(12/20) No Holly for Miss Quinn Read Online Free PDF Page A

Fairacre!"
    Miriam's polite smile masked her inner misgivings. Christmas at the vicarage had always meant a particularly busy day for her father, and a considerable number of elderly relatives who had been invited by her kindly mother because as she said: "They had nowhere else to go, poor things, and one can't think of them alone at Christmas."
    Miriam had long ago given up feeling guilty about her dislike of Christmas festivities, and latterly had taken pains to keep her own Christmases as quiet as possible. This year she was determined to spend it alone in her new abode, with no turkey, no pudding, no mince pies and—definitely—no holly.
    She might have a glass of the excellent punch that Barnabas usually gave her, with her customary light lunch, and she intended to read some Trollope, earmarked for the winter months. But too much food, too much noise and, above all, too much convivial company she would avoid.
    But would she be able to?
    She looked at dear kind Joan, rosy with fresh air and relaxed with warmth and company. How she blossomed, thought Miriam, with other people about!
    No wonder she loved Christmas. Visiting, and being visited, was the breath of life to the good soul, and the joy of that festival would far outweigh any extra work which it entailed.
    "I must be off," said Joan, struggling to her feet. "There's bramble jelly to be made next door, and I must leave you to tackle your own."
    Miriam closed the door behind her, and returned to the sitting room deep in thought.
    It looked as though evading action might well be needed as Christmas approached.
    She looked out upon the golden evening. The trees were beginning to turn tawny with the first cool winds of autumn.
    Ah well, she told herself, time enough yet to postpone such troubles!
    ***
    But the autumn slipped by at incredible speed. It was dark now when Miriam left the office. She was glad to nose her car into the garage and hurry into the annex to light the fire, which she prudently set in readiness in the morning.
    The force of the equinoctial gales surprised her. Now she began to realize how open to the elements was this high downland country, and to appreciate the sagacity of the past owner of Holly Lodge who had had the foresight to plant the thick hedge that gave the house not only its name, but considerable protection from the blasts of winter.
    Her own little home gave her increasing satisfaction. She had painted the kitchen white. It took three weekends of hard work to do the job, but Miriam was a perfectionist, and she rubbed down the old paint until not one scrap remained before she began to apply the undercoat with a steady hand. She enjoyed the work, she exulted in the finished result, and, above all, she relished the perfect quiet as she got on with the job.
    She was even more determined now to tackle the sitting room at Christmas. Barney, as she thought of him, was making a business trip to Boston and New York, leaving on December sixteenth and not returning until after New Year's Day. Miriam had already made the flight bookings for him and Adele, his wife. They were meeting their only daughter, who was married to an American, and proposed to spend Christmas at her home and to see their grandchildren. Miriam had been requested to find some toys suitable for children aged six and eight.
    "The sort of thing they won't get over there, you know," said Barney vaguely. "Adele's got the main things, but I'd like to take something myself. I'll leave it to you. Not too weighty, of course, because of flying."
    "I won't get an old English rocking horse," promised Miriam.
    "Oh no! Nothing like that!" exclaimed Sir Barnabas, looking alarmed. Humor, even as obvious as this, did not touch him. "And no more than five pounds apiece," he added. He was not a business man for nothing.
    Miriam promised to do her best.
    ***
    As Christmas approached, the whirl of village activities quickened. Posters went up on barn doors, on the trunks of trees, and on the bus