Christmas at Rosewood Read online

  ‘It’s one of the many things we can talk about on the drive back to the capital,’ Aiden said, loud enough for everyone to hear, as he thumped the boot closed again.

  Max groaned. ‘I am going to have to listen to relationship stuff for hours?’

  Caro handed him a set of headphones. ‘I got two for Christmas,’ she explained. ‘Apparently nobody likes listening to the soundtracks of my documentaries when I’m watching them on my tablet.’

  ‘Funny that,’ Edward said, drily, and she glared up at him.

  ‘Have you said goodbye to everyone?’ I asked Max, and then turned to Aiden for confirmation too. I’d already done the rounds before heading out to load the car. I’d only been saving the hardest for last – and it turned out, I might not need to do that one at all. ‘Then I guess we’d better get going.’

  ‘Yep.’ Aiden clapped Edward on the back, murmuring what sounded like a thank you in his ear, then bent to give Caro a proper hug, which she returned with enthusiasm.

  ‘Do you have to go?’ she asked plaintively.

  ‘Afraid so,’ Aiden replied. ‘It’s time for me to move on, I think.’

  ‘You’ll come back soon though, won’t you?’

  Aiden glanced across at me. ‘I reckon so, don’t you?’

  I nodded. Rosewood had a way of getting under your skin, it seemed. And now I was out of secrets for it to steal from me, I was quite looking forward to visiting again.

  ‘You’ll have to,’ Edward pointed out. ‘There’s this wedding you’re all invited to…’

  ‘And besides,’ I said, looking at Aiden. ‘Moving on doesn’t always mean you have to leave everything else behind.’

  He smiled, softly, and I knew that, however much talking we still had to do, we were going to be okay. As long as we were moving forward together.

  ‘Okay, everyone, in the car,’ I said, and Max and Aiden obeyed, leaving me to hug my brother goodbye. ‘I’ll see you soon.’

  ‘Very soon,’ he confirmed. ‘Now drive safe.’

  I nodded, and let him go.

  As we pulled away, I realised that the whole family had come out to wave us goodbye, and Aiden and Max both returned the gesture enthusiastically, windows wound down and both shouting out their farewells.

  I smiled, and tried to concentrate on the road. Until I realised there was an extra person standing on the steps, almost hidden behind the others, but his orange jumper bright in the winter gloom, waving us away from Rosewood.

  I swallowed, and bid Nathaniel Drury a final farewell, too, wondering if he’d still be waiting at Rosewood when we returned – or whether, one day, he’d find the strength to move on, too.

  I hoped so. And I hoped there were as many wonderful things waiting for him as there were for me.

  If you loved visiting Rosewood in the snow, indulge in another trip and discover all the wonders waiting for you in the summer in the first book,

  The Last Days of Summer

  Out now

  Prologue

  ‘Home isn’t a place, Grace. It’s a feeling. An overwhelming emotion that, once you’ve felt it, you can’t live without.’

  ‘A bit like love, then?’ Grace asked.

  I nodded. ‘Sometimes, I think they might be one and the same thing.’

  Going Home, by Nathaniel Drury (1980)

  I like to think that there’s a book for any feeling, any emotion, any problem. In my world, the cure for what ails you is always a new story, or, sometimes even better, an old one. Some might say it’s a distraction, a diversion from whatever is wrong with your reality. But for me, I often find the answers I’m seeking within the pages of a book – or at least by the time I’ve followed a story from beginning to end, I have a new perspective on my own problems.

  I think I read more books in the two years after I left Rosewood than ever before in my life. Or since.

  Sometimes I’d read romances, to remind myself that love could end happily. Sometimes I read fantasy novels, for the joy of a high quest and magical solutions. Sometimes I read literary fiction, to experience the world through another’s kaleidoscope. Sometimes I read children’s books, to escape to a simpler time.

  And whenever I felt homesick, I read my grandfather’s books, and imagined I could hear him speaking the words to me.

  I was homesick that Saturday morning in May, when the first phone call came.

  Dressed in my pyjamas and dressing gown, I’d decided to laze around my tiny flat in Perth, Scotland, drinking too-strong black coffee and nibbling on endless pieces of toast, until I felt better. But instead, I found myself moving around the flat restlessly, a copy of Going Home in my hand, absorbing a page or two at a time before my own memories overtook me.

  Nathaniel always claimed that the house in the story wasn’t Rosewood, the same way that Biding Time wasn’t about him and my grandmother, Isabelle. But as with all his books, every time I reread them, I found another hint, another clue, that led me towards the truth. Like a treasure hunt Nathaniel had laid out for me, he hid patches of his own history, his own life, in his fiction, waiting for me to find them.

  Like the house. However much he denied it, the description of Honeysuckle House in Going Home matched Rosewood to the letter. Not just the honey-coloured brick, symmetrical Georgian design, or the twelve chimneys, or even the white marble steps leading up to the front door. There was something about the feel of the place – the way he described the sun on the terrace when the gin and tonics were being poured, or the coolness of the middle room when the rain came down outside – that made it feel like home to me.

  I flipped a few pages through the book again, pausing at a description of Honeysuckle House.

  When the afternoon sun alighted on the windows, the whole house lit up, as if it were night and every light inside had been left on. Inside, the house could be cold – Grace’s mother had decorated it in the latest styles, with lots of white and sharp edges. But she couldn’t cool the natural warmth of the house as I looked upon it, or sharpen the corners of the worn golden brick exterior. And when the house filled with people… Ah, that was when Honeysuckle House came alive. And so did Grace.

  I put the book aside. I didn’t need Agnes’s descriptions of Grace’s house – not when I had my own memories of Rosewood. Of the Rose Garden, the Orangery, the sweeping staircase that dominated the main hallway. Of Nathaniel’s study, every inch crammed with books and papers.

  And of Nathaniel, most of all. The way his voice boomed and echoed around Rosewood, or how he poured his drinks too strong, or how every meal became story time, somehow. How every little event of his day became a hysterical monologue by the time he’d finished telling it. And how he knew to listen, sometimes, and just be there – a warm, comforting, reassuring presence I’d relied on my whole life.

  I’d always have my memories. It was just hard to imagine not knowing when I’d next be there in person. When I’d see my family again.

  The phone rang, and I put my book aside, reaching past my empty coffee cup to answer it.

  ‘Saskia? It’s your grandfather.’ As if I couldn’t tell from his voice. ‘Now, tell me, did you see the ridiculous invitations your grandmother picked out for this Golden Wedding thing? You have to come home and help me through it.’

  I frowned. ‘Golden Wedding?’

  ‘Fifty years of wedded bliss and she wants another damned party.’ Nathaniel’s voice dropped low, as if he were afraid someone might be listening. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got something in mind to fire up the festivities. You really don’t want to miss it, Kia.’

  It wasn’t as if I didn’t want to go home for my grandparents’ Golden Wedding Anniversary. Isabelle and Nathaniel Drury knew how to throw a party, after all, and this was sure to be a big one. The sort of shindig people talked about for decades to come. In fact, people still told stories about the first ever party they held at Rosewood, back in 1966. There were reports in the society pages. Couples met at Isabelle’s parties, or got engaged – or even
pregnant. But they weren’t the sort of parties I imagined when I thought of the sixties – I’d seen photos. Isabelle’s parties required full evening wear, champagne, important people – and enough drama to keep people gossiping for weeks afterwards.

  There hadn’t been a party at Rosewood since Ellie’s wedding, as far as I knew. I didn’t want to miss it – and I really didn’t want to be the person at the hypothetical future dinner table saying, ‘I don’t know, I wasn’t there,’ when someone asked, ‘And do you remember the bit when…’

  I just didn’t know how welcome I’d be when I got to Rosewood.

  ‘I didn’t get an invitation,’ I said, as lightly as I could manage. ‘But I take your word for it that they’re awful.’

  ‘Hideous,’ Nathaniel said, with an audible shudder. He paused, then asked, ‘Did you really not get one?’

  ‘Nope.’ I ran my hand over the cover of Going Home. Apparently, I wasn’t. Isabelle knew every minute detail of party etiquette, and obeyed it all, when it suited her. If she’d wanted me there, I’d have received an invitation. The fact that I hadn’t – or even any notice that the party was happening at all – told me exactly how welcome I’d be.

  ‘Well, that’s stupid,’ Nathaniel said. ‘You should have done. Consider this call your invite.’

  I gave a small laugh. ‘I’m not sure that’s quite how it works.’

  ‘It is now. It’s my party too, isn’t it?’

  ‘Not really.’ I was pretty sure that, in Isabelle’s head, the man she married was entirely incidental to the party she was throwing to celebrate that aforementioned marriage.

  ‘Then I’m reclaiming it. And you’re invited.’ There was a rustle of paper on the other end of the line, and I leapt on the noise as a way to change the subject.

  ‘What are you working on?’ I asked, trying to be interested in his answer. It had to be better than thinking about how my own grandmother didn’t want me there for a family party.

  ‘I’ve been thinking about the nature of truth in fiction,’ he replied, instantly distracted, as I’d known he would be.

  ‘Truth in fiction?’ I echoed, topping up my coffee. That sounded like a fairly epic procrastination exercise. I wondered what Nathaniel was supposed to be writing that required such distraction; he never liked to talk much about his works in progress until they were shiny and published and winning awards.

  ‘Are all stories just reflections of ourselves? Are even the fictions we write based on the truths of our own lives?’ I tried and failed to come up with a satisfactory response to what I hoped was a rhetorical question. ‘Take your work at the paper,’ Nathaniel went on, apparently not noticing that I hadn’t responded. ‘How much do your own life and your life experiences colour the reports you write?’

  Since most of what I wrote for the Perth Herald was based entirely on press releases, and my main concern was getting them all in on time, probably not a lot. But, on the other hand, I didn’t want Nathaniel thinking that I wasn’t properly investing in my artistic side, so I said, ‘Probably more than I know,’ in what I hoped was a thoughtful voice.

  ‘Exactly my point! So, the conclusion I’ve reached is that it is only through knowing ourselves, understanding our true selves, that we can hope to create anything meaningful in fiction.’

  ‘That’s…interesting.’ Did I have any more bread left for toast, I wondered? Not getting invited to a family party definitely deserved self-pity toast.

  ‘So, you agree, then?’

  ‘Absolutely.’ Maybe even chocolate spread.

  ‘Perfect! We can discuss it more when you visit this summer. For the Golden Wedding Party.’

  I froze, halfway through putting more bread in the toaster. ‘I can’t come, Nathaniel. Not if I’m not wanted there.’

  ‘I want you there,’ he said. ‘And I’m sure the others do too, even if they don’t know it yet. And you wouldn’t let an old man down now, would you? Leave him to face all his wife’s acquaintances while wearing white tails and a bow tie? I’ll probably even have to make a speech…’

  ‘I’m fairly sure you can cope with a party with your friends without me,’ I said drily. ‘Besides, you love making speeches. You’ll survive.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know. You haven’t heard what I’ve got to say in this one, yet. Really, Kia. You don’t want to miss it. Trust me.’

  There was something in his voice, a hint of mischief and possible magic, something I’d missed so much over the last two years, that it tugged at my heart to hear it again, trying to lead me home.

  I wanted to be there. I wanted to go home, more than anything.

  And so I said, ‘Okay. I’ll come.’ Even though my brain was screaming that it was a terrible idea. Sometimes you have to let your heart win.

  Nathaniel whooped. ‘Fantastic! Send me your train times. It’s August 24th. See you there!’

  And with that, he hung up, leaving me wondering what on earth I might have to wear to a garden party thrown by Isabelle, not to mention the rest of the weekend.

  After all, Rosewood was another world, a throwback to a time that had passed before Nathaniel and Isabelle even bought the house. We always dressed for dinner at Rosewood, and had pre-dinner drinks on the terrace if the sun shone. Rosewood didn’t have Wi-Fi, or video games, and Isabelle had even hidden the telly in the middle room, down the darkest downstairs corridor. Rosewood had stories, and mystery, and ghosts, and champagne…and my family, who hadn’t invited me home for the Golden Wedding.

  Maybe, if I could find the right costume, the right clothes to blend in, no one would think to ask what I was doing there in the first place.

  Chapter One

  ‘We’ll take it,’ I said, making Bella laugh as she looked up at the imposing house.

  ‘You can’t just buy it! We haven’t even stepped inside yet.’

  I pulled her close against my side. ‘I don’t need to. This is it. This is home.’

  Biding Time, by Nathaniel Drury (1967)

  Two long years away, and the first person I saw upon my return to Rosewood was the ghost. Even if I didn’t quite realise it at the time.

  I’ll admit, I was preoccupied. I hadn’t planned on going home so soon, not until Nathaniel called and insisted, and the temptation was too great to resist. Oh, I’d assumed I’d go back eventually, for a visit, at least. But two years away didn’t seem like enough. Two Christmases, two birthdays, two anniversaries; Ellie couldn’t possibly have forgiven me so soon.

  This was a mistake. Which is why I was loitering in the Rose Garden instead of going inside.

  The walled Rose Garden is one of my favourite spots at Rosewood, especially at midsummer, when it’s overflowing with flowers. As children, Ellie and I would mix up buckets of perfume from the petals: pungent flower water we’d sell to charitable passers-by at the end of the driveway. This year, however, it seemed that someone else had got there first.

  Almost all the yellow rose bushes had been decapitated, leaving only stalks, leaves and thorns. As I blinked at the empty spaces where the flowers should be, I thought for a moment that I saw someone standing across the flower bed – a girl, younger than me, with long dark hair and pale features. The summer sun shone through her skin, lighting her up from the inside, like a creature from one of my grandfather’s more fantastical stories, only existing between one second and the next. Because when I opened my eyes, I was alone again, standing outside the house that was supposed to be my home, wondering if I’d be welcomed or dismissed.

  Wasn’t that Rosewood all over? A place out of time, more fiction than real it seemed sometimes. Like Nathaniel had pulled the house itself from the pages of one of his books, complete with secrets and mysteries – even the paranormal.

  Before I could fully process what I’d seen, my grandmother’s voice echoed out from the terrace, imperious and impatient, just as I remembered. Isabelle Drury was the mistress of Rosewood, and she never forgot it, not for a moment. It was more than a home to her; it was he
r kingdom, and she ruled it – and us, her willing subjects.

  ‘We’ll need more of the eucalyptus. You can go and tell her.’

  There was no response, and I found myself waiting, breath stuck in my chest, all thoughts of the strange girl forgotten. I wanted to hear another familiar voice, there, in the buzzing summer air, with its insects and pollen and freshly cut grass, rather than over a too-clear phone line. I wanted to feel like I was really home again.

  I hadn’t intended to come back to Rosewood so soon. But now that I was here, I couldn’t imagine how I’d stayed away so long.

  ‘And don’t forget the etched vase,’ my grandmother’s voice rang out again. I smoothed down my hopelessly creased pale linen skirt and stepped out of the Rose Garden. Time to face the music.

  Isabelle had moved back inside, and whichever family member she’d been ordering about had obviously rushed off to fulfil her demands; haste was always a good idea when dealing with my grandmother’s requests. The terrace was deserted again.

  ‘In and out,’ I muttered to myself as I retrieved my suitcase. ‘Minimum casualties.’ That was the plan. This was a tester weekend. If it wasn’t dreadful beyond all measure, maybe I could come back again for Christmas. Start finding a place here again. Maybe even find forgiveness, eventually.

  But first I had to make it through the weekend.

  I climbed the few steps to the glass-panelled doors that led from the terrace into the house, pushing down the hope beating in my chest. It was all so familiar, as if at any moment Ellie, aged seven and a half, could come running out carrying dolls for a tea party, Isabelle following with the second-best china tea set. At least, until I passed through the empty drawing room and reached the cool shade of the hallway.

  The tiled floor of the wide entrance hall was covered in buckets, vases, stands, and what appeared to be chicken wire. Bright yellow roses and dark green foliage were stuffed and stacked into any and all containers; loose leaves and petals littered the ground. And in the middle of it all sat Isabelle, head bent over a small crystal vase filled with two blooms and a few sprigs of lavender, sunlight from the windows either side of the front door shining silver on her hair.