Ben clicked his tongs and popped sausages onto plates passing on their human conveyor belt. ‘Plaintive expression from him; guilty tension from you. Ex-boyfriend carrying a torch?’
Alexia checked Sebastian had moved out of earshot. ‘Good guess. He’s a lovely guy and I’ve known him forever but …’ She shrugged, not sure how to say, ‘Too nice, too smothering, too settled, too unexciting’ in a way that didn’t make her sound like Ms Heartless. ‘I’m in a wing-spreading phase and hope to be leaving the village to work on new projects in London. Whereas Sebastian …’
He shrugged. ‘If you don’t want to be with someone, you don’t. No justification necessary.’
Alexia paused in opening a new pack of burgers, trying to read his suddenly shuttered expression. ‘True,’ she replied carefully. ‘But also not true. At least not to this particular “someone”, because he apparently needs to be freshly convinced each time we meet.’
‘It’ll be easier when you leave.’ Ben returned to doling out sausages.
The villagers Alexia had grown up with filed by, offering snippets of gossip or teasing remarks. Meeting both with good humour, Alexia kept them moving. Until a small woman planted herself squarely before the grill, regarding Alexia balefully from beneath a blonde geometric bob. ‘No fish?’
Alexia smiled, hoping this wasn’t going to turn into another awkward encounter. ‘Hello, Carola. No, sorry. Nice of you to come and help.’ In fact, Alexia hadn’t seen any assistance from Carola, who’d been a thorn in their sides during the fundraising, and was pretty sure she was only here to turn her nose up.
‘I don’t eat much meat.’
‘Veggie burger?’
‘No. I’ll have two sausages – if you’ve got any that aren’t overcooked.’
Deciding not to point out that the sausages weren’t veggie, Alexia simply slapped two on Carola’s plate and the line moved on. And on.
‘Well now, Alexia!’ said a jovial man with a long and lugubrious face.
‘Mr Carlysle. Sausages?’ Not many people in the village called the owner of the local Carlysle estate by his first name. It was always ‘Mr’ or the whole mouthful of ‘Christopher Carlysle’. He was another who’d come to the party for reasons other than to work. In his case it was to ‘show his face’ at an event to which he had vague connections.
‘Lovely, lovely. And one for Mrs Carlysle, as well, please. She’s around here somewhere.’ He held out his plate before having a few words with Ben and then moving on.
Some people came back for the second or third time. Alexia became used to Ben’s presence alongside her. Villagers tried to get him talking but, although he was affable enough, he somehow kept the conversation superficial.
Alexia tended her own grill and Jodie’s, as Jodie seemed more into exchanging tongues than wielding tongs. All three grills had emptied again before the line of hungry people abated.
Shane and Jodie, arms clamped around each other as if they were running a three-legged race, staggered back, Shane beaming. ‘I’m taking this beautiful woman to her bed, ’Lexia. Apologies in advance. Know what I mean?’ He gave an exaggeratedly lewd wink as he began to steer Jodie down the drive.
‘All too well, unfortunately,’ Alexia muttered, watching them weave off towards Cross Street. She transferred her attention to her grill, dropping the last few burgers and sausages onto its glowing rack. ‘Just enough left for us.’
Ben turned off the other two grills and stuck his hands in his pockets as she arranged the sausages like sunrays around the burgers. ‘You didn’t look too thrilled at Shane’s remark.’
She flicked him a glance. ‘Jodie lives at my house at the moment.’
‘Ah.’ Laughter lurked in his eyes.
Her cheeks heated up. ‘But at least it means they’ve left Shane’s truck here rather than trying to drive to his place.’
Any trace of amusement faded from Ben’s face. ‘Driving and alcohol is a bad combination. So you and Jodie house share?’ He seemed prepared to chat now there were fewer people about.
‘For the last few months, since Jodie’s marriage ended. We’ve been friends most of our lives.’ Under the guise of tearing off a fresh sheet of kitchen roll, Alexia glanced around to check Sebastian wasn’t one of the shadowy figures finishing up a burger in a corner before adding, ‘Seb was making moving-in-together noises so inviting her to live with me worked for us both. I hadn’t bargained for Shane, but Jodie says their hot and heavy “thing” is a good way of getting over her husband.’
Ben’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully beneath his unruly hair. ‘Does that work?’
Shrugging, Alexia patted a burger with the flat of her spatula. ‘She took it hard when Russ left, and Shane does seem to have cheered her up. I just wish he wouldn’t encourage her to drink so much. He must’ve stashed beer out here, I think, because I didn’t see either of them going in and out for cans.’
She didn’t add that Jodie was subject to mood swings and when Alexia had explained to Shane that alcohol made the tendency stronger he’d snapped at her not to be a worry-arse.
Ben began slicing rolls to place on the plates. ‘That food looks good. I’m starving.’ He pulled two chairs, minus their backs, from the skip, dusting them with a flourish of an imaginary handkerchief before disappearing indoors and returning with two cans of beer.
Alexia sank onto the chair, realising how much her feet were aching. Although almost everyone else had gone indoors to escape the evening chill the residual warmth from the barbecue made it pleasant to dine al fresco. She sipped the fresh beer. ‘This must be my last.’
Ben paused, a hot dog halfway to his mouth. ‘Don’t think I’m trying to get you drunk. There’s lemonade indoors if you want it. Your ex glared at me when he saw me taking two cans.’
She laughed and then groaned. ‘I hope he doesn’t come out to check up on us! Every time I see him I realise how much I prefer being single.’
Ben gazed at her for several unsmiling seconds. ‘You’re giving me lots to think about tonight: rebound relationships as a good thing and the joys of being footloose and fancy-free.’
There was such a strange expression on his face that Alexia just gazed at him, not knowing how to answer.
Obviously divining her confusion, he smiled faintly. ‘My wife and I split up a while ago. Learning to like being single could make things easier.’
Chapter Two
Alexia put down her burger. ‘I’m sorry if anything I said was smug or insensitive.’
He smiled, if a little painfully. ‘It was refreshing. It’s easy to keep viewing things from the same old perspective.’
‘You’ve taken off your wedding ring.’
‘Rarely wore it. Safety hazard when I’m up a tree with a chainsaw.’
They lapsed into silence, chewing smoky food and sipping beer. People began to emerge from The Angel to call their goodnights, the more thoughtful among them depositing their rubbish in a skip as they passed. Alexia returned the farewells, wiping up her ketchup and licking her fingers. Though surprised to realise it was past eleven, she felt no immediate need to move.
Sebastian emerged and hesitated.
‘Night, Seb,’ she said brightly, not wanting a repeat of the ‘can I walk you home?’ conversation.
With a brief ‘Night’ Sebastian melted away down the darkened drive. Alexia felt a pang at the despondent set of his rounded shoulders. Ben was probably right that things would be easier when she could carry through on her plan to leave the village.
Gabe appeared, carrying a box of empty cans. ‘I’ll take these to the recycling.’ He glanced back in the direction of the building. ‘It looks frighteningly bare in there. You are going to put my property back together again, aren’t you?’
Alexia laughed. ‘Just give me till Christmas. It’s bare because Shane and Tim have been so conscientious about keeping period features safe.’
He beetled his brows at her in mock ferocity. ‘The Saturday before Christmas. That�
�s our grand opening.’
‘The Saturday before,’ she agreed with a grin. ‘The tiles will have been relaid and the fireplaces restored. I’ll make gorgeous Victoriana Christmas arrangements of holly and dried oranges to stand on the mantels. The Victorians loved Christmassy things made of lace and beads as well – it will look gorgeous!’
‘I knew I could rely on you,’ Gabe acknowledged, patting her shoulder. They said their goodnights and Gabe strode down the short drive.
Alexia glanced at Ben. His face, lit only by the lights of the kitchen windows, was shadowy. ‘You can go with him. I’ll finish up here.’ To give Shane and Jodie time to fall asleep she’d gladly linger to explore the newly bared Angel, excited by the metamorphosis to come. Tomorrow she’d bring her camera and take work-in-progress pictures for her portfolio. It was an important project for her and it would be good to properly capture this swept-clean moment.
Ben wiped his hands. ‘I don’t live with Gabe. I’m staying in a cottage on the Carlysle estate.’
Alexia put on an interested expression, though she’d already known. Everyone in Middledip knew everything. ‘A cottage on the home farm?’ The Carlysle estate employed many of the villagers and a few of lived there.
‘No, Woodward Cottage, near the lake. I was able to persuade Christopher Carlysle that it goes with my job. “The woodward” was the old name for someone who looked after woodlands.’
‘I haven’t been to Woodward Cottage since I was a teenager. It was so tumbledown it’s hard to imagine it as habitable.’
‘Apparently Mr Carlysle was able to get a grant to do it up. His idea was that the estate bailiff would move in but the bailiff decided to marry a woman with two teenaged kids and there’s only one bedroom. I’ve been there about six months.’
‘Six months? I’m amazed Gabe hasn’t introduced us. I haven’t even seen you around the village, except for dangling in the trees out front.’
He rubbed his nose. ‘I’ve kind of kept to myself.’
Alexia could somehow imagine solitude suiting Ben. He had the air of someone who could take people or leave them. ‘I think you were the subject of conversation at the pub the other day. Do you have a pet owl? The guys decided you’re a wizard.’
He grinned faintly. ‘Barney’s a rescue owl. Owls aren’t pets. Gabe found him on the edge of the wood. He’d fallen from the nest and damaged his wing. He’ll never fly or hunt, so I’ve given him a home. When not looking after Barney I’m a tree surgeon. I used to have my own business but I sold up when I moved here. The woods haven’t been managed as well as they could have been so Gabe put in a word for me with Christopher Carlysle and now I’m employed by the Carlysle estate. I was in the mood to be left alone to do my thing and that’s the kind of employee Mr Carlysle likes.’ Ben rose and returned his chair to the skip.
Reading this as a full stop to the subject, Alexia rose too, collecting paper plates while Ben disconnected the barbecues from their gas bottles.
They moved indoors to find that the last stragglers were ready to yawn off into the night. Alexia switched on the main lights and went round blowing out the guttering tea lights. ‘I declare the Middledip Wrecking Party a success.’
He ran his finger down a gaping crack in the plaster. ‘Does work start soon?’
‘The electricians and plumbers arrive on Monday while Shane and Tim get on with cleaning up the tiles to be reused. Luckily the windows and doors are OK and most of the plaster mouldings, too.’ She gazed around the Bar Parlour, its missing fireplace and bar making it look like a mouth with gaps in the teeth.
Ben drifted over to the mood boards still standing at the end of the bare room. ‘And this is how the place will look?’
She joined him, casting him a quick glance to check he wasn’t just being polite – not that he struck her as someone who’d bother. ‘Yes, this is the storyboard for the project beginning with photos of the building as it was when Gabe bought it, to my vision of the finished article. My 3D drawings are called rendered models and the 2D are the floor plans. The colour swatches make it look pretty.’ Her heart gave a tiny kick of excitement that the project was finally underway.
‘It’s a Victorian building and must have been quite grand for a village. When Middledip was bypassed by better roads in the eighties it couldn’t support two pubs, and the more homely The Three Fishes was the one to survive. After The Angel closed, the landlord died and the landlady lived here alone for more than twenty years. She eventually died without a will and distant cousins had to be tracked down to inherit. It was a long time before it could be put on the market and then nobody seemed to see its potential.’
She lifted her gaze to the beautiful plaster ceiling roses where big glass lights had dangled until Shane took them down to protect them. ‘I’m amazed nobody bought the place just to get the period features and sell them to a reclamation yard. The moulded brickwork on the front elevation alone must be worth a fortune. Maybe the grounds were so overgrown that everyone forgot The Angel was here.’
‘Until Uncle Gabe decided his tree surgeon nephew would love to take out all the overgrowth.’
‘It does seem as if you’ve been handy,’ she agreed, glad to see the faint smile return. His default expression seemed so grim. ‘Luckily, Gabe not only knew The Angel was here but was willing to invest in the building to give the village its coffee shop if additional funds could be raised to see it restored. Otherwise, The Angel would probably have fallen down from neglect.’
‘Generous of the village to contribute.’
‘What swung it was that the village hall had to close because the roof timbers are rotting. They’ll cost a massive amount to replace, much more than to fix up The Angel. The village hall committee’s obliged to slog through applying for grants and asking the county for money. We were able to just spring into action.’
He quirked a brow. ‘Bad luck for the village hall.’
‘I do feel disloyal. I’ve been to the hall to so many parties and stuff. But accommodating all the groups that used to meet at the village hall meant Jodie and Gabe could call it a community café and start fundraising.’ Alexia led him through a doorway. ‘This was the poor-relation bar. It says “Public” in the glass in the door – when the door’s hanging where it’s meant to be.’ She flicked a switch as she stepped into the room and the strip light flickered into life. A couple of stray slivers of 1970’s woodchip wallpaper lingered up near the ceiling, suggesting the Public hadn’t been deemed worthy of the red flock of the Bar Parlour. ‘It’s where pub customers used to play skittles and darts. It’s not as grand as the Bar Parlour but will work brilliantly for groups.’
Ben gazed around the big empty room with its scarred floorboards. ‘I’m surprised that whoever orchestrates things at the village hall didn’t say the funds you raised ought to go to them.’
‘I’m afraid that’s exactly what’s happened,’ Alexia acknowledged ruefully. ‘The village hall committee’s headed up by the formidable Carola, the one who demanded fish at the barbecue. She’s vehemently opposed to the community café and says the villagers should never have been asked to raise money for a building and a business that belongs to an individual. But nobody had their arm twisted. The village hall and The Angel Café have no relationship to each other, and Gabe, Jodie, me and your boss, Christopher Carlysle, who accepted responsibility for The Community Café fund, aren’t about to hand over the dosh to Carola.’
A suspicion of a twinkle lit Ben’s eye. ‘If I hadn’t come from a small town myself I’d be astonished at the politics.’ Then his phone beeped and he pulled it out to silence it. ‘Interesting as this is, I’m going to have to get home. That’s the alert to remind me that Barney needs his dinner.’
‘You must feed him.’ Alexia felt a tiny prickle of disappointment at losing his company, not to mention an opportunity for her to spout about her pet project, but told herself not to be so idiotic. ‘I’ll hang on here for a bit longer before I lock up.’
; He hesitated. ‘On your own?’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t you start! I could run around Middledip at night with my hands full of cash and nothing bad would happen. Honestly, I’ll wander home when I’m ready.’
‘Giving your friends time to quiet down?’ He half-smiled, his eyes bright in the overhead light.
She felt her cheeks heat up again. ‘That would be the plan.’
‘Can’t you just tell them to be more considerate? It’s your house.’
‘I could. But if I can move my career in the direction I want to then Jodie’s hoping Shane will move in when I move out. Two lots of rent will smooth my way considerably.’
Grey eyes thoughtful, he considered her. Almost offhandedly he said, ‘I can’t leave Barney hungry. He’s so young he needs feeding three times a day. You could come and meet him, if you want? It would fill an hour before you go home.’
Alexia debated quickly. It wasn’t that she couldn’t find something to keep her occupied for an hour or two at The Angel but, truthfully, she was intrigued by the idea of a late evening stroll through the woods with this man. He termed himself an oddball like his Uncle Gabe, but Gabe just happened to be one of the nicest men she’d ever known. Going over her plans for The Angel could wait. ‘I’d love to meet Barney and see how Woodward Cottage has turned out.’
They ferried the cooling grills into the kitchen in case of rain, then Ben waited as Alexia locked the big front door before they stepped together into the quiet night-time village.
Ben paused. ‘We could walk down Little Lane and hook back on ourselves up the track to the cottage, but it’s about three miles. It’s quicker to take the footpaths, if you’re not scared of the dark. I have a torch on my phone.’
Alexia laughed at the idea she might be scared. ‘I grew up here. I know my way around the bridleways and my phone has a torch, too.’ A feeling was fluttering about inside her. But it wasn’t fear.
The Little Village Christmas Page 2