Page 19 of Mr Winterbourne's Christmas

Most of the older guests demurred, preferring to stay inside where it was warm, and Mrs. Thewlis absolutely refused to budge—or let her fiancé leave her side. In the end, nine of them set off on the walk, four ladies—Althea, Mrs. Rodney, Lady Arabella and Miss Greenhill—and five gentlemen—Lysander, Adam, Simon, Cavendish and Sir Edmund.

They spilled out into the snowy landscape, chattering and laughing, wrapped up in greatcoats and cloaks and hats and mittens, with boots and pattens on their feet.

“The entrance to the woods is down near the river,” Lysander said, leading the way. “We go down to the bottom of the Abbey gardens, then over the little bridge and up the opposite bank. It’s not far, but be careful, the path’s terribly slippery.”

As though to illustrate his point, at that very moment, Lady Arabella yelped and skidded, arms windmilling in the air till she collided with Sir Edmund, nearly knocking him to the ground.

Sir Edmund looked irritated, but to his credit he helped her right herself, then offered his arm for the walk, which she gratefully accepted. After that, the other gentlemen dutifully offered their arms to the remaining ladies, and soon they were all in groups and pairs, Cavendish with Mrs. Rodney, Lysander and Simon with Althea, and Adam with Miss Greenhill.

“I’m perfectly able to walk on my own,” Miss Greenhill grumbled, even as she curled a mittened hand around his elbow.

“Well, perhaps you can keep me upright,” Adam said, and she gave a reluctant chuckle.

The snow made the gardens look beautiful in an otherworldly way, the leafless trees striped with silver, the dips and hollows of the path disguised by a blanket of innocent white.

“Watch your step,” Adam warned when he stepped into a deep patch of snow. “The path’s uneven.”

“I’ll be careful,” she promised.

After a few moments, Adam asked, “How long have you been Mrs. Winterbourne’s companion?”

“Four years now,” Miss Greenhill said in her usual even tone. She was a calm young woman, he thought. Contained.

“I’m very lucky.” She continued. “Mrs. Winterbourne’s been terribly kind to me. All the Winterbourne family have.”

“Have you known them long?”

“Oh, all my life. We were neighbours, you see. My father had a property about three miles from here, and he and Lord Winterbourne were good friends when they were boys.” She gazed ahead, a faint smile of reminiscence on her face. “When my sister and I were young, we used to come here, to the Abbey, to play with the Winterbourne children—mostly with Althea and Gwen, who were nearest to us in age, but sometimes with Lysander too.” She glanced at Adam. “Lysander was always wonderfully good fun. He’d doanything.”

“I didn’t realise you knew them so well,” Adam said.

“Oh, yes. And Gwen and I were particular friends. But then my father passed away. It was quite sudden. My mother had died a few years previously and I was alone. The house was entailed, so I had nowhere to go when my uncle inherited. My sister was already married and living in Wales by then. So Lady Winterbourne suggested to her aunt that I become her companion.”

It ought not to have shocked him—it was a commonplace enough story—but really, it was astonishing, how quickly a gently reared woman could go from respectable comfort to near penury. Carefully, he said, “It must have been very difficult, leaving your family home.”

“Yes, I missed it terribly, and the village—and Gwen of course. Though a year later she moved to Northumbria with her husband, so I’d have missed her anyway.”

“You’ll be pleased to have Christmas with her then? And your other old friends, of course.”

Miss Greenhill glanced up the path to where Mrs. Rodney was walking with Cavendish. Mrs. Rodney was gazing up at her companion and laughing at some story he was telling her. Her cheeks were very flushed from the cold.

“Yes,” Miss Greenhill said. “Yes, I am.”

Mrs. Rodney and Cavendish had reached the start of the woods now—Cavendish was holding open a rickety gate so Mrs. Rodney could pass through. When Adam and Miss Greenhill caught up with them, Cavendish politely held the gate for them too.

It was a narrow opening, only big enough for one person. Miss Greenhill let go of Adam’s arm and moved ahead of him.

She walked forward quickly, catching up with Lysander’s sister in a few strides and taking hold of her arm in a companionable way, making the other woman turn to her in surprise.

“Oh, hallo!” she said.

“Shall we walk together, Gwen dear?”

Mrs. Rodney stared at Miss Greenhill for a moment, then she seemed to collect herself. “Oh, yes,” she murmured. “Of course.”

“If I remember rightly, there are some holly trees down this path,” Miss Greenhill said.

“I do believe you’re right,” Mrs. Rodney agreed, “The others might already have found them.”