Christmas Eve

24th December
Dear Cousin Edith
I slept very well again last night and I am waiting for Alfred to gather together anyone else who wants to go for a walk to the village, so I am just taking advantage of this little bit of spare time to start this next letter. When I woke this morning I was instantly aware of that peculiarly clear light that can only mean one thing – snow. Mary Davey had not yet brought my tea so I opened the curtains to see the most magical sight. The snow had fallen quite thickly and was a perfect and unblemished carpet across the lawn, apart from one set of animal tracks which I hope we will be able to identify shortly. The snow had clung to the branches of the trees beyond and the whole thing looked just like a Christmas card scene. The light was that almost ethereal blue that you get from snow before the sun is up and everything was so quiet and still. I stood gazing at it for quite a while until Mary interrupted my reverie with a welcome pot of tea. As I knew that Alfred was planning a good walk I wore my new suit and dark red twin set and the old walking shoes as I thought they wouldn't matter if the snow spoilt them, but Rosamund found a pair of boots for me to borrow- silly of me not to have thought of bringing some.
I must say that I find a full cooked breakfast a great treat. Although I do cook breakfast for myself sometimes it does make a lot of washing up, so to be able to indulge without the aftermath is luxury indeed. Mrs Davey excels in producing a variety of dishes which are kept warm on an ingenious device with a metal plate and several night lights burning underneath. Yesterday I had grapefruit followed by mushrooms and tomatoes on toast with one rasher of bacon and this morning I chose porridge and then devilled kidneys, with some bacon again, and then toast and marmalade. There is fresh orange juice and the coffee is delicious.
The dining room is a large room but dominated by the huge table. The 12 of us fit round it easily. The walls are panelled in oak , the curtains are dark green velvet, the rug is a dark red and cream pattern and the chairs are upholstered in burgundy velvet. The furniture is all quite dark, and with the brass fittings to the wall lights and gilt framed pictures Rosamund has achieved quite a sumptuous effect. At breakfast we all come and go and it is so cheerful and pleasant to have company in the morning. The daily papers are delivered early and some of us discuss the news or try the crosswords. Rosamund and Lavinia seem to be the first to be up, but everyone is down by 9.00 and Paul must walk over quite early as he is usually around by then too. Alfred sits at the head of the table, of course, so he gets to be nearest to the fire, but it seems to be quite a warm room, especially in the evening once the curtains are closed.
We will be going to midnight service tonight so we are having our main meal in the middle of the day and I plan to sit in the library and read this afternoon. Here comes Alfred so I will stop for the moment. I will be glad to walk off some of that lovely breakfast
Now it is 9.00 p.m. and we have just had some supper. Dear me, it must seem to you that I never stop eating! We had a good long walk this morning. Rosamund and Elouise were the only ones who didn't come as they were busy wrapping presents. Alfred thought the tracks across the lawn were from a fox that passes by quite regularly. We went straight down to the woods at the side of the house, the ones I can see from my bedroom window, and into the fields beyond and then round through the village, up into the woods at the back of the house and onto the lane that eventually brings you back round to the entrance to the drive. I can remember doing this walk several times when I came here with mother as a child. It seemed much further then. I also remember playing in those woods with Paul and a girl from the village one summer. He was home from school and I stayed here for a week when father was ill, so that mother could devote her time to him. I think I was about 7, so Paul was 14 or so. I don't remember who the girl was. We made a den under the drooped branches of an old tree and pretended we were secret agents hiding out on a mission. Paul was Agent Black and I was Agent Red. Thinking back I wonder if Paul was under instructions to keep me entertained and I do wonder if I got in the way of his relationship with the other girl who was quite a bit older than me. I don't remember now if that was before or after his mother passed away. He came to live here with Alfred and Rosamund after that until he went off to University.
John is very knowledgeable about the species of trees and plants and birds. Harriet and I walked along with him quite a bit of the time and he proved to be a very entertaining companion. I think Harriet is very taken with him. I found out yesterday that she had travelled with Lavinia and Brian and that she was at school with Jane for a while. I was right that she is actually Rosamund's cousin's daughter. Both her parents are dead and she is an only child and had been working as a nanny herself until a few months ago when the family she was with decided to move to Scotland. She could have gone with them but chose not to and so she is hoping to find another position in the New Year. It explains a lot as she obviously does not feel entirely at ease.
I am sitting in the library by the fire as it is quiet in here. Most of the others are in the drawing room chatting. The children have all gone to bed and Mary is to sit with them so that Jane can come with us to church. A funny thing happened earlier. I decided to sit in here to read for a while this afternoon, but John came in and started up a conversation which put me out a bit. After a while I got up and said that I was going to have a rest and I took the book I was reading with me. As I was going up the stairs John started to cross the hall and Paul followed him out of the library. It is a L shaped room and there are some bookshelves that cut off one end of the room from the main part where the fire is, so I assume he was sitting in that other bit. He called John back and very clearly told him that the etiquette of the situation was that the library was a room where people could expect to sit and be quiet. I couldn't really hang about on the stairs and so I don't know what John's reaction to this was. If Paul wanted to be quiet then he could have gone back to his cottage. Maybe it's just more comfortable here, probably it is warmer.
We had a steak and kidney pie for lunch, followed by creme caramel. I allowed myself a glass of wine as I knew it wouldn't matter if I wanted to sleep this afternoon, which I did for a while when I went up to my room after the incident I have just described. It's strange how not having much to do makes one tired. I joined the others in the drawing room for tea and talked to Elizabeth and Elouise for a while until Elizabeth went up to the nursery with Lavinia to say goodnight to the children. Another lovely room of course. The colour scheme is mostly deep cream and yellow with quite a mixture of chairs upholstered in different fabrics and long jacquard curtains. The tree is in one corner, well away from the fireplace and the rug is quite old, a mixture of creams and yellows and rusts.
We were delighted to receive a visit from some carols singers early this evening. They were a group from the church and Rosamund must have known they were coming as she had hot mince pies and sherry ready for them. They sang very well and we all stood out on the terrace in our coats and hats and listened to them sing Away in a Manger, Good King Wenceslas and The Boars Head Carol, this last beautifully arranged. It bodes well for the service. We are walking so Rosamund has lent me her boots and some thick socks again. I don't think I had realised how close we are to the village if we take the direct route. I suppose whenever I have walked from here in the past it was always for the benefit of the walk , but tonight we want to get there (and back) in as short a time as possible. This is the sort of life I could easily get used to, the fire in here has died down to a lovely hot glow and I feel quite sleepy again.
Oh dear, Alfred has just woken me up and it's time to go, so I am finishing this off quickly so that I can put it in the box on the way to church.
My very best wishes
Freda