Page 153 of The Christmas Invitation
‘I’ve given you lots of help peeling wallpaper off, so I haven’t held the renovations up,’ pointed out Zelda.
‘I don’t like Piers,’ announced Teddy, looking up from his castle. The towers had tiny lights inside and one of the dragon family was sitting on the tallest.
‘You have very good taste,’ said Lex.
The landline rang and it was Radnor Vane, calling to wish Teddy a happy Christmas. Teddy thanked him for his gifts and said, with the frankness of childhood, that he liked them much better than the Mickey Mouse slippers.
After this call, Teddy was quiet for quite a while and must have been thinking, for he suddenly asked if he would have to live at Underhill if his mummy married Mark.
His tone made it clear that he was not keen on the idea. Zelda, slightly taken aback, said that she and Mark would be so busy getting the business up and running that he’d probably stay at the Red House for the immediate future.
‘I expect eventually you’ll have a bedroom there as well as here and can divide your time between the two,’ suggested Henry, and Teddy cheered up.
Mark left after we’d had a simple supper of Welsh rarebit followed by trifle or Christmas cake, Den having long since retired to his flat and his telly for a well-deserved rest.
Teddy was distinctly flagging by then and made no objection to going to bed early, so long as he could take a selection of his favourite presents upstairs with him.
I went into the studio to email Fliss and wish her happy Christmas, then told her about the two engagements, especially the amazingly speedy one of Rollo and Flora.
She pinged one right back: There’s still one romantic lead left in this rom com, and we all know who he is!
And I hadn’t even told her about Pansy, or the kissing …
When I returned to the others, Henry’s mind must have been moving along similar lines, because he suddenly announced, channelling Mr Bennet inPride and Prejudice, ‘I’m going to my study now, but if any man should come asking for Meg’s hand in marriage, I’m entirely at leisure to receive him.’
‘I think you’ll be quite safe from interruption,’ I said, and then caught Lex’s eyes on me and went pink, though I hoped no one, including Lex, noticed.
On my way to bed I passed Clara on the landing, who had just looked in on Teddy, and thanked her for a wonderful Christmas and all the gifts and the stocking.
‘I hope we have many more like it, because you’re part of the family now, Meg,’ she said, ‘even if we do have to share you with your family at the Farm.’
‘If you talk to Sybil in the morning, you won’t mention about what happened at the Solstice, will you?’ I asked anxiously.
‘I might, if it helps me to get to the root of what’s happening with her,’ she said. ‘This Shakespearian comedy of errors needs all the knots untangling, and the sooner, the better.’
Then she startled me by saying warmly, ‘I’m so happy that you and Lex have become such good friends! I realized there must have been some misunderstanding in the past and that you’d finally cleared it up. I haven’t seen him so much like his old self for years. Bless you for that, Meg.’
I felt myself blushing again, but fortunately the landing lights were quite dim. I had my tapestry bag slung over my shoulder and suddenly, something made me remember the letter that Flower had given me to deliver to Clara.
I rooted round in the bottom of the bag under the iPad, a sketchbook and a dozen other odds and ends, and apologetically proffered an even more crumpled envelope.
‘I’m so sorry, I entirely forgot about this! It went to Preciousss by mistake with their post and Flower gave it to me to bring back.’
‘Oh, not to worry. I see it’s from America and probably one of those long round robins from an old acquaintance, because anything important seems to come by email these days.’
She kissed my cheek. ‘Goodnight, dear Meg: we are so glad you are a Doome!’
39
A Family Affair
None of us was up early next day, except Clara, who emerged from her study to join us at breakfast and seemed to be in an unusually quiet and thoughtful frame of mind.
As soon as we’d finished, she said that she wanted us all to come into the drawing room for a big family pow-wow and that Mark would be arriving at any moment to join us.
This didn’t sound at all like the quiet little talk she had proposed having with Sybil and I wondered what on earth was to come. Would she bring up my fall and our suspicions about Sybil being responsible?
‘I wantallof you there, though Den, perhaps you wouldn’t mind staying here with Teddy and we’ll fill you in later?’
