The day before Christmas Eve, Sam went to pick up Alex from the train station.
‘That tree is to die for,’ declared Alex, striding into the entrance hall.
Most importantly, with a brief break between snow storms, the remainder of the bedroom furniture had finally been delivered. Alex had banned anyone from wandering around upstairs so that he could do his great reveal for them.
‘You’re already in big trouble for seeing the drawing room without me,’ he told Annie, in full diva mood. ‘But first I want to show you the staff quarters.’
Sam was shocked. ‘It’s ready up there?’
‘Of course it is,’ said Alex, with a wink. ‘But I didn’t want you seeing it without me and spoil all my fun. You do know that it’s all about me, don’t you?’
Annie glanced at Alex but realised he was poking fun at himself.
‘So are you ready for this?’ he asked, holding out his arm for her to put hers through.
Annie nodded but was grateful that Sam was going to come with them as well. What if Alex had ruined her little bedroom? What if it didn’t feel like the same place anymore? And why had her room taken priority over everything else? But she reminded herself that she should be able to trust Alex. After all, he had decorated the drawing room with such good taste that surely he could do the same in the tiny attic as well.
Except he didn’t lead her up the narrow stairwell to the top floor. Instead, he turned right and led her down the corridor of the east wing.
‘But my bedroom’s upstairs,’ she told him.
But Alex kept walking until they were nearly at the end of the corridor. He then opened the last door on the left, a room that Annie had barely been into.
It had once been a dingy disused spare room but no longer.
‘This can’t be mine,’ she murmured, as Alex nudged her inside. ‘My room is upstairs.’
‘Not anymore,’ said Sam from behind her. ‘I told Alex that you ought to be on this floor.’
‘And Sam will be right next door if you have any trouble sleeping,’ murmured Alex.
But Annie barely registered what he said, overawed by the incredible transformation. The room was light and airy, helped by three walls painted a pale cream colour. The fourth wall, behind the bed, had been covered with the most beautiful cream wallpaper, decorated with tiny turquoise butterflies. The new furniture was also pale but the whole room was rendered modern and warm, thanks to the turquoise and gold accents dotted about.
The new lamps and candlesticks. The ornate gold mirror above the fireplace. The crisp white linen on the bed was covered in soft blankets and cushions. The bed frame itself was wrought iron and beautifully ornate. It was young and modern but soft and girly too. She couldn’t believe she got to sleep in any place quite so gorgeous.
She turned to face Alex and Sam who had been watching her from the doorway.
‘When did you do all this?’ she asked.
‘I love a good secret,’ said Alex, with a wink. ‘So? What do you think?’
But he knew the answer from the tears glittering in her eyes.
‘It’s incredible,’ she stammered.
‘You deserve a lovely room,’ said Sam, his own voice a little husky with emotion.
‘For goodness sake,’ said Alex, with a sudden sniff beside them. ‘You two are likely to get me to cry and the last time I did that was when Zayn left One Direction. Lead the way, Samuel. I’m going to need a bloody big drink after this.’
Annie took one more look around and gave a happy sigh. It still felt like home, just a beautiful, glamorous, amazing one.
Once he had shown them both Arthur and Rose’s bedrooms, Annie turned to face Alex. ‘You did the house proud,’ she told him, her eyes shiny with tears once more. ‘Arthur will love it.’ Then, finding a tiny bit of courage deep within, she leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered.
Sam, who had to witness the whole exchange, raised his eyebrows at his best friend.
‘Well, that confirms it,’ Alex told her, with a wink. ‘I really am fabulous!’
‘Yes, but you already knew that,’ said Sam. ‘Annie’s just finding out for herself.’
*
On Christmas Eve, it was snowing heavily once more and the whole country was in a panic about getting home for Christmas. Airports were closed. Trains had been cancelled. People were stuck all round the country, including Eleanor.
Annie could see how stressed she was when they Facetimed each other.
‘There are no trains!’ wailed Eleanor, tears running down her face. ‘I can’t get back!’
Annie tried not to show how upset she was in front of her friend. Eleanor was the cool, calm one amongst the threesome. She had poise and elegance. But not now. Her blue eyes were red from crying, her pale face was blotchy and her normal immaculate dark bob was sticking out in all directions.
‘We can have our own Christmas catch-up later on,’ Annie told her.
‘But I want roast turkey and brussels sprouts tomorrow,’ said Eleanor, still sobbing.
‘You’re in London!’ said Annie, trying to look on the bright side. ‘You’ll be able to find a Christmas meal somewhere.’
‘But it won’t taste like mum’s,’ said Eleanor, sniffing. ‘And I have all these lovely presents for you all.’
Annie tried to cheer her friend up even though she was sad that they wouldn’t see each other for a while longer yet. Having not been able to come down to Cranley in the summer, she realised it was almost ten months since they had last seen Eleanor.
She glanced out of the window where the snow continued to fall. Many people’s plans for getting to their families for Christmas had been ruined
But nothing was stopping Arthur from coming home that afternoon.
*
As Sam turned the Range Rover into the long driveway, he found that he was feeling nervous. Although Rose had already moved back that morning and approved of everything, what if his grandad didn’t like the changes and decoration? What if it didn’t feel like home to him anymore?
As they pulled up in front of the house, Sam was glad that the scaffolders had managed to take away the large frame that had covered the house for so long. Now that the roof had been finished, the beauty of Willow Tree Hall could be revealed.
The roof was complete and tidy. The chimney pots were straight. The new oak window frames were beautiful and the front door was a bright pillar box red.
Arthur stood for a moment in the snow, leaning on his walking stick as he looked up at the house. Then Sam took his arm and they carefully walked across the slippery gravel. At the new front door, Arthur reached out to touch the red bow on the wreath before they walked into the entrance hall.
‘Welcome home,’ said Annie, looking tearful as she stepped forward to give Arthur a hug.
Sam wondered how he could ever have doubted her intentions when he saw how much she cared for Arthur.
‘It’s good to have you back, darling,’ Rose told him, also looking a bit shaky and emotional. ‘Doesn’t the old place look wonderful?’
Arthur smiled at his sister before slowly looking around him. The numerous fairy lights twinkled around the room as well as all over the huge Christmas tree. The fire in the hearth had been lit and its smoky, woody smell filled the air, along with the scent of the pine tree.
Will and Sam exchanged a nervous glance. The Hall and everyone inside held their breath waiting for Arthur’s reaction.
Finally, he spoke. ‘It feels like home again,’ he said, a tear rolling down his cheek. ‘I absolutely love it.’
Then everyone was laughing and crying at the same time in relief.
Sam took his grandad around his renovated home. Arthur especially liked the drawing room which was now so cosy and draught-free. The library had yet to be touched but he declared that he was looking forward to a spirited game of snooker with both his grandsons.
At the end of the tour, Sam showed his grandad to his new master bedroom. Arthur’s eyes filled with tears once more when he saw his wife’s perfume bottles so carefully laid out by Alex.
‘She would have loved what you’ve done to the place,’ he murmured before looking directly at his grandson. ‘I’m so proud of you, lad.’
Sam nodded, finding himself unable to speak.
They both stepped forward for a gentle hug and a clap on the shoulder before heading slowly back downstairs.
But Annie was at the bottom of the staircase looking distraught. ‘The Aga won’t work. I think it’s packed up for good!’ she wailed.
‘Don’t fret,’ began Sam.
But Annie was in full panic mode. ‘It’s Christmas Day tomorrow! How am I going to feed everyone? It was supposed to be the most perfect Christmas ever and now it’s ruined.’
Sam stepped forward to take her by the shoulders. ‘OK. Just breathe, all right? We can all go out to the pub tonight for something to eat. That solves tonight’s dinner dilemma.’
‘But I know they’re already fully booked for Christmas lunch tomorrow,’ she told him tearily. ‘I heard someone say so.’
‘We’ll make do,’ said Arthur, coming to stand next to them.
‘What’s the matter?’ asked Rose, heading over with Will.
‘Christmas is cancelled!’ cried Annie. ‘We’ve got no oven to cook with!’
‘Is that all?’ said Will, rolling his eyes. ‘I thought it was something serious.’
‘That’s the spirit, lad,’ said Arthur, nodding his head. ‘We’ve coped with far worse than this before now.’
‘I’ll ring Beryl,’ said Rose, with a nod. ‘She’s always got lots of food spare and is coming for lunch anyway tomorrow.’
‘We can borrow her microwave,’ said Sam, thinking quickly. ‘That can do most of the veg and stuff.’
‘But what about the turkey I’ve bought?’ asked Annie in despair. ‘What will we do?
‘Leave it to me,’ said Will, with a smile. ‘I’ve just had a cracking idea.’
*
As everyone else headed away, busy in their chores, Annie looked across at Arthur. ‘I wanted it to be so perfect for you,’ she told him, still upset.
‘Don’t you get it, Annie Rogers?’ said Arthur, putting his arm around her. ‘It is perfect. And do you know why? Because we’re all here together and that’s what really matters, OK?’
She nodded, realising he was right.
She was where she finally belonged. She was home.
*
After a lovely evening at the pub, the family made their way back home.
As Will, Arthur and Rose headed upstairs to their bedrooms, only Annie and Sam were left downstairs to close up the house.
With the doors locked and most of the lights switched off, they stood in front of the Christmas tree which twinkled in the almost darkness of the entrance hall.
‘Are you all ready for your first Christmas at Willow Tree Hall?’ asked Sam, with a soft smile.
Annie felt her heart thud as she looked up at him, the stress about the Christmas dinner finally slipping away. . ‘I think so,’ she replied.
‘Good.’
He turned his head to look at the presents which had been placed under the huge tree at various times by all the family. Crouching down, Sam leant across the vast pile to pick up a small box that she hadn’t notice before.
Standing up, he said, ‘I know Father Christmas hasn’t officially been yet but I wanted to give this to you whilst it was quiet.’
She was amazed. ‘This is for me?’
He smiled and nodded, holding out the small present for her. The box had been immaculately gift-wrapped by someone other than Sam, she suspected as she held it in trembling hands. She pulled on the ribbon and lifted the paper to reveal a velvet case.
With a quick glance at Sam, she slowly opened the jewellery box.
‘I thought that they looked like your kind of style,’ he told her as she stared at the diamond earrings in silent shock. ‘They’re vintage. Classic.’
‘They’re beautiful,’ she said, still trying to take it all in. ‘But…’
‘No buts,’ he quickly said. ‘It’s for you, with grateful thanks for looking after my grandad and aunt this past year. For everything you’ve done for all of us.’
She watched as the diamonds caught the twinkling light of the Christmas tree close by.
She took one last look at the earrings before smiling up at him. ‘I love them,’ she told him. ‘Thank you so much.’
And because she didn’t know what else to say or do, she reached up and kissed him softly on the cheek. Except when she went to draw away, he turned his face slightly so that their lips met.
It was gentle to start with, until Sam placed his hand behind her head, seeking a deeper, stronger kiss. In turn, Annie reached up to touch his hard chest under her hands before they slid around his neck of their own will.
For a while she was aware of nothing else but his embrace. She wanted or needed nothing in the world but his kiss.
Only the sound of a door closing upstairs brought her to her senses. They pulled apart, both breathless and flushed from their passion.
She didn’t know what to do or say.
But luckily he just smiled at her. ‘Happy Christmas,’ he murmured, stealing one last peck on her lips before heading up the stairs.