As Time Goes By
Chapter 10
On Christmas night, the company were joined by three extras; Irene Roberts and her two young wards, Geoffrey and Annie Campbell. The young people naturally drifted together and laughed and chattered about their day. Ruby told them about the watch she had been given for Christmas by her father and Morag and the beautiful bracelet Charlie had given her. The brother and sister enthused over their respective gifts and they laughed and smiled in the glow of the open fire.
Charlie watched them from the other side of the lounge and smiled. She momentarily felt a warm hand placed on her knee, but quickly removed. She turned and smiled lovingly at her girlfriend.
"I haven't given you your Christmas present yet, Charlie!" Joey whispered.
Charlie's eyes sparkled.
"I'm saving it for bedtime!" Joey announced with a wicked grin.
"Shhhr!" Charlie chuckled.
Morag looked up sharply and Charlie composed herself, allowing one sly look at Joey.
"Okay! Who's for a game of 'Murder in the dark'?" Janet suggested, standing up and rubbing her hands together.
"Yes!" The younger element yelled with enthusiasm.
Charlie, Joey and Andrew looked at each other with a grin and agreed to join in the fun. Ross and Morag were a little reserved, but Irene was as excited as the kids!
"Mind you, won't Charlie have an unfair advantage over the rest of us?" Vince asked.
"Why me?" Charlie asked with a frown.
"Because you're a copper!"
"Yeah! But that doesn't mean I'll be the Inspector who interviews everyone, does it?" Charlie advised.
"No, we pick cards for that!" Ruby cried. "Like we do to choose the Murderer! King is 'Inspector' and Ace is 'Murderer'!"
Charlie secretly hoped she wouldn't pick the card for the Inspector's role. She had other ideas.
Janet shuffled a pack of cards and counted out one card for each person, ensuring there was one 'King' and one 'Ace' issued. They each took a card; even Ross and Morag, who eventually gave in to pressure from everyone and agreed to take part.
"Okay everyone! Now, don't forget, the lights will go out and you must find your way to your hiding places as quickly and quietly as possible and if the 'murderer' kills you by a tap on your shoulder, you die where you are and no cheating, Ruby!" Janet finished explaining the rules by looking at Ruby who had been known to bend the rules of the game in the past.
Ruby pouted and everyone laughed.
"Okay, Andrew when I say lights, flip the switch on the fuse box, will you?"
Andrew agreed. Everyone giggled nervously in anticipation. Charlie made quite sure that Joey was by her side as the lights went out.
"Okay Andy, 'lights!'"
Andrew flipped the fuse switch and the house fell into darkness.
The girls screamed and everyone else started to blunder around in the dark, excusing themselves when they inadvertently touched another.
"Joey!" Charlie whispered, managing to take hold of her girlfriend's hand when the light disappeared.
"What?"
"Come with me!" Charlie said, grabbing hold of her hand and guiding her through to her bedroom.
They entered the room and closed the door.
"I hope you're not the murderer!" Joey said, grinning in the darkness and picking up some of Charlie's 'excitable vibes'.
"No, murder isn't on my mind just yet!" She said as she found her wardrobe door and opened it.
Charlie bundled Joey in and followed, closing the door behind them.
"My! What a perfect hiding place!" Joey enthused, but found she had no more time to exclaim over practicalities as her lips were required for another purpose.
***
After some minutes, somebody screamed. A great deal of giggling and falling about followed until the lights were flicked back on and everyone looked about to see who the victim was.
Poor Irene Roberts lay prostrate on the hard floor. Everyone chuckled and commented how well she played the role of a corpse!
"Okay, who drew the Inspector's card?" Janet asked looking about her at the sea of faces.
Everyone looked at each other but nobody owned up to it.
"Are you sure you didn't pick the card, Charlie?" Ruby grinned, turning around to look for her sister.
"Where's Charlie?" Annie asked.
"And where's Joey?" Vince echoed.
Janet and Ruby shot each other a quick glance.
"Maybe they hid outside!" Geoffrey suggested; heading towards the door.
"In that snow!" Andrew cried.
Vince chuckled.
"I-I'll go and look for them." Ruby said hastily, leaving the lounge and heading straight for Charlie's bedroom.
Morag watched as Ruby made her quick exit and raised an eye brow.
***
Ruby knocked twice on Charlie's bedroom door and after a discrete interval, opened it. There was no light in the room and she could hear nothing.
"Charlie?" She asked quietly. "Are you in here?"
Not receiving an answer, she was about to leave the room when she heard some muffled giggling noises coming from the direction of the wardrobe!
She sighed and marched over to the large piece of furniture in the alcove, and knocked twice on the door.
"If you're in there, come on out! One of you is the Inspector and your presence is required to do some questioning!"
In a moment, the door creaked open and two faces in the darkness emerged and stood giggling before the disapproving Ruby.
"Can't you two control yourselves, even on Christmas Day?"
This made the two girls worse and they giggled all the more.
"Honestly!" Ruby said tartly and left the room.
Joey's giggling became uncontrollable and Charlie grabbed her for one last kiss before they left to face the music.
"I hope..." Joey said, still grinning, "you have a good story for this!"
"Come on!" Charlie said, wiping her eyes and picturing Morag's disapproving face.
***
The girls entered the lounge, having controlled their laughter and smoothed their dishevelled appearance.
"Where did you two get to?" Vince asked, innocently.
"I hid in my wardrobe and Joey was under the bed!" Charlie explained, "And we'd closed the door so we didn't hear the scream!"
"My, you're good at this!" Joey said in a quiet, low voice.
Charlie dug her in the ribs and Joey smirked.
"Okay, so which one of your two is the Inspector?" Morag asked, beginning to lose patience.
"Yeah! Hurry it up, love! It cold and hard down here!" Cried the corpse.
Joey giggled.
"It's me, unfortunately!" Charlie said, holding up her playing card.
There was a general groan from the party.
"I might have guessed!" Ruby frowned.
***
After it was established that Annie was the murderer, and Janet had given Irene a small glass of port to help her over her ordeal, the evening continued with some other games. They played cards and Charades and when everyone was tired, Janet produced a wonderful tea of wartime Christmas cake and mince pies. Later, Janet opened the lid on the upright piano in the corner of the room and encouraged Irene to play for them. Irene, not often having the chance to play, asked for everyone's indulgence in case she was rusty, but after a few Christmas Carols, Irene was back on good form and entertained them, grandly!
"Come on Ruby! Give us a song!" Joey suggested, remembering what a sweet voice Charlie's sister had.
Ruby squirmed but was convinced after Geoffrey warmly echoed Joey's suggestion.
"Oh, alright!" She said, in a display of mock modesty.
"What will it be, love?" Irene asked.
Ruby walked up to Irene and whispered something in her ear.
"Good choice, Ruby! Very apt." Irene smiled.
Irene flexed her fingers and played a few introductory bars.
And Ruby began.
"I'm dreaming of a White Christmas, just like the ones I used to know. Where the treetops glisten, and children listen, to hear sleigh bells in the snow."
Ross touched his face with his fingers, discretely wiping away a tear. Morag noticed and held his other hand.
As all faces were focused on Ruby, Joey took Charlie's hand and held it tightly. Charlie turned her head and smiled at her lover.
"I'm dreaming of a White Christmas, with every Christmas card I write. May your days be merry and bright and may all your Christmases be white."
Everyone joined in the last chorus.
"May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be white."
The company clapped and enthused over Ruby's talent and Irene went on to play many other songs of which the party sang along to.
***
At last, Ross and Morag decided it was time to leave and Andrew volunteered to walk them back to The Duke of Cumberland Hotel where they were staying.
Irene told Annie and Geoff to get themselves ready so they could leave and 'let these good people get to bed!'
Everyone said 'goodnight' and 'thank you' and 'Happy Christmas!', leaving just Janet, Ruby, Vince, Charlie and Joey.
"Off to beddybyes, young man!" Janet ordered, pointing in the direction of the stairs.
Vince whined but did as he was bid. He kissed everyone goodnight and left the room.
"Go on, Ruby. You get off to bed now, and you too, Janet. We'll wash up the last few bits." Charlie said volunteering herself and her friend. "It's been a wonderful day, Jan! You've worked so hard and the food was wonderful! Thank you so much."
Janet blushed.
"The company made it." She said, grinning. "Goodnight, girls. Sleep tight!"
"Night, Jan!" They chorused.
"Night, Ruby. Oh! And thanks for being discrete, earlier on. Sorry we embarrassed you!" Charlie said, giving her younger sister a big hug. I love you."
"Don't be so soft!" Her younger sister said squirming, and broke away from Charlie with a grin. "Goodnight, you two."
"Night, Ruby." Joey said, winking at her.
***
The girls finished their chores and settled back on the sofa in the lounge watching the dying embers of the open fire and listening to the wireless playing quietly in the background.
"This has been the most wonderful Christmas I can ever remember!" Joey said as she cuddled into Charlie. "Thank you."
"No, thank you! It would have been so gloomy without you, my darling." Charlie said kissing the tip of Joey's nose.
Joey wrinkled her nose and then, her eyes widened as a thought struck her.
"I haven't given you your Christmas present yet!"
Joey hopped off the sofa and left the room. A few minutes later, she returned with a little parcel.
"Happy Christmas, my darling!" She said, kissing Charlie gently on her lips.
Charlie's eyes sparkled with delight as she began to undo Joey's gift. Inside the wrapping was a small velvet box. Charlie opened it to reveal a gold signet ring.
"It's payback for the one you gave me in the spring." Joey smiled. "I've had it engraved, too."
Charlie took the ring out of the box and read the inscription inside the gold band.
'Ever yours, Joey'
Charlie's eyes filled with tears as she looked into Joey's smiling eyes.
"Oh, Jo. It's beautiful!"
"I thought you needed a lover's token, too!"
Joey smiled happily, taking the ring away from Charlie and placing it on her girlfriend's ring finger. She lifted her hand and kissed the gold band. They looked into each other's eyes and kissed tenderly; confirming their love for one another.
***
"Charlie."
"Uh-huh." Charlie replied sleepily, as they lay in their bed.
"I think Morag suspects us."
Charlie's eye lids flew open and she turned to face Joey, who was cuddled in close to her.
"What did she say?" She asked, quickly.
"It's not what she said exactly, it's more what she implied." Joey said, frowning.
Charlie took a deep breath and sighed.
"Well, it's no good panicking about it. It's none of her business after all!" Charlie said, trying to convince herself.
Joey watched Charlie's face pale and wrapped her arms around her tightly.
***
"Ross."
"Yes dear." Ross replied; leaning over to turn off the bedside light.
"Ross, what is your opinion of this friendship between Charlotte and Josephine Collins?"
"Joey seems like a very pleasant young lady." Ross answered through a yawn.
Morag lay next to her husband thinking for a few moments before resurrecting the subject.
"You don't think they are, well, a little too close, maybe?"
"What on earth are you getting at, woman?" Ross asked quickly.
"Ross. Please don't refer to me as 'woman'!" Morag said, irritably.
"Sorry dear." Ross replied, passively.
"I was trying to ascertain if you thought their relationship was... un-natural?"
Ross was silent for a few moments.
"I only ask because I've seen and heard things, which lead me to suspect there's more to the relationship than they might care to admit to."
Ross looked quickly at his wife lying next to him.
"Its war time, Morag. Friendships become stronger and mean more. They're just being 'girls together'!"
"Yes, that's what I'm afraid of." Morag said, turning on her side and sighing.