23rd December

Dear Cousin Edith
It is nearly 11 p.m. and I am sitting at the dressing table in my bedroom. Although I have been very busy I find I do not feel very sleepy yet so it seemed a perfect opportunity to start a letter to you while things are still fresh in my mind.
This is a lovely room. The window looks down onto the terrace and across the garden to the woods beyond. The wall paper is a pale blue with a pink rose pattern, quite small. The carpet is shades of dark blue with a little dark red fleck. The curtains are dark blue velvet and I have a big comfy armchair upholstered in a French blue regency stripe. The floorboards are quite dark but the carpet extends to within about 9 inches of the walls all round. I have a single bed with a thick eiderdown covered in a red and gold fabric with a sort of Chinese script design, very unusual. There is a bedside cabinet, an armoire and chest of drawers, a straight backed wooden chair to use at the dressing table and a small table by the armchair under the window where my tea tray can be put in the morning. There is a floor lamp set behind the armchair and a bedside lamp by the bed. My trunk has been put at the foot of the bed and some of my personal things are still in that but there is ample storage space for everything. The fireplace has the usual black surround. There are numerous pictures on the walls and some interesting ornaments on the mantel shelf. Rosamund has put a selection of books on top of the chest for me. Overall the effect is very cosy and not at all gloomy, as can sometimes be the case with these old houses.
It was very chilly yesterday morning, especially as I had to set out at 7.30 but the journey went very well and the train was on time and not too crowded. I wore my new suit with a cream blouse and my brown top coat so that I could be sure of being comfortable both on the cold platform and in the warmth of the carriage. I chose a Ladies Only compartment as I feel more relaxed that way, and had as my companion a charming young woman who was on her way to her fiancés family home for the Christmas holiday. She was not particularly talkative, for which I was grateful, and I read the newspaper and almost finished the crossword.
I was met at the station by Mr Davey. He seems to have aged a lot more than I would have expected although I suppose it is a long time since I last saw him. I worked it out to 8 years as I am sure I did visit the year before I was married. Frederick and I had a standing invitation and, as is so often the case, never did take it up. After a while one doesn't really like to say "when can we come". In a way I am glad as it means that there are no memories of him associated with this house
As you know, Rosamund and I have always met up once or twice a year in town when she came to do shopping , and of course, we write regularly, but it was wonderful to see her again in situ as it were. Alfred looks very well too and although he is a lot greyer it suits him and makes him look very distinguished. We were six for lunch, R and A, and then Elousie, Henry and John, who had arrived the day before. Henry looks very like Alfred but plumper and a little shorter. Elouise is very slim, perhaps a little too much so, and I don't think she looks entirely well. It seems a little odd to me that John would want to spend Christmas with is parents. I gather that he does not live with them any more and has a small flat of his own, although still quite near them.
We had a good hearty homemade soup and plenty of fresh bread followed by stewed fruit and custard. After lunch Rosamund showed me to my room and I must admit I did have a little snooze. Mrs Davey's daughter, Mary, has grown into a very pleasant girl and is now employed as a sort of maid when Rosamund needs her and she had already unpacked my cases and made a very good job of it too. She knocked on my door at 4 and I came down to tea just as the others arrived. There was a lot of hustle and bustle for a while until the children were taken off to the nursery at the top of the house with the nanny. Alfred's sister Elizabeth has two step-children (her husband's first wife died very young) and Lavinia has three and they are all under 9 so quite excitable and noisy. Harriet is very quiet and nervous. I think she is actually Rosamund's cousin's daughter but quite what her history is I do not yet know. Paul somehow materialised as the hubbub subsided and Rosamund told me later that he had been keeping a low profile in the library.
The rest of the afternoon and evening seemed to pass very quickly, with introductions, general conversation, a wonderful dinner of lamb cutlets followed by apple pie and then coffee and liqueurs in front of a blazing log fire in the drawing room. I wore my black dinner dress with my grey evening jacket and was quite warm enough I am pleased to say. In my flat I do miss an open fire at this time of year, although I don't miss the work it entails. I was really ready for bed last night and slept very well indeed. I hope you will forgive me for not writing yesterday evening.
This morning Rosamund took Lavinia, Elizabeth, Harriet and I into the nearby town so that we could buy some little gifts to go under the tree. I wore my grey wool dress and grey coat but livened it up with that pink scarf that you gave me for my birthday. As Elizabeth knows her way around too she took Lavinia and Harriet with her so I had Rosamund to myself for a couple of hours which was a real joy. She is keen for everyone to have plenty of presents to open on Christmas day so we were all under instruction as to the sort of thing to buy (and which shops would wrap) For the children she suggested colouring books as Harriet was to buy crayons, seven in all as her own grandchildren will be with us too. For the men, that is Henry, John, Paul, Alistair and Brian, a cigar each and handkerchiefs for Elouise, Harriet, Elizabeth and Lavinia. I did ask about Jane, the nanny, but Rosamund suggested that we look for something we could give her between us, including Harriet. We did find a lovely blue shawl and R said she had already discussed it with Lavinia who knew that Jane would welcome one more luxurious gift, rather than the little bits and pieces that we were buying for each other. I was grateful not to have to make these decisions myself, as it would have been very difficult to know what to do for the best, but Rosamund had organised everything so that there would be no duplications. I had been thinking that the scarves I had bought for R and A might not really be sufficient so when R told me that she had to go and see the butcher I said I would like to wander around on my own. I found a shop that sold all manner of beautiful gifts and picked a very stylish cocktail shaker. I was tempted to treat myself to a brooch. They had a lot of abstract designs in silver which were very reasonably priced and there was one which reminded me of a swan and water and reeds but I resisted in the end. Maybe after Christmas.
After lunch most of us sat in the Drawing Room reading the papers and chatting until Mr Davey arrived with the tree and set it up, with help from Alfred and Paul. Jane brought the children down and we spent a very pleasant time helping them dress it. Rosamund's daughter brought her children too but had to leave them as she had an appointment so poor Jane had her work cut out for a while but Harriet helped her a great deal. All the men, except Henry, disappeared, of course. Alfred said he had letters to write, so went off to his study. John, Alistair and Brian went out for a walk and Paul pleaded a need to work (he is a writer). I don't remember Rosamund telling me in the summer that he had moved in to one of the estate cottages although she assures me that she did. Henry seems to really enjoy the company of children. I think he is more disappointed than Elouise that John has not married and made them grand parents. John is a very good looking young man - well, I say young, he is only a year younger than me, but he seems young in his demeanour. Maybe he is just on his best behaviour. We talked for quite a while about Paris, which he has visited several times.
I wore my black dress again at dinner but with the new jacket, turned to the rust side. Rosamund and Elouise both dress quite formally in the evening but Harriet has, I think, a limited wardrobe with her and Elizabeth and Lavinia are more "modern". I probably come somewhere between the two. The gentlemen have it easy really, don't they!
Mrs Davey really is an excellent cook and I hope there will be an opportunity to go for a good walk tomorrow. This evening we had Jerusalem artichoke soup, followed by turbot cooked very plainly, which is as it should be, and then an orange chiffon cream. The wine was very good so I decided to forgo the liqueur this evening but again enjoyed coffee in front of the drawing room fire. We, that is John, Elizabeth, Paul and I, played bridge for a while. Paul reminded me that we had partnered each other against R and A on my last visit and trounced them and we did well again so Elizabeth determined that we should swap around in future. I don't think she took too kindly to loosing- isn't that silly?
Well, my dear, I think I am ready for my bed now. I do hope that Laura arrived safely and, as this letter will not reach you now until Boxing Day, let me say a belated Happy Christmas to you both.
Freda