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“Maybe you just need a room you can fix up your way? Make it less formal, less impersonal. Like this room. It’s frozen in time, trapped in the nineteenth century.”
“I don’t mind. I rarely come in here.”
“But would you enjoy it more if it was your style?”
Cara shrugged. “I’d rather focus on the nursery. That’s a huge space and it hasn’t had anything done to it since before Alec was born.”
“Where is the nursery?”
“It’s up another floor, and then down the hall, around a corner, near a set of servants stairs which are ridiculously steep.” Cara reached for another box to wrap. “The old nursery was placed as far from the parents as possible so they wouldn’t be inconvenienced.”
“That’s not going to work for you.”
“No, definitely not. I do have plans to make things comfortable, too. I’d like to convert the countess’s suite into a nursery. It’s on this floor, in this wing. The bedroom is huge with lots of lovely natural light. I think it would be ideal for the children, especially when just babies.”
“Does Alec have any objection?”
“I haven’t spoken to him about it. I thought I’d wait until we got through the holidays and have our checkup with the doctor in mid-January. If everything is good then, I’ll bring it up, and if he approves, we will get the renovations started.”
“You think he’ll approve?”
“Absolutely. He wants the children near us, especially during the night. He didn’t have access to his parents as a young child and he’s going to be a very different parent than his father. By the way, have you seen the guys?” Cara asked, reaching for yet another gift to wrap.
“Oh, yes. They are in the kitchen making a huge mess. I think it’s something we’re supposed to eat later.”
Cara grinned. “Did it happen to have strawberries?”
“I did see quite a few berries, as well as berry juice, and smashed berries on the side of a bowl, and a strawberry on the floor.”
“They’re making Eton mess for us tonight. It’s a first for both of them, so this should be fun.”
“Mess as in mess?”
“Yes, and Eton as in school.” Cara turned the wrapped gift over before reaching for a narrow dark green ribbon. “It’s a popular summer dessert when fruit is plentiful, but it’s quite festive for Christmas. I’m rather fond of it, but then, I’ve only ever had Mrs. Johnson’s, and everything she makes is delicious.”
“I’m looking forward to their mess,” Ella answered, rising. “And even if it’s dreadful, I will say nice things. As a good sister-in-law should.”
*
Ella helped Mrs.Booth set the table for Christmas Eve dinner, aware that Mrs. Booth was joining her children that evening for a special pre-holiday dinner at a restaurant in Bakewell that was highly regarded. Mrs. Booth would then have the next four days off, and Mrs. Johnson had been invited to join the Trimbles for dinner tomorrow at their house, and they’d pushed their dinner time back so that Mrs. Johnson could plate the Sherbournes Christmas dinner first.
Ella had not yet eaten in the formal dining room and was awed by the soaring ceiling and the enormous fireplaces at either end of the lofty room. Mrs. Booth had already spread a long red cloth on the table and was now adding the silverware.
“Cara told us that you have a big dinner in the United States for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,” Mrs. Booth said, quickly buffing each of the flatware before she set it down. “That must be a lot of cooking for your mother to do.”
“It is,” Ella agreed, adding the crystal goblets to the table, happy to have something useful to do. “Fortunately, my mother has three sisters and two of them live close, so we always spend holidays with family, and Mom has her sisters in the kitchen helping cook. But now that Mom and my aunts are getting older, they’re wanting to simplify, especially as my brothers’ wives aren’t wanting to take on the responsibility of feeding everyone.”
“How many gather at your house for Christmas dinner?”
Ella counted in her head, remembering how last year Cara wasn’t there. “It varies, but usually between nineteen and twenty-four, which would be easy to seat here, but we usually have to put up additional tables in the living room and then a children’s table in the family room.”
“And what do you eat for Christmas?”
“My father prefers prime rib, but my mother likes turkey, so we alternate every year.”
“The Sherbournes have turkey on Christmas Day and then prime rib and Yorkshire puddings for New Year’s.”
“Do you know what we’re having tonight?”
