Snowy Christmas

by Helen Scott Taylor

  "Sorry, Grandma. I've been busy looking for a job." And too ashamed of her predicament to admit to her grandmother why she'd returned to Rosemoor.

  "I gather you and that Spanish man have parted company."

  Emily nodded. She really didn't want to discuss this now. "I've got a new job. I've just started work as the housekeeper at Rosemoor Hall."

  Her grandmother's friendly face crinkled in a smile. "That's wonderful, dear. You can tell me all about it after the service. Are you going to sit with me?"

  Emily wasn't sure. Surely Marcus didn't expect her to sit in the Bramwell family pew at the front of the church. She glanced around and located him by the church door, apparently waiting for her.

  "Marcus gave me a ride here. I'm not sure if I should sit with him."

  Her grandmother's eyebrows rose as she noticed Marcus waiting. "Looks like you'd better go, dear. Pop in and see me soon."

  Emily joined the people heading for the church door. When she reached Marcus, he stood aside to let her pass and then rested a hand on her back as they stepped inside.

  People who'd ignored her now looked on curiously. Her cheeks warmed, and she avoided making eye contact with anyone as she ran the gauntlet of the inquisitive stares all the way down the aisle to the front pew.

  The other members of the Bramwell family were already seated.

  "Hello, Emily." Jennifer greeted her with a smile. "How's your little princess?"

  "She's doing well, thank you. She and Peggy have made friends."

  Chloe smiled and Owen nodded. Marcus introduced her to his brother, Jonathan, and his wife, Vicky, and their little girl, Isabelle, who was wriggling in Jonathan's arms. It took her a few moments to notice Jonathan was blind, and she remembered hearing he'd been injured in Afghanistan.

  Emily sat between Jennifer and Marcus, feeling awkward and out of place. She glanced over her shoulder at the faces behind and quickly averted her gaze. If these people knew who she was, they'd think she didn't belong in the privileged front pew.

  When the service ended, she couldn't wait to get outside and back to Snow White.

  "See you at the Fat Goose in a few minutes," was Marcus's parting comment to the rest of his family.

  "What?" Emily whispered, touching his sleeve.

  "We're going to have Sunday lunch at my cousin's pub. You don't have anywhere you need to be, do you?"

  "Well, no." But she couldn't afford to pay for an expensive meal at a trendy pub. Sweat prickled under her arms as she walked towards the car and wished she hadn't come.

  The sight of Snow White standing up at the side window of Marcus's car, her little ears pricked and her black eyes sharp and bright with excitement at the sight of Emily, helped lift her mood. How quickly she'd fallen in love with this little dog, and it seemed the feeling was mutual.

  When Marcus unlocked the vehicle, Emily picked up her sweet dog's wriggly, excited body for a hug, while Marcus made a fuss of Peggy.

  Emily took her seat with Snow White on her lap. She needed an excuse to back out of the lunch, and she had the perfect reason. "I'd rather not leave Snowy in the car any longer, so I'll skip lunch."

  "Don't worry. Dogs are welcome at the Fat Goose. They can come in with us."

  "Oh." That excuse wasn't going to work, then. Emily racked her brain for another one.

  Marcus must have picked up on her discomfort. He put his key in the ignition and swiveled to face her. "My family can be a little overwhelming, but we don't bite. Really."

  "It's not that. Your family all seem really nice." Not snobbish at all, like she might have expected. "The truth is I can't afford lunch. You don't have to take me back to Rosemoor Hall. It's not far. I'll put Snowy on her leash, and we can walk."

  "Listen, I invited you to lunch. I don't expect you to pay." Now he sounded offended, and that was the last thing she wanted, although his attitude was a nice change from Vicente's. He'd always claimed poverty and expected her to pay for everything.

  "Do come, Emily," Marcus said. "It's a chance for you and Snowy to get to know my family. While you're working at Rosemoor Hall, you'll be seeing a lot of them, so you can consider this training for your job."

  "Really?" He was calling Sunday lunch training? She had no idea what to say to that.

  Chapter Five

  Marcus was confused. He couldn't decide if he was offended Emily had thought he'd make her pay for her own lunch, or pleasantly surprised to meet a woman who didn't take it for granted he would pay.

  He was also uncertain why he'd been so insistent she should come. It was a family get-together, and she was just a new staff member. He hardly knew her. In fact, he wasn't sure why he'd invited her to church in the first place.

  He steered his car into a parking space outside the Fat Goose, cut the engine, and turned to clip on Peggy's leash before he opened the door. She'd recognized where they were and was already scratching at the car door to get out.

  "Yes, this is the place you get lots of tasty tidbits, Pegs." He glanced at Emily, strangely unsettled by her today. It was odd how different she looked without her glasses hiding half her face. She was actually quite pretty. "I'm afraid we tend to spoil the dogs at the Fat Goose."

  Emily had put one end of the blue rope around Snow White's neck and was holding the other end. Marcus wished he'd insisted on buying a collar and leash for the dog. First thing on Monday, he'd get her one. He planned to go shopping to buy Emily a decent television, microwave oven, and anything else he could think of that was missing from the housekeeper's apartment.

  He climbed out and let Peggy jump down from the back before rounding the car to help Emily. She had already opened the passenger door and slid to the ground, Snow White in her arms. Was it his imagination, or was she being a little prickly with him? Had he done something to offend her? He gave her a tight smile and shut and locked the doors.

  Owen drove up and parked nearby. His family piled out of their car, complete with Peggy's brother, a black Labrador called Paddy. The two dogs pulled on their leashes to sniff noses. They often walked together and were good friends.

  Paddy snuffled at Snow White, and Emily crouched with the Westie in her arms so the dogs could make friends. Paddy was a good-natured Lab, and his tail wagged while he said hello to the little creature.

  "Paddy likes the white dog," Chloe said.

  "Paddy likes everyone," Jennifer added with a laugh.

  Marcus's brother and his wife arrived, parked, and joined them, their daughter asleep in a stroller and their two dogs on leashes—Honey, a golden Labrador, and Jessie, another of Peggy's siblings.

  Emily laughed. "We're going to fill the pub with dogs."

  Marcus was pleased to hear her laugh. She didn't do it very often. Half the time she seemed lost in thought, and the thoughts obviously troubled her.

  "It's not a family get-together without the dogs," Jonathan said. He bent to stroke Honey's ears. "You're part of the family, aren't you, girl."

  Marcus stood back to let Chloe lead Paddy into the pub first because that dog always had to be at the front. Owen put his arm around Jennifer, protective of his pregnant wife, and went in next. Marcus wanted to make sure Jonathan and Vicky were safely inside with the stroller, so he waited until last.

  Emily glanced his way and followed his example, stepping aside to wait with him while the others went first. The gesture touched him, affecting him more than it should. For a moment, he had the strangest desire to put his arm around her.

  It had been two long years since he'd had a female companion at dinner, and even when he was married, Gabriella had rarely attended any family get-togethers. She'd made no secret of the fact she found his family boring. She'd once said she'd rather stick pins in her eyes than spend Christmas with Marcus's brother. Even though Gabriella was history, the memory of that comment still made him angry. His ex-wife had done her best to drive a wedge between him and his family.

  He banished the thought of putting an arm around Emily. Two days ago,
he'd finally rid himself of one woman. He needed a good long break before he got involved with another.

  • • •

  Emily watched Julie, the dog groomer, sluice water over Snow White. They were washing her in a huge old square sink in one of the rooms off the kitchen corridor at Rosemoor Hall that Marcus used as a utility room.

  "You're such a good girl, Snowy." Julie seemed kind and handled Snow White gently, being extra careful with her because of her history, and the little Westie appeared to trust her.

  "She's always a good girl, aren't you, angel?" Emily had to restrain the urge to stroke her little wet dog while Julie was working.

  "How are things going?" Marcus stepped into the open doorway wearing a sweater and jeans, what he called his dog-walking outfit. Although he seemed to wear dog-walking clothes most of the time.

  "Very well," she said.

  He looked great in casual clothes, but now that Emily had seen him in a suit, she couldn't get that image out of her mind. She'd even dreamed of him last night, wearing that suit as he swept her into his arms. She cleared her throat and concentrated on Snow White.

  "Good morning, Mr. Bramwell," Julie piped up cheerily. "Snowy is no trouble at all, a very well-behaved dog."

  "Wonderful. I'm going shopping to pick up a microwave oven for your kitchen, Emily. As Snowy seems to be doing fine with Julie, would you like to come and choose it yourself?"

  "I don't want to leave her right now, but thanks for asking."

  "Okay. I should be back just before your meeting with Vicky about next weekend."

  Sunday lunch at the Fat Goose yesterday with Marcus's family had turned out to be fun. She'd sat beside Marcus's sister-in-law, Vicky, who handled the event bookings at Rosemoor Hall. This week Emily would be liaising with Vicky and taking over responsibility for the catering side of the bookings. She was looking forward to getting situated and eventually being more hands-on with the food preparation. She already had menu ideas flying around in her head.

  Emily kept Snow White company while she was dried and clipped, chatting with Julie. Snow White kept her trusting dark eyes fixed on Emily, and she stroked her baby's face as Julie finished up trimming her back legs. Shorn of her ragged coat, the little Westie looked skinny but not as bad as Emily had feared.

  "I've taken the fur on her legs down short and not given her a Westie skirt because of the muddy walks at this time of year."

  "That's great. Thanks."

  Emily had reluctantly borrowed money from Ned to pay the groomer. It was one thing she didn't want to put off. Snow White deserved to be clean and have her overgrown coat cut away, even if it put Emily further into debt.

  Once Julie had gone, Emily took Snow White for a walk around the large lawn at the front of Rosemoor Hall. The huge patch of grass enclosed by a wall was a great place to walk when she wanted to let Snow White off the leash safely.

  "You are such a pretty girl now with your new haircut." She couldn't stop stroking her dog's clean, sweet-smelling fur. It was lovely to be able to see her face.

  After the walk, they went back to the apartment. Emily had just changed into black slacks and a lavender blouse for her meeting with Vicky when a knock sounded at her door. She opened it to find Marcus holding a rolled-up rug, accompanied by a man with a pile of boxes on a hand truck.

  "I've got a few things for you," Marcus said.

  Emily stepped aside to let the guy with the hand truck push it in. Marcus followed and dropped the roll on the sitting room floor.

  "Thanks, Kevin. I'll take it from here," he said.

  "Right, Mr. Bramwell." The man nodded and left.

  Emily was speechless as she angled her head to read the labels on the boxes. Marcus pulled a box cutter from his pocket and slit the tape holding the rug in a roll.

  "I thought this would brighten up the sitting room." He pulled back the easy chairs and shook out a small colorful rug, spreading it in front of the fireplace. Inside the first rug was a second. "This is a smaller one to put beside your bed." He strode towards her bedroom, and she followed to watch him lay it on the floor.

  "Marcus. This is too much."

  She was overwhelmed as he started unpacking the boxes. He lifted out the new microwave oven and set it up on the kitchen counter. Then he unpacked a coffee machine and a shiny new electric kettle. There was a set of saucepans and a tray, and a set of place mats decorated with pictures of adorable Westies.

  She picked up the tray and smiled at the image of the cute Westie wearing a Santa hat and sitting in front of a Christmas tree.

  "I couldn't resist that," he said. He placed a box full of new silverware and another containing a new white dinner service on the kitchen counter.

  "There are already plates and knives and forks and things in the cupboards."

  Marcus waved away her comment with a swipe of his hand. "We'll throw those away. They're older than me."

  Last he lifted the biggest box, a television, and leaned it against the wall. "I'll need to put the stand on this, so I'll do that later."

  He stood back and rested his hands on his hips, surveying his handiwork.

  "This is all great. Thank you. But you didn't need to get all these things." She found it hard to imagine how he'd physically bought so much in the time he'd been away.

  "I can't expect you to live in the 1950s. I'll have the apartment decorated, and we'll update the bathroom and kitchen."

  "No, honestly."

  He returned to the coffeemaker and fiddled with it like a kid with a new toy, then turned to her, grinning. "It was no trouble. I enjoyed myself."

  He came closer, and as she started to step back out of his way, he pulled something from his pocket—a small red tartan collar and leash set. "A present for Snow White."

  "Oh, Marcus. Thank you." Him buying items for the housekeeper's apartment was one thing, but she couldn't let him pay for her dog's needs. "I'll pay you back for the collar and leash, though."

  "It's a gift. From me to Snowy." They both moved so they could see Snow White where she was rolling on the new rug in the sitting room. "If I give her a gift, maybe she'll like me."

  "She's already starting to like you, anyway. And you don't need to give me gifts to make me like you."

  She'd meant it as a joke, but her tone of voice came out sounding serious. She already liked him way too much.

  Chapter Six

  Emily's first week at Rosemoor Hall passed quickly. She learned how things were run and familiarized herself with the events booked to take place there in the next few months.

  Vicky and Emily also had appointments with three couples considering Rosemoor Hall as their wedding venue. Emily had drawn up wedding menus so they could offer in-house catering as part of the wedding package.

  Marcus gave her free rein to change things as she wanted, and Vicky was a pleasure to work with. Emily took over responsibility for the cleaning of Rosemoor Hall from the admin staff at the estate office. She decided to hire maids directly rather than use a contract cleaning company, and placed advertisements in local newspapers and around the village.

  She loved the job, and Rosemoor Hall was a beautiful stately home full of charming quirks. She also found time to take Snow White for long walks. By the end of the week, she felt invigorated and satisfied.

  Her only disappointment was that she had no chance to cook for others, although that would change when she started catering the wedding bookings. She did wonder if she could cook for Marcus, although he hadn't asked her to. So far the opportunity to ask him hadn't arisen. He went to London for a couple of days, and had visited his brother or cousin Owen for dinner the other nights.

  On Saturday there was a fiftieth wedding anniversary party booked at the hall at lunchtime, and Emily helped Vicky oversee that everything ran smoothly. The clients had hired outside caterers. Emily was just checking they had left the kitchen tidy when Peggy trotted in, her tail wagging.

  Emily turned, a wet cloth in her hand as Marcus appeared in
the doorway. "Have they all gone?" he asked.

  "The caterers have. I think there might be a few guests still in the great hall, but they'll leave soon. They only have booked the place until six."

  Marcus blew out a breath. "I hate having to rent out my house like this. I feel invaded."

  Although the place was huge and he had a private apartment away from the area open to the public, Emily could understand how he felt. This was his family home, and when his parents were alive, they'd lived in the whole house. "Why don't you stop doing it then?"

  He gave a sad laugh. "The upkeep of Rosemoor Hall is astronomical, and my accountant tells me it needs to pay for itself. Anyway, let's not dwell on that subject. How about we celebrate your first week as housekeeper? I'll take you out to dinner."

  It would be nice to spend some time with Marcus after seeing so little of him this week, but Emily was weary after the busy day and didn't want to go out. "I have a better idea. Why don't you let me cook you dinner?"

  "No. You've been working all day. I'll cook you dinner."

  "You'll cook?" Emily eyed him curiously. Was he serious?

  "It won't be very exciting," he said, obviously noticing her skeptical expression, and she immediately felt ungrateful.

  "I'm sure anything you cook will be lovely."

  He chuckled. "I wouldn't go that far. But I'll cook you my favorite dinner I make for myself."

  "Will you give me a clue what it is?"

  "Nope. It'll be a surprise. See you at my apartment at seven."

  Once Emily had finished up, she took Snow White outside. That done, she changed out of her uniform of navy skirt, white blouse, and navy jacket with the Rosemoor crest on the breast pocket, and put on comfortable leggings and a thick sweater.

  With Snowy trotting at her heels, she walked up the grand staircase to the next floor and along the corridor to the shiny black door with a large Private sign on it, the door to Marcus's apartment, and the only part of Rosemoor Hall she hadn't yet seen.

  When she knocked, she heard Peggy bark and jump at the other side of the door. A few moments later, Marcus answered with a spatula in his hand.