Chapter 18 A Bit Fishy #2
‘Can I come in?’ she asked, then did, without waiting for a reply. ‘You look nice!’ she said, eyeing me.
I was wearing one of the new jersey tops in a dark amber colour that reminded me of Rhys’s eyes, darkest honey … plus the new black jeans and had discarded my usual Doc Martins or scuffed ballet flats for a pair of Chinese velvet Mary Janes embroidered with flowers.
‘I found an irresistible clothes shop in St Melangell,’ I explained, adding a pair of silver starfish earrings to my ensemble and taking a look in the mirror; it’s amazing what just a smidgeon of make-up will do for you.
‘I’ve got a new dress to wear on Christmas Day,’ Cariad said, ‘but really, I only wear them for parties. Dresses get in the way of doing things, don’t they?’
‘Yes, I’ve always thought that, and I hate tights,’ I admitted. ‘Leggings are OK, though.’
‘I suppose so. What else did you buy in St Melangell?’
‘Secret things,’ I told her. ‘What did you buy?’
‘Not a lot, because I always make most of my presents. But Nanny Jones – that’s my old nanny – likes shortbread and very sweet sherry. Mel buys all her presents, but she gets more pocket money than I do, because she helps with the horses.’
‘I like homemade presents best,’ I said. ‘Shall we go down? I’m hungry again!’
‘We’d better, before Gorgon Kate eats everything,’ Cariad agreed. ‘Bronwen told me the starters were spring rolls and fishy goujons tonight, and I like both of those.’
We found everyone – including Noel, dapper in a dark green velvet jacket – already assembled in the big drawing room, just as Tudor brought in the canapés and two bowls of pistachio nuts.
‘There you are,’ said Nerys, as we came in. ‘I was just saying to everyone that I hoped they’d had time to read the little leaflet in all your rooms about what will happen over the Christmas period, which you might like to join in with.’
‘I only got round to it this afternoon, after I got back,’ I confessed. ‘But I want to join in with everything. It all sounds fun!’
There was a murmur of agreement from Toby and Pearl, and Evie said that it would certainly be a new experience and she was all for those.
Kate, who seemed finally to have buttonholed Rhys by the expedient of plumping herself down next to him on the sofa and was still talking to him in an earnest undertone, took no notice.
But he got up after a few minutes, on the pretext of handing round the plates, then came and sat down on the sofa next to me and Nerys.
‘Doesn’t Ginny look nice, Daddy?’ said Cariad, who was sitting on a small pouffe nearby.
I felt myself blush.
‘I’m glad you took my advice and spruced yourself up a bit,’ Evie said, before Rhys could say anything, raising her glass.
Really, you’d think I’d arrived looking like a bag lady, although actually, compared to everyone else, perhaps I had …
‘Could I have some velvet shoes like Ginny’s?’ asked Cariad. ‘She got them in St Melangell.’
‘I expect so,’ Rhys said, ‘if they have them small enough. And Ginny looks lovely whatever she wears.’
Embarrassed, I looked away, only to catch Verity’s eye. She gave me a meaningful look, one eyebrow raised in an ‘I told you what he was like’ sort of way.
Turning back, I saw Rhys had caught that look too and was frowning, but Cariad gaily carried on.
‘They might have the shoes in my size, because I’ve got very big feet for my age. Bronwen and Nanny Jones both say I’ll grow into them, like my nose.’
‘They both sound very wise women, so I’m sure they’re right,’ said Evie.
‘If you tell me what size you take in shoes, I’ll pop in and see if they have them tomorrow, because I have to go into St Melangell to pick up a couple of photographs the museum curator is copying for me.
It can be my little Christmas present to you. ’
‘That’s very kind,’ said Nerys, then turned to the room at large and said: ‘I wanted to ask you all what you were doing tomorrow and if you wanted to join in with the two scheduled events. There’s a trip to the famous quarry garden after lunch.
In winter they only open at weekends, so this is a special opening just for us.
After the garden tour, we usually go on to the cafe at the garden centre, instead of having tea here.
Then dinner will be at six again, so those of you who want to join us can come into St Melangell afterwards where there will be a Welsh male voice choir performing in the village hall.
We have a minibus we use for painting trips and other expeditions for the guests in summer, so no one needs to drive if they don’t want to. ’
While everyone said they would go to the concert, Kate and Verity didn’t want to go round the quarry and nor did Evie, once she’d established that it was only created after Arwen’s time here, so in the end it was arranged that we should meet up with the three of them after our tour in the garden centre cafe.
‘We can drop Verity and Kate at the garden centre before the tour.’
‘And I’ll drive myself there after I’ve been into St Melangell,’ Evie said.
‘So for the quarry tour, that makes …’ Timon said, counting heads, ‘… Toby, Opal, Pearl, and Ginny?’
‘Oh, I don’t think we’re going,’ Opal said. ‘Nerys managed to find us mask bases and other materials in a craft shop and it might take us more than a morning to transform them into what we need.’
‘It was very kind of you, Nerys,’ said Pearl.
‘No problem. It was just lucky the craft shop had them. You might also find useful materials in the box I keep in the studio for making collages with Cariad.’
Opal thanked her and said they could probably make something suitable, then take some preliminary shots before the light went tomorrow afternoon … if Toby would help again.
‘But I’m sure Toby wants to see the quarry garden, and so do I,’ Pearl said with unexpected firmness and then, no matter what Opal said, dug in her heels, so that finally her sister gave in with an ill grace.
‘That’s all settled, then,’ said Nerys, as if Clash of the Wood Nymphs hadn’t just happened.
Pearl, with an air of defiance, took a fish goujon and nibbled it. Her sister stared at her aghast.
‘That’s fish!’
‘I know, but sometimes I feel I need a bit more protein than beans,’ Pearl said. ‘I think I could eat a little fish sometimes, even though I’ll never be able to face meat.’
‘Quite a lot of people feel like that, I think,’ Evie said. ‘Pescatarians, they call themselves.’
‘I couldn’t possibly eat fish,’ said Opal. ‘And Pearl and I usually agree on everything! I can’t think what’s come over you since we got here, Pearl.’
I thought I could guess, seeing her exchange tentative smiles with Toby, and I hoped her rebellion continued. Certainly eating more of anything had to be a good idea when the twins both looked like teenage waifs that any strong wind would blow away.
‘Have a vegetable spring roll, Opal,’ Nerys said tactfully, ‘and those jumbo pistachios are good, too. Pass them across, Cariad.’
Stumping over and fixing Opal with her clear, critical gaze, Cariad said, more as a comment than a question:
‘Nuts.’