Page 82 of A Christmas Celebration
‘No harm in being prepared just in case though,’ she smiled. ‘And if he doesn’t, I’m sure it won’t go to waste.’
‘You know you can rely on me to put it out of sight.’ Archie winked.
‘And me,’ Angus added.
‘Now,’ Dorothy mused, ‘shall I make savoury scones or sweet?’
‘Both,’ chorused the Connelly men, in perfect synchronicity.
‘I suppose I could,’ she agreed. ‘Kathleen has given me her recipe which cuts some of the calories so I don’t suppose the seams on your Santa suit would be in too much jeopardy if you had one of each, Angus.’
We all exchanged stunned looks, but no one said a word. Clearly, a ceasefire in hostilities had occurred but no one spoke for fear of ending it.
The kitchen had more cakes than Jemma’s display counter in The Cherry Tree Café by the next afternoon and Dorothy was wearing the Christmas motif patterned apron Santa had gifted her from the advent calendar that morning, to add the finishing touches to them. The big man really was in tune with the Wynthorpe Hall goings on.
‘I’ll see you in a bit,’ I said as I nervously got ready to go and collect Albert.
Bran had sensed something had got me jittery again and was insistent that he should come along.
‘The cherry picker is all right, isn’t it?’ I asked Archie, as I turned the key in the Land Rover ignition.
‘It’s just been serviced,’ he reassured me, sounding serious for once. ‘Albert will be completely safe.’
‘Good,’ I said, letting out a breath. ‘Right, here we go,’ I added and set off with my heart hammering in my chest.
‘I’m almost ready,’ said Albert when I arrived at the cottage. ‘I wasn’t sure I’d still get into these, but I must have lost a bit of weight during the last few months.’
He was just stepping into a smart pair of navy overalls and they looked more than roomy. Given that he’d been eating hardly enough to keep a sparrow alive when I first met him, I thought he’d probably lost more than a bit of weight.
‘You look very smart, Albert,’ I told him. ‘Is that a tie I can see under your pullover?’
‘Of course,’ he said. ‘Now, where did I put my keys?’
With Bella settled and after stepping up into the cab with the help of an old apple crate, Albert fussed Bran and then settled in his seat. I had expected him to be a bit edgy given how long it was since he’d been properly out, along with what I’d experienced of his former reluctance to leave, but he didn’t seem fazed at all. His hands were a little shaky, but that appeared to be the extent of his nerves and I realized I was more stressed than he was.
‘This is a bit of all right, isn’t it?’ he said, looking around as I negotiated the Fenland roads back to the hall. ‘I like being this high up. You can get a good look at everything.’
I made sure I took my time so he could take in the wintry landscape.
‘Do you drive, Albert?’ I asked.
‘I used to,’ he told me. ‘Would you look at that?’ he then gasped, as he spotted a hare pelting across a fallow field at full speed. ‘I wish I could shift as fast as that.’
‘Me too,’ I agreed. ‘I’d get loads more done every day.’
‘You do more than enough, gal,’ he said, giving me a rosy-cheeked smile.
‘I do try.’ I swallowed. ‘I like to keep busy.’
‘But you shouldn’t be busy all the time,’ he said sagely. ‘Thinking time is every bit as important as doing time, you know.’
‘When did you get to be so wise?’ I smiled.
‘It’s taken over eighty years to hone my intelligence,’ he chuckled.
‘What are you like?’ I laughed along with him. ‘Now, here we are. Hold on to your hat, Albert, because the drive has seen better days.’
His teeth were positively rattling by the time I parked, but his first glimpse of the hall again had elicited the same response as mine had been just a few weeks before.
