Page 69 of The Christmas Invitation
‘Person,’ corrected Tottie.
‘Thank you, Teddy. I’m very honoured to be a favourite people.’
‘I think you could become one ofmyfavourite people too,’ Mark said, and I realized he thought I’d changed my plans to leave because of him, which was a bit unfortunate.
Perhaps Lex thought so too, for he was giving us another of his sardonic looks, but Pansy didn’t like the way Mark was leaning closer again, and decided to resume her pushing and kicking.
Mark put her on the floor. ‘She can be a bit of a nuisance sometimes.’
‘Oh, no, I just think she’s funny,’ I said, and then got up, took a teacup and a slice of the delicious-looking cake, and sat down next to Clara instead.
She smiled widely at me. ‘I’m so glad you’ve made up your mind to stay, though I was sure you would. We’re going to have a lovely family party, with lots of fun!’
Lex didn’t look as if he remembered what fun was …
A faint cloud crossed Sybil’s face. ‘I must remember to phone Piers when I get back. He hasn’t replied to my lettertelling him I’m away this Christmas and I’m afraid he might not have got it.’
‘I expect he has and he’s just sulking,’ Mark suggested. ‘But you’d better make sure.’
‘Don’t worry about Piers, Syb,’ Tottie said. ‘If ever there was a man who could look out for himself, it’s him. He’s got family, so there’s no reason why you should feel responsible for him.’
‘No …’ said Sybil, but she still looked troubled.
‘Auntie Sybil, do you want to see my portrait of Meg with green hair?’ asked Teddy.
‘Of course, I’d love to,’ she said promptly, and he went to fetch it.
‘He’s already very good for his age,’ I said. ‘He’s got a real feeling for colour and form.’
‘There’s only the very faintest tinge of green in your hair now, Meg,’ said Tottie. ‘It must be naturally very light in colour?’
‘Yes, so fair it’s almost white,’ I agreed. ‘My mother’s is the same.’
‘Will you dye your hair green again, my dear?’ enquired Henry. ‘The dark emerald was quite wood nymph, in a way, and suited you.’
I wasn’t too sure about that, but I thanked him anyway. ‘No, I’m going to go for an entirely different colour next time.’
‘Your hair was like white gold the first time I saw you – platinum blond, I think they call it,’ Lex said, unexpectedly, then elaborated for the others: ‘She materialized out of the shadows in a dark corridor in the art college – white hair, pale face, dark clothes. I thought she was a ghost and it was quite scary for a minute.’
‘Well,youscared me, too, with that long black coat flapping out like the wings of some huge, dark bird swooping down on me,’ I retorted, and our eyes met and held for a long moment. I think we were both seeing each other as we were on that day: young and with the world before us.
I shampooed my hair twice that evening and when I’d finished I was back to Silver Phantom mode again.
But not for long: soon I’d be a vision in rose.
Clara
As the new term wore on towards early spring, I settled ever more deeply into both my studies and my social life, which of course revolved around Henry.
I had neither the time nor inclination to pay a good deal of attention to Nessa, or I think I would have noticed what was amiss much earlier. However, the moment she came into my room one day, closed the door behind her and burst into a flood of tears, I immediately – and rightly – guessed she was pregnant.
She had been denying it to herself until now, but could do so no longer. I don’t know why she chose me as her confidante, unless perhaps it was that the father of her child – George, of course – was Henry’s brother.
Out came the whole sorry tale of that fateful London trip she had made in the autumn: George had indeed driven her down and they had planned to spend some hours together before she went to Lady Leamington’s house. He’d borrowed a friend’s flat, where they went first to drop her suitcase … or so she thought. She certainly hadn’t expected him to behave the way he had.
‘Like a wild animal!’ she sobbed. ‘And afterwards he said he didn’t know why I was so upset, because he wanted to marry me!And once the knot was tied and I had control of my money, we could go anywhere, and do anything, we wanted …’
‘So then I expect you told him you couldn’t touch the capital till you were thirty?’ I suggested.
