Chapter 32
Personally I wasn’t familiar with the German tradition of exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve, but as everyone gathered around the cosy fire with the sound of Carols from King’s in the background I was all in favour of adding another new ritual to my recently rediscovered fondness for the festive season.
‘We have Mum to thank for this,’ said Jamie, who nuzzled up to my side on the sofa and sent butterfly kisses up and down my neck. ‘Her mother’s side of the family were from Germany and this was something they always used to do.’
‘Hey you two,’ said Hugo, having spotted what was going on as Oscar blushed behind his teddy, ‘get a room.’
‘Oh leave them alone,’ smiled Archie. ‘True love is hard to find.’
‘As you have so eloquently proved,’ teased Christopher, earning himself a sharp dig in the ribs from his wife.
‘Never mind about true love,’ said Hayley, rubbing her hands together. ‘Let’s just get to the presents.’
Just like with the Advent calendar it was Angus who was in charge of present distribution and everyone was well pleased with the gifts they unwrapped. So preoccupied was I with enjoying watching everyone else opening their treats I hadn’t realised that I had been left until last and that all eyes were on me until Angus handed Jamie a small box.
‘We can’t even begin to tell you, Anna,’ Jamie began, sounding genuinely choked, ‘how pleased we are that you made your way to us this Christmas.’
‘Thank you,’ I whispered, blinking back tears of my own.
‘I know,’ he continued, ‘we all know,’ he added, looking around, ‘that Christmas isn’t an occasion that you have particularly enjoyed in the past, for one reason or another.’
He squeezed my hand as I nodded in agreement.
‘But things have changed now,’ said my beloved, ‘and we know that from now on things for you, and for all of us, are going to be very different.’
He handed me the gift and tenderly kissed my cheek. My hands were shaking as I tore at the paper and opened the box.
‘Oh Angus,’ I sobbed, looking over at him. ‘You did this, didn’t you?’
‘I might have mentioned to Jamie how taken you were with it,’ he shrugged. ‘That was all.’
That night in the Rose Room, after Jamie and I had made love, I reached across and picked up the exquisite cameo and ran my fingers over it, delighting in the once familiar feel of it against my skin.
‘My mum had a brooch exactly like this,’ I finally felt able to explain. ‘It was supposed to be mine.’
‘What happened to it?’ Jamie asked, tucking my hair behind my ear so he could see my face.
‘My father gave it away,’ I sniffed. ‘But not to the right person.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Jamie frowned.
‘I gave it to him,’ I explained. ‘To pass on to the wonderful woman I had hoped would become my stepmother. She had lived with us for a while and had a quiet way of making everything better. In the end my father thought she was too quiet for him.’
‘Oh, Anna,’
‘On the day I thought he was going to propose to her,’ I sniffed, ‘I gave him the brooch in lieu of an engagement ring, but he turned back to the bottle instead and, blind drunk, ended up giving it to this dreadful woman he used to drink with in the pub after we first lost mum.’
‘That’s terrible,’ said Jamie, propping himself up on one elbow.
‘I know,’ I said, ‘and the worst of it was, I couldn’t do anything about it. He broke my heart all over again that day. He threw Sarah out and took up with his old drinking partner who he then moved into the house. She had always hated me because I reminded her of my mum. She couldn’t wait to see the back of me. She made my life hell.’
‘What a terrible situation,’ said Jamie, ‘and what an awful father for not seeing what was going on under his nose.’
‘To tell you the truth,’ I told him, ‘I think he did know, but it was his fondness for a drink that blurred the edges and stopped him seeing my life for what it really was.’
Jamie was quiet for a moment before asking, ‘So what happened to the brooch?’
‘I left it behind when I ran away just after my eighteenth birthday. It was Christmas Day,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘At the time I didn’t think I would ever want to see it again after what he’d done but it wasn’t long before I regretted leaving it.’
‘Yet another ruined Christmas.’
‘It was just another in a long line,’ I sighed.
‘And you’ve been moving ever since, haven’t you?’
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I suppose I have.’
‘Well not any more,’ he said, putting the brooch to one side and pinning me to the bed. ‘From now on you’re staying right here, in my hall and with my family.’
I couldn’t help thinking how ironic it was that ever since the moment I arrived at the hall, and in the town for that matter, everyone had been telling me I wouldn’t be moving on when my contract came to an end, and here I was, all set to start a whole new life.
The charity plans were ready to be put into action and even Archie, now purged of Elise and her father’s awful ideas and poison pen letters, had been talking about getting involved and helping out. And it hadn’t gone unnoticed that as soon as everyone had started talking about going to bed he had offered to take Floss and Suki out because it gave him an excuse to pop and see Molly. I wouldn’t have been at all surprised if a romance was beginning to blossom there, and I was sure he was going to announce he was moving home soon. I was thrilled that the future of Wynthorpe Hall, which was thankfully now also my future, was looking very bright indeed.
‘I think you’ll find they’re my family as well now,’ I told Jamie, trying to suppress a giggle as I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders.
‘And I don’t care what you say,’ he said, ignoring me and kissing me firmly as he pressed his hot body down on top of mine. ‘You’re staying put whether you like it or not.’
‘Oh I like it,’ I laughed, ‘I like it very much indeed.’