The drawing room, set up for afternoon tea, was full of chat and clinking of tea cups. A cake stand held layers of tiny pastries, cakes, and sweet things, a platter was piled with shortbread, and there were three different pots of tea from far-off exotic lands.
Nina, who was perched on the edge of the sofa next to Birdie, also looked to be in her element. She smiled and lowered her voice. ‘I could get used to this life.’
Cally nodded. ‘It’s not a bad perk from my boyfriend, is it?’
Eloise chuckled. ‘Better than that boy racer you went out with that time.’
Birdie shuddered. ‘Yikes. Who was that? Doesn’t sound like my cup of tea.’
Eloise raised her eyebrows. ‘You don’t want to know.’
Cally laughed. ‘Let’s not talk about that episode in my life.’ She changed the subject and gestured around the drawing room. ‘Logan mentioned making coming up here a yearly tradition.’
‘I’m in every day of the week,’ Birdie joked.
Nina nodded. ‘Me, too.’
Cally lowered her voice. ‘I’m glad there weren’t any surprises in the end. Not yet, anyway.’
Birdie coughed. ‘Nope.’
Cally kept her voice low. ‘The family seems to be feeling a bit better. It’s good to see. I think there still might be a long road ahead…’
‘Yep. It takes a long time.’
Eloise gestured with her cup. ‘This helps. The scenery and peace here make everything feel better. You said it was nice, but itreallyis something else.’
Nina nodded. ‘I know. I wondered what it was going to be like but this has topped anything I thought.’
Birdie agreed. ‘Same. I’ve wanted to come here for so long but I genuinely didn’t think it would be as good as this.’
Cally chuckled. ‘You’ve been in your element.’
‘I know. I think I need to buy myself a manor house.’
Nina laughed. ‘You do.’
Cally shook her head. ‘I’m not being in charge of deliveries.’
Birdie giggled. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be busy being in control of my empire.’
Cally smiled as she leant forward and took another piece of shortbread. So far, the weekend had been great for everyone involved but mostly for Logan. She thought about the few times back home when he’d hit the bottle once too often and how stressful it had been. It had got so bad that, at one point, she’d become really concerned about his wellbeing. The trip to Scotland had somehow reset him. She hoped he remained the same. She was so pleased he was back to his old self. Back to the man she’d thrown a chicken breast at in a boat.
She smiled as she looked around the beautifully decorated, quietly elegant drawing room. The weekend was proving to be a lovely one without any surprises. Calm, easy, comfortable and just right after the year they’d had. She hoped that she would see the year out in the same vein.
46
Cally stood by the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the estate's front lawn, mesmerised by its blanket of twinkling white. She chuckled to herself as she remembered how, half an hour before, she’d plodded over to the main house in her fancy outfit, complete with welly boots, stomping through the snow hand in hand with Logan.
And, oh, how fancy her outfit was indeed. An update to her usual shirt, skirt, and tights uniform: this skirt was A-line and velvet, the tights were opaque and had a sheen, and the ballet flats were covered in thousands of tiny little sparkly jewels. A slash-neck velvet long-sleeved top with a dropped cowl back and a long row of small white pearl buttons completed her look. It had to be said by one and all; our Cally stunned and then some.
The room around her was just as good. The Christmas tree was one of those affairs Cally had only ever seen in a movie or slap bang in the middle of an overlit shopping centre; a tree that could only be decorated by way of a ladder. As Cally stood alongside it, she wondered how a Christmas tree could ooze elegance, but just like everything else at the estate, it most definitely did. A tree with a combination of old money charm and over-the-top opulence worked for her. It shimmered withthousands of warm white cluster lights and twinkled from the corner. Doused liberally in an eclectic mix of vintage baubles and little tartan bows every now and then, it somehow managed to do just about everything right.
Turning from the snow-covered scene, Cally looked over at the smattering of guests with their cocktails in hand and watched as Birdie chatted with Logan’s uncle Reg. Birdie had scrubbed up well. In a black sparkly midi dress with a slight heel, her hair in a fancy updo, and diamonds in her ears, she was a long way from the back of the chemist's and her white dispensary coat. The Shipping Forecast was nowhere to be seen or heard.
Eloise, in an elegant black silk number, with a slit up one side, and her hair swept up in an intricate chignon, strolled over, looking nearly as good as the tree.
'There you are. I was beginning to think you'd got lost in this labyrinth of a house.'
