Daisy knew that Mary was staring at her as she hurried towards the staircase, but everything had happened so quickly and now she was a married woman with all that entailed – suddenly she needed a little time on her own. She went to her old bedchamber and found that Hilda had thoughtfully laid out exactly the right gown. The gesture, although small, brought tears to her eyes. Her family were important to her, but so were her friends. She changed into the ruby-red corded velvet gown with frothy white lace at the neck and sat down at the dressing table to do her hair. She wanted to look her best for Jay.

The rest of the day passed in a warm haze for Daisy. The old house was redolent with the smell of boiling Christmas puddings, hot mince pies and buttered rum that Jay insisted on serving to anyone with a fancy for it. With her new family around her and heartfelt congratulations from Mrs Ralston, Molesworth and the rest of the indoor servants, it was the happiest time Daisy could ever remember. If Toby and Minnie and her aunt and uncle could have joined them it would have been perfect, but they were in her thoughts and she knew that they would wish her well, even though Aunt Eleanora would complain bitterly when she discovered that the wedding had gone ahead without her.

The children were bubbling over with excitement, although the younger ones did not fully understand the significance of the day, but it was Christmas Eve and that was always magical, even to adults. When the children were in bed Mary decided to have an early night, and Hilda had gone below stairs to join the servants in a party of their own. This gave Daisy the opportunity to hang stockings from the mantelshelf in the great hall, and Jay helped her to sort the items they had collected to fill them. There were walnuts from the store cupboard, which had been harvested from the tree in the orchard, as well as rosy red apples. Then there were marzipan sweets made by Cook in the shape of exotic fruits and berries, and Hilda had embroidered hankies for Judy and Molly. She had also knitted mittens for all the children, and these too were tucked into the stockings. A sprig of holly added to each one completed their task and they stood back to admire their handiwork.

‘It’s wonderfully festive,’ Daisy said happily. ‘And the presents under the tree look so exciting.’

Jay put his arms around her. ‘This will be our first Christmas together.’

She stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the lips. ‘It will be the best Christmas ever, but don’t forget that you promised me a spring wedding with everyone invited.’

‘That’s a promise I intend to keep, because I love you more than I can say. But tonight I’m not going to share you with anyone, Daisy mine.’ He swept her up in his arms and carried her across the marble tiled floor to the grand staircase. Daisy sensed that the portraits of the former occupants were looking down at her as they had on her first visit to Creek Manor, but this time they were smiling.