at her, and his eyes had their sad look back. ‘Yeah,’ he said.
‘I think we will find it,’ said Mirren, trying to be optimistic. ‘Look out there.’
The first golden beams were bouncing off the ground; the snow had hardened into solid ice, glistening like diamonds, crunchy and solid.
‘The whole world new,’ she said, still quietly, as if trying not to startle a shy creature. ‘That’s the promise of Christmas, isn’t it? Whatever you believe. The whole world turns shiny and new again, a brand new year, a brand new baby. It’s always the same and always new.’
Jamie nodded. The shadows of the trees on the white lawn were incredibly long.
‘My grandfather never managed to make everything new.’
‘You’re not him,’ said Mirren. ‘You’re not, Jamie.’
He smiled ruefully. ‘Got that same name.’
‘That doesn’t matter,’ said Mirren. ‘At Christmas, everything old is new again.’
He looked at her. ‘Did you choose me a book present yet?’
She smiled. ‘Yes.’
‘I want it!’ he said. ‘I want my present. Can I have it today? We can pretend we’re European.’
And, because his smile was finally back. Mirren reached into the pillowcase she had filled when she hadn’t been able to sleep the night before, and pulled it out.
Jamie beamed when he saw it. ‘I haven’t read this in years!’ He opened the first page.‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit . . . ’He smiled. ‘I loved this book.’
‘Good,’ said Mirren.
‘Hang on,’ said Esme. ‘You got up last night and went and looked atmore books?’
Mirren looked back at her. ‘You don’t know how lucky you are,’ she said. ‘It’s a treasure trove here. I found the South Library. The moon was so bright, and I couldn’t sleep. And I was hungry. You didn’t leave me very much.’
Theo and Esme had the grace to look shamefaced. Mirren didn’t mention that she had secretly rather hoped she might bump into Jamie, wandering about in the halls at night-time. She hadn’t.
She handed over a book to Esme.
‘Valley of the Dolls,’ Esme read. ‘“The book too hot to publish”. Ooh!’ she went on. ‘This looks like it would be just my kind of thing. Although I don’t read much.’
‘You’ll still like this.’
‘What happened to that other one you mentioned, the sexy one?’ asked Jamie.
‘I kept it for myself. Ssh,’ said Mirren, and Jamie let his smile out, cautiously.
Theo crossly flapped his hands in her direction when he saw his book, the second glass of champagne having fallen out with the first one, and being in no mood to make polite conversation.
‘ARake’s Diary?’ he said. ‘That seems harsh.’
‘Au contraire,’ said Mirren, sternly. ‘If you’d been living back then, you’d have done some terrible harm.’
‘I’m not sure whether to take that as a compliment or not,’ he said, flipping through the illustrated plates.
‘Not,’ said Mirren, and Jamie glanced at her, wondering.
