The Cosy Teashop in the Castle

by Caroline Roberts

  ‘What on earth is the matter with you two?’ Doris was standing in the middle of the tearoom’s kitchen with her arms folded.

  Joe had just popped in to say they’d need to meet up to discuss the fiftieth birthday bash soon, as he had to feed back ideas and final prices to Mr Fiftieth in the next couple of days. He mentioned that they’d need Wendy from the flower shop at the meeting too, as there were the table decorations and a couple of pedestals to organise. Then he’d dashed off out.

  ‘Honestly, you’ve both been going around with faces like a wet weekend for the past two weeks.’ Doris droned on, ‘The atmosphere in this place is awful. You need your heads smacking together. Make you see some sense. What’s to be done about it, hey?’

  ‘There’s nothing to be done about it, Doris,’ Ellie’s tone was surprisingly sharp, ‘He’s already made it quite clear that he wants nothing to do with me … not on a personal level, anyhow.’

  Please just let it be, Doris. She didn’t want to hear, or think, any more about it, or him. She wished she hadn’t said anything to Doris now. She hoped she might be feeling a bit better about things, but the hurt hadn’t eased, and he crept back into her mind when she heard the creak of his floorboards above her in her room, or the metallic clunk and patter of the water pipes when he showered. Bringing back into focus the muscle and tone of his naked body, remembering how it felt beneath her fingertips. Damn him.

  ‘Well, something’s got to be done about it.’ Doris muttered as she waltzed off to fetch milk to fill the little porcelain jugs that went with the teas.

  The meeting was scheduled for three-thirty. Doris and Ellie were to be there to discuss the catering arrangements, Wendy to talk flowers, and Joe to coordinate it all and feed back to Mr Fiftieth. Doris had bustled off five minutes earlier, so Ellie presumed she’d meet her in the great hall, seeing as she hadn’t come back. ‘We’ll be about twenty minutes, I would think, Nicola. Are you sure you’ll be alright?’

  ‘Yes, fine. It’s quietened down now – nothing I can’t handle.’

  ‘Well, nip up and get us or ring Joe’s mobile if it gets busy or anything.’

  ‘Will do, but I’ll be fine.’

  ‘Yes, I’m sure you will. Thanks, Nicola.’ The girl had grown in confidence over the past few months, it was obvious from the way she laughed and joked with the customers, even becoming friendly with some of the regulars. She was blossoming into a lovely young lady.

  Ellie had a proposed menu printed out; a full-on afternoon tea – mini sandwiches, homemade pastries and quiches, a collection of cakes and shortbread, including cupcakes with crystallised rose petals on to go with the ‘rose’ flower theme, champagne or sparkling wine, depending on budgets, jugs of iced water for the tables, and plenty of tea and coffee.

  Ellie walked into the great hall – they’d arranged to meet there as that was where the event was to take place. It was three-twenty-five. She was the first there. Doris still hadn’t appeared – maybe she’d had to visit the ladies or something. Wendy was probably parking up. And Joe, well, he was usually pretty good on time-keeping.

  She noticed that someone had set coffee out, which was nice of them; perhaps Joe had had Deana organise it. She walked along the hall, looking out of the tall windows at the rear gardens, a few late-in-the-day visitors were strolling the pathways admiring the herbaceous borders. There were several roses, which were in full splendid bloom, hollyhocks and flowering shrubs tall behind; the overall effect was rather stunning.

  She wandered back to the long dark-wood table that was polished to a conker-like glow. Wondered about pouring herself a coffee. There was a silver coffee pot, steam curling invitingly from the spout and two cups and saucers. Someone had also put out a couple of brownies and squares of homemade shortbread that looked suspiciously like the ones she made for the teashop.

  Two cups.

  And where was Doris?

  Joe walked in, tall, lean and oh-so-bloody-handsome it hurt.

  No Doris. No Wendy.

  Coffee for two – that was odd. Surely Deana would have been made aware that there were four of them meeting up. She was always on the ball. Joe loitered a few feet from the table, said an awkward ‘Hello’. Then paced the floor, not looking at Ellie.

  ‘Have you seen anything of Wendy?’ she asked, just as he started with, ‘I thought Doris was coming along with you?’

  And then she had the feeling that this might well have been engineered. ‘Hmn, I wonder … She glanced down at the two cups and her watch – it was nearly twenty to.

  ‘Two cups?’ His anxious glance turned into a wry smile. ‘A set-up?’

  ‘I think it might well be.’ She couldn’t help but give a half-smile too. She’d kill Doris when she caught up with her, the meddling woman. ‘Coffee?’

  ‘Seems a shame to waste it.’

  She poured. He finally seemed to relax and drew out a chair opposite her.

  Well, they may as well get started. God knows what the other two were up to. ‘Right, well, I’ve got the buffet suggestions all sorted.’ Ellie said, ‘I could do it for £14.95 per head with a glass of sparkly. Have to be a bit more if they want real champagne. And if they want a birthday cake, that would be additional too.’ She passed Joe the A4 sheet she’d printed out, with everything listed.

  ‘That looks great.’ He seemed impressed. ‘And you’ve even thought about the roses theme. I’m sure they’ll love it.’

  ‘Over the phone, Wendy had mentioned a country garden floral theme for the tables. It’ll work well. Give us a taster for the wedding dos as well – on a smaller scale.’

  ‘Yes, yes … Where the hell is Wendy, anyhow?’

  ‘She might be held up in traffic, I suppose.’ Ellie was still giving her the benefit of the doubt.

  ‘And Doris?’

  They waited a while in a silence that became more awkward as the time ticked on.

  Too many recent memories were crowding in. He was so close, just there across the table. She didn’t want to look him in the eye. Anger was fizzing up within her too. How dare he use her like that for sex and then just cast her off like she was nothing. It was so hard to remain damned professional.

  He looked at her, then slowly reached across the table. His hand slid over hers, making her skin tingle. Oh my, how she had missed his touch. Her eyes locked with his intense gaze. What the hell was going on?

  ‘How dare you.’ She pulled her hand away brusquely.

  ‘I–I’m sorry, Ellie.’ His look was sincere, serious, ‘I never meant to hurt you.’

  ‘Well, you did a damned good job of it.’ She paused. ‘Those few days, I thought it meant something. More fool me! Then you just upped and left, not saying a word, waltzed back, telling me it meant nothing, and now this?’

  Silence then. Too many feelings churning inside. And saying sorry wasn’t bloody enough. Was it just to make him feel a bit better?

  His eyes were on hers. ‘I’ve missed you.’

  Talk about Jekyll and Hyde. Where was this going? What did it mean?

  She heard his long, slow sigh. He moved his hand up to her face, stroked her cheek so delicately.

  She had missed him too, of course she had. But, could she be honest? Make herself vulnerable again?

  ‘Look, can we talk? Later on, properly. There’s … there’s some stuff you should know.’

  Curiosity nipped at her. But she was still hurting. Should she give him that chance? The chance to hurt her more? He seemed to still care for her. But what on earth did all this mean? That they might get back together? Or was he about to explain why it had to be no? And what if they tried again, lasted a few weeks, months, and then it all went wrong again?

  The touch on her cheek, the look in his eyes. His words. ‘I thought it would be easier, keeping you distant, but it’s not …’ And before she could think any more, he leaned across the table and pressed his lips, oh so tenderly, against hers. He tasted of chocolate brownie and coffee and Joe. So good. He still wanted
her. His body couldn’t lie. His lips told her so as they kissed, deeper now, his hand gentle on the back of her head. She just wanted to climb across the damned table and feel the whole of him against her. Now that might look interesting should any visitors take a peek in through the windows from the garden.

  Finally, they pulled away.

  A kiss like that deserved a second chance, how could she resist? ‘Okay, we’ll talk.’

  ‘Do you think the damned pair of them are spying somewhere?’ His cheeky smile was back, like sunshine lighting his face. She realised she hadn’t seen that for weeks.

  ‘Wouldn’t put it past them. In that big antique cabinet or something.’ She laughed, pointing at the chest at the far end of the hall.

  ‘I’d better track down Wendy, anyhow, finalise these details and ring the chap back.’

  ‘I don’t think those two will be far away, somehow.’

  ‘We’ll meet later, yeah? I’ll come and knock your door after work. We’ll go for a walk or something.’

  ‘Yes, I’ll be finished about six.’ She wondered exactly what it was he needed to explain.

  Doris and Wendy looked extremely suspicious as Ellie walked back into the tearoom kitchens. They both raised their eyebrows, Doris quipping, ‘Oh, did we get the wrong room? Where did you two get to?’

  ‘What exactly was all that about?’ Ellie pretended to be annoyed.

  The two ladies grinned conspiratorially.

  ‘Did he turn up?’

  ‘Did you kiss and make up?’

  Ellie remembered the burn of his lips and found herself blushing.

  ‘Well somebody had to get the pair of you together.’ Doris was indignant. ‘And …?’ she was pressing for details.

  ‘O-kay,’ Ellie caved in, ‘Yes, we talked.’ She was saying nothing about the kiss. ‘And we’re seeing each other tonight, if you must know … But that’s all. I’m not quite sure which way things are going as yet.’

  Two sets of eyebrows were raised at her.

  ‘But it looks promising.’ Ellie added, to try and stop the twenty questions that were about to be launched.

  ‘Promising?’ quizzed Doris.

  ‘Anyway, it was very unprofessional of you both, not turning up for the meeting.’

  ‘Huh, we did, we just had our own down here. Wendy’s going to catch Joe in a sec. Deana was in on it too, so she’ll let him know that we were here all along, and I already know all the catering arrangements. I’ve given a copy of your menu to Wendy. She loves the rose petal cup-cake idea.’

  ‘Yes, the buffet sounds gorgeous. So,’ added Wendy, ‘It’s all sorted, then.’

  The function was indeed, pending Mr Fiftieth’s agreement. But Ellie still wasn’t so sure about her relationship with Joe. What exactly was he intending to tell her tonight?

  21

  Ellie

  The knock on her door couldn’t come soon enough.

  She really didn’t know what to think any more. The highs of their lovemaking two weeks ago, the sinking low of his rejection, and all the mixed-up emotions in between. And today’s apology, and now this ‘We need to talk’ business – what was that all about? He hadn’t said he wanted to be with her. There was more to this yet, she sensed. It could still be a big, fat no. But maybe he needed to say that he had felt something too, even if it could go no further. Would that be any better to know, or just make her feel more miserable?

  ‘Hey.’ He was standing on the threshold to her door dressed in a pair of dark jeans, and a pale-blue open-neck shirt. His trademark look that she’d grown to love. Smart-casual, but somehow with the shirtsleeves rolled up and the top buttons undone, revealing a little patch of his dark chest hair, it made him look sexily dishevelled.

  ‘Hi,’ she replied. There was an awkward tension between them. She had changed into jeans, too, with a pretty chiffon-style top and her canvas pumps. She had also tied a cardigan around her waist. The evenings could get cool here, even though it was early August; the earlier nights already starting to draw in.

  ‘Let’s walk.’ He sounded a little nervous.

  She followed him down the winding staircase and kept a safe distance as they walked into the courtyard.

  ‘Quite some set-up today, wasn’t it? Wendy came to see me afterwards.’

  ‘Ah-huh,’ Ellie smiled.

  He stopped, smiled back. ‘I’m glad. I was wondering how on earth I was going to get to speak to you … after being such an idiot shutting you off like that …’ He rubbed a hand through his hair. They were in the square of light in the centre of the courtyard, a pigeon cooing from the battlements, all the visitors gone home. Doris, Nicola, Deana away too – only Lord Henry up there somewhere loitering in his rooms within the castle. Joe took her to him, pulled her oh-so-close and just held her there so her head nestled in against his chest until their breathing slowed and they relaxed together. He didn’t try to kiss her, just held her tight, and whispered ‘I missed you’, into her hair.

  She tensed, still unsure of where this was going. But his arms felt so wonderful around her. ‘I know,’ she answered, because she’d felt it too, missed every cell of him, missed him to her bones.

  Please, please don’t let this be a ‘goodbye’ walk. But who the hell knew? I miss you, but … Always the but ready to catch you out, toss your heart in the air and let it splat back down on the flagstones.

  He pulled away slightly, ‘Come on, let’s get out of here.’

  Out through the castle keep, through the arch of the heavy wooden door, escaping the grounds into the woods. Their conversation roamed non-committedly around work, the view, the weather. Joe seemed to relax the further they got from the castle, as the green of the hills enclosed them. Boy, he seemed to love those hills. As she began to run out of steam from the uphill climb, he was just getting going, his long legs striding out. Bloody hell, if they did get back together, she might have to take up bloody rambling and buy herself a pair of walking boots. No more stilettos or kitten heels. Was she sure she was doing the right thing here? She might even end up wearing a cagoule at this rate.

  But she was smiling as she took his hand. He helped her up the steep bank, and then, that view again – it made it all worthwhile. He certainly had a way of taking her breath away. The rolling hills of Northumberland, an expanse of browns, golds and greens, crops and grass, sheep and cattle, a tractor, and in the distance the majestic rise of the Cheviots, the heather just starting to turn them mauve. They walked a little further on, fat fronds of fern caressed their path, and birds darted in and out of the prickly gorse, whose flowers had died back to a burned bronze.

  They reached a slab of sandstone sunk into the hillside, making a perfect bench. They sat, taking in the panorama before them.

  Joe knew this was the time to open his heart, to try and explain. ‘Ellie, I’m so sorry …’ He shifted to face her, ‘I thought I was doing the right thing. Trying to call a halt, trying to keep it strictly professional between us.’

  ‘I think it was a bit late for that.’

  ‘Hah, yeah, idiot, wasn’t I? But I wished to God I hadn’t hurt you, Ellie. You must have wondered what the hell was going on? I–I just got scared, back-tracked. Needed some headspace. I couldn’t get into something if I didn’t mean it, if it wasn’t going to last, especially with us working together. I just needed some time to think …’

  She watched him intently – this wasn’t easy for him, she could tell.

  ‘I couldn’t risk you falling for me,’ he continued, ‘And then having to let you down. And what if I’d got you pregnant or something … it happens? I was thinking about my mam, about her being a single parent. I grew up without a dad around. It wasn’t easy …’

  ‘Do you think it was easy for me, Joe? Trusting someone again … and then you just disappeared, as though I meant absolutely nothing.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Ellie.’

  ‘So, you’ve been doing some thinking.’ She needed to know where this was going.

&nbs
p; ‘Yeah, well, it wasn’t the thinking that made me see. The thinking told me to break it off. But I just felt rotten … bloody miserable. And then I knew I’d got it all wrong. But I didn’t know if you’d even want me back.’

  How could she not want him? Even though she wanted to kick him extremely hard up the butt at this very moment.

  ‘Can you give me a second chance, Ellie? Give us a second chance?’ He paused, fixing his gaze on hers. ‘I want to be with you – be there for you. Everything.’

  The wind curled around them, blowing her hair across her face. He gently pulled a strand from her lips. He looked anxious.

  Her answer was easy, inevitable. Worth all the risk.

  ‘Yes.’ Her voice was sure.

  His arms reached around her shoulders as the smile spread across his face, and he leaned in to kiss her, oh so tenderly. Longing and relief bonding them. Afterwards, they sat close, she leaning into him, his arm around her, feeling the warmth of their bodies united against the cool of the breeze. She could smell his aftershave, feel the crisp cotton of his shirt. She placed her hand gently on his thigh. Just to be able to touch him again was a joy.

  ‘Oh, Ellie.’ His voice was soft in her hair.

  In a strange way she felt so overwhelmed that she wanted to cry. She wanted to be there for him from now on too, with him, loving him, always. ‘Joe,’ she whispered his name. It made her feel vulnerable and beautiful.

  The wind whipped up around them as they sat there a long while. The cool evening air began to nip, as the peachy colours of dusk began to paint the sky. They walked slowly down the hill, hands tight together, back to the castle.

  Up the stone stairwell, two sets of footsteps echoing in time.

  They stayed clothed, lay down on his bed, caressing, bodies curled together, her hand tracing his palm with delicate fingertips. They didn’t make love, not yet – just lay there together. It was as though they knew they now had time, didn’t want to rush things, or get it wrong this time.

  She felt so very tired, as the emotions of the past weeks caught up with her, and she relaxed in his arms. Found that she had napped and when she woke, he was watching her, a gentle smile on his lips.