Page 41 of The Christmas Retreat
She indicated a paper carrier printed on the side with A Winter’s Tale Bookshop. ‘I’ve bought copies of three of his books and shorter guides on the subject. One of the books has a whole chapter about artists living in the area between the wars.’
‘That does sound useful,’ I admitted.
‘I hope so, and he’s also going to try and find some additional material on the subject, which he’s sure he still has. It’s a rabbit warren of tiny rooms, that place! He lives over it,’ she added, ‘but he most often eats his dinner here.’
‘I must visit it. I’d like to read up on local history, too, especially this Solstice ceremony, which sounds a fascinating hotchpotch of old and new influences.’
‘I told Noel about our connection with the family and my research into Arwen Madoc’s time here,’ Evie said, ‘although of course we aren’t connected to him in the least. He is a different branch of the family.’
‘Good, because I think one newly found distant relative is enough to be going on with. I’m not sure Nerys was altogether delighted to find out about that this morning.’
‘No, she wasn’t, was she?’ mused my mother. ‘Or about the subject of my research, and I really can’t imagine why, unless she has something to hide …’
‘Or she just might not fancy us as relatives,’ I pointed out, just as Toby and Pearl caught us up.
A sharp rap on the door with the brass Green Man knocker brought Tudor to let us into the warmth of the hall, which had a fragrant scent of resinous pine and spices.
There was a delicious smell wafting from the dining room, too.
Evie’s aquiline nose twitched. ‘Vegetable soup and freshly baked bread, if I’m not mistaken.’
‘You aren’t. Bronwen’s made cream of vegetable soup and there are hot bread rolls,’ confirmed Tudor as we all piled our coats on to the hall stand and went through.
The buffet lunch was just as lavish as breakfast, with potato salad, winter slaw, mushroom pâté, sliced cold meat and cheese, as well as the hot soup and rolls.
We all filled our plates and took our places at the long table, hungry after our busy morning. Kate, Verity and Opal were already there and the latter gave her sister a very cold look when she joined her.
Snookums came out of the kitchen and wandered around the table, looking hopeful, and then settled warmly on my feet. Perhaps he could sense a soft touch, and that I’d be unable to resist slipping him a bit of ham when Nerys wasn’t looking.
‘We don’t wait for Timon, because he usually has a sandwich from the gallery cafe,’ said Nerys. ‘And Rhys crashed out after he got back from dropping Cariad off at the castle this morning, as I knew he would, and is sleeping off his jet lag. He always suffers from it, and needs to be rested ready for the ceremony tonight and his lead role as the Druid.’
‘Inever get jet lag,’ said Evie complacently. ‘But my PA, Liv, is pretty useless for at least a day after we go somewhere long haul.’
When we’d finished and had our coffee, Nerys said she would leave us to our own devices, because she wanted to work on in the studio while the light held.
‘My painting just needs a few final touches, I think.’
‘I must finish my watercolour too. Those flowers are drooping more by the second and some petals have started to fall off, so they will be past it by morning,’ Verity said, rather aggrievedly, as if it was Nerys’s fault, although short of gluing the petals back on I don’t see what else she could have done about it. After all, she hadn’t set up the flower arrangement for Verity’s benefit, and I thought it generous of her to share her studio with visiting artists.
Nerys got up. ‘Coffee, tea and cake in here if anyone feels like company around half past three – it’s a scrummy-looking Christmas cake made by Ginny.’
‘I’d already made it before I knew I was going away for Christmas,’ I explained, ‘so I brought it with me.’
‘Now, you won’t forget, everyone, that dinner is at six tonight, so we’re finished in good time for the Winter Solstice procession at eight. Drinks and canapés before dinner in the living room will be earlier too, around half five.’
Kate, who had silently consumed enough food for three people during our repast, looked cheered by this prospect, but I didn’t think she would be hiking up the hill in the dark, unless they told her there was food at the top.
‘It’s going to be bitterly cold tonight, but the trek up the hill will warm us up. As will the bonfire. Then back down again for the hot wassail punch on the green!’ said Nerys. ‘The forecast isn’t ruling out a white Christmas, but we could do without snow until after tonight.’
‘Snow could make for interesting angles to our work,’ murmured Opal. ‘Snow changes everything.’
‘It certainly changes how easy it is to navigate the road in and out of Seren Bach,’ Nerys agreed drily. ‘But you can always walk in by way of the cliff path. It’s partly exposed, but usually navigable on foot.’
‘Well, come along, Pearl,’ commanded Opal. ‘I need to show you all the possible locations I found this morning, while you were wasting time.’
Pearl exchanged a brief look with Toby, who smiled encouragingly, and she said, ‘I wasn’t wasting time. It was really interesting, Opal.’
But she got up obediently and followed her sister out meekly enough. Old habits die hard, but I thought possibly the first small seeds of rebellion might have been sown.
