A Proper Family Christmas

by Jane Gordon - Cumming

  “I - er - don’t think Oliver’s very interested in women,” she ventured. …If Margery didn’t realise how things stood, she hesitated to be the one to tell her.

  “Oh, of course he is! He just needs a push, that’s all. Men are diffident creatures at heart, always so terrified of rejection. …To be honest, Hilary,” she patted her hand, “we all feel that it’s time you stopped mourning poor Ben, and moved on with your life. - And men of Oliver Leafield’s calibre don’t turn up every day. …It would be an absolute tragedy if he fell into the hands of a harpy like Mrs. Arncott, just for the want of a bit of encouragement!”

  “Wake up! …Frances, wake up!”

  Thank goodness, it had all been a horrible dream. …Ouch! No, it hadn’t. Her foot hurt as soon as she tried to move, and she was still sitting on the old wooden floor.

  But Daniel had his arms round her, - that must be a dream. He was stroking her hair, holding her against his warm body, close and safe.

  “Oh, Daniel!” Suddenly the tears came, and she wept as if she would never stop. “I’m sorry,” she gasped at last. “It’s just - I thought no one would ever come! I was afraid I’d have to spend all night like this. …I didn’t think anybody at Haseley would notice I wasn’t there.”

  He held her tighter, and said gruffly: “You think I wouldn’t notice if you weren’t there?” His lips felt hot against her icy forehead. “ - God, you’re freezing!”

  He began to kiss her, moving gently across the rest of her face, finally settling on her mouth. …After a while Frances realised that she could happily spend the night here after all!

  For one glorious moment, Scratch found the sitting-room empty. There it all was: discarded wrapping-paper, some exciting looking presents, and that wonderful tree, - unguarded, waiting for him to do what he liked with. It was too much. He didn’t know which to go for first in this embarrassment of riches.

  That moment of hesitation lost him his chance. Now there were voices behind him, - people coming in with tea. He turned to wash himself instead, - an innocent cat, busying itself with a troublesome tangle in its fur.

  “Poor little Frances!” Julia was saying. “I do hope she’ll be all right.”

  “Yes, dreadful thing to happen, - Christmas Day, too,” agreed Tony, putting the tray he was carrying down on the table.

  “And Stephen and Ratso are such callous pigs! - Are you going to have some of this cake, Daddy? They would have happily left her there all night, once they knew Tobias was safe.”

  “Just as well Daniel was around,” said Tony, “to appreciate what was going on, and fly to her rescue!”

  “Yes, well, one does wonder how necessary that was.” Leo chose the most comfortable chair and dropped into it before anybody else had a chance. “If the situation was really so urgent, it might have been more sensible to call out the emergency services, instead of diving off on his own in that rather hot-headed way.”

  “But far less romantic!” argued Julia, taking some cake herself and putting her feet up on the sofa. “It would almost be worth having to sit in a haunted house for a while, to have a handsome hero come rushing to save you like that!”

  “Well, I think most of us would consider it a trifle irresponsible,” said Leo, attempting to include William in a ‘we know better’ smile. “But then a sense of responsibility has never been Daniel’s strongest point.”

  “Oh, come on, Leo! He’s been wonderful with Hilary since - you know..”

  “Yes, but one has to remember that since Ben died,” - Leo was less delicate than Julia, “Hilary has been his only source of financial support. It would have been foolish to - er - bite the hand that fed him.”

  “I thought you were saying that Daniel was foolish,” William pointed out, after the short silence that greeted this enormity.

  Leo beamed at him like a schoolmaster whose pupil has been attending. “Oh, I’ve nothing to say against his intelligence, - I believe it’s quite hard to get into medical school. All I’m suggesting is that Daniel tends to be a little rash and impulsive. I know it’s been hard for him, losing his father, with the consequent - er- financial restrictions that has entailed. …On the other hand,” He balanced his cup carefully on the arm of the chair, “one might argue that it’s been a blessing in disguise for someone of Daniel’s rather unsteady temperament not to have a large amount of money at his disposal. When he’s much older, perhaps, one would be very glad to see him comfortably off, but at his present stage of maturity, one can only be glad that hasn’t happened.”

  “You’re trying to suggest it’s a good thing that Ben died?” Tony stared at him.

  “Oh no, of course not! - And even if he hadn’t, I don’t think that printing business was ever likely to become a gold mine. Ben wasn’t particularly good with money either, when it comes down to it. …No, I’m just saying that if Daniel were to come into a fortune, theoretically speaking, it wouldn’t be in the safest of hands!”

  Seeing he had their attention, Leo risked going a little further. “And while nobody appreciates that medical student humour more than I do,” his smile broadened in an attempt to endorse this blatant falsehood, “one can’t deny that Daniel’s idea of fun verges on the eccentric at times. …Just a tiny bit of unstableness there, perhaps? - Not on our side, obviously! But Hilary’s relatives were always rather an unknown quantity, weren’t they?”

  William, Julia and Tony gaped at him, totally bereft of speech.

  Scratch, following the direction of their gaze, beheld the irresistible combination of his favourite, Leo, and the best chair in the room.

  “Owch!” Leo leapt up furiously and swore. “That blasted cat nearly had my tea over!” He snatched his cup, and a slice of Christmas cake from the plate. “I think it would be safer to take this next door, if you’ll excuse me.”

  “Personally,” said William, when Leo had gone off to the study. “I would have said Daniel was one of the saner members of this family, - and by far the most trustworthy pair of hands for any fortune.”

  “You can’t call a doctor out on Christmas Day!”

  “…Not for a twisted ankle.”

  How sweetly sympathetic the Shirburns were about their traumatised nanny!

  “It’s not just her ankle,” Hilary tried to keep her voice under control. “ - I don’t like the way she’s so cold.”

  “She’ll soon warm up with that hot water bottle,” Lesley indicated the kettle Hilary had put on to boil.

  “And a good night’s sleep. - Obviously we won’t expect her to resume her duties straight away,” said Stephen generously.

  “She was half comatose when Daniel found her. - I’m worrying about hypothermia.”

  “Oh don’t be ridiculous, Hilary! That’s what arctic explorers get, isn’t it?”

  “It was freezing cold in that place, you know. It didn’t have proper windows or doors.”

  “Well, Tobias was in there too, and he’s okay,” Lesley argued.

  “Tobias had a nice hot bath when he came in!” …And Tobias’s bath had taken all the hot water. Otherwise it would have been the first thing she would have given Frances.

  “Oh, don’t start all that again!”

  No, she was wasting her time. The fact was the Shirburns daren’t allow there to be much wrong with Frances, or they might be expected to take some responsibility for her accident.

  She filled the hot water bottle and took it back up to Frances’s new room. Daniel was still sitting on the bed, trying to get some warmth into her by chafing her hands.

  “She still looks awfully pale.”

  “I know, and she’s half asleep the whole time. I’d be the last person to call some poor sod out if it wasn’t necessary…”

  Seeing that much concern on the face of her medical son was enough to make up Hilary’s mind for her. “I’ll phone the doctor.”

  CHAPTER 18

  Hilary supposed she should have been grateful that Kath was prepared to come in and help get breakfast on Boxin
g Day morning. Instead she found her cheerful humming and the bright way she said ‘good morning’ to everyone who entered the kitchen grating on her nerves. She had been busy with Frances when Oliver had come back last night, so she hadn’t found out what had happened at Kath’s cottage, but from the way the two of them were joking together, and teasing each other about the cooking, - he was no longer ‘Mr. Leafield’, she noticed! - it was clear that they must have got on like a house on fire. Hilary tried to be glad that Oliver had enjoyed himself. Instead, she felt unaccountably jealous.

  “How’s poor little Frances doing this morning?”

  Oh dear, it was mean of her to feel irritated by Julia’s concerned enquiry too, - especially as Stephen and Lesley had done nothing but complain about the inconvenience of having their nanny out of action.

  “We’re not sure yet. Daniel’s up with her now.”

  “It’s so nice having her next door to us! She only has to call out, and we’ll hear.” …Yes, that would be more reassuring if one could be sure they’d do anything about it! There had been a lot of sympathy from that quarter, but not a great deal of practical help so far.

  Hilary chastised herself again for being unkind…The fact was that she was really rather worried about Frances. She couldn’t help putting herself in the place of her absent mother, and had spent a restless night wondering whether they should have phoned her straight away, or left her in blissful ignorance. It would be a shame to spoil her Christmas if it was just a minor accident. But if Frances turned out to be really ill…

  “I’ll go up and visit her in a minute,” Julia was saying.

  “No, don’t!” Hilary found herself crying out. “I’d rather you didn’t disturb her. - We’ll see how she is first. I’ve got to decide whether or not to tell her mother.” …Oh why did the responsibility fall on her? It should have been Lesley and Stephen doing all this heart searching! But if they admitted to the problem, it would mean opening themselves to the possibility that they or their precious son was to blame for what had happened. …Bugger them! - And Julia for her specious sympathy. - And Kath, who was teasing Oliver in an odiously arch way for frying up plum pudding with the bacon. Why couldn’t she just leave him alone?

  But suddenly he was at Hilary’s side. “Don’t worry! Frances’s mother will know you’re doing everything you can. I can always drive over to Warwickshire and fetch her, if necessary, - it’s not that far. But I’m sure there won’t be any need.”

  Simple words, but it was as if a burden had been taken from her shoulders. She smiled back, almost tearful with gratitude for his understanding her concern, and knowing what to say to reassure her.

  “Fetch her mother down? Of course that won’t be necessary!” exclaimed Stephen. “The girl’s only twisted her ankle, for heaven’s sake! She’ll be right as rain in a day or two.”

  “You’d better hope so!” Oliver told him, in an icy tone that Hilary had never heard him use before. “Because if it’s anything more serious, the least of your problems is going to be breaking the news to her mother.”

  Someone was holding her hand. - The doctor again? Frances had been vaguely aware of his visit last night, jarred back to consciousness by the jabbing pain as he examined her foot, and overheard the blessed words: ‘Keep her warm, and let her sleep’. Now there was a sensible man!

  “Hello, - are you back with us now? How are you feeling?”

  It was Daniel’s voice, - Daniel who was holding her hand. She smiled weakly at him. “Better, thank you.”

  “How’s your foot?”

  “Um - best not to move it,” she discovered.

  “Well, there’s nothing broken,” he informed her, “but it’s very badly sprained, - and you’re suffering from post-traumatic shock. The doctor says you’re to stay in bed for the next few days.”

  “What? No, I can’t stay in bed!” Frances tried to sit up. “Who’s going to look after Tobias?”

  “His bloody parents, why not? …I don’t know what those two have got to complain about!” Daniel went on impatiently. “They should be grateful you don’t sue them for what that child did to you, but instead of punishing him for getting you into this mess, they’re treating him like some kind of hero.”

  “Well, he was rather brave in the end.” Frances gave a little shudder as she thought of what might have happened if Tobias hadn’t found his way home. “…Oh dear, are they going up the wall?”

  “Just a bit,” he grinned. “You’ve obviously made yourself indispensable! They’re trying to persuade that dim bird Shelley to take over, but she’s useless enough at looking after Posy.” …‘Dim’ and ‘useless’, - what delightful words, when applied by Daniel to Shelley!Hilary put her head round the door. Frances was surprised and touched to see how worried her face was. She relaxed a bit as soon as she saw that Frances was sitting up and chatting to Daniel.

  “Well, you’re a better colour than you were last night! How’s the leg?”

  “It hardly hurts now.”

  “Except when she moves. I’m trying to get it into her stupid head that she mustn’t get up.”

  “No, of course you mustn’t! The doctor said you had to rest. …And if Lesley and Stephen see you stir, they’ll expect you to take charge of Tobias again, - and probably Posy too, as I gather poor Shelley’s feeling tired this morning.”

  Frances grinned. There was no mistaking the sarcasm of Hilary’s tone.

  “Could you manage some breakfast?”

  “A bit later, perhaps, - though I’m sure I could fetch it myself.”

  “For heavens sake!” Hilary sounded quite impatient. “It’s such a relief to see you better. I was wondering what on earth we were going to say to your poor mother!”

  “Oh! …Best not to worry her,” said Frances, after a moment’s consideration. “I did manage to speak to her yesterday, just before…”

  “Well, that’s what I thought,” said Hilary, tactfully ignoring her sudden reluctance to recall what had happened next. “You can phone her yourself this evening. …Come on, Daniel. The girl needs to rest.”

  Frances lay back on her pillows, grateful for the excuse not to move. She found that she was feeling rather weak and trembly. …What did that matter, though? - What if she did feel headachey, and slightly sick this morning? Last night, Daniel had realised she was in danger and had come to rescue her! Daniel had kissed her, and told her that he was never going to let her go again, as he carried her back to the car. - In fact, Daniel had made it clear, even to Frances’s diffident soul, that he loved her! Frances would have sprained both ankles, - and another, if she’d had one, - if that was the price to pay for the secret happiness she was hugging to herself at this moment!

  A brief knock woke her from a doze she hadn’t realised she was having.

  “Here we are, I’ve brought you some breakfast!” Julia triumphantly presented her with a plate laden with fried food, the mere smell of which made her feel queasy again. “We can’t have you missing out on Oliver’s wonderful cooking, just because you’re stuck up here in bed! …Hilary said she didn’t think you were well enough for visitors, so you must tell me to go away if you like…” Frances, of course, shook her head. “ - There, I knew you’d want to see your special friends!” She rested the tray on the coverlet and settled down beside it. “Tony sends tons of love, by the way.”

  “That’s kind.”

  “Now, I want to hear everything about this terrible accident, - and the way Daniel came flying to the rescue. It sounds so romantic!”

  “Oh yes, it was!” Frances was sorely tempted to tell Julia just how romantic it had been. Some members of Daniel’s family might not approve of their relationship, - she was rather dreading what Hilary was going to say when she found out, - but the sympathetic Julia would understand entirely.

  However it wasn’t for Frances alone to divulge their secret, so she gave an expurgated version of her dramatic rescue, longing though she was to confide every wonderful detail. She was surprised t
o find herself shaking, as she described her lonely wait, trapped in that cold, eerie place for what had seemed like hours. For some reason, her voice kept breaking, as if she was about to cry. She didn’t really want to go through it all again, but Julia kept asking more eager questions. “…And then I must have passed out or something,” she finished at last, “for suddenly Daniel was there, - and he got me home.”

  “So you were barely conscious by the time he carried you up to bed? - What a fabulous story! …I expect you’re dying to tell Shelley, aren’t you? - I know you are! Let me go and fetch her.” She had gone before Frances could think of a way of explaining that she couldn’t have been more wrong!

  Hilary went back to her room, still not altogether happy about her patient. She’d heard that quaver in Frances’s voice, and seen her hesitation when it came to talking about her ordeal. The doctor was right, - the accident had obviously taken its toll, and the best thing was for her to get some peace and quiet. The main problem would be keeping the Shirburns off her back, - if Oliver hadn’t scared them into leaving her alone. …What a different side that easy-going man had showed to himself this morning! She had seen Lesley positively quail, - and Hilary didn’t blame her. Oliver was extremely impressive when he was angry.

  At times like that it was hard to believe… No, she mustn’t kid herself. It was just that her conversation with Margery kept replaying itself in her mind. Margery seemed so sure that Oliver wasn’t uninterested in women. And if she’d thought different, she wouldn’t have hesitated to say so, - Margery wasn’t prudish about such things. How come Julia and Tony, who, like Hilary, had only met Oliver for the first time the other night, knew so much more about him than the friend who had brought him down to Haseley?

  “Hilary, darling…” Speak of the devil. Julia knocked briefly before coming in. “I’ve taken the poor little invalid some breakfast. - She’s very pale, isn’t she? …Still, it’s not surprising, when you hear what she’s been though. I made her tell me everything, and it was just too ghastly!”