The Cosy Teashop in the Castle

by Caroline Roberts

  ‘Yes, people comment and rate places they have been to: restaurants, hotels and the like.’

  ‘Ah, I suppose people look at that kind of thing, do they?’

  ‘Yes, they do.’

  ‘Hate bloody computers!’

  Joe gave a wry smile, ‘I know, but it’s the way the world’s going, Lord Henry. We’ve got to have a presence there. Our website’s looking good.’

  ‘I’ll trust you on that.’ He pulled a grimace. ‘Right, well, back to these damned weddings … I suppose it might be a reasonable idea to look into. I’ll take a look at your proposals anyhow, no promises or anything. Get all the information together by the end of the week. We’ll meet on Friday. That should be time enough for you?’

  ‘Yes, certainly. I’ll have it all ready by Friday morning. Thank you.’ Joe sounded polite and professional, even though he was still fuming about Lord Henry’s personal comments earlier. But inside he also felt a strand of hope for the castle and its future. It wasn’t a ‘no’ and in Lord Henry’s book that was a major step forward. But he’d still have his work cut out trying to convince him.

  What a bloody shame it had all come out this way, though, through hearsay and gossip. It had got Henry’s back up before Joe had even had chance to put his case forward.

  * * *

  Ellie

  Ellie heard footsteps coming up the stone stairwell – well, she had been listening out for the past hour. She poked her head out of the door, catching Joe on his way up. Result!

  ‘Hi, everything okay?’ Her voice was cheery.

  ‘Kind of.’ His tone was flat.

  ‘Do you want to come in for a sec?’

  ‘I haven’t got long.’

  He sounded a bit short. What had happened to the lovely relaxed guy who’d held her hand on the beach?

  ‘Was it to do with work?’ She couldn’t contain her curiosity and was desperate to recapture some of their intimacy from earlier. Surely if he’d just taken her on a date, he could talk to her if something was up?

  ‘If you must know, Lord Henry was livid when I got to his office. Someone had spilled about the wedding idea. He knew all about Wendy supposedly doing the flowers and everything.’

  Oh shite. ‘Oh. How was he about it?’

  ‘Annoyed that no one had mentioned it to him first.’ He paused, ‘Ellie, the only person I can think it could have come from is you. Have you been chatting to anyone else about it?’

  Wendy … the conversation at the florist’s. But, she’d told her to be discreet.

  She couldn’t work it out. Wendy knew it was all at the planning stage and that she must keep things absolutely quiet at this point. Ellie just couldn’t understand. Wendy seemed trustworthy; she wouldn’t want to risk losing the potential flower business through indiscretion.

  ‘I really don’t know how it could have happened. Yes, I had broached the wedding idea to sound out Wendy at the florist’s in Kirkton, but she assured me she’d keep quiet on it for now. Are you certain you haven’t mentioned it to anyone else? Could someone at the council have let on after you applied for the licence?’

  ‘It came out from Lord Henry’s cleaner. Her mum and Wendy’s mum are good friends. It’s pretty obvious where it’s come from.’

  Damn, it all fell into place. Wendy’s mum had been in the back of the shop that day. She remembered her coming out with a cup of coffee for Wendy just at the very end of their conversation. She’d probably been earwigging all the while. So it was her fault. She felt hot and embarrassed, and now Joe was angry with her, but she may as well come clean. ‘I think I know what happened … I-I did speak to Wendy, yes, and now I remember, her mother was there at the back of the shop. I had no idea at the time. She must have overheard, as I made it clear to Wendy to be discreet. I’m sure Wendy would have been … I’m so sorry.’

  There was a frown etched across his brow as he uttered, ‘Well, Lord Henry’s still open-minded about it, thank God. But please be more careful in future. He’s not the easiest to deal with at the best of times.’

  ‘I will.’ She felt herself going red, but still wanted to spend some time with Joe, to try and recapture a little of that easy togetherness from earlier, ‘Umn, look, do you want a coffee or anything?’

  ‘No. I really must get to work on this proposal now. Henry wants to see the full details, costings, the lot, by Friday, so I’ve got my work cut out.’

  ‘Oh, okay.’ Her idea of a cosy coffee-for-two was knackered now. The magic of their beachside date dissipated. And the worst of it was she’d lost his trust. She felt that she’d let him down.

  *

  Joe seemed preoccupied the next morning, passing her on the stairwell with a brief ‘hello’. He did pop in to chat with her late the next day, once Doris and Nicola had gone, to talk over the catering ideas for the weddings: how many people and what type of buffet she felt she could handle. And at what point did she feel they should bring in outside caterers? He also needed a general idea of costings per head for a buffet menu, with brief menu suggestions. It was a business-like conversation, so far removed from their time holding hands on the beach yesterday that she began to wonder if that had ever really happened.

  But she didn’t want to go back to just a business relationship. She’d had a taste of something more, of a different, gentler side of Joe that she really wanted to get to know. She felt sad that things had shifted. Obviously, he had to focus and was busy getting all the information he needed in place for Friday’s discussion with Lord Henry; maybe he’d be a bit more relaxed thereafter, she conceded hopefully.

  It was while she was setting up the tables in the tearooms on Friday morning that it came to her. A table for two – right here. Just for them. She could cook something special, once everyone had gone home. Yes, here in the teashop, that could work. The idea was forming nicely, but would Joe be up for it?

  As she wrapped knives and forks in napkins, she wondered what she’d cook. Steak? Yes, steak was always a good option and easy enough to cook for two; she might even make a sauce? Peppercorn or Diane? And something chocolatey for dessert. A starter? She did a mean garlic mushrooms on brioche toast, and it was dead easy to make.

  Hmn, she’d catch up with Joe later. See how the proposals had gone with Lord Henry, hopefully well, and then he might be in a better mood. Then she’d ask him. Supper on Sunday – it had a nice casual ring to it. Sunday would be good, the weekend trade over, Monday not so hectic, she might even be able to enjoy a drink or two.

  She headed back to the kitchen, feeling optimistic, and found herself humming along to the radio as she scrubbed potatoes ready to bake as jackets for lunchtime. Lunch, as it turned out, was hectic; a coachload of tourists turned up, deciding to all eat at once before they did the castle tour, which was great for the takings but rather manic. But, hey, she wasn’t complaining, she needed every penny she could make at the moment, saving what she could to start repaying her dad back. She, Doris and Nicola were on go, go, go, for a full hour and a half, running out of paninis and quiche. They worked well as a team generally, though Doris was tutting heavily as they ran out of quiche – naturally Ellie should be a mind-reader and make an extra six quiches on the offchance that a coachload of hungry tourists should arrive on the doorstep of the teashop. But the two of them did crack on with getting the orders out, which helped immensely. Being hectic also meant that Ellie didn’t have time to dwell on whether or not Joe might like her idea of supper.

  The man himself popped in later in the day, just as she was mopping the floors, to let her know that the meeting with Lord Henry had gone reasonably well. She shooed him out into the passageway, not wanting him traipsing all over the wet floors, but he seemed happy to chat through the open kitchen door, and seemed in a far better mood than yesterday. Thank heavens. He’d no doubt been under a lot of pressure.

  Doris was busy wiping down the tables out in the tearooms, and Nicola had just gone home. It was Ellie’s ideal chance. She mopped quickly towards hi
m.

  ‘Joe …?’ Now or never, ‘I was just wondering … well, would you like supper with me on Sunday?’

  ‘Ah … yeah. That sounds good. Are you thinking of going out?’

  ‘No, I had something else in mind.’

  His eyebrow arched suggestively. She had to giggle, then threw a tea towel at him. ‘I mean, I’d like to cook for you … here.’

  ‘Oh, I see.’ He shrugged his shoulders, as if disappointed, but was sporting his sexy, cheeky grin.

  ‘So, don’t you be getting any ideas,’ she added, trying to sound affronted.

  Doris walked in, barging past Joe with the cloth and disinfectant spray. Ellie really didn’t want her getting wind of their impending date, and finished the conversation with, ‘I’ll let you know a time tomorrow, then.’

  ‘Okay.’ He got the idea, ‘That’s fine.’

  As he wandered out Doris was straight in like a hawk. ‘Time for what?’

  ‘Oh, office meeting, accounts debrief.’ Ellie was quick off the mark. Nosy old bat. Surely that sounded boring enough to put her off.

  Doris just nodded with a ‘Hmph’ and put the cleaning materials away, ‘That’s me done, then.’

  Ellie smiled to herself. ‘Thanks, Doris.’

  She’d have to be extra careful after their supper on Sunday, removing all traces of their date before the waitresses were in on Monday morning.

  17

  Ellie

  Date and time confirmed. Teashop closed for the day – well, in their official capacity, anyhow. Her meal for two was organised and ready to finish off later. All that was left was to decide what to wear. Should she dress up, go for the femme fatale? Should she dress down, go for the ‘I’m in chef-mode’ and this is just a casual supper look? She’d be cooking, anyhow, so whatever she chose would end up having an apron chucked over it.

  Had she gone a bit over the top? She didn’t want to appear overly romantic. There were candles on the table, which she’d set out with wine glasses and the best tearoom cutlery. She’d even put a small vase of yellow carnations there. Did that already look like a seduction table?

  She found a jersey wrap-around dress in the wardrobe. It was black, looked smart, but with a sultry edge – would show a nice ‘V’ of cleavage once the apron came off. But, it was comfy and practical too. Boots would go well with it, and that way she wouldn’t be teetering in high heels on the uneven floors of the teashop. Tights? Yes tights, stockings would be taking things way too far, and she wasn’t sure if she had any, to be honest. Bit of lippie, nice warm-red shade, mascara, eyeliner. Okay, ready to roll, so back down to the teashop to prep the starter. The dessert was already made, a ‘special’ of raspberry and white-chocolate cheesecake appearing new on the blackboard this afternoon.

  A half hour later, radio on, mushrooms chopped, Diane sauce made – she hoped he ate mushrooms. There were still so many things about him she didn’t know. She set out tea lights throughout the tearooms, on the windowsills, the counter. It looked rather magical. It also kept the lighting soft and half-dark, so he hopefully wouldn’t notice the spot that had managed to erupt on her chin, and was threatening to break out from its cover-up base.

  She opened the bottle of Merlot she’d chosen to go with the steaks. She’d told Joe seven-thirty, it was now twenty past. Nerves started jangling about in her stomach. Was she doing the right thing, even thinking of getting involved with another man again? She wondered what other romantic trysts might have taken place here in the castle over the centuries. There were bound to be tales of star-crossed lovers amongst the servants, lords and ladies. Were there love stories sealed between these very walls? Stolen kisses. Nights of passion. The pain of love lost. She poured herself a small glass of the red; it might just help calm those nerves. She tuned the radio station to something classical to serve as background music, and sliced the brioche ready to toast. Bang on cue there was a knock on the kitchen door. She took a long, slow breath.

  Joe walked in, dressed smartly in dark jeans and a pale-blue shirt open at the neck, his dark hair in its usual floppy fringe. There was a bottle of something bubbly in his hand, by the looks of it. ‘Just something I had in. I thought it might make a good start to the meal.’

  Ooh, she spotted a Moët and Chandon label. Bliss. She hadn’t had champagne in an age. There hadn’t been an awful lot to celebrate lately, to be fair. The last time was probably Nanna’s eightieth birthday. Oh, yes, she remembered now, and it set her off giggling.

  ‘What? What’s so funny?’ Joe quizzed her.

  ‘Sorry, it’s just me nanna.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘I’m just remembering something. The last time we had champagne at home, it was for Nanna’s birthday. She liked it with orange juice and got her words mixed up, bless her, asking for Fuck’s Bizz.’ She grinned. It was nice that Nanna was there in her thoughts on her big night with Joe.

  Joe was laughing too now.

  ‘She didn’t even realise she’d said it wrong. Well, me and Jay, my brother, we were just rolling about on the floor laughing, you can imagine. And my dad was getting all cross, ’cos he didn’t want to have to explain to his mother-in-law what she’d just said.’

  ‘Yes, hah, that could be the new cocktail for the castle. We could offer a Fuck’s Bizz welcome drink on arrival for the wedding receptions.’ A cheeky, sexy grin broke across his face.

  Ellie found two flute glasses in a cupboard. ‘Plain or Fuck’s Bizz?’ she asked.

  ‘Just as it is, for me. It’s already chilled. I’ll go ahead and open it, shall I?’

  Well that had broken the ice. The atmosphere between them was warm and relaxed already. ‘Yes, please.’ And the pop of the cork sounded exciting and extravagant. She had a feeling this was going to be a good night. Hopefully the food would turn out okay.

  ‘Well, if you don’t mind watching me cook for a minute, you could grab a stool while I do the starter. Mushrooms okay for you?’

  ‘Love mushrooms.’

  Result! ‘That’s good.’

  He passed her a glass of chilled champagne.

  ‘Cheers.’

  ‘Cheers.’ They clinked glasses. ‘To a good night,’ Ellie proposed.

  ‘Yes, thanks for asking me.’

  ‘You’re welcome.’

  She took a big gulp, then lit the gas flame ready to pan-fry the garlic mushrooms. Her head was spinning already. Giddy with champagne and what might happen next.

  By the second glass, the starter was plated and looking good. Time to lead him through to the ‘table à deux’ and the candlelit tearooms.

  ‘Wow! This doesn’t even look like the teashop.’

  It did look lovely in there; the glow of the candles setting off the old stone walls. She placed the plates down at the only table lit, and they took their seats opposite each other, Ellie suddenly feeling shy.

  ‘Mmn, this looks good.’ He glanced at the food, then up at Ellie. ‘Thank you.’

  They ate, they chatted. The Wedding Venue Proposal had apparently had a reasonable reception by Lord Henry, and at least Joe was able to move forward now with some of the planning. His eyes were dark, sexy and smiley all at once, as he chatted in the candlelight.

  Ellie took a sip of champagne, which bubbled deliciously in her mouth then slipped down to join the flutters in her stomach; which was already a mix of excitement and nerves.

  ‘That starter is great, by the way.’ He ate the last mushroom and mopped up the sauce with the last of the brioche.

  ‘Good, glad you enjoyed it.’

  She stacked their empty plates and said she’d be back soon with the main course. She whizzed about the kitchen cooking the steaks, frying chips and setting out rocket and pan-fried asparagus onto two dinner plates.

  Joe popped through. ‘Need a hand?’

  ‘No, it’s nearly there, but thanks.’

  ‘Wine?’

  ‘There’s a bottle of red open here. If you’d take it through that’d be great. I’ll join
you in five. You said you liked your steak rare, yeah?’

  ‘Yes, that’s the way I like it.’ He started clicking his fingers, then added, ‘Ah-hah, ah-hah,’ like the song.

  It surprised her that he could be so daft sometimes. She grinned, thinking of the contrast from his sensible Manager-of-the-Castle demeanour.

  A few minutes later, they were tucking into steaks and asparagus, ‘You’re a great cook, Ellie. So, it’s not just cakes you’re good at.’

  ‘No, I’m a woman of many talents.’ She was feeling happy and mellow now.

  ‘I can tell.’ He smiled. ‘Thanks for going to all this effort this evening, it’s really great. And look, I’m sorry if I was a bit sharp with you earlier in the week about the Wendy thing.’

  ‘It’s okay. And you were right, I should have been more careful.’

  ‘Yes, but you weren’t to know her mother was about. And, with hindsight, perhaps I should have discussed it with Lord Henry before bringing you into the equation. He is warming to the idea, thank heavens. Well, in his own time, that is. God, he can be a hard nut to crack sometimes.’

  ‘I take it it’s not always an easy working relationship, then?’ She was quite glad she didn’t need to work with Lord Henry on a day-to-day basis herself.

  ‘You could say that! No, it’s not been an easy relationship.’ He was shaking his head, showing the exasperation he sometimes felt. ‘But I suppose he’s given me this opportunity to be estate manager. And I do love the place. I just want to do my best here.’

  ‘Yeah, me too. Well, after what you said before, it sounds as though it’s all worked out alright with Lord Henry in the end. If he’s happy to move the idea forward, that’s great.’

  ‘Yeah, I’m pleased and relieved. It gives the castle a real future. I’m sure it’ll make a great venue for weddings. We can give the happy couples and their families and friends a really fantastic day. Where better than a fairytale castle, hey?’

  ‘Yeah, I think, in time, it’ll prove popular. Though there’s a lot of hard work ahead to get things in place yet.’