“Finals will be over in two days,” Kate said with a sigh. “Then I’ll be sitting on the beach in Santa Barbara. On Christmas Day all the surfers put on red hats and surf at Butterfly Beach. I wish you were coming. My parents would love to have you.”
“I can barely afford my train ticket home and I don’t have a valid passport.” He shrugged. “I have bad news. Your Christmas isn’t going to involve palm trees and surfboards.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“There’s an airline strike,” he answered. “All the flights are grounded.”
“That’s impossible!” she exclaimed. “The strike has to end. I have to be in California for Christmas.”
“You’ve never experienced a British transportation strike,” he chuckled. “Heathrow will be more crowded than Wembley Stadium at a Rolling Stones concert. Once the flights resume, it will be impossible to get a seat. You could be waiting at the airport until New Year’s.”
“What am I supposed to do?” She bit her lip. “The dorms are closed and if there’s a strike, all the hotels will be full.”
“I wish you could come home with me, but there isn’t any room. My aunt arrives with her four children,” he explained. “We can stay here and bunk down in the Student Union. We’ll have unlimited cups of coffee and packets of shortbread.”
“You can’t miss Christmas with your family.” She collected her books and stood up. “I’ll think of something.”
“Where are you going?” he wondered.
“To call my parents and tell them they don’t have to make my favorite gravy.”
She hurried down North Street and bumped into a man wearing a wool coat. He bent down to pick up her books and she recognized Ian’s blond hair.
“These textbooks weigh a ton.” He gave them to her. “If one dropped on your foot, you could break it.”
“It’s finals week. Most students carry backpacks heavier than a stack of gold bullion.” She eyed his empty hands. “Not all of us can pass our classes on our good looks and smile.”
“I’ve been studying all week,” he protested. “There’s a very nice library assistant who keeps my books behind the counter. She even provides me with a Shetland wool blanket.”
“Lucky you.” She started walking. “Thank you for picking up my books. I’m in a hurry, I have to make a phone call.”
“Are you always rude to people who are trying to be nice to you?” He followed her.
“What do you mean?” She turned around.
“Ever since the Snowdrop Ball, you’ve been avoiding me,” he said. “I’ve seen you crossing the quad, and you never even wave in my direction.”
“You’re always busy.” She flushed. “I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“I’m not busy now.” He took her arm. “I’m going to the Student Union for hot apple cider. Why don’t you come? You can tell me why you’re putting innocent people at risk by barreling along the sidewalk.”
They sat on low sofas in the Student Union and Ian ordered hot apple ciders and scones with strawberry butter.
“There’s an airline strike and I can’t get home for Christmas,” she said, nibbling the warm scone. “The dorms are closed and all the hotels will be full. I’ll be sleeping on a bench at Heathrow Airport.”
Ian brushed crumbs from his plate. “I can’t let that happen. You can come with me.”
“Come with you where?” Kate asked warily.
“To Churchill Lodge,” he said. “It’s my uncle’s shooting estate in Warwickshire. It was built in the seventeenth century. There’s grouse hunting and on Christmas Eve the whole parish sings carols on the doorstep.”
“If you think I’m going to go away with you when we hardly know each other…” Her cheeks flushed.
“I don’t expect to share a bedroom,” he chuckled. “Churchill Lodge has more bedrooms than the Ritz and just as many servants. There are scavenger hunts and charades, and on New Year’s Eve there’s a ball that makes the Snowdrop Ball look like a dance at the rec center.”
“You really can just bring a guest unannounced?” Kate wondered.
“You would make a stunning addition to the dinner table and I’m sure you’re good at games, all Americans are competitive,” he said and Kate noticed his eyes were the color of blue topaz. “We’ll even stop at Debenhams and pick you up some wellies. You don’t want to get those gorgeous legs wet if you go fly-fishing.”
“All right.” Kate nodded and felt a frisson of excitement. “I’ll go, thank you.”
* * *
Kate sat at her desk and pored over a map of Scotland. There was a knock at her door and she answered it.
“I’ve been looking for you.” Trevor entered the room. “I have good news.”
“So do I.” Kate beamed. “I’m going to spend Christmas at Churchill Lodge in Warwickshire. There will be sledding and a New Year’s Eve ball. It’s going to be like something out of a Jane Austen novel.”
“I’m guessing one of your society members invited you. The food will be so rich you’ll get a stomachache, and everyone will be hung over from drinking malt whiskey.” He shuddered. “It sounds gruesome.”
“I think it sounds wonderful. It has one of those huge kitchens you see in the movies and a hallway lined with antlers. Not that I want to meet a moose in a dark corridor when I’m on the way to get a midnight snack,” she laughed. “But it will be a great experience. Ian said the dining-room table sits fifty and there’s a forest with its own Christmas trees.”
“Ian?” Trevor looked up.
“Ian Cunningham.” She nodded. “I ran into him in front of the Student Union. It belongs to his uncle and I’m going as his guest.”
“That’s impossible.” He ran his hands through his hair. “You can’t go with Ian.”
“What do you mean ‘I can’t’?” she demanded.
“He just wants to sleep with you,” he started. “Ian Cunningham goes through women faster than other students consume Cadbury Flakes.”
“Churchill Lodge is so big, we’ll probably be staying in different wings.” She bristled. “Anyway, I’m quite capable of taking care of myself.”
“It’s a bad idea,” he insisted. “Why would he invite a girl he barely knows to a family Christmas unless he has designs on her?”
“Because he was being kind. You might think that anyone with a decent haircut and gold watch only thinks about himself, but you’re wrong. Ian didn’t even try to kiss me goodnight after the Snowdrop Ball.” Her eyes flashed. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to figure out what to wear to a Scottish Christmas.”
“Kate, I’m sorry,” Trevor said. “I’m a little disappointed.”
“Disappointed?” she asked.
“I phoned my mother and she was going to borrow a rollaway,” he explained. “It would have been in the living room and you would have been woken up too early on Christmas morning, but we could have spent the holidays together.”
“I already said yes to Ian.” She bit her lip. “It would be impolite to cancel.”
“You’re not missing anything. My mother can’t cook a decent ham and no one has the courage to tell her.” He walked to the door. “I have to go do my laundry. I’ll see you later.”
“Trevor, wait.” Kate suddenly felt as if she was losing something important.
“Yes?” He turned around.
“Thank you, it was very nice of you to try. I’ll come with you to the laundry.” She joined him. “We wouldn’t want the dryer eating up your last pair of socks.”
* * *
Kate put the glass of sherry on the sideboard and unzipped her dress. Noah had the whole day scheduled tomorrow and she needed to get some sleep.
What would have happened if she had spent that first Christmas with Trevor’s family instead of with Ian? It was like when you see a handsome man sitting five rows ahead of you on an airplane. You always wonder if everything would be different if you’d sat in seat 5B. But life wasn’t like that. Many things went into shaping your future.
Her phone buzzed and she pressed Accept.
“What are you doing awake?” Trevor asked. “It’s past midnight.”
“I’m in London to work,” she reminded him. “My inbox is lit up like a Christmas tree.”
“I was wondering if you would like to have breakfast tomorrow morning,” he offered. “We can go to the Foyer and have Scottish haddock omelets. You can even bring your laptop and I’ll feed you eggs while you work.”
Kate slipped off her earring and pressed the phone to her ear. “I had a wonderful time tonight, but I’m not sure we should see each other. I’ll be gone in a few days and it will have been for nothing.”
“We don’t have to think about the future, we can just enjoy each other’s company.” He paused. “Never mind about breakfast. Tomorrow night I’ve been invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace. The Queen won’t be there but it will be in the White Drawing Room.”
“Buckingham Palace!” Kate gasped.
“Someone saw me at the club and sent me an invitation,” he explained. “It’s just a little Christmas gathering, but they give out lovely presents. It would be much more fun if you were there.”
“You really have an invitation to Buckingham Palace?” she responded. “But won’t people think it’s odd that you’re there without Susannah?”
“I’ll just tell them she’s stuck in the country. One of us had to attend and you’re an old friend from college.”
“You do know how to impress a woman,” she laughed. “I’ve always been crazy about the royal family. I’d love to come.”
“I’m glad. I’ll pick you up at seven.” He paused. “And Kate, would you do something for me and wear the white gloves? They make you look like a princess.”
Kate hung up and slipped on her robe. She’d seen The Nutcracker at Covent Garden and tomorrow she was attending a reception at Buckingham Palace! She pulled back the satin sheets and climbed into bed. Christmas at Claridge’s was better than she imagined.