Page 82 of One More Christmas at the Castle
I decided to make a lemon meringue pie for dessert and got on with that as soon as I’d finished putting the shopping away.
Henry went off for his little interview with Mrs Powys when the library bell rang – it seemed to be becoming a regular fixture – and on his return told me they had been discussing the Christmas tree.
‘It’s OK for me to cut it today and then put it up in the Great Hall tomorrow, after which, we’ll have the tree decorating ceremony.’
‘Tree decorating ceremony?’ I echoed.
‘Apparently, when Mrs Powys’s mother was alive, they made quite a thing of it. I jotted down all the details she could remember, so we could recreate it, as far as possible. Mulled wine and mince pies are served while the decorations are put on the tree and carols playing.’
‘Sounds lovely,’ I said.
‘I’m going to need you and Xan to help me cut the trees – we’ll get the one for our sitting room while we’re at it.’
‘You tell Xan, then,’ I told him. ‘I want to put the meringue on my pie.’
Xan was agreeable so, instead of taking Plum out for our usual late-morning walk – another quickly formed habit! – we were to go down through the woods in the Land Rover with Henry.
When he was ready, Xan came into the kitchen to find us and admired the lemon meringue pie sitting on a wire rack, which would be nothing compared to how he felt after he’d actually tasted the perfect combination of crispy sweet topping and tart lemon base.
‘I’m not surprised Henry’s cousin Hector wanted to marry you,’ Xan said. ‘I’m starting to think the way to a man’s heart really is through his stomach.’
His lilac-grey eyes were teasing, but held a warm glint and I felt myself blushing, though I said calmly, ‘With Hector, the cookingwasthe clincher, I have to admit.’
‘Yeah, but he wanted to get his hands on more than your lemon meringue pies,’ Henry said, coming in just then, wearing his padded jacket and squid hat.
‘Really, Henry!’ I protested. ‘And he hardly seemed heartbroken when I turned him down.’
‘Passion had made him rash, but he’s a confirmed bachelor really, so it was probably a relief when you said no. Come on,’ he added, ‘I’ve put everything we need in the Land Rover and brought it round to the side door. Xan, are you bringing Plum?’
‘Yes, but I’ll shut him in the cab so he’s not underfoot while the actual tree felling is going on.’
We crammed on to the bench seat of the cab and Plum sat on my lap like a little furry hot-water bottle.
We jolted down the track to the bottom of the estate, where the bright red ribbons still fluttered from the tops of the two trees we’d chosen.
Plum objected vociferously to being left alone in the cab, so I stood with him in my arms and watched the other two cut down the smaller tree first, loading it into the canvas-covered back of the Land Rover, before turning to tackle the big one.
Xan firmly took the axe from Henry at that point and made a surprisingly good job of cutting down the tree. A notch at one side, then a chop from the other, and down it came with a soft flumping noise, just where he said it would.
It looked so much bigger on the ground and took a bit of manoeuvring before it joined its smaller sibling in the back of the Land Rover, though the tip stuck out from under the canvas.
‘I only hope it fits,’ I said dubiously.
‘Of course it will,’ Henry assured me. ‘And a smaller tree would look ridiculous in such a big, high-ceilinged hall.’
We let Henry drive back on his own, so we could give Plum his walk and cut through the trees to the lake, which was now thickly encrusted with opaque ice.
Xan skimmed a large pebble across it and it made a strange humming, zinging noise and Plum attempted to follow it, only for his little legs to slide from under him, so that he landed on his bottom, looking surprised.
Luckily he was just within reach, so Xan could haul him back.
‘The ice looks perfect for skating, now,’ he suggested.
‘As far as I’m concerned, I think that will have to wait for a bit because, with Mrs Kane arriving this afternoon, I’ll be busy. In fact, I won’t be able to help you in the study today either, because I’m going to bake the Christmas cake. And tomorrow,we’ve got the Christmas tree to put up in the Great Hall and decorate. I have a feeling Henry and I will be doing most of that, with Sabine directing us.’
‘And me – I’ll enjoy helping,’ he said as we began to make our way up the terraces, pausing in the Winter Garden. What snow there had been on this level was almost vanished and a few narrow green spears were bravely pushing up through the earth. I thought they might be hardy daffodils, and now, under the witch hazels, I spotted a white scattering of snowdrops, too.
‘This has to be the most surprising and enchanting garden ever,’ I said.
