Page 14 of Mirrors of the Past

‘Honey, I’ve been thinking, and actually I’m not doing the War.’ Tegan folded her arms. ‘There’s got to be something more uplifting to do. This is a temporary job for me. It’s your permanent job, so you can do what you like. But for me, I’ll do something else. There’s got to be something Christmassy or festive we can think about.’

Merryn was just staring at her, apparently speechless. ‘But the war . . .’

‘No.’

‘It’s the natural progression for the one we did last time. We did Elsie’s midsummer ball . . .’

‘So we do Elsie’s midwinter something. And why is it a natural progression?’

‘Because it’s the next chronological thing.’

‘No. Chronological is overrated.’

‘Coren . . .’ Merryn turned to Coren pathetically. Coren was sitting back in his chair, his own arms folded, and very clearly trying not to laugh. ‘Oh, Coren!’ Merryn was cross now. It was her turn to fold her arms. They rested on top of her very large bump and she looked ridiculously indignant.

‘I’m not getting involved,’ said Coren. ‘And let’s just take a moment to reassess. You are officially on maternity leave. Your sister has the job at your recommendation. You really need her to make the decisions and allow her to do what she thinks is right. The war exhibition can wait. And actually, I like the idea of something Christmassy.’

Merryn looked even more indignant, but then she muttered something under her breath.

‘What was that, Merryn?’ asked Tegan, leaning forward. If it was what she thought she’d heard, that was rather interesting.

Merryn sighed theatrically, then lifted her head and glowered at Tegan. ‘A wedding. A midwinter wedding. Elsie got married in the middle of winter. And that is all I’m giving you. Your project. Your research. Does that help at all?’

Tegan grinned. ‘Perfect. A midwinter wedding. Coren, does that sound good to you? Are you happy for me to work on that?’

Coren nodded. ‘That sounds great. I’ll mention it to Sybill and we can chat when they come up tomorrow. I’ll see if her archivist can lay his hands on anything to help you. Good call, Tegan. And thanks, Merryn.’ He nodded at Tegan and winked at Merryn. ‘Nothing like being thrown in at the deep end, Tegan, eh?’

‘Coren! I think I sometimes preferred you when you were miserable and weren’t in a relationship with Sybill,’ muttered Merryn.

But Tegan knew her sister, and, looking at Merryn, Tegan knew that Merryn knew that she was well and truly beaten on this one.

* * *

‘Here we are.’ Sybill pulled on the handbrake and looked at Pencradoc, smiling as she apparently took in the grey stone frontage and eager, it seemed, to be getting on with the job in hand.

Sybill looked really happy to be here and Ryan guessed it was mostly because she got to see her partner, Coren, every time she came up under the pretext of “work”.

It was his first time at Pencradoc, though. He’d definitely been sequestered a little at Wheal Mount, and, despite his longing to be back in Glasgow, he did feel a strong attachment to his current place of work. But Sybill had thought it a good idea for him to come up to the edge of Bodmin Moor and visit the place, seeing as he’d soon be working closely with the team — even if, he thought, it turned out to be temporary, if he got that other job.

‘So what’s the plan for today? Remind me,’ he asked.

‘We’re meeting Merryn’s replacement first. And then we can talk about the winter wedding exhibition, which will, of course, be a joint project. That’s it. Nice and simple. Coren said last night that Merryn’s World War One project was definitely off the cards — for now at least.’

‘Yeah. A World War One project sounds a bit daunting, if I’m honest.’

As he looked at Pencradoc towering in front of them, he did think it had a sense of familiarity about it in some ways. Perhaps it was just because they had leaflets and postcards relating to Pencradoc at Wheal Mount. He supposed that Pencradoc would have some sort of merchandise about Wheal Mount too, as the two properties had belonged to the same family members over a century ago. And obviously Tammy and Sybill talked about it quite a lot as the two properties worked closely together, both being arts centres and all that.

But he did think the place looked comfortable and happy, as if he could just walk in there, throw himself into a chair and start leafing through a book or something, perfectly at home.

‘Do you like it?’ Sybill asked. ‘You seem a bit dazed by it.’

‘Yeah. No. It’s good. I’ve just never been before and it’s weird seeing it in real life, I guess.’ He reached around and grabbed a document case from the back seat. A document case! When had he become the sort of man who transported a document case?

Sybill had told him it looked professional and it was the best way to present the information they’d found for the wedding. She’d given it to him this morning and told him to fill it before they left.

While Sybill had waited, he’d quickly stuffed it with copies of letters and photographs relating to the 1911 wedding of Lady Elsie Pencradoc and Louis Ashby. He’d found the documents, thanks to Tammy’s excellent system and his recent, timely discoveries in those old boxes, but, to be fair, there wasn’t a great deal to actually present today. However, he thought there would be more if he had the time to rummage.

There was, at least, a copy of a wedding photo of the bride and groom Sybill had provided — she said the original was at Pencradoc — the letter Elsie had sent to her brother Laurie to ask him to come to London and see her wedding dress, and a letter to her sisters asking if they would be her bridesmaids along with their cousins and a friend — or rather, telling them that was the case.