Excerpt from the Testimony of Ivet Britwistle
(The witness wipes her tears with a handkerchief.)
IB: It’s very cruel of you to ask me something like this today, don’t you think?
It’s Valentine’s Day, and I really love celebrating it.
I’m not married, I’m sure you already knew that.
Still, there’s this tradition I hold dear…
Well, it’s not actually mine. The tradition, I mean.
It was something Antonia loved to do, and I always helped her with preparations.
A dinner to celebrate love. She was very emotional; Valentine’s Day was her favourite holiday.
Was the meal for her and Mr Larousse? No, not at all.
Well, yes. Mr Larousse was there, of course, but it was a meal for family and friends.
We celebrated love in all its forms, not just romantic.
For one day a year, Antonia would hire a catering service, and all the staff would dine with them.
We were like family. We had a large gathering.
About thirty guests. Antonia had many single friends, and Tim had many single friends.
And both had friendships with many couples.
It was magical. I’m fond of Regency dramas.
When I started working for Antonia and she told me about these celebrations, I was immediately enveloped by the fairy tale aura of those dinners. A real-life fairy tale.
Yes, this year was going to be the same.
We had already sent out the invitations.
The theme was An Evening in Ancient Greece.
Very romantic. There was a game related to the theme.
She loved these things. The games, I mean.
Every Christmas, there was a scavenger hunt.
Every Halloween, a game of tag. And every Valentine’s Day, a round of blind man’s bluff.
Tim seemed to be as excited about it as always, which wasn’t much, even though he still looked gorgeous on his tunic…
, and Antonia had spent a whole month searching for the perfect dress.
So yes, I think their relationship was just as it always was.
Nothing had changed. Does that answer your question, Officer?
Please, don’t make me remember those good times anymore.
My heart still thinks I should be at a party right now, not here with you.
Antonia’s passing was a very hard blow to the chest. Antonia and I had a fight, yes, but as soon as I stepped out of the mansion, I knew the fight would be over soon.
Tim would help. We always managed to settle our differences just in time.