#nye 79

“I got this.” Percy said simply, putting down on the table between them what may possibly be the most expensive bottle of whiskey any of them had ever drank. Had he nicked it from his dad’s collection? Definitely. Did he care? Not in the slightest.

James currently stood on the edge of his pool, Dorcas in his arms, and a grin on his face that showed he was certainly up to no good. “You really don’t want to go for a swim?”

The service had been long. The reception afterwards had been even longer. Despite the fact it was New Years Eve, people seemed to want to stick around. It was as if they thought the original party might suddenly pop up, champagne fountains and fireworks galore. When she ushered the last of the guests out, Rosalind was finally able to relax. It was more exhausting than she thought. Pretending to be the grieving widow, mixed with an odd sense of actual grief. More the grief for what could have been, rather than her husband himself. She reached for a bottle of champagne, topping up a glass. “I’m glad that’s over.”

“Thank you, Emma. That’s very sweet of you to say.”

“Thank you. My mum did them all, actually.” James replied, referring to all the lights that filled the Potter’s back garden. “Although, seems like we hardly even needed them. The moon’s bloody bright enough.”

Rosalind had attended more funerals this year than she’d ever hoped to. It was only apt that the year finished on one. She hated them, truly. Having to stand around and perform the way she was expected to. With her brothers, with Prija’s, she’d actually loved them, and even then it’d been a horrible affair. At least at this one, she could use the excuse of the fact it was her husband’s funeral to slip away, if she needed. Now was one of those moment’s, excusing herself from a conversation with Gilbert’s elderly aunty, that she slipped into one of the manors many corridors, assuming she was alone.

“Be careful, Marlene.”