Page 161 of One More Christmas at the Castle
‘Men seem capable of believing anything a pretty young woman tells them,’ I said with a slight resurgence of the old bitterness … an acid reflux of the soul, as it were.
‘Notallof them,’ she said gently. Then she looked at me over the top of her mug and smiled, misty blue eyes shining: ‘But, Sabine, I was so proud of you at dinner! It took real bravery to embrace both Xan and Dido, in the true spirit of forgiveness and love, knowing they would care for Mitras Castle in the way you would want and make it a family home again.’
‘You were right about the first step being the hardest, but none of them since have been easy … and I’m not sure yet that I’vecompletelywon the struggle to forgive with my heart, as well as my head.’
‘Oh, I think you’re almost there, and I expect you’re already experiencing such a wonderful lightness of spirit, aren’t you?’
‘Yes …’ I admitted, ‘though not quite enough for me to take wing and fly away.’
‘It isn’t time yet,’ she said practically. ‘I’ll briefly return home in the New Year to close up my cottage and then I’ll come back and stay with you to the end.’
‘I’ll be strong enough, if you’re there, Nancy.’
‘We will take this journey together, and when I finally have to let go of your hand, you’ll see Asa reaching out from the other side to take it,’ she assured me, with the complete and comforting conviction of her faith.
Then she poured us both another mug of cocoa and said, with a twinkle, ‘Now before I go to bed, you might as well tellme how you’ve provided for Nigel, Lucy and Olive – which I’m sure you’ve done very generously.’
‘I’m not sure any amount would be generous enough to assuage Nigel’s disappointment, but for the rest, I hope so,’ I said, and told her.
43
Unlocking the Past
I woke next morning to the unseasonal but strangely soothing drumming of heavy rain on the roof and lay for a few moments listening to it, before suddenly remembering all the events of the previous day.
I sat bolt upright, heart hammering almost as loudly as the rain. Had I imagined everything, especially the moment when Mrs Powys – even in my mind I was having trouble calling her Sabine – had told Xan that he was to inherit Mitras Castle?
And not only that, but she had accepted that Xan and I would marry, which seemed, given all that had gone before, the most improbable of fairy tales!
‘Get up, Cinderella, and get down to the kitchen!’ I told myself. ‘There’s still work to be done and a substantial breakfast to prepare, to speed the departing guests on their way.’
And it certainly sounded as if anyone who wanted to leave would be able to do so now, even if it might have to be in an ark.
I knew Frank and Olive hoped to set off by mid-morning, since they were driving straight down to London, and I didn’t think Nigel would want to linger much longer than that.
Everything would soon be back to the way it was before Christmas … except, of course, thatnothingwould ever be quite the same again!
Xan came into the kitchen with his dark hair clinging damply to his head and a Plum who had been rough-dried around the edges.
‘I’m so glad you chose a waterproof coat for Plum, because it’s a deluge out there!’ he said, ripping open a sachet of doggy dinner and spooning it into the bowl, while trying to fend Plum off as he did it.
Henry pushed a mug of coffee across the table in his direction. ‘Here, you look as if you could do with it.’
‘I could, thanks,’ said Xan. ‘To be honest, Sabine’s announcement last night was such a bombshell that I hardly slept and I half thought I’d dreamed it this morning.’
‘I felt as if I was in a fairy tale,’ I confessed. ‘Cinderella.’
‘I see you more in the Rapunzel role, but I’ll try and resist the temptation to shut you up in the tower,’ he said.
‘I’m going to give it a couple of hours for the roads to wash clear, then I’ll go and see if I can get the newspapers,’ Henry said. ‘If you’re out of anything, Dido, let me know.’
Yesterday evening, the party had tended to divide itself into three: Sabine, Nigel, Frank and Mr Makepeace playing bridge and bickering, while Nancy, Olive and Lucy watched another old Christmas film provided by Henry.
That left Henry, Dom, Xan and me to play Monopoly, before unearthing an old bar billiards board that Xan had spotted behind the piano in the billiard room.
‘Asa picked it up somewhere but I’d forgotten all about it, until I noticed it when we were singing carols.’
On the whole, it had been a fun evening and as if by somesilent agreement, no one mentioned wills, relationships or engagements.
