I rolled my eyes. One thing you could say about Mum, she didn’t stay down for long.
SEVEN
I ran upstairs to leave the dress on my bed and brush my teeth, then decided to go and find Alexander to see when he wanted to start work. My limbs felt heavy and my head fuzzy and I could have done with a morning curled up reading a magazine, but judging by how antsy he had been last night, my guess was that he would want to get going immediately. I couldn’t blame him – Christmas was only three weeks away, and the Christmas Fayre would be sooner than that, so we did have to get a move on. I went into the Great Hall, resisting the urge to explore the minstrels’ gallery, and peeked into the room where we had eaten supper last night. The Buttery, he had called it. I thought of my London flat and giggled at the idea of having such a room – I didn’t even have a separate kitchen, although I had no complaints about the modern, open-plan layout. Anyway, he wasn’t in there, so I went into the kitchen. He was sitting at the table with Theo, their dark heads bent over a puzzle. I had a stern word with myself about admiring the way his hair curled round at the nape of his strong neck.Ahem.
‘Hello…’ I ventured. They both looked up and gave me identical smiles.
‘Hello, Fallon,’ said Theo. ‘Is Runcible with you?’
‘She was pottering along behind, but I think she got distracted by an interesting smell in the passage. She’ll be along in a minute. What’s your puzzle?’
‘It’s birds,’ the boy replied. ‘I love dogs, but I really,reallylove birds. Look, it’s all the different birds of prey.’
I stepped closer to the table and peered over.
‘That’s great, and you’ve done so much of it. Has it taken ages?’
‘Ages, but we’ve not got much left to do. Oh! There she is!’
He jumped down from his chair and ran to Runcible, who had sniffed her inquisitive way into the kitchen. I turned to Alexander.
‘I was just wondering when you wanted to get started on some work? I wasn’t sure what your schedule was today, especially after Mum insisted on being taken out for lunch. Sorry about that.’
He raised an eyebrow.
‘No problem. I’ve arranged for Theo to spend the morning with a friend – they should be picking him up in about’ – he checked his watch – ‘ten minutes, so shall we get started then? My office is just round to the left.’
‘Perfect.’
I went back upstairs to grab my laptop, cast a final, longing look at my armchair and magazine, then headed to meet Alexander. I passed him and Theo in the entrance hall, just as Theo’s friend arrived to collect him.
‘Go on through,’ said Alexander. ‘I won’t be long.’
With Runcible pattering after me, I went to the office. It was another sturdy stone room, like the Buttery, but with a window in one wall. I went round the large desk to look out; it was the same view as from my own bedroom window, the moors stretching beyond the garden. The sound of the door opening made me turn.
‘Oh, hello. I was just admiring this view – again. Do you ever get sick of it?’
‘Never. Even at its most bleak, it’s absorbing and changes all the time, and in the summer it’s glorious.’
‘Well, I’d better tear myself away so we can get started. Do you want to show me where you’re up to?’
‘Sure. So, the gin – the one you tried last night – is distilled here on-site, by me. I’ll show you the distillery later if you like.’
‘How did you learn to make gin?’
‘The process is easy, but I went on a course to make sure that I understood everything for commercial production. Then it was a case of deciding which botanicals to include – I wanted to use things that I could obtain locally and even grow myself eventually.’
‘You want to grow juniper berries?’ I asked in surprise.
‘Absolutely. But that’s a way off – for now I’ve focused on getting the blend right and marketing the finished product.’
I nodded. ‘Sounds sensible. Okay, well, I’ve tasted the gin, which was delicious…’
‘Even if it did give you a headache?’
‘No, I was a bit silly to have had anything last night, especially after drinking champagne in the car with Mum on the way up. I’m not usually a big drinker, especially during the day. I’m sure your gin wasn’t to blame.’
‘I hope not.’
