Page 55 of The Holiday Cottage

She was conscious of Sara hovering, white and tense, of Iris worrying about her mother, and Imogen awkward and unsure.

“I live alone. Just me.” She gave Ava an apologetic look. “It never seems worth it.”

Ava frowned. “But if you live alone you can do exactly what you want to do and not think about anyone else—” she gave her sister a look “—so I’d have ten trees and no one would be able to stop me.”

“Ten?” Imogen laughed. “You don’t think that’s too many?”

“No.” Ava looked suddenly excited. “We can choose you a tree when we get ours. We’re going tomorrow, aren’t we, Mummy? You could come too.”

Sara’s expression would have been comical if it hadn’t been so heartbreaking. “Let’s see how we all feel in the morning.”

Ava looked puzzled. “But—”

“Enough.” Iris hugged her. “Mummy has a headache. You need to stop talking for five minutes.” She gave Imogen an apologetic look. “She’s excited because it’s our Christmas party this afternoon.”

“A party? That does sound fun.” Imogen smiled and glanced at Dorothy. “It’s kind of you to invite me to your family lunch. I hope I’m not intruding?”

“We’re delighted to have you. But Sara was just—”

“Going to peel the carrots.” Sara pulled herself together and reached for the bag she’d bought with her. “Anything else you’d like me to do, Mum?”

Dorothy felt a rush of gratitude and admiration. Sara was going to stick with it.

The sense of relief was enormous.

“No. Everything else is in hand.” Maybe this wouldn’t be awkward after all. A simple lunch. They’d make Imogen welcome and that would be it.

Iris looked at Sara, puzzled. “But you have a headache.”

“It’s a little better, thank you.” Sara kissed Iris on top of her head. “We’ll stay for a while.”

“You should drink a large glass of water. I’ll fetch you one.” Iris fetched her mother a glass of water and watched her drink it.

“I want to see Benson,” Ava said. “I drew him a picture. And I want to tell him about the party later. Santa might be there, but he might not be the real Santa because he’s busy. I’m going to wear my new dress, but I’m not wearing it now in case I make it dirty.”

“We can’t see Benson. I have to help Nanna with lunch.” Having dutifully drunk the water, Sara was rapidly peeling and chopping carrots.

“I could take her,” Iris said. “She can show Benson her ballet.”

Ava beamed at Imogen. “You could come too. You’ll like Benson. He’s friendly.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing him,” Imogen said.

“We can go right now!” Ava’s eyes were round. “Can we go, Nanna,please?”She grabbed some of the chopped carrots and pushed them into her pocket. “He loves carrots, but they have to be chopped small or he chokes. You can have some too. Then he’ll like you right away.” She grabbed a few more carrots and thrust them at Imogen.

Imogen looked startled, but then took the carrots with a smile. “Thank you. And for the useful information.”

“Benson will be eating more carrots than we are,” Sara said mildly, but she chopped an extra one and pushed the pieces across to her daughter. The rest she transferred into the oven tray with the parsnips Dorothy had already prepared.

“Why don’t we all go for a quick walk before lunch? The food will be fine for a short time.” Dorothy decided that a distraction would be good for all of them. “Has it stopped snowing?”

Iris looked out of the window. “It’s not snowing, but it looks cold. Will that make your headache worse, Mummy?”

“It will be fine, I’m sure.” Sara wiped her hands. “I think it’s a good idea.”

“We’ll all wrap up,” Dorothy said briskly. “It will be good to show Imogen around a little. I can point out that path across the fields to the village so that you know where you’re going when you explore.”

And maybe visiting the animals might be good for Imogen. Dorothy always found them to be an excellent cure for a low mood. And even if Imogen didn’t feel the same way, it would make conversation easier for Sara.

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