‘Exactly.’
‘Well, thanks, anyway.’
He grunted and I ran out of the door wondering if maybe I had done the wrong thing in rebuffing the charming Xander.
The ride to the house was short and Giles wasn’t in the least bit boring, but his chatter about Christmas preparations and how they clashed with his son Toby’s upcoming birthday did nothing to prepare me for arriving at their house. I had thought Lando’s place was big, but it was dwarfed by this sprawling edifice with its vast portico and two long wings, each in two sections topped by square towers. We proceeded up a long driveway, flanked by rolling lawns, across which wandered a few deer. I wanted to be coolly unimpressed, as if I turned up at such homes all the time, but it was impossible.
‘Is this your house? It’s absolutely stunning.’
Giles brought the car to a stop and heaved on the handbrake.
‘Yes, yes, this is Markbury Hall, welcome. Been in the family for donkeys’ years, roof’s a nuisance and most of the rooms are freezing cold, even in August, but we like it.’
I was getting an inkling of why Xander had been so rude about Giles; no amount of city-slickery could ever buy a heritage like this. I wondered if Giles had a title but couldn’t think of a way to ask without sounding painfully gauche; I made a mental note, instead, to ask Bunny later. We got out of the car and started up the large staircase towards the front door.
‘I bet the children have some amazing games of hide and seek here,’ I said. ‘I hope we can find them before bedtime.’
But I didn’t have to worry, as the door was flung open and out popped Phina, Caspy and another little boy with a shock of dirty blond hair exactly like his father’s, who I assumed must be Toby. They were surrounded by various dogs, all leaping and yipping in excitement. A very tall, harassed-looking woman with short, messy brown hair called after them:
‘Morning snacks when you hear the stable clock chime the half hour.’
And, with a brief hug and a ‘Hello, Pixie, we’re off to look for goblin tracks’, they were gone.
‘Hello, hello!’ said the woman, smiling broadly and holding out a nail-bitten hand. ‘Lovely to meet you, I’m Lavinia. Won’t you come in?’
I felt a little shy about entering the staggering house, as if I should be wearing a ballgown or something rather than jeans and trainers, but the feeling was short-lived. Lavinia was dressed in black cords and a red jumper, both covered in dog hair, and the hallway, while enormous, had such a homely feel that I relaxed.
‘Should I take my shoes off?’ I asked.
‘Oh, dear me, no, I’m sure our floors are absolutely filthy, and they’re freezing as well – that’s the problem with all this marble. Let’s go through to the snug, at least there’s carpet in there and it’s right next to the family kitchen, so it’s actually warm.’
I followed her through heavy doors and dark corridors until we emerged into a bright and cosy room, cluttered with squashy sofas, colourful rugs and at least seven small side tables. I sat down and, as Lavinia went to get coffee, reflected how at home I was beginning to find myself in the most grandiose surroundings. My little boxy house felt a million light years away. Timothy, I thought, would be furiously jealous if he could see me now.
Lavinia soon returned, not only with coffee but several plates of biscuits and cakes.
‘The children will be back soon,’ she said, ‘and they’re absolutelocustswhen it comes to this sort of food, so do let’s make sure we’ve had plenty before they return.’
We piled up our plates and fell into conversation. We clicked instantly and were soon howling with laughter over an embarrassing situation she had got herself into at The Curious Badger.
‘Honestly Penny, poor Cecil didn’t know what to do with himself. I couldn’t give a hoot about that sort of thing, especially since giving birth, but he didn’t know where to look. Now when I go in, he sort of thrusts drinks at me frantically in the hope that I’ll sit quietly in a corner with no replay. Not a bad result, when you think about it.’
We had been laughing so much that we hadn’t heard the clock, but soon the children burst through the door and, as predicted, fell on the snacks as if they hadn’t eaten for weeks.
Much as I could have stayed in that parlour all day, after an hour or so it was time to leave.
‘Come on, you two, I said we’d be home for lunch, and you don’t want to get me in trouble with Pilar, do you?’
They hugged Toby and continued chattering to him so animatedly about his upcoming birthday party that Giles relented and let him come along in the car to drop us off. Lavinia and I hugged, and I felt sure that I had made a firm new friend in her.
After a simple pasta lunch around the kitchen table, we all still had plenty of energy. The twins couldn’t stay in their chairs, and I must say I felt their happy energy galvanising me as well.
‘What are we going to do now, Penny? I want to look at the Christmas tree all day, it’s so beautiful.’
‘I know, Phina darling, but I think we should go outside for a while. It’s such a sunny day. Let’s go and collect some greenery and we can make some more decorations. I’ll teach you a Christmas song all about the holly and the ivy if you like, and we can sing it as we work.’
Bunny looked up.
‘Actually, Pixie, that sounds marvellous, exactly what I need. Well, maybe I’d better not join in the singing, I don’t want to frighten all the little Christmas robins. But the crisp walk and the greenery: utterly gorgeous. I’ll get ready, too, and join you all.’
