Snowy Nights at Castle Court

by Holly Hepburn

  And Sadie had been forced to agree that it was; Daniel had surprised her once again.

  The presents underneath Sadie’s own tree were mostly for Lissy: a couple from Cat, and some from Sadie that she’d kept back so that she and Lissy could open them together on Boxing Day. The largest one had Sadie’s own name on it – she had no idea what was inside; Cat had refused to give her any hints at all. And there was the small one that Adam had handed to her last night. The sight of it pierced her heart; if she went back to Daniel now, there could be no more tentative kisses with Adam. Their relationship would have to become strictly business-like if she was to survive the journey to and from work each day and resist the temptation to accept his invitation to venture inside the cottage for coffee.

  Outside, she saw in the half-light that the garden was covered in a light dusting of snow. She stood at the kitchen window, staring out at the blanket of white. Lissy would be delighted when she woke up – it gave everything a shimmering, magical air; a freshness that hinted at new beginnings and fresh starts. But above all Sadie noticed the absolute stillness, here as in the rest of the house. Would it be so very bad to wake up with Daniel again, if it also meant waking up with her daughter on Christmas Day?

  Of course it wouldn’t. But Adam, her heart agonised, what about Adam? And what about you?

  Ultimately, there was no choice at all, Sadie realised, pulling her dressing gown tighter with a little shiver. Adam would understand that she had to put Lissy first; Cat would too, although she wouldn’t approve. And Daniel had shown another side to himself these past few weeks – he had made an effort and proved he cared. They hadn’t always been unhappy; perhaps, given time, they could find their way back to love. In the meantime, there was Lissy to hold them together.

  *

  In Castle Court, Cat woke up to the smell of bacon.

  She stretched, gazing up at the beamed ceiling of Seb’s garret, and considered getting up. But if she did that then they might not come back to bed to snuggle beneath the covers and that was something she wanted very much. So she lay still instead and waited for Seb to reappear with breakfast, wondering whether Sadie was also awake. How would she be coping on her first Christmas alone? Cat reached for her phone, intending to send her a message, and she saw that Sadie had beaten her to it. Smiling, she clicked it open.

  Spending the day at Daniel’s. Don’t be angry with me – I couldn’t bear to be without Lissy. Will explain everything when I see you. Merry Christmas xx

  Cat dropped her phone onto the duvet with a groan of pure frustration. She’d known this was going to happen, right from the moment that Sadie had told her that weasel Daniel had suddenly started being Father of the bloody Year. Why hadn’t Sadie divorced him straight away? She’d certainly had good reason.

  The bedroom door swung open just a few seconds later and Seb appeared, a tray laden with plates and steaming mugs of tea. ‘Merry Christmas,’ he said, sliding the tray onto the bedside table. ‘You’ll be delighted to hear there’s at least two centimetres of snow out there. We might even manage a snowball fight later. . .’

  ‘No thanks,’ Cat drawled, then squeaked as he climbed back into bed. ‘Your feet are freezing.’

  He bent his head to kiss her. ‘But my lips are warm.’

  Cat did her best to surrender but the thought of Sadie niggled at her. After a few moments, Seb drew back and studied her. ‘I’m sensing your heart isn’t in this. What’s the matter?’

  Wordlessly, Cat showed him Sadie’s message.

  ‘Ah,’ he said, slumping back against the pillow. ‘Well, I can’t say I am completely surprised.’

  ‘Me either,’ Cat replied. ‘And that’s the most infuriating thing – I’m ninety-eight per cent sure she’s in love with Adam but Daniel has somehow managed to convince her to give him a chance.’

  ‘You can’t tell her how to live her life,’ Seb pointed out. ‘No matter how much you want to protect her. Just like you can’t make her face up to her feelings for Adam.’

  ‘I know,’ Cat said, sighing. ‘But I wish she could see Daniel the way I do. I thought she did see him that way, to be honest.’

  Seb snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her close. ‘Give her time. Christmas does strange things to people – maybe she’ll feel differently in the New Year.’

  Cat gave her phone another troubled glance; she knew Sadie well enough to read between the lines. ‘Maybe,’ she said. ‘There’s always your party, I suppose – Daniel won’t be around for that. Who knows what might happen as the clock strikes midnight?’

  He nuzzled her neck. ‘Exactly. And in the meantime, Christmas is doing something strange to me. I think I might need your help to take care of it.’

  Reluctantly, Cat pushed the thought of Sadie out of her head; there wasn’t much she could do about the situation now, anyway. It would keep until Boxing Day at least, she decided.

  She gazed deep into Seb’s eyes. ‘You’re right, there is something I need to take care of,’ she told him, her lips curving into a smile of anticipation. ‘I’ve got a bacon sandwich to eat.’

  *

  The drive to Daniel’s took less than ten minutes, in spite of the snow. Sadie parked in the driveway and pulled out the front door key she’d kept in a drawer at home for emergencies. It was always possible Daniel had changed the locks but she didn’t think it would have occurred to him, and her suspicion was borne out when her key turned and the door opened. She kicked off her boots, leaving them beside the front door, and padded towards the kitchen.

  ‘Sadie?’ Daniel appeared at the top of the stairs, wrapped in a dressing gown, his sleep-creased face wary and amazed. ‘What are you doing here?’

  Sadie took a deep breath. ‘I thought about what you said. And I realised you’re right – Lissy has to come first. So, if you want to try again—’ She paused and sucked in another gulp of air. ‘If you want to try again, then I’m up for it.’

  Daniel’s face lit up. He hurried down the stairs but stopped when Sadie held up a hand. ‘I’m not rushing into anything, we’ll take things slowly. Lissy and I will continue to stay at the cottage but – if things go well – maybe you can come over to stay occasionally, or I can sleep here.’

  ‘Whatever you want,’ Daniel said, his voice shaking a little. ‘However you want it to be – I just want for us to be a family again. You, me and Lissy.’

  Sadie swallowed hard. ‘That’s – that’s what I want too.’

  He stepped forwards again and she knew this time there would be no stopping him; he was going to pull her into his arms. But then a door opened somewhere upstairs and the thud of little feet she’d missed so much that morning saved her.

  ‘Mummy!’ Lissy cried as she hurtled down the stairs and the delight in her voice swept away any last doubts Sadie had about whether she was doing the right thing. ‘I didn’t know you were going to be here. Daddy said—’

  Sadie wrapped her daughter in a warm hug and closed her eyes as she breathed in the warm, sleepy scent of her. ‘I know but I bumped into Father Christmas in the snow and he offered to give me a lift so I decided to come and surprise you.’

  Lissy stared at her, eyes wide. ‘You got a lift on his sleigh? In the snow?’

  Sadie nodded, crossing her fingers behind Lissy’s back. ‘I did. Are you surprised?’

  ‘Yes,’ Lissy said. ‘Did he remember to leave some presents too?’

  Sadie laughed. ‘I’m sure he did. Shall we go and look under the tree?’

  ‘Can we?’ Lissy cried, before darting off down the hallway towards the living room. Sadie followed but Daniel caught her arm as she walked past and swung her towards him, pressing his lips to hers in a brief, fierce kiss. ‘I love you. I always have. You know that, don’t you?’

  Sadie hesitated, then nodded. As long as he didn’t expect her to feel the same way, they might just be okay. ‘Yes.’

  He let go and sent a swift glance towards the front door. ‘I suppose I’d better go and put your
car in the garage, before Lissy sees it and realises you weren’t entirely telling the truth.’

  A delighted squeal rang out in the living room, followed by a feverish rustling that suggested Lissy had dived head first into the presents under the tree.

  ‘I didn’t think of that,’ Sadie said to Daniel. ‘Would you?’

  ‘Of course,’ he said. ‘Anything.’

  ‘Oh my goodness, there are so many presents!’ Lissy bellowed. ‘This is the best Christmas ever!’

  ‘You’ll get no argument from me,’ Daniel said. ‘There’s a little something for you too, under the tree. I got it in case – well, you know why.’

  Sadie opened her mouth to object but Daniel hurried on. ‘Don’t worry that you haven’t got anything for me. Now you’re here I’ve got everything I need.’

  She stared at him in silence, taken aback to see his eyes were moist with tears. ‘I—’

  He shook his head, as though he couldn’t believe his luck, and smiled. ‘Merry Christmas, Sadie.’

  Time seemed to stand still as Sadie stood in the hallway. Then a particularly excitable squeal from Lissy broke the spell. Sadie took a deep breath and dug deep for a smile of her own. ‘Merry Christmas, Daniel.’

  Acknowledgements

  First and foremost, thanks to my gladiator, Jo Williamson of Antony Harwood Ltd, for fighting my corner and always having my back. Festive gingerbread guys and gals to the lovely Emma Capron, awe-inspiring SJ Virtue and everyone at Simon & Schuster UK – thanks for doing yet another AMAZING job! Fizz all round for Kate Harrison, Miranda Dickinson, Rowan Coleman, Julie Cohen and Cally Taylor – love you, ladies. Unlimited cookies for T and E – my chief tasters. And lastly, thank you to all my fab readers and reviewers – without you, none of this would happen!

  Holly Hepburn has wanted to write books for as long she can remember but she was too scared to try. One day she decided to be brave and dipped a toe into the bubble bath of romantic fiction with her first novella, Cupidity, and she’s never looked back. She often tries to be funny, except for when faced with traffic wardens and border control staff. Her favourite things are making people smile and Aidan Turner.

  She’s tried many jobs over the years, from barmaid to market researcher and she even had a brief flirtation with modelling. These days she is mostly found writing.

  She lives near London with her grey tabby cat, Portia. They both have an unhealthy obsession with Marmite.

  Follow Holly on Twitter @ HollyH_Author.

  Also by Holly Hepburn

  A Year at the Star and Sixpence

  The Picture House by the Sea

  First published in Great Britain by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2017

  A CBS Company

  Copyright © Tamsyn Murray, 2017

  The right of Tamsyn Murray to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

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  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-4711-7198-7

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.