The Christmas Tea Shop at Rosewood

by The Christmas Tea Shop at Rosewood (retail) (epub)

  ‘Was that Alexander Skarsgård?’ Holly asked.

  ‘Who?’ Fran asked, meeting Holly’s eyes.

  ‘You know, the actor from Big Little Lies and True Blood.’

  ‘Ahhh…’ Fran nodded. ‘Yes, I guess he does look a bit like him.’

  ‘Very nice.’ Holly smiled, her queasiness apparently forgotten – for the moment at least.

  ‘And he has an adorable little girl.’

  ‘He does.’

  ‘So he’s likely got a beautiful wife or partner somewhere too.’ Fran chuckled. ‘Don’t they all?’

  ‘Do you fancy him, Fran?’

  Fran lowered her gaze to the table and cleared her throat. ‘Absolutely not. I’ve no time for men, Holly, and you know that well enough.’

  When she raised her eyes again, Holly was staring at her with her arms folded across her chest and her eyebrows raised.

  ‘One day, Francesca Gandolfini, you will fall head over heels for someone. You mark my words.’

  Fran rolled her eyes. ‘Whatever. I’m not fussy on doing forward rolls or cartwheels, so I very much doubt it.’

  ‘Ha ha!’ Holly shook her head.

  Audrey arrived then with their tea and cake, changing the direction of the conversation that had started to make Fran quite uncomfortable.

  ‘Here you go, ladies. Can I get you anything else?’

  ‘No, this is perfect, thank you.’ Fran’s mouth watered at the thick golden slices of lemon drizzle cake with the crusty lemon-sugar topping. Audrey’s lemon drizzle cake was always a delicious mix of lightweight sponge and incredible flavours, both sweet and sour, zesty and tangy.

  ‘Uh… Audrey?’ Holly placed a hand on the tea shop owner’s arm.

  ‘Yes, Holly?’

  ‘We were wondering who the tall man is.’

  Audrey frowned.

  ‘The one with floppy blonde hair and the little girl. I think his daughter said his name is Ethan?’

  ‘Oh!’ Audrey beamed at them and nodded. ‘That’s my nephew, Ethan Clarke, my brother’s boy, and his little girl, Tilly. They’ve come to live here at Rosewood. He’s had a…’ Audrey grimaced. ‘I probably shouldn’t say too much but he’s had a tough few years, my nephew. After our chef quit, I offered him a job here and thankfully, he accepted.’

  ‘So has he moved here with his daughter and partner?’ Holly asked.

  Fran glared at her and shook her head.

  ‘Oh no.’ Audrey folded her hands in front of her. ‘It’s just him and Tilly, the poor loves. But they’re with family now so we’ll take care of them both.’

  ‘I’m sure you will.’ Holly nodded.

  ‘Yes, they need some proper old-fashioned Cornish TLC.’

  ‘They’ve come to the right place,’ Fran said, knowing how much Audrey adored her family.

  ‘Thank you, Fran. I’m relieved to have them here at last. I was worried about them being alone in Bath all that time. Anyway, just call if you want more tea or anything else.’ Audrey headed back to the counter.

  ‘Why did you ask if he was here with a partner?’ Fran sighed, horrified at her friend’s behaviour.

  ‘It was an innocent enough question.’ Holly picked up her cup and blew on the hot tea.

  ‘No, it wasn’t. It seemed really nosy and like you had an ulterior motive.’ Fran sipped her own tea, hoping it would help to soothe her.

  ‘What ulterior motive could I possibly have?’ Holly pouted at Fran.

  ‘Oh, whatever. I know you too well, Holly Dryden, and you were plotting something then, and seeing as how you’re about to marry the man you love, Audrey probably realised that you were asking for more information with your very single friend in mind.’

  ‘Perhaps I was, perhaps I wasn’t. But I really don’t think Audrey even raised an eyebrow. She’s just happy to talk about her family.’ Holly smiled. ‘Do you… do you have the… the thing?’ Holly asked, her voice softer now.

  ‘The test?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Fran nodded then reached into her bag and pulled out a small foil packet. She’d taken the test out of the box so it would be easier to tuck into her bag.

  ‘Here you go.’

  She handed it to Holly under the table.

  ‘It looks like we’re up to something untoward.’ Holly blushed. ‘I hope no one noticed anything.’

  ‘Are you going to do it now?’

  ‘I’ll just eat my cake first.’

  ‘That’s procrastinating.’ Fran winked at her friend.

  ‘I know, but I’m nervous.’

  ‘That it will be positive?’

  ‘That it might be and also… that it might not be.’

  ‘There’s only one way to quieten those doubts.’

  ‘I know, but it feel like Russian roulette. Either way, the so-called bullet could be the one that floors me.’

  ‘Try not to worry, Holly. If it’s meant to be…’

  ‘It’s meant to be.’ Holly nodded. ‘I know and I certainly can’t change the outcome now.’

  After Holly had eaten her lemon drizzle cake, chewing each mouthful slowly, she stood up. ‘Here goes…’

  ‘Holly?’ Fran reached out a hand and Holly took it. ‘Good luck, sweetie. You’ve got this either way.’

  Holly looked as if she might cry and Fran wanted to hug her, but knew that if she did in the middle of the tea shop, Holly might burst into tears and people would stare, and ask questions, and neither of those would be helpful right now.

  * * *

  Ethan helped Tilly to wash her hands then he settled her on a stool at the island in the centre of the tea shop kitchen. They were both wearing hairnets and aprons and Tilly kept laughing at him, telling him he looked funny. She had never been to work with him before, so this was quite a novel experience for them both. Her tongue poked out of her mouth as she used the star shape to cut biscuits from the dough they’d made. Ethan was in charge of the scones for the tea shop but he’d given Tilly her own task to get on with and she was taking it very seriously.

  ‘Daddy?’ Tilly asked without looking up.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Would you like another baby?’

  He coughed in surprise. ‘Pardon?’

  ‘Well… I was looking at the baby with the two ladies and he’s so cute and I thought, does Daddy want a baby too?’

  ‘I don’t need a baby, Tilly, I have you.’

  ‘But we could have a baby brother for me, couldn’t we?’ Tilly looked up now and smiled at him so innocently that he thought his heart would break.

  ‘Uh… Tilly… a baby needs… uh… a mummy too. We… you and me, that is… can’t have a baby without a mummy.’

  She tutted and shook her head. ‘I know that, silly, so you’ll have to find a new mummy to have a baby for you, won’t you?’

  She returned her attention to the cutting of stars and Ethan swallowed hard. He worried so much about Tilly not having a mum around and yet she constantly surprised him with her resilience. The problem was that she still had such a simple perspective on it all, and for Ethan, as an adult who’d had been hurt and disillusioned, nothing was simple any more. Nothing at all…

  And the last thing he wanted was for his pain to seep out into all aspects of his life. Look at how he’d behaved out in the tea shop when Tilly had wandered off and he’d seen her with the two women and the baby. His first concern had been that Tilly was safe, his second that she was bothering the women and his third that he had reacted so snappily. That wasn’t who he was, but sometimes the worry and the pressure of being a single dad and now moving and starting a new job mounted up, and he wondered where it would all go. He’d been rude and he regretted it now. All he could do was hope that it didn’t deter his aunt’s customers from coming to the tea shop again.

  Especially the petite woman with the short red-brown hair and trendy black-framed glasses. She’d had unusual coloured eyes, some deep purplish-blue shade that had made him falter when he met them full on. Her lips had
been a bold bright red and she’d been wearing some kind of black floaty top with jeans and boots. She was certainly very attractive and she had that air of self-confidence that suggested that she knew her worth and could take care of herself. Since Melanie, Ethan rarely noticed if a woman was good-looking. In fact, he hadn’t found himself drawn to any woman in any way, because he’d been unable to see past his hurt and his concerns for Tilly. But for some reason, today he had felt a flutter in his chest when he’d met the woman’s eyes and he’d even admired the way she’d stood up to him in defending his daughter. Not that he’d been annoyed with Tilly at all, just worried about where she’d gone and then concerned that she was disturbing customers, but even so… In the very short time he’d been near the stranger, he had seen fire and strength in her and it had briefly ignited something inside him, as if a part of him had remembered something he used to feel, something he used to know.

  He sighed.

  It was gone now, whatever it was – a flicker of physical attraction or a primal recognition of a kindred spirit, or possibly just admiration of her pretty eyes and confident demeanour. It was surely natural to notice other human beings and it didn’t have to mean anything.

  ‘Daddy?’ Tilly cut through his thoughts.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Can I eat these now?’ She picked up a floppy star, making him laugh.

  ‘Not yet, Tilly, we need to pop them in the oven for a bit first.’

  ‘Okay.’ She nodded. ‘But then I’m having five.’

  ‘Five?’ He feigned mock horror.

  ‘Okay, four, but only so I have some room leftover for a scone.’

  ‘Deal.’

  He looked at his little girl, wearing a white apron that was too big for her, with her long hair held back in a hairnet and her innocent brown eyes, and his heart ached. She was his whole world and he would do anything for her.

  Anything at all.

  Chapter 4

  Fran picked up her cup but it was empty, just like the last time she’d looked. She didn’t know whether to order more tea now or to wait until Holly came back to their table. Because Holly had been gone for quite some time. Twenty minutes to be exact. Thankfully, Luke was still fast asleep, oblivious to the clinking of cutlery, the clattering of dishes, the whir of the frothing machine and the murmuring and laughter of the tea shop’s customers.

  She couldn’t go and check on Holly because that would mean leaving Luke or taking him, which might wake him up, and she didn’t want to risk that in case Holly needed some time to come to terms with the result of the test.

  Instead, she tried to focus on the smell of freshly baked cakes and the aromatic scent of coffee and spices. Each one took her back to the autumn when she’d come here with Holly because her friend told her she had exciting news. Over pumpkin-spice lattes and gingerbread, Holly had told her that Rich had proposed as they’d strolled around the vineyard. He’d intended on waiting for Christmas, but then had realised that a Christmas wedding would be magical, so instead he’d proposed as they’d taken a walk in the autumnal air, as their feet had crunched through fallen leaves and as the sky had turned a burnished copper, laced with purple and gold. Fran had been delighted for them both and agreed that a festive wedding would be wonderful.

  Finally, the toilet door opened and Holly emerged. As she walked to the table, Fran scanned her face for clues, but Holly kept her eyes lowered and her hands in her pockets. She was giving nothing away.

  When she sat down, Fran held her breath for a few moments to resist asking if it was positive. Under the table she dug her nails into her palms, hoping that Holly would be happy with the result.

  ‘Fran.’ Holly broke the tense silence then cleared her throat.

  ‘Yes?’ Fran croaked out. She was a jumble of nerves and felt like a coiled spring. If Holly didn’t tell her soon, she thought she might bounce off into space.

  ‘It was… It was…’ Holly’s eyes widened. ‘Oh shit, there’s Lucinda!’

  Fran turned around and saw Holly’s fiancé’s mother, Lucinda Turner, at the doorway to the tea shop, along with two other women. Lucinda’s brown hair was covered by a pink beret that matched her puffy pink and purple coat.

  ‘Why isn’t she at the bakery?’ Fran asked. ‘It’s Saturday. You’d think she’d be busy, wouldn’t you?’

  ‘It’s one of her friend’s birthdays. She told me in the week that they were going out for tea and cake, possibly to Rosewood, but it must have slipped my mind.’ Holly pulled a face. ‘Quick, take this.’

  Holly nudged Fran under the table so she put out her hand. When she looked down she saw a white plastic stick.

  ‘Holly!’ She recoiled. ‘You’ve peed on this.’

  ‘Of course I have. How else would it work?’

  ‘But… eugh.’ Fran held it gingerly between finger and thumb under the table. ‘What am I going to do with it?’

  ‘Hide it quickly! Lucinda’s coming over.’

  Fran grabbed her bag and stuffed the test into it. She didn’t have time to look at what it would be touching in her bag because Lucinda was upon them in no time.

  ‘Girls!’ Lucinda hugged them in turn, squishing them against her duck-down jacket, her sweet floral fragrance washing over them, followed by the aroma of cakes and pastry that always clung to her from all the hours at the bakery. ‘And my darling grandson.’

  Fran smiled up at Lucinda as she removed her beret. With her brown bobbed hair with its sweeping side fringe, her cute freckles and brown eyes, she was very pretty and looked younger than her fifty-eight years. For a long time, Lucinda had seemed sad, broken even, after losing her one son in a tragic accident, but since becoming a grandmother, she had seemed happier, as if she was somehow healing.

  Lucinda leant over the pushchair and Fran saw Holly stiffen. She was clearly worried that Lucinda would wake the baby, but Lucinda just smiled at him then straightened up. ‘He’s such a cherub. I feel blessed every time I look at him. Can I get you two anything?’

  ‘No, we’re fine, thanks.’ Holly shook her head. ‘We won’t be long as I need to get back to Greenacres to go over some figures with Rich.’ She rolled her eyes then grimaced. ‘You know how I love numbers, especially when Rich gets all excited about them.’

  Rich worked as an accountant and for as long as Fran had known him, he had enjoyed working on things that involved numbers. Fran didn’t mind maths but she’d rather read or walk the dogs.

  ‘Well, I shall see you later then.’ Lucinda turned to head over to her friends then paused and looked at Holly again. ‘Holly, are you all right? You look a bit… peaky.’

  Holly blinked hard and her left eyebrow twitched. ‘I’m fine. Luke just… was a bit restless last night, so I’m tired. I didn’t sleep well.’

  ‘Okay, then. As long as you’re okay. You know where I am if you need me.’ Lucinda nodded, squeezed Holly’s shoulder then walked away.

  ‘That was close,’ Holly muttered.

  ‘Indeed.’ Fran shifted on her chair and held her hands out. ‘And I’m desperate to go and wash my hands after holding your pee stick.’

  ‘I don’t know why that bothers you, Fran, you pick up dog poo all the time.’

  ‘But not with my hands!’ Fran shook her head. ‘Anyway, I didn’t get a chance to look at the test. What was the result?’

  Holly licked her lips and took a deep breath, then picked up her tea cup, saw it was empty, so placed it back on the saucer.

  ‘It was… It was…’ She exhaled then nodded.

  ‘Positive?’

  ‘Yup.’

  ‘Right. Okay.’ Was Holly pleased? She couldn’t tell. ‘The thing is, though… I did buy two tests but bloody Scamp ate one so you had to have the cheaper one. It could be wrong.’

  ‘Do you think?’ Holly leant forwards, her eyebrows raised.

  ‘I’m sure they’re not one hundred per cent, are they?’

  ‘I guess not.’

  ‘So if it is incorrect, how will that
make you feel?’

  Holly sat back and rolled her shoulders as if she had the weight of the world on them. ‘I’d be… disappointed now, I think.’

  ‘Well it’s probably correct, so try not to worry.’

  Holly nodded. ‘I will try, but it’s just so difficult.’

  ‘I know. I suspect I’d feel that way too. You know… if I was in your situation… uh… Do you need to get back to Greenacres now?’

  ‘I should get home. Things to do and all that. Plus if we stay here, Lucinda will end up coming over again, and as much as I love her… I don’t feel up to chatting much right now. She’ll guess that something’s up with me.’

  ‘What are you going to do about Rich?’

  ‘I need to tell him.’ Holly twirled a strand of her blonde hair around her forefinger.

  ‘I’m so glad you said that. He’ll be fine about it. In fact, I suspect he’ll be delighted and you need his support right now more than ever.’

  ‘But I don’t want anyone else to know at the moment. With the wedding and Christmas approaching and us being so busy at the vineyard, I don’t want to have to share this yet. And, of course, with Granny being so run-down. I want to hold it close so we can come to terms with it first, if that makes sense, then Rich and I can tell Granny and Dad together.’

  ‘I won’t say a word.’

  ‘Promise?’

  ‘Holly, you know I won’t. When have I ever betrayed you by telling someone your secrets?’

  ‘I do know that and you have always been such a loyal friend to me. I know I could trust you with my life. I just like seeing the exasperation on your face whenever I ask you to promise me something.’

  Holly smiled and Fran smiled back.

  ‘I’ll go and pay.’

  Fran picked up her bag and approached the counter. Audrey was serving another customer and her two daughters didn’t seem to be around, so she occupied herself by eyeing up the delicious cakes on offer in the glass display in front of the counter. There were slices of chocolate cake with fat round cherries on the top, squashed into the rich chocolate fondant icing, thick slices of carrot cake topped with silky white cream cheese icing, then blueberry muffins with cracked tops where fresh blueberries had burst, flooding the muffins with their purple-blue shade. Her mouth watered and she decided to purchase a few to take home.