Page 46 of The Christmas Invitation
It had grown dark, so the curtains were drawn, but the lights had been switched off so we could appreciate the full effect of the illuminated tree.
It looked so magical glowing out of the darkness that it took my breath away. The odd shapes of the old ornaments came alive and sparkled crazily. Bunches of purple grapes and green-capped pixies jostled with bears, spotted dogs and Santas. Small coloured spheres with deep, silvered conical indentations reflected the lights and there were icicles of clear twisted glass. Birds of all shapes perched among the branches with their long, white, spun-glass tails balancing their silvered bodies.
The metallic tinsel zigzagged down from top to bottom, like a mountain road sparkling in the rain, and on the very top of the tree was a small fairy with a skirt of crinkled pink crepe paper over a layer of white net.
When we’d praised it enough for Teddy’s satisfaction we all returned to the hall to finish the big tree together, though now the first baubles had been placed, this one seemed more a race to see how many of the other ornaments we could fit on it.
‘I’ve forgotten the chocolate decorations,’ Clara said, suddenly. ‘They’re in one of my desk drawers.’
‘The chocolate only goes on the big tree,’ Henry explained to me. ‘And well out of reach of Lass.’
Clara came back with the goodies: net bags of golden coins, little bundles of foil-wrapped chocolate parcels tied up with silver string and a big bag of assorted chocolate shapes – bells, candles, snowmen, Santas, reindeer and stars – with loops for hanging.
‘Father Christmas puts one of those big bags of chocolate coins at the bottom of my stocking every year, with a tangerine,’ said Teddy. ‘I think he steals the tangerine when he comes in, because last year I counted all the ones in the fruit bowl before I went to bed, and in the morning there was one missing.’
Behind him, Henry winked at me.
‘Perhaps he can’t get enough of them in the sleigh, what with all those toys?’ I suggested. We might not have ever celebrated Christmas at the Farm, but once out in the world there was no escaping the knowledge of things like Father Christmas’s seasonal delivery service, with his red coat and sleigh … not to mention the relentless urging to spend ever more money on presents.
‘I don’t think so,’ Teddy said, after giving this idea his serious attention. ‘It’s a magic sleigh.’
‘That’s true,’ Lex said. ‘But perhaps he keeps the ones in the sleigh for houses where there aren’t any.’
This seemed to satisfy Teddy and we all joined in hanging up the chocolates above dog level, and some just above Teddy level too, so he wasn’t tempted to overindulge and make himself sick.
We’d just finished when Tottie came back, her cheeks red from the cold. She was still wearing breeches and a heavy polo-neck jumper, but she had removed her riding boots and was just in grey ribbed woollen socks.
‘It’s starting to freeze hard and one of the farm tractors is out with a gritter,’ she told us.
‘You’re back in perfect time, Tottie,’ said Clara. ‘We’ve only this second put the chocolate decorations on the tree, so it’s ready for the finishing touch.’
Henry vanished into his study and emerged carrying the antique papier mâché Santa that Tottie had so misguidedly tarted up with glitter and cotton wool in her youth.
Now she took it from him and climbed the stairs until she could reach over and ceremoniously place it over the topmost spike of the tree.
‘Hurray! Let the Christmas revels begin,’ called Henry, and everyone clapped. Tottie gave a mock bow and came back down.
‘Right, let’s turn on the fairy lights and off with the hall ones,’ said Clara. Lex plunged everything into darkness except for the illuminated magic of the tall tree, which seemed to float in the air like some enchanted vision of fairyland.
‘Oh, it’s so beautiful!’ I sighed. ‘Both trees are, but in different ways.’
‘When I was a little girl we had the old-fashioned candles in crimped metal holders that clipped to the ends of the branches, but we only lit them briefly and Daddy would stand by with a bucket of sand and the soda siphon, just in case,’ said Tottie.
‘We had those too,’ said Clara. ‘Mother was petrified the house would go up in flames.’
‘I wouldn’t even have electric lights on the tree when I lived here on my own,’ said Tottie. ‘The early ones were a bit dodgy.’
‘Well, they’re all quite safe now, especially since the house has been rewired,’ said Clara. ‘Those two-pin sockets and plugs belonged in a museum.’
‘They were in my rooms over the garage before the place was done up,’ said Den.
‘Grooms and chauffeurs can’t have expected much in the way of home comforts back in the twenties and thirties,’ said Clara.
‘Only cold water plumbing, too, poor bustards,’ said Den.
‘Is bast—’ began Teddy, interestedly, but Tottie interrupted him hastily.
‘Never you mind, Teddy. It’s just another one of those Den words that you can’t use until you’re bigger than he is.’
