“I’ll bring the tea.” Aunt Mabel waved me down. “I don’t need help. Stay here and relax, darling.”
‘Relax’ and ‘Roy’ were two words that didn’t go well together. I sat on the armchair in front of him. “Do they set up a tree in Raven Park? I didn’t see one around.”
“They used to. Three, actually. One in the Great Hall, one in the hallway, and another outside in the garden.” He listed the trees without a shred of emotion.
“I didn’t see them.”
“Raven Park gets empty this time of year, now that children aren’t kept in the mansion any longer. No reason to decorate the place. Commander Allen doesn’t care about Christmas. Neither do I.” Despite his cold tone, a sad note slipped in his voice.
“Bad memories?” I asked.
His lips parted, but he clammed up again when my aunt’s footsteps padded closer.
“Here we are.” Aunt Mabel put a tray with cups of steaming tea and a plate of her delicious oat biscuits on the coffee table. “Are you going to spend Christmas with your family, Mr Turner?”
“No. I don’t have a family.” He munched on a biscuit, as if he hadn’t just said something horrifying.
“What do you mean?” Aunt Mabel’s black eyes filled with kindness and sorrow. I could see her thoughts about adopting him.
He shrugged. “I grew up in a children’s home in Devonshire. These biscuits are delicious.”
My aunt’s kindness turned into compassion. “So you have never spent Christmas with a family?”
I scratched the back of my neck, wondering where this conversation was going. The biscuits were excellent though. Not too sweet, not too hard.
He sipped his tea, seemingly nonplussed by her questions. Impossible man. When I asked him something, he became all grumpy. “I spent Christmas with the other children. We had Christmas trees and plenty of food. We played together and were allowed to stay up an hour later than usual. It wasn’t as sad as it might sound.”
That wasn’t my aunt’s opinion, judging by the moisture gathering in her eyes. “I had no idea, Mr Turner.” She put her cup down, the slant of her chin meaning business. “So what are you going to do here in the next few days, if you don’t mind me asking?”
A slight tension tightened his neck. Glad to know it wasn’t only me who upset him. “I have to meet with a person for business.”
“Why don’t you stay here with us?” Aunt Mabel asked.
The morsel I was about to swallow went astray, nearly choking me. I coughed and beat a fist on my chest.
“Excuse me?” Roy and I said together.
Aunt Mabel straightened, gazing from me to him. “Why not? We have plenty of food and an extra room for Mr Turner, and if he’s here for business, he won’t have to pay for accommodation. You can meet your business partner and come back here to have a nice nosh with us. You’re more than welcome to stay here. The more the merrier.”
Roy sleeping here? I wasn’t sure I liked that. Yes, my body became all tingly in all the wrong places when he was around, but he’d been clear about our ‘friendship.’ The awkwardness between us couldn’t be erased. Besides, the sooner we stopped seeing each other, the better, if that was our fate. I didn’t want my body to get any ideas.
Roy loosened the collar of his shirt. “Thank you, Mrs Easterwood, but I can’t impose my presence on you.”
Aunt Mabel huffed. “It’s no imposition at all. It’s Christmas. I’m always alone here now that Kristin is away. We’d be thrilled to have you here.”
“Not Parsley,” I muttered, munching on another biscuit.
“I don’t want to cause any trouble,” Roy said, nearly gritting his teeth. “You and Kristin must have a lot to catch up with.”
“Mr Turner.” Aunt Mabel smiled, putting down her cup. “Christmas is all about sharing and being happy. I’m not going to take no for an answer.”
The light stoop of Roy’s shoulders marked his defeat. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Yes will suffice,” my aunt said.
Honestly, Aunt Mabel should have been a general.