The phone rang while they were at breakfast, Mabel rushing off to answer it. Joseph hadn’t shown up—according to Mabel he was still out mending the fence of the wolf enclosure—so Julia sat on one side of the table next to Magnus, who looked capable of giving Basil a run for his money in the speed eating stakes. Three times he politely asked Julia to pass extra toast from a plate Mabel had knowingly loaded with far more than should have been necessary to feed a small army. Sitting opposite, Elizabeth, now immaculately dressed in a beige fur-trimmed sweater and black ski trousers, the clips in her hair probably more expensive than Julia’s entire wardrobe, ate only a couple of leaves of lettuce and a sliced tomato. Beside her, X was a little more indulgent, making a bacon sandwich and stuffing a corner into his mouth, before catching Elizabeth’s eye and proceeding to chop the rest of it up into neat triangles, which he arranged in a geometric pattern on his plate before eating them one by one in sequence, like a countdown timer.
‘I think you should cover the vehicle with a tarpaulin,’ Elizabeth said between slices of tomato. ‘Some of my competitors would have a field day if they knew what had happened. I can see it now—“Elizabeth Trevellian—ice statue or icicle?”’
X, head down, grinned, quickly hiding it. He looked up at Elizabeth, gave her a dismayed expression and shrugged.
‘And what if Google Maps updates while we’re stuck? You know they only do it every ten years or so? I could be run off everything as a laughing stock. My online career would be over. I’d have to go back to conventional magazines.’
She lowered her head, apparently sobbing. X patted her on the shoulder.
Magnus looked at Julia and smiled. Then, to Elizabeth, he said, ‘There is no concern unless they now have the treads of a caterpillar.’
‘They might have!’
‘My intelligence contacts would know. Don’t worry.’
‘Are you sure?’ Elizabeth looked up.
‘You pay me to be sure,’ Magnus said with an assured growl, and this time it was Julia who suppressed a smile.
Mabel returned from the hall and clapped her hands together. ‘That was Harry Faulkner,’ she said. ‘Good and bad news. Which would you like first?’
‘The bad,’ Elizabeth said, at the same moment Julia said, ‘The good,’ getting a glare from the other woman for her troubles.
‘Well, the bad is that we’re still snowed in,’ she said. ‘And the forecast is for more snow tonight. Apparently the snow ploughs are out, but it’ll be at least tomorrow before either the roads or the train line are clear. So, you’re stuck with us for another night.’
Basil gave a loud bark and a flap of his tail, as though that cheered him up no end.
‘And the good?’
Mabel grinned. ‘Apparently someone trudged over to the village hall this morning and dug out some dusty tome on local history. It turns out that the village was formed exactly one hundred years ago, in almost exactly the same circumstances. A train—passing through because at that time there wasn’t a station here—got delayed by the snow, and the people that got marooned here became the founders of the village.’
‘What does that mean for us?’ Elizabeth said.
‘The village council wants to hold a great party—and since the village was founded right before Christmas, they’ve decided to double up—and all of you will be the guests of honour.’
‘Sounds great,’ Julia said.
‘Are you insane?’ Elizabeth snapped. ‘Do you know how it would look for my cred to be spending Christmas in the middle of nowhere? Do you know where I would normally be?’
Julia shook her head, trying to ignore Magnus’s grin. ‘No. Uh … where?’
‘The Ritz! Or the Carlton! Or the Royal Albert Hall! Or … anywhere but Farmersville.’
Julia, maintaining her manners as she had been brought up to, was nevertheless beginning to tire of Elizabeth Trevellian and her neverending petulance.
‘You’d better start walking then.’
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. ‘I might.’
‘Anyone for more tea?’ Mabel asked, holding up the pot with a grin on her face.
After breakfast, Julia, Magnus and X helped Mabel to clear the breakfast things away while Elizabeth went back to her room. Joseph reappeared, announced that the wolf enclosure was now safely secured, and then grabbed a leftover piece of toast Mabel had saved for him. Julia excused herself to go back upstairs and take a shower, and was just coming down again when she bumped into Elizabeth, coming out of her room.
‘Oh, do be careful. Do you know how much this jacket costs?’
Julia shook her head. ‘I don’t. But mine was about forty-five pounds from H&M.’
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. ‘You know, I used to model for that store? Before my fees got too high for them to afford me.’
‘I didn’t notice,’ Julia said. Then, before she could help herself, she added, ‘I thought the models were supposed to smile?’
‘What is that supposed to mean?’
Before Julia could reply, Magnus appeared at the end of the hall, head dipped low to avoid hitting the ceiling eaves.
‘I’ve checked the outside, and we’re clear,’ he said.
‘Well, good to see someone’s been making themselves useful,’ Elizabeth said, giving Julia a withering glare which suggested Julia had unknowingly become a member of staff.
They gathered in the entrance, Basil tugging at his lead, paws raking the front door as Joseph held him back.
‘There’ll be fresh mince pies waiting when you get back,’ Mabel said, then watched from the doorway as Joseph led them all out. A path had been cleared through the snow as far as the front gate, but the road was still buried. A couple of lines of footprints led in either direction, and Joseph followed one, Basil bounding forward, spraying snow everywhere.
‘Could you not have cleared this?’ Elizabeth snapped at Magnus, as X, hanging back, paused to take a photograph of a pretty robin sitting on a hawthorn branch. The smile on his face dropped when he saw Julia looking, only returning when she gave him a wide grin. X nodded towards Elizabeth, then lifted a finger to his lips.
‘You have my apologies,’ Magnus was saying. ‘I had to chop the wood.’
‘Do you know how much these snow boots cost?’
‘More than what I am paid?’
‘Roughly twice,’ Elizabeth said. ‘I’d rather not get them dirty.’
‘But they are snow boots. They are designed for the dirt.’
Elizabeth groaned. ‘Not these. Don’t you understand, Magnus? They’re not for the snow, are they? They’re fashion.’
‘I am sorry again. I forgot.’
‘Don’t you know anything?’
‘I am for security, Mistress. Not for fashion.’
‘And it’s a good job you’re not.’
Julia, walking purposefully at the back, behind X, who kept stopping to take photographs, realised the two of them had slipped back. Further up the road, Basil was setting the pace, With Magnus following behind, Elizabeth stepping in the footprints he made. As X lined up a shot of an icicle hanging from a branch, Julia cleared her throat.
‘I know you can talk,’ she said.
X gave her a wary look, then a frantic shake of his head. He glanced up the road at Elizabeth’s back, then widened his eyes in warning.
‘She thinks you can’t, doesn’t she?’
X smiled and nodded.
‘She thinks it’s cool that you can’t talk, as though that’s some kind of gimmick.’
X smiled again, this time nodding frantically.
‘You’re playing along because she pays well, and it’s a career stepping stone.’
X looked surprised. He pouted, then gave a slow nod.
‘But really, you’re hoping to do something more fulfilling than taking pictures of that self-absorbed airhead, like work for a newspaper, or even a magazine.’
X nodded again.
‘Let me guess … BBC?’
X shrugged.
‘The Guardian?’
Another shrug.
‘You were taking pictures of nature, so … National Geographic?’
X grinned and gave her a thumbs up.
‘Good luck. I hope you can stomach her long enough to build up your portfolio, or whatever it is you photographers do.’
X gave her an okay sign. They walked on a little further, then X paused. He rubbed his chin, then stopped.
‘My name is Xavier,’ he said in a Spanish accent. ‘I’m from Catalonia, in the north of Spain.’
‘I’ve never been, but it looks lovely.’
‘Don’t tell her,’ he said, nodding towards Elizabeth, who was almost out of sight, following Magnus around a corner up ahead. ‘She thinks I was born out of a smartphone or something.’
‘I think she was born out of a pack of bubblegum.’
Xavier shrugged. ‘Don’t be too hard on her. She’s a product of our times. In many ways, I feel sorry for her.’
‘Really?’
‘She’s lost her grip on reality, that’s true. But it’s all a charade. She’s playing a character, but she’s spent so long doing it that she no longer knows what’s underneath.’
‘That’s one way of looking at it. Aren’t you playing a character too?’
Xavier smiled. ‘Aren’t we all?’
Before Julia could reply, a shout came from up ahead. Magnus had stopped and was waving for them to hurry up.
‘Duty calls,’ Xavier said with a smile. ‘Don’t forget, I’m a cyborg robot that only communicates via wi-fi.’ He tapped the side of his head.
Julia smiled. ‘I’ll try.’
Everyone had gathered in the pub. Pleased to get away from Elizabeth and her entourage, Julia made a beeline for Kelly and her family, who were drinking hot chocolate at a table by the window. Kelly gave her a warm smile and pulled up a chair for her to sit down.
‘Did you survive?’ she asked. ‘Oh my god, you should see the Grange. It’s enormous.’
‘Kids couldn’t sleep,’ Colin said. ‘This Lord Andrews guy decided it would be a really good idea to tell some ghost stories in front of the fire. Apparently, some woman threw herself off the roof in the fifteenth century and at night you can sometimes hear her howling. The pipes were so creaky it sounded like she had some friends.’
‘It didn’t help that he decided to do the whole sheet thing, just for effect,’ Kelly said, rolling her eyes.
‘The sheet thing?’
‘Yeah,’ Colin said. ‘Crazy old fool waited until we’d all gone to bed, then he puts a bedsheet over his head and runs up and down the halls. Caitlin got up for the toilet and saw him. Mad as a hatter, the old fool. He scared her half to death.’
‘I threw an old pot at him,’ Caitlin said, lowering her eyes. ‘It didn’t hit him, but it … broke.’
Kelly patted Caitlin on the shoulder. ‘It wasn’t your fault, love,’ Kelly said. ‘He shouldn’t have done the sheet thing.’
‘Ten grand,’ Colin hissed at Julia, so loud even the people on the next table could hear.
Kelly rolled her eyes. ‘Still, he took it in good grace, didn’t he? Said he enjoyed a good jigsaw puzzle and if he could repair it in time, he’d donate it to the raffle at the Christmas party.’
‘The raffle?’
‘You’ll be staying around for the party, won’t you?’
‘What party?’
‘Christmas Eve.’
‘Ah … I don’t—’
‘You should have seen the size of the beds,’ Colin said. ‘You could have fitted half a dozen people in them.’
Harry Faulkner appeared from behind the bar, a Christmas hat on his head again, and from the glow to his cheeks clearly already a couple of sherries into the occasion.
‘Well, I think everyone’s here. Welcome again to Birch Valley. I trust you slept well?’ At a few indistinct murmurs, he nodded. ‘Good, good. So … ah, the news, because it’s not really good or bad, is it? It’s just news. And well, it’s a little historical. We checked the annals of the village, and it turns out that by some amazing coincidence, this event almost exactly mirrors the events which resulted in the founding of the village one hundred years ago. A delayed train—although a steam train on that occasion—a lot of snow, and exactly twenty stranded people.’
‘No wonder the genetics look so good,’ Colin muttered.
‘So, we’ve decided we can’t let this pass without some ceremony. The village was officially founded on Christmas Eve, 1923, so this year, we’ve decided to have a huge party. And all of you will be guests of honour.’
Cheers went up in some corners, not quite drowning out the grumbles about getting home from others.
‘However, as you’ve noticed, we’re in the middle of a period of quite shocking snowfall, so we’re going to need a little help with the preparations.’ He gave a nervous grin. ‘All hands on deck, and all that.’
‘I knew they’d make us earn our keep one way or another,’ Colin said.
‘Just shush,’ Kelly scolded him.
Harry lifted a sheet of paper. ‘This is the work roster. You’ve all been assigned into teams. Of course, if you don’t wish to take part, that’s fine, but it’ll be a couple of days at the very least before rescue services are able to clear the roads, so you might prefer to do something useful.’
A couple of people stuck up their hands. ‘I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow!’ one woman called. ‘I’ve got tickets for the Cup!’ shouted another man.
Harry looked flustered as the complaints bounced against him like flies off a windscreen.
‘Okay, look,’ he said, ‘For those of you who really want to leave, we’ll try to mount an expedition to the next village. It will have to be on foot, though, because it’ll take some time to clear the snow. Let me consult with the village elders.’
As Harry turned to the bar, leaning into conversation with Donald the landlord and Stan the station master, Colin chuckled.
‘Not decided whose going in the wicker man yet,’ he said.
‘Oh, stop it,’ Kelly said, slapping his arm, although she wore a hint of a smile.
‘Dad, what’s a wicker man?’ Josh asked.
‘YouTube it,’ Colin said.
‘Don’t YouTube it!’
‘There’s no wi-fi,’ Josh said.
‘Probably just as well,’ Kelly said, glancing at Julia.
Feeling rather like a piece of driftwood on a river, with nothing she could do other than go with the flow, Julia listened as Harry talked a while more, then gratefully took a mince pie and a hot chocolate from a tray being carried around. Outside, the sky was a beautiful crystal blue, and despite her initial misgivings, she was warming to the idea of sticking around for a few more days. While it hadn’t been her intention when she boarded the train in Brentwell to end up so far outside her comfort zone, it wasn’t so bad.
As long as she wasn’t in the same team as Elizabeth, things would be fine.
Harry announced that the work activities would begin after lunch, so everyone was free until then to go back to their lodgings or just relax in the pub, getting to know each other. Wanting a bit of fresh air, Julia headed for a door out into a beer garden.
Outside, the sun was warm on her face, the snow so bright she could barely look at it. Tables and chairs were amorphous mounds of white, although a patio had been cleared of snow, and a path down through the garden to a small children’s playground, where a group of children now made snowmen or played on swings with lumps of snow occasionally cascading down from the bars overhead. Lights had been strung around a couple of large potted pine trees on the patio’s corners, and along a fence surrounding the garden.
Beyond the pub garden, the village was several meandering lines of quaint houses, snow covered gardens, and even a river still gurgling as it passed under a stone humpback bridge, its banks laden with snow, part of its surface iced over. In the distance, wooded hills rose, hills Julia had only ever seen from the other side, and she realised just how sheltered her world view had always been. So much to see that she had never seen, when, as the crow flew, she was only a few miles from home.
She was still looking at the houses, counting the Christmas trees she could see glowing behind frosty window panes, when she heard familiar voices behind her.
‘I know it might sound outlandish, but I will make it worth your while. You do want to save your grandmother’s farm, don’t you?’
‘Look, it’s just … I’m not sure about this.’
‘It makes perfect sense. We both win. If you’re not interested, if money really isn’t that important to you, I’ll find someone else. I’m not prepared to waste my time while I’m stuck here. I’m losing thousands of subscribers by the day. They need content, and they need content now.’
‘I’ll think about it.’
‘I’ll give you until teatime to make your decision.’
‘I—’
The door bumped shut. Julia, who had somehow managed to slip behind one of the potted Christmas trees during the conversation, peeked through the branches to see Joseph standing on the other side of the patio, looking confused. Elizabeth had already gone back inside. Joseph stepped down off the patio into the snow, then sat down on the edge, his head in his hands, seemingly oblivious to the cold until a lump of snow dropped off a telephone wire overhead and struck him square on the top of the head. As he yelped and jumped up, swiping the offending lump of snow away, Julia felt a sudden lurch in her chest.
Pack it in. You’re thirty-five, not fifteen.
Ignoring the feeling, she shuffled back out of sight, and was relieved when Joseph turned and headed for the door.
She might have avoided an awkward situation altogether, had one of the children on the swings not suddenly shouted, ‘Are you playing hide-n-seek? Can we play?’
Joseph turned. He frowned at the children, then looked up at Julia, who was still cowering behind the Christmas tree.
‘Oh, hi,’ she said, giving him an awkward wave. ‘I was just looking at … an … ah … a spiderweb. How … pretty.’
Joseph grinned. ‘That’s … great.’ He looked about to say something else, then shook his head. ‘Shall we play?’
‘What?’
‘Hide-n-seek?’
‘Yeah!’ shouted a kid from the play area.
Julia smiled, her nervousness melting away. She was desperate to know what Elizabeth and Joseph had been talking about, but it could wait.
‘Sure,’ she said. ‘Why not?’