Page 133 of One More Christmas at the Castle
‘I don’t know why you haven’t, anyway.’
‘As I said, it seemed to be … tempting fate.’ I felt my lips twist into a wry smile. ‘Now there’s not a lot of fate to tempt; my sand is running out.’
‘Well, you’ll feel easier in your mind when you’ve come to a decision and signed one of those wills – whichever it is,’ Nancy added with a twinkle.
‘I need to talk to Timothy in the morning. There are a few points I want to discuss with him, and of course, he still has no idea that Faye had a child, or that her granddaughter is actually in the house.’
‘You’d better tell him!’
I shrugged. ‘I suppose so, but the will, when I sign it, will take care of that particular problem.’
I stopped and took another good slug of whisky.
‘Before I see Timothy, though, I need to have a word with Xan. After what Sophie said, I want to know what’s going on between him and Dido.’
‘You know, I find it hard to like Sophie Martin,’ Nancy said. ‘She seems very shallow and spiteful, and if shehasany good qualities, she’s hiding them well.’
I looked at her, surprised. ‘This isn’t like you, Nancy! You usually see the best in everybody.’
‘I’m still hoping she’ll prove me wrong, but something about her makes me feel uneasy. And have you noticed that her own grandfather looks at her as if she was a bomb about to go off?’
‘He certainly looked horrified when she burst in at tea time and told us about Xan and Dido.’
‘I don’t think Timothy’s very fond of her. He told me that she’s only staying with him because she’s fallen out with her parents, and her divorce has left her in a difficult position.’
‘A difficult financial position, do you mean? She doesn’t exactly look penniless, does she?’
‘He said she’d signed some kind of pre-nuptial agreement, against his advice.’
‘More fool her!’
‘Yes indeed,’ she agreed, then looked at me and beamed. ‘You must feel relieved that Xan hasn’t fallen for Sophie. He told me that seeing her again had knocked him for six – for all of ten minutes!’
‘Everyone tells you everything!’ I said, ‘But no, it won’t be a relief that he hasn’t fallen for Sophie if he simply turns his attentions to Dido!’
‘Oh, but it wasalwaysDido. I realized how he felt about her the moment I first saw them together, though of course since Dido is very reserved, I wasn’t at first sure how she felt about him. But now I’m quite sure they love each other.’
‘I hope you’re wrong,’ I said grimly. ‘This is not what I bargained for when I decided to employ her at the Castle.’
‘But I’m sure you promised me that you’d strive not to blame Dido for her grandmother’s actions,’ Nancy pointed out gently. ‘And you know, dear Sabine, that however complicated things seem, they have a way of working themselves out satisfactorily, in the end.’
She put her empty glass down and got up. ‘I can see from your face that the pill is working and I think you should go to bed and get a good night, for once.’
When she hugged and kissed me, I felt the warmth of her love embrace me and thought, as I so often did, that I was not entirely worthy of it.
37
Clinched
Henry, returning earlier from a sortie to the sitting room to see to the fire and collect used glasses, said that the bridge party was in full swing again, but Frank had been so rude about his wife’s playing that she’d refused to go on.
‘So then Mr Makepeace took her place, but partnered Mrs Powys, and Nigel, Frank. It was a bit like musical chairs.’
‘Isn’t it odd that we quite happily call everyone by their first names, except Mr Makepeace and Mrs Powys?’
‘I just can’tseeMr Makepeace as a Timothy,’ Henry said pensively. ‘And unless Mrs Powys personally asks us to call her Sabine, we’d better not get overfamiliar!’
‘What’s everyone else doing?’ I asked.
