The following morning Anna and Freddie walked down the hill from the castle to the village to ‘check it out’, as Freddie said.
It was not far, and they could see the cottages and shops scattered below them as they started down the tarmac road.
It was cold, the winter sun stark on the hedgerows, which bore bright red berries, the air fresh and sharp after the mugginess of London.
Freddie, loving this freedom of open space and away from the danger from busy roads, darted here and there, splashing in a rivulet of water running down beside them, stopping every so often to point out a stone and then a black beetle scurrying under a leaf. He picked up a stick and prodded an old bird’s nest and jumped in the puddles.
It had been dark yesterday when Lucy left them, and though Freddie wanted to go out, Anna said it was too late and cold and she wanted to unpack and settle in. Now she watched Freddie’s delight in this new freedom with content, relieved she’d made the right decision to come here for Christmas. She took a few deep breaths of the country air and felt full of energy and excitement at this new adventure.
They reached the bottom of the hill and looked round at the pretty painted cottages and small shops spread about before them.
‘Look, Mum, there’s Lucy’s shop, can we go in?’ Freddie began to run towards it.
‘Yes, but take care here, there are cars about.’ She took his hand and they went over to the pale green shop with ‘Lucy’s Cake Shop’ written in bright pink above.
It was an old-fashioned, bow-windowed shop and arranged in the front were Christmas cakes of various sizes and iced biscuits among tiny fake Christmas trees. Inside, Anna saw a few tables and chairs, making a cosy spot for a cup of tea.
‘Looks like cakes in a forest,’ Freddie pressed his nose against the window. ‘I’m hungry, can we buy a biscuit, that Father Christmas one or that reindeer.’ He turned to her, his face eager.
‘You’ve just had a huge breakfast. We’ll look at everything else first, then we’ll come back and you can choose a biscuit to have for tea,’ Anna said, leading him on to the next shop, a butcher’s with a larger than life wooden figure of a jolly butcher, plump and smiley, standing by the door. There was a small display of fruit and vegetables outside, then a newsagent next to the Partridge pub, where Anna remembered Luke telling her they would all meet up for Christmas lunch.
She noticed a war memorial in the centre of the small clutch of shops and cottages. An elderly woman wearing a red hat, with what looked like a colourful bird perched on the side of it, stood before it, her head bowed. Not wanting to disturb her, Anna took Freddie into the newsagents, saying she wanted to buy the day’s newspaper and he could choose a comic.
As they came out, the woman turned and saw them. ‘Are you Anna and Freddie who are standing in for Philly and Sidney?’
‘Yes, we are, we arrived yesterday and are exploring the village,’ Anna said.
‘Welcome, I’m Mattie Bennet, one of the oldest residents here. Just saying a prayer for my father.’ She turned back to the war memorial. ‘He was killed on this day, December 20th… or anyway we were told of it on this date all those years ago.’
‘Was he a soldier?’ Freddie asked.
‘No, a pilot, he flew a Spitfire; he was very brave, as were all those young men that gave their lives for us. Well,’ she brightened, ‘we must make the best of the life we have. If you’ve time, come and have some coffee at my house, it’s that cottage with the pink door.’ She gestured across the road at a squat, cream-coloured cottage with a strip of a garden in front.
‘How kind, but please don’t let us disturb you, I’m sure you’ve got lots to do,’ Anna said, worried that Mattie might not be used to young, energetic boys and Freddie might be too clumsy in a small-roomed cottage where perhaps Mattie had beautiful ornaments, and suchlike dotted about.
Mattie smiled, ‘No, I’ve plenty of time and I’ve got some interesting toys that might amuse you, Freddie, and some of Lucy’s Christmas biscuits, you see her shop over there? She always brings me some every year, but I make my own cake, old recipe of my grandmother’s, never fails.’
‘Lucy brought us a cake yesterday, chocolate, my favourite, and she’s got a boy my age and we’re going to play together,’ Freddie said eagerly.
‘She has indeed, Benny, a very nice boy, and two girls older than him. They are a lovely family,’ Mattie said. ‘Come and have some coffee and I’ll fill you in with village life. We’re so glad you could come so Philly and Sidney could get away.’
‘Thank you, we’d like that,’ Anna said, her hand on Freddie’s shoulder, hopefully sending him a telepathic message to not be too boisterous inside, the cottage but Freddie’s mind was elsewhere.
‘What sort of toys do you have?’ he asked.
‘Let’s go and see,’ Mattie said as they went with her to her front door. Not far away behind it they saw the river, gleaming in the sun.
Freddie asked if there were fish in it.
‘Further up there are. Do you like fishing?’
‘I don’t know, I’ve never done it,’ Freddie said, following her into her cottage and looking round with interest.
‘I’ll find someone to take you, one of the castle gardeners might,’ she said, taking off her coat and the colourful hat.
‘Is that a real bird?’ Freddie inspected the mass of feathers arranged at the side of the hat.
‘Feathers of one. This hat belonged to my mother. Back then they did put real birds on hats, but not any longer as it’s very cruel.’
Mattie led them into the living room, telling them to make themselves at home. She opened a cupboard under a bookcase and told Freddie to rummage round and see if any of the toys interested him while she went to the kitchen to make them coffee. Anna looked round her, the room was light, having a window at the front and the back, there was a comfortable looking sofa covered in a floral pattern and two small armchairs. Either side of the fireplace were shelves of books and china ornaments, the whole room had an air of comfort and prettiness.
Freddie was delighted to find an ‘olden days’, as he put it, train set and a box of small cars and sat happily on the carpet playing with them.
Mattie bustled in with a tray of coffee and biscuits and some juice for Freddie. Anna took the tray from her and put it on a low table scattered with books and magazines.
When they were settled, Mattie asked Anna about herself. ‘I understand you are a teacher, Anna, so it’s perfect that you could come in the holidays to hold the fort, as it were. I’m just sorry Gerald can’t come and visit us. You know, we had a little fling once.’ Her eyes twinkled. ‘But now he has an American wife and has settled there, and if she has any sense she’ll keep him there, close to her.’ She laughed.
Anna, slightly thrown by Mattie’s remark, said, ‘So he lived round here before Philly and Sidney came or did he live in the flat with them?’
‘No, Gerald lived in Aldeburgh and when he heard that the castle needed caretakers he suggested it to Sidney, who’d suddenly been made redundant.’
The bell went, and Mattie got up to answer the door and returned a moment later carrying a book.
‘It was Frank Porter, he owns the bookshop. He’s brought me round the book I ordered.’
‘What book did he bring?’ Anna asked with interest, having bought a whole stack of books herself in case the weather was so bad they were stuck inside.
‘A thriller, a new writer, much-acclaimed or maybe hyped,’ Mattie said. ‘Nothing I like more than a good thriller.’
‘It depends, it’s not so bad in daytime with the sun shining,’ Anna said.
‘Nothing much scares me any more,’ Mattie said. ‘I don’t sleep too well, and I like a good book to pass the hours till morning. I’ll let you know what I think of this one and lend it to you if you like,’ she said, glancing at it before putting it down by the sofa.
Mattie entertained them with stories about the castle and its surrounds.
‘The oldest part is called the motte, that mound between the two gates, built about 1068.’
‘Goodness, as old as that?’ Anna was amazed.
‘Yes, it’s been through a lot, it was badly damaged in the Civil War and Queen Victoria and Albert stayed there once,’ Mattie smiled. ‘Of course, it’s all changed now, the family died out in the First World War and then Jeffery Farnley, the last owner, modernised it and left it in trust for the village.’
‘Yes, Lucy told me about that. Great insight to make it part of everyone in the village.’
‘It was, nearly all of us have worked there in some way or another,’ Mattie said, ‘and by opening it to the public in the summer and renting it out for things like films and weddings, it keeps it going.’
Freddie, who had enjoyed playing with the old cars, was now getting restless and Anna decided it was probably time to leave. ‘Thank you so much, Mattie, for the coffee and telling us about the castle’s past, so exciting to think we are staying in such an old place with the ghosts of so much history.’
‘Ghosts?’ Freddie looked scared.
‘Not real ghosts, Freddie,’ Mattie said gently, ‘but every time you see an old house, remember that people lived there before.’
‘Yes,’ Freddie said, still looking anxious.
Mattie laughed, ‘They won’t hurt you, but when you get older and learn more history, you’ll see how fascinating life is.’
‘Thank you for the wonderful morning,’ Anna said, ‘and please come and visit us in the castle.’
‘Thank you I will. I look forward to it,’ Mattie said.
They left her cottage and walked round the other side of the cluster of houses and occasional shops, one being a sweetshop with jars of coloured sweets in the window. Anna promised Freddie they’d return there another day, but as there were dark clouds bunching up in the sky they’d better get back before they got soaked.
An icy wind caught up some dried leaves in the gutter and whirled them down the street, Anna shivered, looking forward to getting back to their cosy flat. This afternoon she must ice the Christmas cake and send some last-minute cards; with the end of term spent shepherding two dozen four-year-olds through their nativity play, she had not had time to write them all before they left.
A Land Rover pulled up beside them as they headed back to the castle and a man called out, ‘Hi, I’m Simon Flynn; I work with Luke and Cathie on the estate. You must be Anna and Freddie. Do you want a lift to the top before the rains tips down?’
‘That would be amazing, thanks. It didn’t look like rain when we set out, so we left all our waterproof gear in the flat,’ Anna said gratefully.
Simon jumped out to open the door for them. He was tall, with grey eyes and thick dark hair and his ready smile lit up his face. Anna pushed Freddie in first and then got in herself.
‘We’ve been exploring; we’ve just had coffee with one of the locals. Mattie Bennet,’ she said as they set off.
‘Oh, Mattie, she’s a character,’ Simon exclaimed, ‘she’s lived here all her life, or at least kept her cottage. I think she moved away for a while when she married. She’ll tell you all sorts of stories about the place.’
‘She had really old toys,’ Freddie said, ‘cars and trains and things.’
‘I’m sure she was pleased you could play with them,’ Simon said, already pulling up outside their flat.
‘Thanks so much, would you like to come in for a coffee?’ Anna asked.
‘That’s very kind, perhaps another time, but I’ve got to make sure there’s enough holly and greenery for people to decorate the church. I work on the estate, in charge of the grounds, orchards, gardens and such.’ He smiled, ‘see you around.’ He waved and sped off.
Anna opened the door and found a scatter of Christmas cards on the mat forwarded on from their flat in London. Freddie picked them up, thrilled to find a couple addressed to him.
Before she could get her coat off, her mobile rang; Daisy’s name flashed up.
‘So how is it? Made any friends yet?’ she asked as soon as Anna answered.
‘Yes, as it happens, everyone seems friendly and helpful.’
‘That’s good,’ Daisy said.
‘So what about you, Daise? All ready for the great romance,’ Anna teased.
Daisy giggled, ‘Well, Andrew and I are travelling up together to Yorkshire.’
‘Good luck, hope it all works out. It sounds a very romantic place. A stately home hotel, no doubt it’s got log fires and lovely walks,’ Anna said. Daisy had not been lucky in love but hopefully this time all would be well.
And here she and Freddie were, in a castle no less, a glamorous setting like Daisy’s hotel; surely for all three of them a Christmas to remember.