Page 83 of A Christmas Celebration
‘What a place,’ he said, his eyes roving over the fabulous façade, elaborate chimneys and mullioned windows. ‘We mustn’t let Angus gets his mitts on this exterior, Paige.’
‘That’s why we need you, Albert,’ I said, reminding him of his importance. ‘If anyone can make him see sense, you can. I’ve had a look into your former line of work. There’s more to it than wielding a chisel, isn’t there?’
‘I should say so,’ he said. ‘Now, help me out and we’ll see what’s what.’
My fears that Albert might succumb to anxiety began to evaporate as he shook hands with Angus, Archie and Mick. Once they’d made their way over to the cherry picker, he donned the hard hat Archie offered and then turned to discreetly wave me off and they disintegrated completely.
‘You could go and help Molly and Dorothy set out the tea,’ Archie called over to me. ‘I’m sure we’ll all be in need of a bite to eat by the time we’re done out here, won’t we? What do you reckon, Albert?’
‘I think you might be right, my lad,’ he amazed me by responding and, letting Archie’s tongue-in-cheek chauvinistic divvying up of the jobs pass, I practically skipped across the courtyard.
‘So,’ I said, when the four men eventually returned to the kitchen, had washed their hands and I’d helped Albert out of his overalls, ‘what’s the damage? You’ve been out there for ages. I hope that’s not an indication of how bad things are.’
‘We’ve been so long,’ beamed Angus, ‘because we were giving Albert a tour of the grounds as well as looking at the stone work I was so worried about.’
‘Oh,’ I said, surprised.
‘What a place,’ Albert said again, looking even pinker than he had before. ‘The gardens are a credit to you, Mick. In my line of work, I came to appreciate structure and form and now pretty much everything’s dormant that’s exactly what you can see out there in the planting. It’s beautiful.’
‘Thank you, Albert,’ said Mick.
I looked at Albert and something about what he had justsaid niggled. It didn’t have time to develop, however, because Dorothy thrust a cake stand into my hands, Molly set out the last of the cups and saucers and the ritual of tea began.
‘So, all in all your fears were unfounded,’ Catherine said to Angus as Albert explained in layman’s terms what he had discovered.
‘Not entirely,’ Angus corrected.
‘There’s work to be done,’ said Albert, ‘but nothing that can’t be left until the spring and I know just the person who can help.’
Catherine looked relieved.
‘It’s not you, is it, Mr Price?’ Molly smiled at him.
‘No, my love,’ he said. ‘My days as a stone carver are long over.’
‘But I can tell you’ve still got the desire to create within you,’ she said and I felt that niggle irritate again.
‘Can you now?’ he said, his smile faltering for the first time since he’d arrived.
Once tea was over, I expected to take Albert back to the cottage, but he informed me that there had been a change of plan.
‘Angus has offered to show me around inside,’ he said. ‘I won’t be able to manage all of the stairs, but there’s still plenty to see. Do you think Bella will be all right? I can postpone it if you think she’s missing me?’
I was delighted that Albert’s original brief foray back out into the world was turning into an entire excursion.
‘I think Bella will still be fast asleep,’ I reassured him. ‘Shewon’t even notice you’re not there. This is the perfect time to look around, Albert.’
Reassured, he, Angus and Catherine set off into the main hall.
‘What a lovely man,’ said Molly as she and Archie pulled on their coats to walk back to their cottage in the woods. ‘I can see why you were so drawn to him, Paige.’
‘I was lost,’ I reminded her. ‘And stopped to ask for directions. It was just a fluke that it was Albert’s cottage I happened to stop at.’
‘There are no such things as flukes, or coincidences,’ Molly patiently reminded me.
‘The universe guides us to exactly where we need to be,’ Archie carried on, quoting word for word what she was going to say next, ‘at exactly the time we need to be there.’
‘Well,’ I said, rolling my eyes at the pair of them, ‘that’s as maybe. I’m just pleased I’ve been able to help him get back on his feet.’
