Page 101 of It Always Snows on Mistletoe Square
‘To?’ I ask, wishing Henry would just get on with it. He was obviously delighting in telling us every detail of this story.
‘To this house,’ Henry says, as though we should have guessed this ourselves. ‘And as I was to subsequently discover, also the keys to the property next door known as Holly House. We were to come here and open up both houses again. Holly House had been shut up for as many years as our envelope, and this one we now sit in, since Angela passed away, as I said, just over five years ago. Which is when the first part of her instructions were followed by my colleagues. Christmas House was to be locked up until the first of December 2018. We were then to arrange for both houses to be cleaned and made up ready for new tenants who would arrive on … ’ He pauses and retrieves a piece of paper from the envelope, which has typewritten notes. ‘The fifteenth of December for the house next door, and the eighteenth of December for this one.’
I look at Ben. ‘The eighteenth is the date I arrived here – what about you?’
Ben nods. ‘Yes, I arrived on the fifteenth a few days before you.’
‘Everything was to your satisfaction, was it?’ Henry asks. ‘Most of the furniture was under wraps upstairs, along with several boxes of antiques, photographs and paintings. We were given very detailed instructions of how everything was to be arranged in all the rooms in both houses. Even down to leaving out Christmas decorations in a box, but not providing a tree. If I remember correctly, we had to arrange for that to be delivered on the eighteenth at a very specific time.’
‘The time I arrived … ’ I say, again staring at Ben. ‘This is so weird.’
‘It is a little unorthodox, I’ll agree,’ Henry says. ‘Oh, you’re talking to each other.’
‘What next?’ I ask. ‘What else did the letter say?’
‘Only that,’ Henry says. ‘And then we were to leave everything alone and not bother you at all until Christmas Eve at 9.30 p.m. Which, I think you’ll find is exactly the time I arrived at your doorstep.’
‘Henry, I’m sorry if we seem a little shocked by all this,’ I say, feeling a tad sorry for him. He doesn’t know why we are finding all this quite so unbelievable. He is just doing his job, following out the instructions from a legal document, albeit a very unusual one. ‘But some of the things you’re telling us are quite hard for us to comprehend. You’re saying that the letters inside your envelope were written, and this document was sealed, ten years ago?’
‘Yes, that’s right, just after Estelle passed away. The original document drawn up many years before that had simply been a will, with instructions that everything in Estelle’s estate was to be left to Angela upon her death. But after the sad event of Estelle’s passing, a new document was drawn up between Uncle Christian and Angela. A document that was to begin being actioned upon Angela’s death, and continued to be actioned at the decreed times and dates they had agreed.’
I look at Ben. This was all getting stranger and madder by the minute.
‘I’m sorry if I’m not being all that helpful,’ Henry says. ‘I’m only carrying out the deceased persons’ wishes as they wanted them to be.’
‘It’s fine, Henry,’ I say. ‘It’s not you, it’s just quite a lot for us to get our heads round that’s all.’
‘Understandable. Should I continue, or would you like to take a moment?’
I look at Ben again. He nods.
‘Continue, please,’ I say. ‘Is it going to get crazier, do you know?’
‘I really have no idea,’ Henry says, looking a little worried. ‘I am not party to what it says inside the next three envelopes. Only that I’ve to open one and give you the next two.’
‘Better get on with it, then.’ Ben looks just as shocked by all this as I feel.
‘Right,’ Henry says. He reaches inside the brown envelope again and retrieves three white envelopes. One is typewritten, and the other two have handwritten instructions on the front. He opens up the typewritten one.
‘Right,’ he says, giving it a quick glance. ‘I thought this is what it might say.’
Ben and I wait as patiently as we can.
‘It says that although we hold the deeds for both Christmas and Holly House at our offices, from tonight you, Ben, and you, Elle, will be the rightful owners of both the houses, and you are to do with them as you see fit. There’s some legal stuff that I have to get you both to sign, but that can be done at our offices after the Christmas holidays.’ He looks up from his paperwork, ‘Congratulations, you are now both the new owners of two very sought-after Georgian townhouses in Bloomsbury, London. Quite the Christmas gift!’
I look at Ben, and then I look at Henry. ‘But that’s total madness! Why? How?’
‘Angela left them to you in her will. Actually, I believe it was both Estelle and Angela’s wish that you have them. And now, I am to give you both a letter each.’ Henry passes one of the white envelopes to me and the other to Ben. ‘It says for you to read them when I have left, which is absolutely fine of course.’
Henry glances at the letters and I know he’s desperate to know what it says inside them.
‘Don’t worry, Henry, when we come and see you after Christmas, we’ll let you know what they say,’ I offer kindly.
‘You really don’t have to,’ Henry says quickly. ‘But I’m sure whatever it says it will help you to understand a little better. It says on my sheet here that any questions you might have will be answered in the letters. I am simply here for any legal questions that might arise. Do you have any right now?’ he asks hopefully.
I look at Ben, but he’s staring at the envelope in his hand.
‘Thank you, Henry, but I don’t think so at the moment. I’m sure when all this has sunk in, we’ll have so many you’ll be sick of hearing from us!’
