Millie wasn’t sure how long they sat there together in front of the wood burner but when Niall walked back into the room, she noticed that he had changed his clothes and was rubbing his hair with a towel.
‘How is he?’ he asked, kneeling down on the floor beside them both.
‘I think he’s sleepy,’ Millie said.
‘I’ll take him to my room. He should be okay now,’ Niall said, scooping his son up into his arms for the second time that day and heading upstairs. When he returned, he flopped into the chair by the fireplace.
‘Let me get you a hot drink,’ Millie said. Niall simply nodded.
Millie made him a cup of tea. Strong. Milk. No sugar. That’s how he liked it.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she said to him a moment later as she handed him the hot drink. ‘I feel just awful.’
‘It’s not your fault,’ Niall told her.
‘But it was me who told him about the cave.’
‘It doesn’t matter – he would have found it sooner or later,’ Niall said. ‘He’s a boy, remember? Boys like getting into trouble. It’s in their genes.’
‘I’d make a terrible mother!’ she said.
‘You’d make a brilliant mother,’ he said. ‘I’m sure your brothers used to get into all sorts of scrapes, didn’t they?’
Millie nodded, remembering the time that Marcus had taken a tumble out of a tree, and when Jake had fallen off his bike as he’d been trying to ride it with no hands over a ramp.
‘Boys will be boys,’ Niall said, ‘and – whilst we don’t want them to kill themselves as they explore the world – we’ve got to give them space to find their own way.’
‘You’re being incredibly calm about all this,’ Millie told him.
He sighed. ‘The shock will probably hit me in the middle of the night and I’ll wake up screaming. I apologise in advance.’
‘I’ll be ready with the whisky.’
‘Thank you,’ he said and he grinned.
‘This is one Christmas I won’t forget in a hurry,’ she told him.
‘Not for all the wrong reasons, I hope,’ he said. ‘Hey – how’s your ankle?’
‘It hurts like hell,’ Millie said, ‘but I’d kind of forgotten about it until you asked.’
‘Get back on the sofa, you,’ he said.
‘Doctor’s orders?’
‘Absolutely.’
Millie sat down on the sofa before stretching her legs out on it.
‘He’ll be all right, won’t he?’ she asked Niall.
He nodded. ‘We came pretty close there for a minute. Thank goodness you knew where he’d gone.’
Millie swallowed hard. ‘I wish I hadn’t told him about–’
‘You don’t need to keep apologising,’ Niall interrupted her. ‘You weren’t to know what would happen.’
‘But I should have thought things through.’
Niall shook his head. ‘He’s okay. That’s the main thing.’ He closed his eyes for a moment.
‘You okay?’ Millie asked.
‘I was watching him fall asleep upstairs,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Sometimes, he looks so much like Emma that it hurts.’
‘He looks like you too,’ Millie said softly.
‘You think?’
‘Absolutely. He’s a really handsome boy,’ Millie said and then bit her lip as she realised what she’d said.
Niall gazed across the room at her and their eyes locked for a moment before Millie looked away, a blush colouring her cheeks.
A little cry came from upstairs and Niall was on his feet in an instant.
‘Robbie?’ He motioned to Millie to stay where she was and left the room. Millie stayed put on the sofa and listened to the distant murmurs of Niall talking to his son. She couldn’t make out the words but they were slow and low and deeply comforting and, with the heat from the stove and the exhaustion she felt, she found herself drifting off to sleep.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep but, when she woke up, the curtains had been drawn and Niall was in the kitchen.
‘Vegetable soup okay?’ he asked.
Millie yawned and nodded. ‘What time is it?’
‘After eight,’ he said.
‘Really?’ Millie was up and on her feet before she could think. ‘Ouch!’ she said. ‘I forgot.’
‘Sit back down,’ he said. ‘I’ll come to you.’
‘How’s Robbie?’
‘He’s asleep again. I sat with him for a while until he went back to sleep.’ He placed the bowls of soup on the coffee table between them.
‘Niall?’ Millie said a few minutes later when they were finishing the soup.
‘Yes?’
Millie wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to say but there was something about the intimacy of the room with the stove roaring and the thick curtains drawn against the winter night that felt like a confessional.
‘I’ve really loved being here with you and Robbie this Christmas. I can’t think when I’ve enjoyed a Christmas more and,’ she paused, awkwardness preventing her from going on for a moment, ‘well, I’m not sure what’s going through my auntie’s head but I just wanted you to know that–’ She stopped.
‘It’s okay,’ Niall said, crossing the room and sitting on the sofa with her.
‘I just wanted to say–’ but, before the words were out – before she could tell him how she felt about him, he’d leaned forward, his lips gently brushing hers in a warm kiss that made her feel strange and wonderful all at once.
‘Is that what you wanted to say?’ he asked her a moment later.
Millie smiled. ‘I think it might have been,’ she said.
‘That’s a relief,’ he said, ‘because I’ve been wanting to say it too.’
‘Really?’ she said, her eyes widening in surprise.
He nodded and grinned. ‘Even before your aunt’s presents.’
Millie looked at him in disbelief. ‘But I worried that you might think it’s too early, you know?’ she said as his hands found hers and held them.
‘It isn’t too early,’ he said and he leaned forward to kiss her again.
‘I don’t want Christmas to end,’ she whispered.
‘Neither do I,’ he said. ‘I never thought I’d enjoy another Christmas ever again after I lost Emma but life really does go on, doesn’t it? In its weird and wonderful way.’
‘Are you saying I’m weird?’ Millie teased.
‘No, I’m saying you’re wonderful,’ he told her.
‘Goodness,’ she said. ‘I never expected this to happen. I came here to get away from everything.’
‘Me too,’ he said.
‘I guess that fate had other plans,’ she said.
‘Or your Aunt Louise,’ he said.
Millie sighed. ‘Just wait until I see her.’
Niall squeezed her hands. ‘You won’t be too hard on her will you? I mean, if she did send us both here on purpose – which I’m not entirely sure she did – it was with the very best of intentions, wasn’t it? And she didn’t get it completely wrong, did she?’
A small smile began to spread across Millie’s face. ‘No,’ she said. ‘She didn’t get it completely wrong at all.’
CHAPTER 8
The snow continued to fall the next day and didn’t stop until after lunch. Then, the three of them left the cottage and, with careful feet encased in wellies, made their way down to the beach. Nobody spoke as they walked through a world in which the only sound came from the distant roar of the sea. It was as if each of them was trying to memorise the moment in an attempt to capture it forever: the muted winter colours of black, grey and white, the icy freshness of the wind on their faces, and the salt-laden air which they could taste on their lips.
The sand was still frozen and covered in a good layer of snow. How beautiful it looked, Millie thought, and how she was going to miss it when she left tomorrow.
‘You’re thinking about leaving, aren’t you?’ Niall said.
Millie nodded
. ‘It’s hard to live in the present when the future is pressing down upon you, isn’t it?’
Niall sighed. ‘Do you have to go?’
‘I do,’ she said. They’re expecting me back at work.’
‘I wish you’d stay until the New Year.’
‘I wish I could too.’
They walked the length of the beach. Robbie stayed in sight this time, perhaps more conscious of the dangers of the place now than he had been the day before. Occasionally, he would turn to look back, just to make sure they were still there.
‘It’s okay,’ Robbie said at one point.
‘What’s okay?’ Niall asked.
‘It’s okay if you hold hands,’ he told them with a little smile before turning his attention to a frozen rock pool.
Millie looked at Niall and they both laughed.
‘How did he know?’ Millie whispered.
Niall grinned. ‘Well, I might have told him I liked you.’
‘What? When?’ Millie asked in surprise.
‘When he was trying to get to sleep last night,’ he confessed. ‘I just asked him how he felt about me liking you.’
‘But you hadn’t told me by then,’ Millie pointed out.
‘I know,’ he said, ‘but I was on the verge of telling you.’
Millie smiled as a huge bubble of happiness rose up inside her and Niall held out his hand towards her and, knowing that she had Robbie’s blessing, she took it.
When they got back, they cobbled together a jolly lunch of all the bits and pieces that had been left over from Christmas and then they sprawled out in front of the wood burner and watched a light-hearted film together on the tiny old television as the light faded from the sky.
The evening was spent playing games, reading books and telling each other silly stories from their pasts and Millie couldn’t help feeling how natural everything was. Nothing was forced. They were three people who liked each other’s company and Millie dared to dream that during that Christmas, she had had a tiny glimpse of what her future might be.
*
But the future had to be put on hold because, the next day, Millie had to leave.
‘Can’t you ring in sick?’ Robbie asked as they helped her put her things into her car. ‘Dad could write you a sick note.’
‘I could, you know,’ he said with a grin.
Millie laughed. ‘That is very tempting,’ she said. She had truly never felt sadder to leave Cove Cottage than she did that morning and there had been some pretty tearful departures in the past at the end of school holidays.
The track to the cottage would have been impossible for her to drive up in her little car now that it was covered in snow so Niall towed her up, stopping once they had reached the main road.
‘Give me a call if you run into any problems,’ he told her after disconnecting the tow rope. ‘I’m not sure what the roads are like but I’d avoid the ones over Exmoor.’
‘I bet it looks beautiful,’ Millie said, getting out of the car to say goodbye.
‘I think its beauty would start to exasperate after a few hours of being stuck in a cold car,’ he said.
‘Good point,’ she said. ‘I’ll stick to the major roads.’
‘How’s your ankle?’
‘Much better,’ she told him. ‘I’m just glad it isn’t my right one for driving. Thanks for taking such good care of me, Dr Darby.’
He laughed and they stood staring at one another for a moment, the icy air swirling about them.
‘It’s been–’
‘I’ve had–’
They both said at once and then laughed.
‘I just wanted to say that I never want to spend Christmas any other way,’ he said.
She smiled. ‘So, same time next year?’
Niall frowned. ‘I hope I get to see you before then,’ he said.
‘Oh, you will,’ she told him, crossing the space between them and kissing him full on the mouth.
Robbie, who had accompanied his father in the four-wheel-drive, got out of the car now.
‘Bye, Robbie,’ Millie said.
His young face was full of sadness for a moment but then he gave a smile which seemed to light up the whole world and he raced towards Millie and hugged her.
‘Don’t set me off now!’ she said, blinking her tears away.
‘I don’t want you to go,’ he told her, his voice muffled as his face was pressed into her winter coat.
‘But we’re going to see each other again soon,’ she told him, her fingers stroking his dark hair.
He looked up at her. ‘Promise?’
‘Promise,’ she told him.
Niall stepped forward. ‘Somebody once told me about the power of a group hug,’ he said. ‘It’s something I’ve never tried before.’ With that, he put his arms around both Robbie and Millie.
‘What you think?’ Millie asked him a moment later. ‘Any good?’
Niall took a deep breath. ‘It’s just about perfect, I’d say.’
EPILOGUE – ONE WEEK EARLIER
‘You’re making excellent progress, Mrs Chambers. I’m very pleased with you.’
Louise Chambers gave a little laugh. ‘And I’ve been very pleased with you, Doctor Eastwood!’
He smiled and she couldn’t help thinking – once again – how very handsome he was. Such a charming young man. If only she was a few years – a few decades younger. Say about the same age as her great niece, Millie. Then, she thought, Doctor Eastwood would be in trouble.
‘And what are you doing for Christmas, Doctor Eastwood?’ she asked him as she rolled the sleeve of her cardigan down.
He sighed. ‘Trying to get through it as quickly and quietly as possible.’
‘Oh?’
‘Christmas is always a difficult time,’ he said, nodding to a silver-framed photograph of his late wife on his desk.
‘Ah, yes, of course,’ Louise said. ‘You know, I’ve got a rather lovely cottage out on the Devon coast?’
‘Oh, right?’
‘It’s used as a holiday let but it’s empty this Christmas. I think the threat of bad weather has put people off. Anyway, you’re more than welcome to use it. Take young Robbie with you and have yourself a proper break away from everything.’
‘Really?’ Dr Eastwood said in surprise.
‘Absolutely,’ Louise said. ‘Now, I’ll give you a call this evening with all the details. Okay?’
That evening, after the promised call to Dr Eastwood, Louise rang her great niece.
‘Millie? It’s your Aunt Louise here. Now, didn’t you say you wanted to stay at the cottage sometime? Well, it’s standing empty over Christmas…’
Christmas at the Castle
To my lovely readers. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!
Thank you to Bella and her beautiful Scottish deerhounds who helped to inspire Bagpipe, to Sam Jarvis who is simply a marvel, to Catriona for helping me polish this novella and for letting me use her name too, and to Roy for being Roy!
CHAPTER 1
‘I just don’t see why we have to spend Christmas in the coldest, dampest part of the castle!’ Fiona complained.
Catriona Fraser sighed as she saw the exasperation on her fifteen-year old daughter’s face.
‘I’ve told you, Fee’ she began, ‘the MacNeices have hired part of the castle for the Christmas holidays and you know how much we’re able to make from that. I couldn’t afford to say no.’
‘So you stick your own children in the dungeon,’ Fiona said, flicking a strand of her long red hair over her shoulder. She was going through a dramatic stage where everything in her life was a tragedy. She’d make a really fine actress one day, Catriona couldn’t help thinking.
‘It’s not a dungeon,’ Catriona said patiently as she dried the dishes on the draining board and put them away. ‘You’ve got your own bedroom–’
‘It’s pokey.’
‘It’s not pokey. Well, only in comparison to what you’re used to, but I want the MacNeices to hav
e the whole of that floor,’ Catriona acceded, ‘and you’ve got one of the best views of the loch from your room in the east wing.’
‘I hate that wing,’ Fiona said. ‘It makes me feel jumpy.’
Catriona frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s all dark and depressing.’
‘Well, hopefully, we can give it a lick of paint in the New Year – what do you think?’
‘It’s not before time,’ Fiona said.
‘And, in the meantime, we’ve got one of the castle’s best fireplaces in the living room there. We’ll make it nice and cosy, eh?’
Fiona didn’t look convinced. ‘I’d rather have Christmas in the Great Hall.’
‘I know, darling, but we can’t this year.’
‘We always have Christmas there. What would Daddy think about us not spending Christmas there?’
Catriona flinched. Her daughter really knew how to push her buttons, didn’t she?
‘I’m sure he’d understand,’ she said, desperately trying to remain calm as she thought of the husband she’d lost just two years ago. ‘Anyway it’s not for forever.’
‘No, just for the most important time of year.’
Catriona watched as her daughter stomped out of the room and then she released the sigh she’d been holding in. It was an impossible situation, she thought. If she didn’t let out the rooms during the holidays, they wouldn’t be able to live in the castle at all and she didn’t want to think of what the alternative might be. But it was never a popular choice with her children.
Caldoon Castle had belonged to her husband’s family and she was determined to keep it going and hand it on to her children, but the castle wouldn’t be in one piece to hand on if they didn’t make sacrifices in the short term. It was hard on Fiona and Brody, she knew that. At fifteen and ten respectively, her children were of an age when they valued their privacy and Fiona in particular didn’t take well to strangers invading their home.
Perhaps she’d sheltered them too much from the outside world, she thought, not for the first time. Living in the middle of nowhere, twelve miles from the nearest town, wasn’t easy for youngsters growing up. Then there’d been the decision three years ago to home tutor them when their father had become ill. The long commute to the nearest schools had been one less thing to worry about as she’d nursed Andrew and he’d wanted to have them near him too.
The Christmas Collection Page 6