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They grew up together. I love this story too much. And I don’t quite know why I do this but I reach out to hug Miles which catches him slightly unawares. ‘It’s really good to meet you,’ I say with a bit too much enthusiasm. That was too much. ‘I mean, it’s nice to meet everyone today. Jasper never talks about his family and acquaintances so this is lovely, all of it.’ I really am giving off buffoon vibes, I can’t even blame alcohol as I’m drinking out of the kids’ punch bowl.
‘Well, you’re very sweet and very kind,’ Miles replies. There is something about him, a good energy in his smile which makes me instantly like him.
‘So tell me, what do you do?’ I ask him.
‘Well, I’m a history teacher in London.’
‘And you and Jasper are housemates…’ I say.
Jasper and Miles both smile, seemingly impressed that I am helping them maintain their charade.
‘In Golder’s Green,’ Jasper tells me.
‘Well, if you want, it would be good to hang out. I’m in Shepherd’s Bush. That’s what, sixteen stops away on the train, one line change?’ Jasper gives me a look. How do you know how many stops it is? Why are you acting like some weird trainspotter? Luckily, Miles finds me amusing. ‘My dad worked on the Underground, that’s how I know. I’m not weird.’
‘Well, that is good to know. And that sounds like a fantastic idea. How are you enjoying your Moormount experience?’ he asks, knowing that all of this is way out of my zone of experience. When I was little, Christmas parties involved inviting my parents’ friends round. We played charades, ate crisps and mini pizzas, and everyone drank wine until they fell over.
‘It is interesting. So, you grew up around this, none of this surprises you?’ I ask him.
He looks around, laughing. ‘Oh, I know their stories, how it all fits together. Look out later when Cressida will get so incredibly drunk, we will have to wheelbarrow her back to her lodge.’
‘Speak of the devil,’ Jasper mumbles out of the side of his mouth. We look over to the main door of the house where the doors have swung open and Cressida stands there in a cut-out slinky white dress surrounded by the four people who had been travelling with her before. She air-kisses a few people by the door, handing her coat and keys to one of the butlers without making eye contact and I see how that annoys Miles greatly. She makes a beeline for us.
‘Jasper, what on earth are you wearing?’
‘Clothes.’
‘I think he looks great,’ Miles says, but his words go unheard.
Cressida shakes her head. ‘All, this is my youngest brother, Jasper. You’re the bizarre girl who fell out of the curtains,’ she says, eyeing me up.
I don’t know why I do this, but I own up to this by putting my hand to the air, which makes Miles smirk. ‘I am Maggie. I’m sorry we met like that. It’s good to meet you – Cressida, yes?’ She looks me up and down, pretty much confirming that she finds me a bit odd. ‘And hello to you all, too.’ I say waving at the assortment of men surrounding her, all of whom seem to like a tuxedo without socks and wanky loafers. Jasper and Miles don’t extend them the same courtesy.
‘Are you skiing too?’ she asks me.
‘No.’
‘Oh. Jasper, the children are skiing. I’m not impressed. I don’t want to spend my Christmas hearing those maggots screaming for a week.’
‘Cressida is also known for her strong maternal instinct,’ Jasper says.
‘Fuck off, Jasper.’
‘Gladly, bar’s that way,’ he says, pointing through to the next room. ‘I believe they’re expecting you. They ordered in extra.’
She glares at him before looking around the room. ‘Oh boys, you must meet Benedict, his daddy is in shipping. Glorious house in Monaco,’ she says, gliding over to said person, her entourage in tow.
We all stare at her curiously. ‘She’s a delight,’ I say to Miles and Jasper. ‘She didn’t even acknowledge you, Miles.’
‘That’s because I’m the help and she will always see me as the help. The help carry coats at the annual Christmas party, they are not guests,’ he informs me. I can’t help but look annoyed by this. ‘When Carmel realised Jasper and I were friends, she used to invite me into the house more to hang out with him. I started being a regular fixture for parties and the occasional holiday and Cressida hated it.’
I smile to hear how Carmel possibly understood Miles’ role in Jasper’s life, that she ensured he had someone to level out his isolation.
‘Are you going skiing?’ I ask him.
‘Yeah. We should leave early, get there first so Cressida has to have the room right next to the kids, yes?’ he tells Jasper.
‘I like that plan.’ He smiles and shakes his hand. I smile back to see them plotting. Miles is nice and, though I’m mildly upset that Jasper kept him from me, seeing them together completely diminishes that.
