Temporal Exploring 101 - Branch Cut

V.32 Into the holidays

It was December 17, the final day of Autumn Term and the day James picked us up when afternoon classes were over to drive Nancy, her sister Liz, Natty, Mallory and me to Kerrington Manor. Which meant that we would have one full, glorious week of holidays before Christmas Eve.

Liz had adamantly insisted on taking her little white mouse home with her, in order to make it possible for Sneakers to celebrate Christmas together with us. As a result, Lord Kerrington's chauffeur had needed to make a detour to Granny Morgan's place to pick up Sneakers and her cage.

Not only Liz and Sneakers herself but also Erin and her friend Ndemba benefited from this particular arrangement, as it afforded them a free ride to the cottage near Arlesten where Erin's grandma lived. The Welsh girl intended to spend the first part of the holidays at Granny Morgan's place before the two of them would travel together to the place where Erin's parents lived to celebrate Christmas there.

Ndemba's parents currently stayed at a location unknown to the public, somewhere in the United States of America. Rumor had it they were spending a small fortune on bodyguards to protect them against attempts on their lives which they expected to be orchestrated by the new rulers of Kwilbasi. Rumors that might or might not have any foundation. In any case there was not going to be any feasible option for Eunice Ndemba to meet with her parents over Christmas. Knowing this, the Morgan family had invited Ndemba to spend her Christmas holidays with them.

Having dropped off Erin and Ndemba and deposited Sneaker's cage, with the small rodent inside it, on the passenger seat of the car we continued our journey. It was already dark when we arrived at Kerrington Manor where a warm meal had been prepared for us five girls.

Mallory, Natty and I thanked Lord and Lady Kerrington cordially for inviting us to spend to the Christmas holidays with their family and they kindly assured us that it was their pleasure to have us as guests.

After dinner we retreated to our rooms. The three guests – Natty, Mallory and I – had been assigned the same room to share as last time, the one adjacent to Nancy's room and to Lizzie's room. We had planned to stay up and chat for some time, but as it turned out after the long drive we were all feeling very tried already so we went to bed and soon fell asleep.

We slept late and had a late breakfast together on the next morning. This was to become a pattern during the entire duration of our stay. We would sleep late and start the the day with a late and ample breakfast. Being able to sleep late, to remain warm and cozy under the blankets for as long you liked, was such a luxury. I had almost forgotten what it felt like since I had gotten enrolled at St. Albert's.

However, as soon as you left the calm space of your bedrooms or the breakfast room, you would find yourself in the middle of a metaphorical whirlwind. Preparations for Christmas were fully underway, and the entire staff of Kerrington Manor appeared to be in a veritable flurry of activity at all times.

Floors were being swept and scrubbed, carpets were being cleaned and all kinds of furniture as well the huge portraits of Lord Kerrington's ancestors that lined the halls were being dusted.

In addition to that, the manor house was being decorated with holly, ivy and mistletoe.

As for us five girls, we were nothing if not in the way, and the maids and servants that were busy doing their Lord and their Lady's bidding had no qualms about telling us as much.

Fortunately, the manor house was large enough for us to always find a place to retreat to, and anyhow there remained the great outdoors for us as an alternate option. To be sure, the weather was not particularly inviting. I had secretly hoped for snow, for snowball fights and toboggan rides, but I was quickly disabused of that notion. Both Nancy and her sister explained to me that you could not expect much in the way of snow before January in these latitudes. Farther north, or in Scotland, perhaps. But not here.