Dilly Court - The Christmas Wedding

‘Even more reason to devote myself to those who most need my services.’

‘You could have had the job they’ve offered me, Nick. I only scraped through by the skin of my teeth.’

‘You’ll work your way up to Harley Street, if I know anything about you, Toby old chap. Anyway, where are you going? Maybe I can give you a lift.’

‘Do you know Creek Cottage?’ Daisy eyed him hopefully. ‘My aunt and uncle would really appreciate a ride in your chaise. Toby and I can walk.’

‘As it happens I do know the place, and it’s not far from Creek Hall. In fact I believe at one time it belonged to the estate. Anyway, I’ll just check if the parcel I was expecting has arrived and then I’m at your disposal.’ With a cheery smile Nick strode into the ticket office, leaving Daisy and Toby to explain his presence to their uncle and aunt, who had also heard the approaching vehicle and had come to find out if they were in luck.

Toby had just finished telling them about Nick when he reappeared carrying a small package, which he deposited beneath the seat, and after introductions and explanations, Eleanora and Sidney clambered into the chaise and Nick drove off, promising to return and meet Daisy and Toby on the road. He drove off just as it started to snow and Eleanora’s black umbrella disappeared into the distance, bobbing up and down like a dancing mushroom.

‘Give me the city any day,’ Toby said grimly. ‘You can hop on a bus or hail a cab, or find a nice coffee shop and wait until the rain passes.’

‘Stop grumbling.’ Daisy took his arm. ‘I’ve just had a thought, Toby. I don’t know the way to Creek Cottage, and neither do you.’

He shrugged. ‘Someone will know. We’ll enquire when we get to the village.’

They walked on despite the fact that it was snowing, although it stopped eventually and a pale wintry sun emerged from behind the clouds. The village of Little Creek was spread over half a mile or so. The sound of hammering emanated from a smithy at the edge of the village, and they came to a school, where ragged children were racing about the yard, splashing in icy puddles, chasing each other and screaming with laughter. A Saxon church was surrounded by a graveyard, which was overlooked by the vicarage, and the village inn was conveniently near, as if to entice the worshippers to stop for a glass of ale before returning home to the terraces of thatched cottages on either side of the main street. Toby was about to enter the inn and ask for directions when Nick returned with the chaise and reined in beside them.

‘It’s not far,’ he said cheerfully, ‘but you both look a bit bedraggled and you might as well finish the journey in comfort.’

Daisy allowed Toby to help her into the vehicle and she sat beside Nick, who waited until Toby had leaped on board before flicking the reins and urging his horse to walk on.

‘You’ve seen the cottage,’ Daisy said shyly. ‘What is it like?’

Nick turned to her with a wry smile. ‘Put it this way, I would gladly swap cold, draughty Creek Hall for Creek Cottage any day. Your aunt and uncle’s house might not be large, and I only saw the front parlour, but it’s warm and cosy. I really envy you.’

‘You don’t mean that, Nick.’ Toby clutched the side of the chaise as it lurched forward, the horse seeming to sense that it was going home. ‘Is your home as grand as it sounds?’

‘It’s seen better days.’ Nick flicked the whip above the horse’s ears, urging it to a steady trot. ‘Anyway, I have to go to Maldon tomorrow to see my late father’s solicitor. Whether I stay or not depends on the terms of the will. If there’s no money for the upkeep of the house and grounds I might be forced to sell and move back to London.’

Daisy shot him a curious glance. ‘Has Creek Hall been in your family for a long time?’

‘Almost two hundred years. An ancestor of mine built it, having sold his interest in a shipbuilding business, and moved south with the idea, I think, of becoming a country squire.’

‘What made you choose medicine as a career?’ Daisy studied his profile and decided she liked what she saw. A high forehead, a straight nose and a firm chin, all of which, as Aunt Eleanora would have said, added up to a man of character.

‘You don’t ask that sort of question, Daisy,’ Toby said impatiently. ‘It’s a calling. Nick and I decided to serve mankind.’

It was Daisy’s turn to chuckle. ‘You went to medical school because you didn’t want to take over the business from Uncle Sidney. Be honest, Toby.’

He grinned. ‘Yes, that too.’

Daisy turned to Nick. ‘Are you as cynical as my brother?’

‘Toby likes to make out that he doesn’t care, but I’ve seen him at work and I can promise you that it isn’t so.’

Daisy smiled and squeezed her brother’s arm. ‘I’m very glad to hear it, but what about you, Nick?’

‘It seemed natural to follow in my father’s footsteps. He served the people of Little Creek and the surrounding area for the best part of thirty years, hence the dilapidated state of the family home. A country physician barely makes a living.’

‘Join me in Harley Street when I get there,’ Toby said airily. ‘We’ll have the best practice in London.’

Daisy shook her head. ‘Dream away, brother. You know that Uncle Sidney hasn’t enough money to set you up in a venture of that sort.’

‘I’ll think of something.’ Toby sat back against the padded squabs and they lapsed into silence.

Daisy’s curiosity was aroused by the brief glimpse into Nick Neville’s life, but she refrained from asking questions, sensing that he was a private person, disinclined to talk about himself, and she concentrated on the scenery. The lane skirted the edge of a wood and followed the course of the creek to a bend in the watercourse where the land opened out to reveal a smallholding.

‘That’s your new home,’ Nick said cheerfully. ‘That is Creek Cottage.’

Her first impression was favourable and the setting would have made an artist reach for his brushes. Trees and bushes grew down to the water’s edge on the far side, and in the distance, through a gap in the foliage, Daisy could see what appeared to be a very grand house.

‘Is that Creek Hall?’ she asked eagerly.

Nick threw back his head and laughed. ‘No, indeed. My home is much nearer. That is Creek Manor, the residence of Squire Tattersall.’ Nick’s smiled faded. ‘He owns most of the land round here.’

‘Well, our place looks pleasant enough.’ Toby slipped his arm round Daisy’s shoulders. ‘What do you think?’

Daisy nodded. ‘It looks cosy.’ Her first thought was of the doll’s house that her uncle had made for her one Christmas when she was eight or nine. The door in the centre of the building was shielded from the weather by a tiled porch, which she imagined would be smothered in roses in the summer. There was a window either side of the porch and three more nestling beneath the eaves like sleepy half-open eyes, smiling down at the newcomers. The whitewashed walls had a look of solidity and permanence that Daisy found very appealing.

‘That’s your new home.’ Nick glanced at Daisy with a questioning look.

‘It seems very well kept and welcoming,’ Daisy said slowly. ‘You said that Creek Hall isn’t far from here …?’

‘About a mile. You must come to dinner one evening. I can guarantee a good meal because Cook opted to stay, even though I can’t afford to pay her until I start up in practice.’

‘Please don’t go to any trouble on our account,’ Daisy said hastily. ‘But I would love to see your home.’

‘I wouldn’t mind a decent meal before I return to London. Our cook could do with a few lessons on the subject, if you ask me.’ Toby patted his belly and grinned. ‘Hattie will probably leave anyway. She’s a Londoner through and through, as am I, and I can’t imagine you living here for long, Daisy. You’ll be back in London before the month is up.’