Page 54 of The Secret Christmas Library
When they finally made it to the bottom of the stairwell, the salty, briny smell hitting them hard coming off the water, they touched down on the sand. ‘I feel,’ said Theo, ‘that your draught issues may have something to do with this.’
Water was still tumbling down from the castle above, as if it were raining.
Jamie didn’t pause, but immediately waded in to grab the dilapidated rowing boat tied to the chain on the wall, completely impervious to the freezing water.
He hauled it over and helped them in one by one, before pushing it off the tiny shoreline at the bottom of the castle, setting them out to sea.
The boys rowed with all their might on to the cold, calm sea; everyone now had stopped moving, utterly chilled and suffering the after-effects of shock.
The full moon was bright above their heads, and they could see it all, with amazement, watch in real time from fifty metres out as the house crumbled like a wedding cake left out in the rain.
With a great juddering roar, the front section of the building collapsed, the turrets dropping down, the pennants fluttering vertically before dissolving in a heap of dust.
‘Oh, my God,’ said Mirren.
‘I know,’ said Jamie, looking stricken. ‘Hey, Roger will have been far enough away, right?’
‘Dogs aren’t stupid,’ said Mirren.
‘Some of them are,’ said Esme, but she was just as awestruck as everyone else.
But the back section – the ancient chapel, and the stone-built tower that had held off Vikings and marauders down the centuries – that stayed, strong and true, finally revealed, ruins among the landscape, lit by the huge moon.
Silence fell, only the plashing of the oars by the boat audible, as they stared, incredulous, at the great thing that was no longer there.
Mirren moved closer to Jamie and put her arms around his waist. He leaned his head, very gently, on top of hers as they bobbed along in total silence.
Eventually, Jamie considered it safe for them to find a place to land, and started to pull – but, just as he did so, from nowhere, there was an enormous roaring noise, and a dark shape loomed, seemingly out of nowhere, and a huge light beam shone in their faces, and a broad Scottish accent shouted out:
‘YOUSE OKAY? YOUSE OKAY DOWN THERE?’