by Sharon Booth
'I can't tell you what it will be,' she admitted. 'What I will say is, if the black bird has arrived in the new world, the white bird must be about to leave for the old world. But what that means, I can't say.'
'Someone from our time going back to the seventeenth century?' I suggested.
'But that could cause many problems,' Father gasped.
'I'm afraid it could be at least as disruptive as sending Blaise back would have been,' Aveta admitted. 'We could all be in grave danger, but we have no way of knowing who the white bird is, or how to stop him from going back in time. I've just discussed this with the other members of the High Council and we've got witches investigating, but it's difficult. We're not sure who or what we're looking for and may not recognise the signs until it's too late.'
'What about the Guardians?' Father asked. 'Shouldn't they be involved in all this?'
'Unfortunately, we have no way of contacting the Guardians,' Aveta admitted. 'We don't even know who they are.'
'What? Then how do you communicate with them?'
'They communicate with us,' she said, smiling wryly. 'Today, a message arrived at the hotel, but there were no contact details and no way of responding. It doesn't work both ways. No witch has the power to summon a Guardian. But I can assure you they'll be aware of the situation. The Guardians are alert to any dangers in the lands they protect and I'm sure we're not alone in this. It is, after all, possibly the greatest threat we've ever faced.'
'Great,' I muttered. 'Shouldn't we warn Blaise? Tell him what happened?'
'It's possible Blaise deliberately blocked out those memories. Maybe it was a subconscious decision. It may have been a spell he cast to protect himself. Either way, if I'm right, it could cause him harm if we bring those memories back to him before he's ready. We must leave him to remember in his own good time. When he's ready, the memories will return.'
It seemed a bit unfair to me, but Aveta was a wise old owl and I wasn't going to argue with her. I shivered, wondering what else lay ahead of us. 'So, our problems aren't over yet.'
'My dear,' Aveta said, reaching out and taking hold of my hand, 'I fear our problems are only just beginning.'
Chapter Eight
They welcomed me home like a returning hero. Star and Sky squealed with joy when I arrived, and I was almost crushed to death by the fierce hugs all three of my siblings gave me. Except, I remembered, glancing over at Aurora who was sitting on the sofa, cradling her newborn son, I now had four siblings. Weird!
Castor didn't hug me, but he nodded at me from across the room, and I saw the relief in his eyes and knew he was as delighted to have me home as anyone else. I realised Mrs Greenwood had arrived, too, and she was evidently up to date with everything, because she gave me a warm smile and told me how glad she was that everything had been sorted out and I was home safe.
'And just in time for Christmas lunch,' she added. 'How splendid. I've been introduced to your dear ancestor, Celeste. What a charming man. I never expected such an exciting Christmas.'
She beamed at Blaise, who inclined his head and smiled back at her, though I saw by the look in his eyes he was finding everything rather overwhelming, and who could blame him? I tried to imagine finding myself back in the seventeenth century, knowing I was stuck there forever, but it was too scary to contemplate. Poor Blaise.
'Exciting's one word for it,' Castor snapped. 'You realise how serious this is? Why are you being so flippant about it?'
Mrs Greenwood's hand fluttered to her chest. 'I'm sure I didn't mean to be flippant. I was only saying—'
'Of course you didn't, Fern,' Mother said. 'Take no notice. Castor, kitchen. Now.'
Castor opened his mouth to argue, but her expression told him not to waste his time. Scowling, he sloped into the kitchen with Mother hurrying behind him.
Mrs Greenwood looked deeply worried. 'Perhaps I should go,' she said. 'You've had a most eventful time of it and I'm in the way.'
'If you're going, I'll go with you, Nan,' Benedict said immediately.
'And me,' Star added.
'No one's going anywhere,' Sirius said firmly. 'Mrs Greenwood, you're a very welcome guest in this house. You're more than that. You're Star's grandmother-in-law, which makes you family, and you're welcome here any time. Take no notice of Castor. I can't think what's the matter with him.'
'Hmm,' Mrs Greenwood said doubtfully, 'if you're sure.'
'He's been ever so edgy all day,' Star said. 'I think all this business has unnerved him.'
'It's unnerved us all,' Sky pointed out. 'We aren't being rude, though, are we?'
'Yes, but Castor seems particularly anxious,' Star said. 'Maybe it's his age. I suppose we forget how old and set in his ways he is'
'Please don't be upset Mrs Greenwood,' I said, hurrying over to hug her, 'of course we're sure. We all love you, and we all want you here. Castor can be a funny soul sometimes. He's often grumpy with us, too. Don't take it personally. Besides, today isn't about Castor. It's Christmas Day, and we have two new members of the family to welcome.'
'We do,' Sirius said, smiling. 'Our beautiful new baby brother, Aither, and our twelve times great uncle, Blaise. Two brilliant St Clairs to take their place in the world. Welcome to you both.'
'A new baby and a distant ancestor,' Benedict said, shaking his head. 'That's some guest list.'
'Actually,' Jethro said, sounding, I was relieved to hear, a lot stronger than he'd been last night, 'I hope you don't mind me sticking my oar in but, strictly speaking, Blaise isn't an ancestor.'
'Don't be silly,' Sky said. 'He is. He's our great, great, whatever Sirius said, uncle.'
'But that's the point,' Jethro explained. 'You can stick as many greats on the word uncle as you like, but that doesn't make him an ancestor. Ancestors are the people you're directly descended from. So, if it were Bevil sitting here instead of Blaise, yes, you would say he's your ancestor. Blaise is the brother of your ancestor, or the uncle of your ancestor, or whatever. You see?'
As we all stared at him in silence, he turned pink. 'Sorry,' he said, sinking back in the sofa, 'but you pick up all sorts of information when you're researching books.'
'Well, whatever he is,' Sirius said firmly, 'he's family, and that's that.'
'Bevil.'
We all turned to look at Blaise, who was tilting his head to one side, looking thoughtful.
'Sorry?'
'You remember Bevil?' I said eagerly.
He frowned. 'There's something,' he said. 'A brief flash of a memory I can't quite hold on to.' He sighed and rubbed his forehead. 'It's so frustrating,' he groaned. 'It's there, somewhere inside my mind, but I can't keep a grasp on it. It's like an image, but it's too quick for me to make sense of.'
'It will come back in its own good time,' Sirius said comfortingly.
'Maybe it's best it doesn't,' Blaise said. 'Will that bring me comfort, do you think? Remembering all the people I know and love? Recalling every word we uttered to each other, every day we shared, and realising I'll see none of them again. That they've been dead for over three centuries. Do you think that would be a blessing or a curse?'
'Put like that ...' Father's voice trailed off and we all looked at each other, deeply uncomfortable.
Fortunately, at that moment Aither showed off exactly what a fine pair of lungs he possessed. He let out a wail that made us all jump.
'Crikey,' Sky said. 'He sounds like an air-raid siren.'
'He'll be hungry,' Aurora said with sympathy which, given Aither's genes, seemed like a reasonable assumption. 'Would you mind awfully if I left you all to it? Only, this is my first proper attempt at breastfeeding and if I'm going to make a fearful hash of it I'd rather do it without an audience.'
'Don't you have a wet nurse?' Blaise asked, sounding shocked.
'We don't do things like that these days,' I explained. 'Mums feed their babies themselves, if it's possible, though obviously some bottle feed, and that's okay, too. Aurora,' I said, 'would you like me to fetch Mother? She might be of som
e help.'
'Oh yes please,' Aurora said. 'As long as she's finished with Castor. I don't want to interrupt anything.'
'I'm sure she'll have said all she has to say by now,' I assured her.
'Your room's ready, Aurora, if you want to take Aither upstairs,' Star said. 'Sky and I prepared it as soon as Aveta came for Mother.'
'That's so kind of you,' Aurora said. 'I'll pop up there now and your mother can meet me up there.'
She was gone in an instant, and Blaise looked highly relieved. He was probably flummoxed by all the talk of babies and breastfeeding and birth. It had all been very different in his day, no doubt. He considered all this women's talk, and Sirius's and Father's easy acceptance of the subject bewildered him.
'I'll fetch your mother,' Father said, getting to his feet. 'We can go up there together.'
Blaise pulled a face, and I thought he would have a very difficult time adjusting to modern life.
'Right,' Star said, clapping her hands after Father headed out of the room, 'while all the baby stuff is going on upstairs, can we please remember today is also Christmas Day? I'm going to prepare lunch — the St Clair way, I'm afraid, although Nan has provided us with some delicious food done the ordinary way — then after we've eaten, I think we should open presents and enjoy ourselves. What do you say?'
'Sounds good to me,' Sirius agreed. 'Blaise, tomorrow we'll sit down and discuss what happens next in terms of you building a life for yourself here, I promise. But for today, it's been quite an eventful time and I think the best thing we can do is show you how the St Clairs celebrate Christmas in 2019. What do you say?'
Blaise nodded slowly. 'I think that's a great plan. To be honest, I'm quite worn out and I don't know what's what or where I am. My head's spinning. Some food would be welcome. I know tomorrow questions will have to be asked, but I'll deal with that then.'
Star and Benedict jumped up and headed into the kitchen, no doubt to make sure Castor would be polite to Mrs Greenwood for the rest of the day, and to rope him into helping with Christmas lunch. Sky decided to set the table in the dining room the traditional way so Jethro and Mrs Greenwood could help, and Sirius disappeared into his study, after whispering to me he would sort out some Christmas presents for Blaise.
I was alone with Blaise and we looked at each other, suddenly awkward in the silence.
'You have a lovely family,' he told me. 'I can see you're all very close.'
'I'm sorry,' I said. 'I know this must be awful for you, and I feel terrible I played a part in dragging you away from your own time and your family.'
He gave a resigned shrug. 'With my great powers, I have no doubt that I played the greater part in this catastrophe, although neither of us meant to cause what happened. I suspect that, if I could remember my family, I'd be grieving a lot more than I am for what I've lost. I feel more confusion than grief. Everything's so strange and different, and I feel like a spare part. I know I'm a St Clair, but I don't feel like I belong here. I don't know any of you, and you don't know me. The people who know me think I'm dead. They must be in so much pain. My brother, for instance, must be devastated. I hate that they're hurting, even though I know it all happened centuries ago, and he'll be long gone.'
I didn't know how to respond to that. Bevil, far from being devastated, would no doubt have been delighted his brother was dead. It was Blaise's one true love, Jennet, who would be devastated. I tried to imagine what she must have gone through, grieving for her lost love, afraid and alone, not knowing what the future held for her. It was heartbreaking. And the saddest part was, Blaise didn't even remember he'd ever loved her. He had no recollection of her name, or her face. He wasn't even aware she'd existed. And when that memory came back ...
I closed my eyes, all too aware that, for Blaise, the worst was yet to come.
****
The rest of the day passed in a blur. We'd planned many games and activities for the afternoon but, in the event, none of us had the energy. After eating what we could manage of a huge lunch, we all succumbed to our exhaustion. Not surprising, really. After everything Blaise had been through, he was dead on his feet. Sirius, Benedict and Jethro had fought a huge battle with the river and the cold, too. I'd been up all night worrying about Blaise, and the decision of the High Council, and Mother, Castor and my sisters had been up all night worrying about me. Aurora had just given birth and the uncertainty and excitement had drained Father. Mrs Greenwood always had a nap in the afternoon when she wasn't working so, by the time our perennial family favourite, The Snowman, appeared on television I'm afraid the only ones around to watch it were Spirit, Belle and Paypacket. Belasko and Bran had gone out to the nearby woods for some fresh air, so by three o'clock Castle Lodge was silent and sleeping.
If Aither hadn't woken us all up, bellowing for food again, we might have slept for the rest of the day. As it was, we all blinked awake, stretching and yawning and looking at each other in a vaguely embarrassed way.
'At least we opened our presents,' Star said. 'That's something.'
'And it was a lovely lunch,' Sky added.
'I've had a perfectly wonderful time,' Mrs Greenwood assured us all. 'Now, I'd better be getting home. Billy Blue will get lonely,' she added, referring to her budgie.
'You don't have to go yet, Nan,' Star said.
Mrs Greenwood stood and smoothed down her skirt. 'I think I'd like to get home before it gets too dark,' she said. 'To be perfectly honest, I'm ready for a nice strong cup of tea and a couple of hours of television before I go to bed. It's been a long day.'
'I'll drive you home, Nan.' Benedict glanced at Star. 'Are you coming with us? We can go home straight from Nan's.'
Star hesitated, but shrugged. 'I suppose we may as well. This has been a bit of a washout as far as Christmas goes and looking round at everyone's faces I can imagine they'll all be asleep again before too long.' She called over to Paypacket. 'Sorry, darling. Say goodbye to Belle and Spirit. We're going home.'
Paypacket looked grumpy, which may or may not have been because of what she'd said. It was hard to tell with Paypacket. He was the feline equivalent of Castor.
'We may as well go home, too,' Sky said, pulling Jethro to his feet. 'It's hot chocolate and pyjama time.'
'You know it's only six o'clock?' Mother said, scooping Belle up and handing her to Sky.
Jethro grinned. 'Sounds about right to me,' he said.
Mother pulled a face. 'Good grief. Why do you two even bother getting dressed?'
Sky giggled. 'I often say that, don't I, Jethro?'
'Sky, really!' Mother tutted, but she had a twinkle in her eye.
There was a general flurry as they pulled on coats, hunted for car keys and exchanged hugs. They congratulated Father and Aurora yet again, smothered Aither with kisses, and opened and closed doors, letting in blasts of chilly air. We heard Benedict's car start in the drive, then the sound of tyres crunching on the gravel.
Sky, Jethro and Belle zapped home a moment later, leaving the rest of us sitting in drained silence.
'Heavens,' Mother said. 'What a day!'
'Were it really less than twenty-four hours since we pulled Blaise from the river?' Castor shook his head. 'Last night seems like a lifetime ago.'
'It was a lifetime ago for me,' Blaise mumbled.
Aither squealed in protest, and Aurora sighed. 'I'd better feed him before he gives himself a hernia,' she said.
'Celeste, why don't you and Blaise go out for a walk?' Mother suggested.
'A walk?' I looked doubtfully at Blaise, not sure he was in the mood for sightseeing. Not to mention that it was cold and dark outside.
'I think some fresh air would do you both good,' she told me. 'You've been cooped up in the hotel in Cornwall and then here. You need to get out before you go stir crazy.'
Blaise nodded. 'I think your mother's right, Celeste. I'd like to be outdoors for a while. I can go alone if you don't want to come with me.'
'Of course I'll come with you,' I said, '
if you think you're up to it. I was worried you might be too tired.'
'I think fresh air is exactly what I need,' he admitted. 'It helps me think, and I have such a lot to think about. Who will be your companion?'
I looked at Mother, and she widened her eyes. 'I don't think a chaperone is called for, Blaise,' she told him. 'That is,' she added, 'a companion isn't necessary.'
He looked appalled. 'But Celeste's reputation! A lady mustn't be seen out alone with a man.'
'It's not an issue these days, believe me,' Mother said.
'Honestly, it doesn't work like that any more,' I told him. 'Women are equal to men in so many ways now, and we have every right to go out alone, or in the company of a man. No one will think anything of it. In fact, taking a chaperone — a companion — with us would seem silly to other people. Things have changed.'
'They certainly have,' he murmured. 'I'm not sure I approve.'
'Look, Blaise, think of it this way,' Father said. 'I love my daughter with all my heart. Would I put her reputation in jeopardy just so she could go for a walk with you?'
Blaise considered the matter. 'I trust your judgement on this matter,' he said finally. 'It all seems strange to me, but if you say it's all right, sir, I believe you.'
'That's the ticket,' Father said cheerfully.
'Hmm. If the man says so ...' Mother didn't sound too impressed with Blaise's chauvinism. 'You'll need a coat, Blaise. There you go. You'll be nice and warm now.'
I grinned at the sight of Blaise in a thick overcoat, a woolly hat, scarf and gloves. He looked a bit alarmed, and I saw his nose wrinkle above the scarf.
'Not your style?' I asked. 'You might think you're overdressed at the moment, but you'll be glad of all that when we get outside.'
I rushed into the hallway to grab my coat, hat, scarf and gloves, surprised to find Father following me.
'While you're out, and Aurora's upstairs feeding Aither, I'll have a word with your mother, Castor and Sirius. They need to know what Aveta told us.'
'And what about Star and Sky?' I whispered. 'Don't they need to know, too?'