‘No problem, ducks,’ said the Second Innkeeper. ‘Try up the road, he’ll be full, too, but he’s got a nice stable. Pop by with the littl’un, won’t you?’
By now Eugenia was practically foaming at the mouth, as her daughter’s prize line about the stable had been pre-empted by the Second Innkeeper, who was now cheerily waving the couple off and shouting advice about childbirth as poor Camilla opened her door and was completely upstaged, despite her stunning and historically accurate costume that her mother had bullied a seamstress friend into making. Eventually, the Second Innkeeper withdrew, and Joseph repeated his line that hadalready been drowned out once. Camilla replied in her very loud and monotonal voice, causing crueller audience members to giggle again, only to be quelled by a vicious look from Eugenia.
‘Don’t put your daughter on the stage, Mrs Worthington,’ whispered Nick to me. ‘As Noël Coward put it. Poor Camilla, she’s far happier on the football pitch, if only her mother would allow it.’
Eventually, Mary and Joseph were admitted to the stable, and the action moved to the nearby fields. India trooped on with her little sheep, most of whom were looking at her adoringly and one of whom was determined to do nothing more than systematically unravel every single cotton wool ball his mother had glued onto his T-shirt. By the time the big moment came for the flock, he looked more like an old English sheepdog, but, his self-imposed task complete, he smiled beatifically and belted out ‘While Shepherds Watch’ with as much gusto as anyone could have wished for. I clocked his mother in the row behind us, tears of laughter pouring down her face as she captured every second on her phone. Much as I loved Sofia, and being there to help her, a pang of longing for my own child shot through me so powerfully that I gasped.
‘Are you all right?’ whispered Nick.
I nodded, thankful that it wasn’t the place for a conversation, because no, I was far from all right. The only man I had been interested in at all since Paulo, a man I knew I was falling in love with, was looking like the wrong bet, and I could hardly bear it. Ignoring my trembling hands, I focused my attention back on the show. The stars appeared again, behind the shepherds, and I took some photos of Sofia, who looked buoyantly happy.
The rest of the performance went more or less to plan and soon we were clapping as the children took their bows, the biggest cheers going to the Second Innkeeper, who proceeded to offer us all ten per cent off our next stay. Astrid went to collectSofia and India, Angela and Greg waiting for them while Nick and I took Marilise to his car. As we walked out slowly, we were accosted by Eugenia, with her daughters in tow. Naturally, she had managed to barge through everybody to get them out before most of the parents had even made it backstage. She made a sort of awkward curtsey to Marilise, then turned to Nick.
‘Nikolai,’ she said throatily, drawing him into an embrace. She shot me a spiteful look. ‘What’s all this I hear about you selling Lyonscroft and leaving on a jet plane yet again?’
He glanced at me, then replied, ‘I’m not sure where you’ve heard that, Eugenia.’
‘Oh, you know that news travels fast through the cognoscenti around here.’ She turned her Medusa stare on me. ‘Didyouknow?’
I had to admire her. Within the space of a few words, she had tried to derail me by revealing something that I didn’t know, had identified me as someone she most definitely didn’t consider to be amongst the ‘cognoscenti’ and had positioned herself in Nick’s inner circle. What could I do but answer truthfully?
‘I was there when the estate agent came round,’ I said calmly. ‘And I can’t blame Nick for wanting to be part of LA’s in crowd as opposed to this one. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think Marilise would like to go home.’
‘I would,’ said Marilise, bestowing a look of hauteur on Eugenia that the woman, for all her airs and graces, could only ever dream of matching.
‘Of course, Your Highness,’ she stammered, and we swept away as elegantly as we could over the icy ground.
TWENTY-TWO
When Marilise was in bed, I went downstairs, not yet ready to turn in, although I was tired after my busy day. I went into the sitting room to watch some TV in the hope that it would stop my thoughts from racing out of control. I had found a mindless but enjoyable programme about American estate agents, and was marvelling at how they managed to spend the whole day in their vertiginous shoes, when Nick came in.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I didn’t mean to disturb you.’
‘It’s okay,’ I replied, switching the programme off. ‘I couldn’t sleep, but I’m not invested in this. The girls did well tonight, didn’t they?’
He nodded and sat down next to me.
‘They were great. Look, I’m sorry about Eugenia. She shouldn’t have said any of that.’
I shrugged.
‘I’d already upset her over hairgate, so it doesn’t matter.’ I paused. ‘But she had a point, didn’t she? You are still planning to leave the country?’
‘And you’re going to do what your sister wants?’
His voice was strained, and while part of me longed to reassure him, make promises, I was also scared that there wastoo much risk involved in throwing away my entire life to follow this man halfway around the world. I nodded and the words came out of my mouth, although they were untrue.
‘It’s not just what she wants. I do, too.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. I know Steph seems overpowering, but she needs me, and family comes first. How can I deny her that?’
He looked at me for a moment.
‘I get it. I do. But if your life doesn’t really belong to you, then I can’t see where I fit in.’
‘I wasn’t trying to make a choice,’ I said. ‘I didn’t think it had to be a case of one or the other, but…’
