Christmas With Mr Darcy (7 page)

‘Dan?’ she whispered, turning over in bed and squeezing his bare shoulder.

He blinked an eye open. ‘Cassie?’

‘She’s still asleep,’ Robyn said, remembering how he’d got up in the night each time she’d woken for her feed. He’d then cuddled and comforted her until she’d gone back to sleep. He’d then got back into bed and cuddled and comforted Robyn.

‘Look at the snow on the window,’ Robyn said.

Dan rolled over and gazed upwards, a smile waking up on his face. ‘It’s like being in an igloo,’ he said, wrapping his arms around Robyn.

They gazed up at the snow together for a few minutes before Robyn sighed. ‘We should get up.’

‘Do we have to? We could stay cosied up like this all day? It is Christmas Eve, after all.’

‘But it’s going to be a very special day, remember?’

Dan frowned. ‘Oh, you mean the big surprise?’

‘Pamela wouldn’t even tell me what it was. She’s been planning it for weeks and I’ve no idea what it is. I walked into the office a few weeks ago and she was up to something. She was on the phone to somebody and hung up as soon as I walked in.’

‘What do you think it could be?’

‘I have no idea but she’s pretty excited about it,’ Robyn said reluctantly pulling herself away from Dan’s arms and getting out of bed to wake Cassie.

The three of them then got washed and dressed, using a tiny bathroom along the landing that looked as if it had last been used in the nineteen-fifties.

‘Have you seen my watch?’ Dan asked as they were about to go downstairs for breakfast.

‘Your gold one?’ Robyn said.

‘Yes. The one Pammy bought me last Christmas.’

Robyn glanced around the room. ‘When did you last see it?’

‘I thought I put it on the bedside table before going to dinner last night.’

‘Why weren’t you wearing it?’ Robyn asked.

‘It kept catching on my shirt sleeve so I took it off,’ Dan said.

‘Have you looked in the drawer?’

‘I’ve looked everywhere,’ he said.

For one awful moment, Robyn was about to tell Dan that Benedict had been in their room the night before but surely he wouldn’t have taken the watch.

‘I’m sure it will turn up,’ she said, and the three of them went downstairs to breakfast.

Mia watched as Sarah darted around the room like a busy bee, straightening the curtains, the bedding and even a portrait on the wall above the dressing table which wasn’t in the least bit crooked. She was quite used to her sister’s ways, of course, but there was something different about her this time.

‘Sarah!’ Mia cried, looking at her watch. ‘Come on!’

‘What?’ Sarah looked up with a startled expression on her face as if she’d genuinely forgotten where she was and whom she was with.

‘It’s time for breakfast – remember?’

Sarah sat down in the little armchair by the window, looking defeated. ‘Oh,’ she said.

Mia’s forehead crinkled with worry. ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ She walked across the room and perched on the window seat next to her sister. ‘You’ve been acting strangely ever since we got here.’

‘No I haven’t!’

‘Yes you have,’ Mia insisted.

‘No I haven’t.’

Mia sighed. ‘Okay, no you haven’t been acting strangely since we got here. You’ve been acting strangely since we left home!’

‘I have not!’ Sarah insisted, determining to get up again but Mia grabbed her arm and stopped her.

‘Why won’t you talk to me?’

‘Because there’s nothing to talk about,’ Sarah said.

‘That’s not true,’ Mia said. ‘I can tell when something’s bothering you – your OCD gets completely out of control and you turn into some kind of whirling dervish. You can’t hide from me. Something’s wrong, isn’t it?’

Sarah bit her lip and looked at her sister, knowing it was futile to try and hide the truth from her any longer. ‘I’m pregnant,’ she said at last.

Mia’s eyes widened in delight. ‘Really? Since when?’

‘Since Lloyd took me for a weekend in Lyme Regis.’

‘Oh, that’s so romantic!’

Sarah nodded. ‘He knows how much I adore Lyme and he loves it too and we had such a lovely time. We just walked around together, looking at all the old buildings and eating ice cream on the Cobb. But I didn’t plan on getting pregnant. I mean, we were kind of trying but it’s so early for us. I didn’t expect-’ she paused.

‘What?’ Mia asked.

‘It’s all happening so quickly. I don’t know if I’m ready.’

‘Nobody thinks they’re ready, Sarah. Nobody
can
be ready - not really - because it’s such a huge thing to happen.’ Mia laughed. ‘And I don’t mean to scare you because it’s the most wonderful thing in the world to happen. You’ve just got to give in to it and go along for the ride.’

‘But I’ve
never
given in to anything. I’ve always been in control,’ Sarah said.

‘Yes, I know, but you’re not in control now. That little person growing inside you is in control and you’ve got to take a back seat,’ Mia told her. ‘I know that’s going to be really hard for you but it’s the only way you’ll get through all this and keep sane.’

‘I don’t know if I can do that,’ Sarah said, her shoulders sagging.

‘Of
course
you can. If
I
can do it, you most certainly can!’

‘But motherhood is different for you,’ Sarah said. ‘You’re a natural.’

‘But you will be too,’ Mia said.

‘No, I won’t. I’ll be terrible!’

‘Of course you won’t be. You can’t be any worse than me. You’ve seen the chaos I live in.’

Sarah nodded, thinking of the little terrace in Bath she shared with Gabe and how it had been transformed from a neat bachelor pad into a toddler’s paradise since Mia had descended with little William.

‘Exactly my point,’ Sarah said. ‘You like chaos. Chaos suits you but it doesn’t suit me. I don’t know if I’m really cut out to be a mother.’

‘Sarah – you’ll be a brilliant mother!’ Mia assured her.

She shook her head. ‘But how will I cope with all the mess? A baby is messy, isn’t it?’

‘Yes, but with you and Lloyd as parents, it’s bound to be born with OCD already built in. It will probably be the tidiest baby in the world.’

‘You think so?’

Mia nodded. ‘It’ll be changing its own nappy and have the house all set to rights before you and Lloyd are even out of bed in the morning.’

Sarah laughed.

Mia rested her head upon her sister’s shoulder. ‘Do you know if it’s a boy or girl yet?’

‘No,’ Sarah said.

‘Are you going to find out?’

‘No. We’ve decided to wait.’

‘And have you got any names in mind?’

Sarah sighed. ‘Oh, yes,’ she said.

‘Let me guess – Elinor for a girl and Edward for a boy.’

‘How did you guess?’ Sarah asked in amazement.

Mia laughed. ‘Well, it wasn’t exactly rocket science! Does Lloyd approve?’

‘He’d be happy with any name, I think. I could call it Lydia or Wickham and he wouldn’t bat an eyelid.’

‘You’re going to be great parents,’ Mia said.

‘And you’re going to be a great aunt,’ Sarah said.

Mia smiled and Sarah knew exactly what she was thinking. ‘Just like Jane Austen,’ she said and Sarah nodded.

Katherine was late getting up. It made a nice change from her college timetable with her early morning starts, driving through the Oxfordshire countryside and then walking through the streets of Oxford to St Bridget’s College.

‘What’s it looking like out there?’ she asked from the deep, warm folds of bedding as Warwick drew the thick red and gold curtains back.

‘Deep and crisp and even,’ he said. ‘The perfect Christmas Eve.’

‘Come back to bed!’

‘I’ve just got to write something down.’

Katherine sighed. Warwick was like a jack-in-the-box when he was writing the first draft of a novel. Meals were interrupted, phone calls were cut short and he’d be in and out of bed several times a night sometimes.

She watched as he reached for a notebook and scribbled something down in his scratchy handwriting that she frequently made fun of.

‘You really should’ve become a doctor with your handwriting,’ she teased.

‘As long as
I
can read it,’ he said, closing the notebook a moment later. ‘Okay, what’s on the programme this morning?’

‘I suppose it’s too cold for the “Undressing Mr Darcy” session, isn’t it?’ Katherine said.

Warwick grinned at her. ‘Probably but you might be in luck because I hear there’s an “Undressing Warwick Lawton” show instead.’

‘Oh, really?’ Katherine said with an arched eyebrow.

‘Yep!’ he said, slowly peeling off the jumper he’d put on for his early morning writing session. ‘Only this session is for an audience of just one.’

‘Let me think,’ Katherine said. ‘Can Warwick Lawton possibly compete with Mr Darcy?’

Warwick strode across the room and leapt into bed beside Katherine. ‘You’re forgetting something very important,’ he said.

‘What’s that?’

‘Mr Darcy can’t do this to you.’ And with that, he kissed her for a very long time indeed.

After breakfast, there was a demonstration on bonnet trimming in the library and everyone was given their very own bonnet - even the men. Dame Pamela had arranged the most gorgeous array of ribbons, feathers, artificial flowers and fruit including grapes, cherries, plums and apricots – just the fruits Jane Austen had once noted in a letter to her sister, Cassandra. Indeed, every Janeite in the room picked up on this immediately and started quoting ‘flowers are very much worn and fruit is still more the thing’.

There was a bit of a scrum for the prettiest pieces of ribbon with the sky-blue, rose-pink and purple being the most popular. There was also some very pretty pieces of lace and, once everybody had gathered everything they needed, the serious task of bonnet trimming began.

It had to be said that there were some members of the group who seemed born to trim a bonnet and others who struggled. Doris Norris was a natural with a needle and thread and her little bonnet was blooming with a pretty cluster of flowers in next to no time whereas Mrs Soames was definitely struggling, her large fingers causing her to curse. At one point, she turned as red as the strawberry she was trying to sew onto her bonnet and the tutor had to step in before she did irreparable damage.

Sarah’s bonnet was an elegant, understated masterpiece of green ribbon and red and gold flowers whereas Mia had crammed as much as possible onto hers.

‘Your head can’t possibly support all that fruit,’ Sarah warned her.

‘But I can’t bear to choose between any of it. It’s
all
so gorgeous!’

And Warwick was doing very well indeed until he came to do a ruffled ribbon trim and then he became all fingers and thumbs. Even Jackson Moore was having a go but he wasn’t as calm-headed as Warwick and kept cursing under his breath and twitching his moustache as he dropped all of his strawberries and then several cherries on the floor.

Finally, after everyone had finished, a central aisle was cleared and a mini fashion show was held with everyone modelling their bonnets to great applause. Dame Pamela then declared Mia the winner.

‘For her wit and ambition in using every
possible
ingredient on her bonnet!’ Her prize was a book about Regency costume full of exquisite illustrations. Mia was delighted and couldn’t resist teasing Sarah who was still of the opinion that her sister’s bonnet had more fruit than any head had a right to.

After lunch, there was meant to be a talk on music in Jane Austen’s time but the speaker hadn’t been able to attend because of the snow so it was decided that there’d be a showing of the 2005 film adaptation of
Pride and Prejudice
instead and nobody complained. Well, nobody except Mrs Soames.

‘I don’t know what anybody sees in that version. That Mr Darcy is still wet behind the ears!’ But she watched it all the same, harrumphing every time Matthew Macfadyen strode onto the screen only to be shushed by everybody else in the room.

Dame Pamela was too nervous to sit down and watch the film with everybody. She was pacing in her study, fretting over what Higgins had said to her. He’d planted a nasty little seed of doubt in her mind and now she was wringing her hands like a bad actress.

‘But what does Higgins know?’ she said to the empty study. He was one of the most cautious people she’d ever met and was one of the few people she’d ever been able to count on in her life for good, solid advice but what did she really know about him? He’d been in her employment for so long that she didn’t know of any life outside of Purley Hall for Higgins. His parents had died a long time ago and he had a sister in a care home in Devon. He’d never married, never talked about relationships and only took two weeks holiday a year which was always spent in the same holiday cottage on the north Norfolk coast.

But, whatever Higgins’s background, he had no business telling her what to do. Who was running this conference – him or her? He should stick to his own job, she told herself with an emphatic nod of the head. And, with her mind made up, she reached across her desk and picked up the item that had been causing so much trouble between them and placed it in her handbag.

Chapter 10

The great fireplace in the dining room had been lit and the orange flames licked over chunky logs, giving a homely feel to the grand room. Each table setting had the new white crockery edged with gold, bright silver cutlery, one crystal glass for water and a ruby-red one for wine. There was a cream linen napkin and an elegant cracker in emerald and gold and there were candles everywhere – snow-white and slim in silver candelabra and great fat red ones were lined along the fireplace.

Sparkling glass platters were piled high with oranges studded with cloves which scented the warm air, and there were pomegranates, grapes and pears, heaped and polished.

‘Are we meant to eat those?’ Mia asked Sarah.

‘I wouldn’t dare,’ Sarah said, envisaging an avalanche of fruit if one so much as poked a grape.

‘What’s it going to look like on Christmas Day itself?’ Mia said.