It looked very festive with tinsel decorations and a lovely centrepiece of holly and Christmas roses, and as well as the large dining table a smaller one had been set at right angles to it and here the children sat with Cressida at one end and Anna at the other.

The meal was a leisurely one, and, since the children were there, not elaborate: soup, little pastry parcels which were filled with smoked salmon, roast pheasant with straw potatoes and braised celery and finally ices topped with whipped cream and nuts. Lucia was half asleep by the time they had finished but she woke at once when Willum reminded her in a loud voice that they were going to sing their carol.

Carefully coached by Cressida, he got to his feet and announced that if everyone would go to the drawing- room they would be entertained with a Christmas carol, whereupon everyone clapped and made haste to do as he asked, followed, when everyone was set 9 tied, by the children. There was a grand piano in the drawing-room, Cressida sat down at it as the children filed into their places and she began on the well known tune. The children sang beautifully. One of them, she wasn't sure which one, was tone deaf, but it hardly showed and they had learnt the words care fully. The applause was deafening and they sang it all over again before doing the rounds once more, bidding everyone goodnight. As they were going out of the room Mevrouw ter Beemstra said, "Do come down again if you like, Cressida."

She glanced at the clock.

"It is already late but if you wish..."

Cressida thanked her, but agreed that it was late, she didn't add that there were ten children to see into their beds, which, even with Anna's help, would take quite some time. She wished the room in general goodnight and went upstairs, where the more rebellious of the children had to be rounded up, stood over while they cleaned their teeth and then tucked up in bed.

She went to bed herself almost at once, too tired to do more than wonder if Aldrik had reached his grandmother's house safely. Also she wondered if and when she would see him again.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

cress ida was so tired at the end of Christmas Day that she could have fallen on to her bed and gone to sleep without even bothering to undress, but she resisted the urge to do this, undressed, had a bath and got into bed, where she lay sleepily reviewing her day. It had been an exceedingly busy one but she had enjoyed every minute of it.

The children had been a handful, of course; keeping the peace between ten children all tearing open their presents at the same time when they should have been having their breakfast had been a Herculean task, but, as Mevrouw ter Beemstra had pointed out, they would never have sat through morning church otherwise and going to church in the village on Christmas morning was a tradition which had to be maintained. There had been no turkey or Christmas pudding at lunch, but vegetable soup followed by goose with red cabbage and then a spectacular dessert of ice-cream, whipped cream and fresh pineapple had proved excellent subst.i.tutes, and there had been champagne for the grownups and fruit drinks for the children. There was no question of a respite after the meal; the children had been b.u.t.toned into their outdoor clothes again and left loose in the garden with Cressida in charge. What afternoon there was left had been more than filled by the need to a.s.sist the smaller ones to learn to ride their tricycles and bicycles, set up a target so that the older boys could try out their air pistols and keep the peace between the little girls, casting eyes on each other's dolls and wanting them. They had had tea in the playroom and then played grandmother's footsteps and hunt the slipper, games they had never heard of but which Cressida remembered very well from her own childhood and which tired them out nicely. They had had their supper in the small sitting- room leading from the drawing-room and the next hour or so was entirely taken up with marshalling them tidily so that they could say goodnight to the grown-ups in the drawing-room and then be coaxed to their beds after their baths. Cressida reflected that she could have gone to bed herself then quite happily but the ter Beemstras had insisted that she should join everyone else for a buffet supper, so she had changed into the grey jersey and gone back downstairs, where she had been instantly made at home by Mevrouw ter Beemstra, handed from countless cousins and aunts and uncles once again and thanked for the care she had had for the children.

She was plied with drink too and delicious bits and pieces, and presently found herself sitting by the do mine a youngish man with a rather stern face. His English was good and he was interested in her; she found herself talking freely to him although she said nothing about her unfortunate stay with Jonkvrouw van Germert, but she did talk about the doctor because he was always at the back of her mind and thinking about him wasn't enough. The do mine listened gravely.

"You have been lucky to have found such a good and kind friend," he had told her.

"You will be grateful to him for the rest of your life."

"Yes, I expect I shall," Cressida had said quietly. Her companion had made it seem as though the doctor had been an episode in her life to be remembered with grat.i.tude but never to be revived.

She had wished everyone goodnight presently and gone up to her room and to her bed. It had really been a very happy day, she muttered sleepily; she had had presents too, handkerchiefs and notepaper and a charming silver bracelet. She should have been feeling happy. It was strange therefore that she should cry herself to sleep.

She woke during the night.

"He could have sent me a Christmas card," she said sadly, and presently she went to sleep again.

She was up early and soon was urging the children out of their beds and into their clothes and all the while the doctor loomed at the back of her mind, and that despite the fact that she had wakened with the intention of thinking no more about him.

An intention not upheld by Aldrik van der Linus, however. He had thought of her constantly and in answer to his grandmother's discreet probings had made no bones about telling her that it was his intention to marry Cressida.

His grandmother received the news without surprise.

"A sweet girl," she had told him, 'and very sensible too. Has she any idea. "

"No. I had hoped that we would become friends and in a sense we are, but although she doesn't blame me for her unfortunate stay with Jonkvrouw van Germert she is under the impression that I intend to marry Nicola. I shall need to go carefully."

"You have made things clear to Nicola?"

"Yes, if by that you mean that she doesn't expect to marry me; indeed she a.s.sured me that she had never considered me as a prospective husband and was only too delighted that I had fallen in love at last."

To which his grandmother made no reply. Men, reflected that lady silently, could be so blind, and the cleverer they were the blinder they seemed to be. Nicola, she had no doubt, had every intention of marrying him; he was too good a prize to give up. She said merely, "You must be relieved that Cressida is so happy."

"Indeed I am. I shall go and see her as soon as possible after I get back to Janslum. I have some patients to see in Leiden and a short list at the hospital but I should be able to manage a day or two after that."

Cressida, unaware of this, busied herself with the children, thankful when the four young visitors departed for their homes once more. Six, she reflected, were manageable, but ten were a bit too much.

The weather was still wintry with flurries of snow and biting winds, but the children seemed impervious to this; wrapped in her elderly winter coat and a pair of borrowed wellies, a woolly cap pulled down over her ears and a scarf tied round her neck, she accompanied them on expeditions to many nearby ca.n.a.ls and a small lake, where they donned their skates and spent hours racing to and fro, and after the first day, realising that she would freeze to death if she didn't do something about it, she prevailed upon Willum to lend her a pair of old skates--Friesian skates, he told her in his careful English, just right for learners--and with his help and a good deal of encouragement from the other children she ventured upon the ice. Of course she fell over a great deal, to be hauled to her feet with commendable patience by Willum or Jacobus, but the by the end of the second day she was able to stagger a few steps on her own and even manage a short distance with the boys, once they were on either side of her, clasping her hands, before she lost her nerve and fell, spiralling slowly on to the ice.

By the end of the week though she was striking out boldly on her own, still falling a good deal of course, amid peals of laughter from the children, but smugly pleased with herself.

She told Charity about it when she went to spend her free day with her.

"I'm black and blue," she confided 'but it's such fun and it keeps the children amused. "

"You're still happy? The ter Beemstras are kind to you?"

"Oh, yes, and once the children go back to school I shall have more time... Everyone seems to be get ting excited about New Year..."

"Oh, yes, Olie Ballen and champagne. Great fun. Are the ter Beemstras having a house party? We've got Tyco's family coming again. Usually we go there but he doesn't want me to go too far from home..."

Cressida nodded.

"Quite right too. Yes, there is to be a houseful again. Willum is to be allowed to stay up this year; Jacobus and Friso are furious about it. The other four children won't be coming though so once I get them to bed the others should be manage able." She smiled widely.

"They are sweet, you know, even when they're naughty."

Charity looked at her anxiously.

"You don't regret being there? You might have got a much cushier job in England."

"What as? I can't do anything, you know only housework and the flowers and fetching and carrying. Children are much more fun. Besides, they keep me very busy."

The next day the guests arrived; aunts and uncles, cousins, old friends Cressida had met most of them at Christmas. They greeted her kindly, observed in their excellent English how well she coped with the children, and looked forward to seeing her that evening at dinner.

Cressida, getting into the grey dress which she never wished to see again reflected that so far everything was going well. The children had gone to bed like lambs and she actually had time on her hands before going down to the drawing-room. She went along to the playroom and sat down in a window- seat, looking out into the dark night. It had stopped snowing and presently there would be a moon but now there was the merest glimmer of stars. She stared up at them and wondered where the doctor was. Back in his lovely home, no doubt, with Nicola and a houseful of guests.

His, "h.e.l.lo, Cressy', was so part and parcel of her thoughts that she took a moment to realise that he was actually there, in the room, leaning against the door, still in his heavy car coat, bringing a blast of icy air from the cold night into the room.

"Well," said Cressida, 'well, what a surprise. " She was aware that this didn't sound very welcoming or friendly and added hastily, " I mean, how nice to see you. Doctor. "

He came to stand before her, looming over her, blotting out the room with his vast size, and since he said nothing she plunged into speech.

"You're not staying here of course you're on your way to Janslum. I expect you have a houseful of guests; I had no idea that New Year was so important in Holland..."

"Friesland," he corrected her smilingly.

"Oh, but it it. We come miles in order to celebrate it and wish each other well. My sisters and their husbands and children will be at home waiting for me..."

"And Mabel and Caesar and the horses, pony and donkey," said Cressida in a far-away voice, 'and that nice Wester and his wife. " She sat up this would never do; on no account must he feel sorry for her. She went on briskly, " I expect you had a happy Christmas? I hope Lady Merrill is well? "

"In excellent health. She sends you her love. Are you happy, Cressida?"

She hadn't expected that so that she answered too quickly.

"Oh, yes.

The children are such fun and Mevrouw and Mijnheer ter Beemstra are so kind. We had a lovely time at Christmas. " She went pink, for it had sounded as though she was reminding him that he had ignored her completely, although he had no reason to have done otherwise. She hurried on, anxious to let him see just how happy she was.

"The children have taught me to skate, I'm not good at it yet, but I can stay on my feet for a little while. It's been very cold here and there's been a lot of snow."

She looked up and caught his eyes. There was a gleam in them which she thought was amus.e.m.e.nt and indeed she was making a fine hash of a casual conversation He bent down and drew her to her feet and laid his hands on her shoulders.

"I came to wish you a happy New Year, Cressy," he told her, 'and it will be, you know. " He kissed her gently on her cheek, looking down at her gravely.

"I thought of you while I was in England."

She was suddenly very cross.

"Oh, did you?" she asked, peeved.

"Then why didn't you send me a Christmas card? Lady Merrill sent me one and so did Moggy and her sister and Mr. Tims." She drew in her breath like a child.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean any of that, truly I didn't. You've been so kind to me and I shall always be grateful. Perhaps I'm tired."

She smiled shakily.

"I hope you have a marvelous New Year with lots of patients and everything you could possibly wish for."

"Well, not too many patients," he was laughing a little, 'and I intend to have everything I wish for. Do you know what I wish for, Cressy? "

The door opened and Willum came in and the doctor took his hands from Cressida's shoulders and said easily, "h.e.l.lo, Willum, do you want Cressy?"

"Yes, I can't find the tie I had for Christmas the green one I want to wear it." He added importantly, "I'm staying up for dinner."

"Splendid." The doctor didn't sound in the least put out at the interruption. It couldn't have been anything important, thought Cressida; perhaps he had been going to tell her that he was going to marry Nicola, and that they had made up their differences. She was a clever enough young woman to convince him that she had been acting for the best when she had arranged for Cressida to go to her aunt and he would have forgiven her.

The doctor said softly, "No, Cressida, don't try and guess. Wait until I tell you." He went to the door.

"I must be off or it will be after midnight before I get home and that wouldn't do at all. I'll wish you both a happy New Year and leave you to find that tie."

He went away and Cressida heard a good deal of laughter in the hall downstairs and then the solid sound of the front door shutting.

"Let's go and look for it," she told Willum.

Dinner was elaborate and festive and afterwards everyone went to the drawing-room and drank champagne and ate the Olie Ballen. They were nice, Cressida decided, like small doughnuts, each encased in a paper napkin to keep the grease and sugar off the guests' clothes, and presently their gla.s.ses were filled once again and as the great stoelklok in the corner of the room chimed midnight, a toast was drunk to the New Year and everyone went around kissing each other and shaking hands. Someone turned on the record player and several people started to dance, the signal for Cressida to capture a reluctant Willum, bid everyone goodnight and see him safely into his bed. She didn't go downstairs again; it had been a lovely evening and the very best bit of it had been Aldrik's visit. Although, she thought sleepily, it had been a pity that Willum had had to come into the room when he had. Of course she knew that sooner or later the doctor would marry Nicola, she was so exactly right for a well-known doctor, but it would have clinched the matter, so to speak, if he had told her himself; she was finding it hard to plan her future but she thought in a muddled way that it might be easier once he was married.

After the excitement of the New Year the days were rather dull but very soon the boys went back to school so that the pattern of her days was changed again. She was still fully occupied but now she had an hour or two free during the day, which she occupied by exploring the village and the surrounding countryside. It was on the second day that she went for an expedition that she met the do mine again and was invited to look round the church with him. She liked him and she was eager to learn all that she could about Friesland and the people who lived there, and he for his part seemed pleased to tell her all that he knew. The church disappointed her; it was whitewashed and rather bare although the pulpit with its sounding-board was very handsome, but it had a long and interesting history and she was a willing listener. Before she left him he invited her to go again so that she might look at the church registers. She accepted willingly; it was nice to have a friend and very soon now Charity would have her baby and there would be an end to their shopping expeditions at least for the time being. She told Mevrouw ter Beemstra about it when she got back and that lady nodded approvingly; Domine Stilstra was a serious man, no longer young but well liked by everybody. It crossed her mind that it wouldn't be a bad thing if he were to many; Cressida would make him a most suitable wife. She observed kindly, "Domine Stilstra is a most interesting man; he knows so much of our history and spends a great deal of his time studying old customs."

It had stayed cold and the ca.n.a.ls and ponds were frozen solid although the sun had shone from time to time, but two days after Cressida's tour of the church the sky became overcast and the wind, always cold, became bitter. None the less Anna wrapped herself and Lucia warmly and declared her intention of going to see her sister who lived on the other side of the village. Mevrouw ter Beemstra had gone to Leeuwarden to the hairdressers and Cressida, struggling for the right words to persuade her not to go, found her vocabulary quite inadequate. To her anxious arm waving in the direction of the darkening cloudy sky, Anna merely smiled and patted her shoulder with a rea.s.suring, "OK."

Cressida dredged up what she hoped were the right words and asked if Anna would be back for playroom tea, whereupon Anna broke into a long reply, which, since she couldn't make head or tail of it, did little to rea.s.sure Cressida. She watched the two of them go with the unhappy feeling that she should have stopped them; on the other hand probably she was being fussy. After all, Anna had lived in Friesland all her life and would know the weather like the back of her hand.

She didn't go out herself. Both Sepke and Galske were at home, sharing, as they shared everything, a nasty cold. She settled them by the playroom stove, with a packet of tissues and their favourite toys, and then got out the mending basket and began on the task of repairing a rent in one of Friso's shirts.

The afternoon darkened rapidly and she drew the curtains and turned on the lights, listening worriedly to the wind howling across the empty fields. Presently she went downstairs to see if Anna and Lucia were back but there was no sign of them and although she was partly rea.s.sured by the cook's unworried face she wished that Mevrouw ter Beemstra were at home.

They had their tea and there was still no sign of any one of them and when she heard the car stopping outside the house she ran downstairs intent on telling Mijnheer ter Beemstra. As she reached the front door she saw its tail lights disappearing again and Willum told her that his father had to return at once to his office.

"What do you want him for?" he asked.

"Oh, well, I dare say it's all right but Anna and Lucia are still out I expected them back for tea. Your mother will be back presently and she'll know what to do. Come along upstairs, you're all three cold and wet... is the weather very bad outside?"

"Very bad, and there is warning of a storm," said Willum.

"I hope that our mother takes care."

"She's a very good driver," said Cressida cheer fully, and tried to ignore a particularly violent gust of wind howling round the house.

She had the boys settled at the table eating their tea when Mevrouw ter Beemstra returned. She heard her voice in the hall and went down to meet her.

"The weather is very bad," said Mevrouw ter Beemstra.

"It is difficult to drive. The children are safe home?"

"Anna and Lucia went out after lunch and they are not back. I came down to tell Mijnheer when he brought the boys back but he didn't stop only drove away at once. Anna said she was going to her sister's; perhaps she is still there? "

Mevrouw ter Beemstra looked worried.

"She would never stay if she saw that the weather was worsening. I am so afraid that she has taken the short-cut across the fields it is only a short distance that way and she may have thought she could get back here before the storm broke... We have had a warning of severe wind, I must go and see..."

"I'll go," said Cressida.

"It's the path leading from the end of the garden at the back of the house, isn't it? Willum pointed out the cottage to me one day, I'm sure that I can find it. If I have a torch it won't be difficult."

Brave words. She was scared of going out into the dark evening but perhaps Anna and Lucia were sheltering somewhere along the path, not too far away, afraid to go on without a light.

"I'll get my boots if I could have a powerful torch."

She was ready to go within five minutes, seen out of the kitchen door by Mevrouw ter Beemstra.

"Don't worry if we don't get back quickly; if Anna is near enough to her sister's cottage, I'll take them back there until the worst of the storm is over. Can it be reached from the village?"

"By car, no. At least a Range Rover could get to within a short distance but there's a ca.n.a.l..."

Mevrouw ter Beemstra looked as though she was going to cry and Cressida said quickly, "Don't worry, they can't be far away. They may still be with Anna's sister. If they are, I'll come back and tell you."