Page 68 of A Christmas Celebration
‘Well,’ said Mick. ‘I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not sure what the answer to this one is.’
‘Leave it with us though,’ said Catherine, ‘and we’ll see what we can come up with.’
‘Yes, we will,’ said Archie, then abandoning his previous good behaviour added, ‘and in the meantime, Paige, you’d better ring Brodie back.’
I picked up Dorothy’s cushion and threw it at him far harder than she’d managed and with vastly improved accuracy.
Chapter 17
As I was still assimilating what Brodie had told me, I made no attempt to call him back and he didn’t ring me again either, but I was nonetheless pleased to turn my phone back on and find that Albert had remembered the promise he’d earlier made.
‘I’m in bed,’ he proudly announced, a little after nine. ‘I took my time and it was a doddle.’
‘Well done you,’ I said admiringly, keeping still so as not to lose the signal. ‘I knew you could do it and to be honest, I’m pleased you’ve called and I don’t have to turn out to check up on you, because it’s a filthy night, isn’t it?’
As the afternoon had turned to evening, the last of the snow had been replaced by driving rain and a roaring wind.
‘It’s certainly rattling the rafters,’ Albert agreed. ‘I’ve got Bella up here with me and before you say it, I have been watching out for her under my feet and I did remember to put the guard up in front of the fire.’
‘I’m pleased to hear it,’ I said. ‘And tomorrow, I’m going to see what I can find out about getting you a bath chair thatdoesn’t need electrically installing. If I can source one, then I’m sure we’ll be able to work out how to set it up and use it between us.’
‘You’re a good lass.’ Albert sniffed, sounding a little teary. ‘I don’t know what I did to deserve you turning up on my doorstep.’
‘Well,’ I told him, blinking hard myself. ‘For a start, I was lost so it was a fluke that I turned up at all and secondly, you’ve seen what I’m like. I’ll push myself in anywhere if I can, won’t I?’
I ignored Molly’s voice in my head telling me there were no such things as flukes and said goodnight to Albert, happy in the knowledge that, for the first time in a long time, he was tucked cosily up in his bed. Given the horrible turn in the weather, it couldn’t have happened at a better time.
There was no improvement in the weather the next morning, if anything it was worse. I could hear the wind pummelling the hall even above the noise of the vacuum cleaner and poor Bran had no idea where to be at. If such a thing as doggy earplugs existed, I would have fitted him with a pair there and then.
As I tried to soothe him, I wondered if there was something unpleasant in his past, like mine, which could be triggered by loud and unpredictable noises. If that was the case, was it our shared trauma that he had sensed when I first arrived and which had drawn him to me? I was taming my memories and my reaction to them, aided by the balm ofWynthorpe Hall and the passing of time, and I hoped that Bran would one day be able to do the same.
‘I never had you down as a lover of musicals,’ said Dorothy as I waved my phone about in the kitchen trying to find a bar of signal so I could look online for a bath chair for Albert.
‘Me neither,’ agreed Molly, who was knitting the sleeve of a very big sweater in rainbow coloured wool. ‘What’s that tune from?’
‘South Pacific,’ said Dorothy, without missing a beat and then she and Molly began to sing in unison.
‘What are you two on about?’ I asked, from my perch on the counter top under the window which was proving to be if not a signal hotspot, then a lukewarm one.
‘You’ve been humming about hair washes all morning,’ Molly laughed.
‘Yes,’ said Dorothy. ‘Is there any man in particular that you’re trying to forget by washing him right out of your hair?’
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ I blushed, heading off to the printer which was hopefully spitting out the info I’d found for Albert.
Molly and Dorothy carried on singing and when I went back after collecting the pages, Angus had added his baritone to the din. I rolled my eyes, folded the sheets and put them in my jacket pocket. I’d barely swallowed the last mouthful of Dorothy’s delicious lunch before Angus starting singing ‘Hello Dolly’ and I made my excuses to leave.
‘I have an errand to run,’ I said, looking at Bran who had finally settled. ‘I think I’ll leave him here,’ I quietly added.
‘How about you take me instead?’ Archie pleaded, as Catherine began crooning too. ‘Save me, Paige.’
‘No way,’ I said as I ducked out quickly. ‘You’re on your own.’
As Mick had given Anna’s car a wash and polish and the roads were filthy, I took the Land Rover instead, which a layer of mud somehow seemed to enhance. It was just as well I did too as en route I came across a traveller squatted at the side of the road examining a very flat bicycle tyre. I pulled alongside, as close as I could without giving them a further soaking, and unwound the window.
‘Are you all right?’ I shouted above the noise of the wind, which was whipping across the flat fields without a buffer to halt its blast. ‘Can I give you a lift somewhere?’
The rain, with the sharp gusts behind it, felt like a slap in the face, and when the cyclist stood and met my gaze, I felt like I’d received another.
