The Winter That Made Us by Kate Field

Author:Kate Field
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Accent Press
Published: 2018-10-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Ramblings had been closed to the public through all the time that Tess had lived in Ribblemill so, having now seen the magnificence of the hall and the ballroom, she was one of the first in the queue to go on the Christmas tour. She had tried to persuade her mum to go with her, but to no avail.

‘Wouldn’t you like to see inside?’ she asked, perching on the arm of Grace’s chair and taking her hand. ‘The parts I’ve seen already are amazing. The furniture and paintings in the hall are incredible, and I expect the rest of the house is just as good. I can’t wait to see it with the Christmas decorations up. I’d love it if we could go together.’

‘I don’t think you should go at all.’ Grace shuddered. ‘It must be a huge, damp, draughty place. You’ll catch a cold, or worse. You mustn’t risk it, Tess. You don’t want to be poorly when Tim comes home for Christmas.’

‘I’m not sure he’ll be able to come home…’

‘But he must do! He’s been there four months without a break already, in that heat. Oh, Tess, you must tell him he’s working too hard. He’ll be heading for a heart attack at this rate. And how are you supposed to have a baby if you’re never together?’

Being together hadn’t brought them a baby either, but Tess smiled and changed the subject. Her mum wasn’t ready to hear that. It was hard to believe she would ever be ready.

Two days later Tess wandered down the track to Ramblings on the first day of the Christmas opening, paid her admission fee and received a glossy pamphlet showing a floor plan of the house with a visitor trail marked out in red holly berries. The trail began in the hall, where an enormous Christmas tree stood to one side of the staircase. A well-dressed angel was just about visible on the top of the tree, which was level with the first-floor landing.

Tess followed the trail of berries along a corridor strung with some of the holly she had helped to collect and to a room marked on the plan as ‘Frances Smallwood’s Morning Room’. Ruth was loitering in the doorway, wearing a badge that continued the berry theme, and bore the legend, ‘Ruth – Volunteer Steward’.

‘I’m a volunteer steward,’ Ruth announced, grinning as she caught sight of Tess and pointing at her badge. She stopped short of giving her name as well. ‘There’s a team of us scattered around the house, guarding the valuables. Cassie is in the library and the Colonel is in the dining room. It sounds like a game of Cluedo, doesn’t it! Don’t worry, you won’t get clobbered with a piece of lead piping as you go round!’

The morning room was a beautiful, light room, filled with comfortable sofas and chairs, and dark oak furniture that gleamed with polish. There was another, smaller Christmas tree in here, its branches weighed down by baubles that looked as if they had been hand-painted with wintry scenes.

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