by Julie Caplin
‘Yes,’ said Amelie, with a smile at poor old David, who was really getting in the neck, ‘but if you’d got a later flight, you’d have missed coffee and cake, and you wouldn’t have had time to relax before dinner. Come on, let’s get you some cake and coffee.’
Before anyone could move, Luke came in through the door, shaking off his scarf and peeling a matching red beany hat from his head.
‘Ah, Mina! I’ve been thinking—’
‘Luke, isn’t it?’ The woman’s sharp voice rang out, and before he could finish, she marched a few steps to meet him. ‘We met last time we were here. Sarah McDonald.’ She stabbed her hand out in a formal gesture that a robot might have been proud of.
‘Oh, yes. Hi,’ said Luke with one of his easy smiles, taking her hand and shaking it. ‘And it’s Dave, isn’t it?’
Before the other man could respond, Sarah had chipped in again, ‘Yes. We were here in November. Lovely weekend. And it’s so lovely to be back, although I would have liked to come in January, but David’s work was ridiculously busy, and for some reason—’ she sighed heavily ‘—he couldn’t get the time off work.’
‘Well, you’re here now,’ said Amelie. ‘And it’s lovely to see you. Your room is all ready for you. Why don’t you go up and get settled? I’ll make sure we save you some coffee and cake.’
‘Oh that’s fine,’ said Sarah waving an airy hand. ‘Dave, you take the cases up and I’ll wait for you down here. I’ve been so looking forward to some of your delicious cake, dear Amelie. You have got such a wonderful light touch. Dave’s the baker in our house.’ Her mouth pursed. ‘Of course he’s nowhere near as good as you.’
Dave shrugged and his Eeyore face looked resigned.
‘I’m sure that’s not true,’ said Amelie, tucking her arm into his and giving him a sparkling smile. ‘I think it’s lovely that he bakes at all. So many people don’t bother these days. What’s your favourite cake to make, Dave?’
The clouds on his face parted and the wrinkles fanning from his mouth cleared. ‘I like making lemon drizzle cake. Lovely, moist sponge with nice, tart, sugary topping. Learned that one from my gran. Great woman.’
‘I always think it’s wonderful when recipes are handed down through the family.’
Sarah snorted. ‘Dave’s family are not that posh. His gran probably scribbled the recipe on the back of a pack of Benson & Hedges.’
‘I remember cooking with my grandmother in this very house,’ said Amelie as if she hadn’t heard the dismissive comment. ‘Cooking the same recipes brings back lovely memories. Leave the bags for now. Come have coffee, and I’ve made a lovely gingerbread cake which is just what you need after your journey. How was the train?’
Before Sarah, her mouth downturned in a crescent of obvious displeasure, could voice her disagreement and reiterate her earlier demand that her husband take up the cases, Amelie had steered him through the archway into the lounge area and was guiding him to a spot next to Claudia.
Mina was about to catch Luke’s eye, wondering what he’d been about to say, but Sarah beat her to it. ‘So Luke, what have you been up to today?’ Neatly elbowing Mina out of the way, the other woman fell into step beside him, and without allowing him to respond, began talking at him as they followed Amelie and Dave into the lounge.
With a grin, Mina shook her head to herself. It would be interesting to see what course Amelie intended in her attempt to fix the overbearing Sarah and her poor downtrodden husband.
Chapter Thirteen
The next few days passed quickly as Mina spent the mornings in the kitchen perfecting her kirscher torte recipe and the afternoons exploring the cross-country ski trails with Claudia and Amelie.
Her godmother continued to marvel over her uncharacteristic patience, as she tested several different variants of the recipe, making copious notes, but Mina was in her element. She loved this part of the process and it further reinforced how stifled she’d been at work and how little job satisfaction she’d derived in the last year.
On Friday, Amelie shooed her out of the kitchen and she spent a glorious day snowboarding with Luke, after admitting to herself that she had been avoiding him, something she regretted the minute she got out onto the slopes. Her misspent childhood in the skatepark came into its own and she found that snowboarding came more easily than she’d expected, although as always Luke proved to be an endlessly patient teacher.
They returned to the chalet having been wedged in on a packed train as the weekend skiers flocked in to the resorts.
‘Thanks for taking me out,’ said Mina, as she shook off her coat in the boot room and sat down to take her boots off. She’d had a wonderful day. A bit too wonderful. Luke had been a perfect gentleman, not one kiss or attempted kiss, and if he’d held her hand a couple of times, either helping her up or leading her up from the station, he just happened to be a very tactile person. He was also incredibly easy to be with. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed like she had today or enjoyed someone’s company as much as his. Being with him was like drinking champagne all the time. She felt fizzy and sparkly, energised and excited. But, she told herself sternly, that wasn’t real life. You couldn’t drink champagne every day.
‘My pleasure,’ he said, giving her one of his broad smiles, his eyes twinkling, and she knew he meant it in the fullest sense of the word. She loved that he always seemed to be so happy and positive, embracing life with lively energy and enthusiasm. In some ways it was quite intoxicating and in others inspiring. It was also very attractive, and her heart chose to respond with one of its wayward flutters, but she managed to hold his gaze. It wasn’t fair. He was so damn gorgeous.
‘Not only did I have a great day but it helped clear my head. I’m starting a new train commission this week. A new suitcase is being couriered to me and I find getting out in the fresh air and exercise helps spark the old creativity.’ He grinned and tugged down the zip of his coat. ‘And I’ve come up with an idea. The client for the next commission wants a by-moonlight theme and I was racking my brains trying to think what that might look like.’ He tugged off the coat and tossed it on the bench next them before sitting down next to her.
‘Ooh, that sounds tough.’ Mina was relieved the conversation had taken a less personal tack.
‘The train track is going to run along the seafront and I’ll have the moon reflected on the surface of the sea.’ He circled the air with one finger as if tracing the route of his imagined train. ‘And I’ll have little pools of light under the lampposts and a blue wash over everything.’
‘Clever.’ At times like this, she realised there was more to him than met the eye. How did a man who was as vibrant and full of life as he was, have the painstaking patience to put together those intricate, beautiful models? She’d seen Uncle D at work and knew that the lifelike, miniature replica scenery took hours to create.
Having kicked off his boots, he rose and gave her a quick modest bow and took her coat and hung it up next to his.
‘And I’ve had a result today,’ she said, remembering her revelation at the top of one of the slopes. ‘I’m going to make my kirscher torte a slightly different shape to the original that it’s inspired by. I’m going to shape the meringue on top into little peaks, so that they look like the mountains at sunset. You know, when they turn slightly pink.’
‘You had me at meringue. I’ve got a very sweet tooth.’ He patted his extremely trim stomach and Mina’s mind went where it shouldn’t, imagining a smooth stomach and dark hair arrowing downward. Despite all her pep talks she couldn’t deny the strong sexual attraction she felt for him. Who wouldn’t? He was pretty perfect.
‘Looks like we’ve both had a productive day. Although, I’ve had another brilliant idea as well.’
‘What’s that?’ asked Mina, finally toeing off her boots. ‘And what were you going to say the other evening?’
He looked down at her, a faint smile on his face as if considering telling her, and then shook his head. ‘Sam
e thing actually, but today I’ve decided to keep it a secret, but I think you’ll like it.’
‘I love surprises,’ said Mina, realising that she was usually the one that did the surprising, although it hadn’t worked out too well the last time she organised one, she thought, as she remembered Simon’s shocked face and that quick side-long look at Belinda. The surprise had definitely been on her. Shaking the memory from her head, she stood up. ‘I’m going to go and see if Amelie needs any help with dinner before she serves cake.’ She didn’t voice her concern, but her godmother was looking more and more tired.
‘OK,’ said Luke, seeming a little preoccupied. ‘I’ll see you in the lounge in a while.’
The kitchen, as always, brimmed with delicious smells and Amelie was hard at work putting the finishing touches to an enormous pastry-topped pie.
‘That looks good.’
‘It’s Churer fleischtorte,’ said Amelie with an impish smile.
‘And you’re going to tell me what that is,’ said Mina, already curious as to what was in the pastry case.
‘It comes from the city of Chur, of course, and it contains ground pork, bacon, milk-soaked bread, and red wine. It won’t win any beauty contests,’ said Amelie with that incredible turn of English phrasing that never ceased to amaze Mina, ‘but it tastes delicious.’
‘I’ll look forward to trying it. I came in to see if you needed any help.’ Surreptitiously, she studied the purple shadows beneath Amelie’s eyes.
‘I’ll enjoy your company if you’d like to stay, and you could peel some potatoes for me. And,’ Amelie said with a teasing smile, ‘tell me all about your snowboarding adventures.’
Mina laughed. ‘I think I had more faceplants than adventures. I might have a few bruises. Luke says I want to run before I can walk, but I had a great time and I’m determined to master it.’
She peeled the potatoes quickly and asked for another job. ‘You’re supposed to be on holiday, not playing sous chef,’ grumbled Amelie, although she still handed over a pile of carrots to peel and slice.
‘Yes, but I came to see you as well.’
‘You see me in the kitchen every morning and yesterday we had a lovely run out.’
‘We did,’ Mina agreed. They’d spent a couple of hours skiing along the valley to the village of Blitzingen where they’d stopped for hot chocolate in a pretty little café by the river. The route, which followed the River Rhone, had been a nice easy one and Mina was really starting to get the hang of cross-country skiing. On the couple of occasions she’d been out with Claudia, the other woman had helped her to improve her technique.
‘And I’m quite capable of managing without you,’ said Amelie, her face suddenly brightening with that naughty pixie smile of hers. ‘Besides, I drafted in a helper this morning. Dave has made his lemon drizzle cake for everyone.’
‘Has he now?’ Mina made a thing of dropping her knife in mock surprise. ‘I thought I was the only one you trusted in your kitchen, and more to the point, how on earth did you wangle that one?’ Even after relatively short acquaintance over cake and coffee and dinners, Mina was very grateful that Amelie hadn’t seated her next to the acerbic and opinionated Sarah. It was clear to everyone that Sarah liked to have Dave under her thumb, quite literally, at all times.
‘Yes, and next week, he’s going to make his legendary chocolate log.’ Amelie grinned and looked over her shoulder before whispering, ‘Sarah was complaining yesterday, over cake, about how she was desperate for a lie-in and to not have to do anything too strenuous today. I suggested that she sat by the fire and read a book, we have a good selection.’ There was a bookshelf in the lounge on the back wall, with a variety of books of different genres in different languages, presumably left by previous guests. ‘But she was worried that Dave would be bored as “he’s not very resourceful” and then she would feel guilty, and then she wouldn’t be able to read a book.’
Mina could imagine exactly how the conversation might have gone; she was only surprised she hadn’t actually heard Sarah’s complaints. No one would have described the woman as softly-spoken; her words boomed out like a foghorn with the volume turned to max.
‘I said that she would be doing me an enormous favour if she would lend Dave to me.’
Mina marvelled at Amelie’s clever psychology. By requesting Sarah’s permission, she’d played to the woman’s vanity and tendency to want to control her husband.
‘Very clever.’
‘I thought so,’ replied Amelie with an insouciant grin.
Dave appeared in the kitchen at ten-to-four, and Mina smiled to herself at his barely concealed schoolboy pride.
‘Have you seen my cake?’ he asked.
‘I have, it looks wonderful.’
‘Amelie says I can carry it in.’ His face fell for a second. ‘I sound like a ten-year-old, don’t I?’
‘No,’ said Amelie, suddenly stern. ‘You sound like a man with a gift for baking, who wants to share his skill with new friends.’
As if by magic, his shoulders straightened and Mina mentally high-fived Amelie. Her godmother had an innate gift of understanding what made people tick. What a precious skill, and one she’d love to emulate. Perhaps if she’d been more mindful of what drove other people and what they wanted, she might have made things with Simon work. Then she shook her head. That was rubbish: she and Simon had been totally incompatible from day one, neither of them had wanted to recognise it, and for the first time, she understood he was as much at fault as her. It was a relief to realise that she wasn’t the only one who had messed up.
She followed Dave into the lounge, carrying the tea plates and dessert forks. With the kindness she’d come to expect from the guests when they were all together, everyone oohed and aahed over the cake. The finish didn’t quite have Amelie’s professional precision, but the moist sponge glistened with lemon-soaked sugar and it smelled delicious. Mina noticed that Amelie watched Sarah’s face like a hawk, almost as if she were preparing to jump to the defence of her chick.
This, she realised, was an important moment, and as soon as she was served her slice of cake, she took a forkful.
‘Oh Dave,’ she exclaimed, completely truthfully. ‘This is amazing. You should go on Bake Off.’ The sponge was light, fluffy, and moist, and the subtle flavour of lemon came through without being overpowering and was perfectly balanced by the sharp acidic hit of the lemon sugar drizzle topping.
Amelie shot her an approving smile and they exchanged a conspiratorial nod. Job done.
Sarah sat up and preened in Dave’s reflected glory as the other guests began to congratulate him. Inside, Mina felt a warm glow, as he for once held court without his wife interrupting or putting him down. In fact she looked fondly on, with a definite touch of pride.
Mina wanted to laugh and wondered if they would be allowed to book a room here again.
As the chatter settled, she sank back into her seat, feeling the slight ache in her muscles, acutely aware that there was no sign of Luke, although she had no shortage of company. Benrhardt and Kristian had arrived, bringing with them Uta, who had popped in to say hello and sample Amelie’s famous cake and coffee.
‘I couldn’t book to stay here, but I’m going to keep trying,’ she said to Mina as they chatted by the fire. Mina resolved to introduce the other woman to Amelie when she next got the chance, feeling sure that Amelie would approve of the cheerful, friendly German.
The four of them were busy talking about the weekend plans when Luke appeared. He came straight over, waving a piece of paper, grinning from ear to ear.
‘Hi guys,’ he said, perching on the arm of the sofa next to Mina.
‘You look like the rat that has taken the cream,’ said Kristian.
‘Yes,’ said Luke, cutting across Bernhardt who was clearly about to correct his friend. ‘I am and I have. Mina,’ he announced grandly, ‘I’ve booked tickets for the cheese and chocolate train. We’re going on Wednesday.’
For a moment Mina was
blindsided by surprise – but also a bolt of irritation. Wednesday was the day that Johannes was making his next batch of chocolate. She wasn’t supposed to know, but Amelie had let slip, and she was really hoping to persuade him between now and then to let her observe or even help. It was her one opportunity. But Luke looked so delighted with himself, how could she disappoint him? Had Simon felt like this when she’d sprung the indoor skydiving on him when he was supposed to be playing an away match? Or when she’d booked out the whole bowling alley for his thirtieth birthday, when he’d been hoping for dinner at Ottolenghi in London.
Luckily the others unwittingly jumped into rescue her before she could say anything.
‘I’ve always wanted to do that,’ said Uta. ‘What time does the train leave?’
‘Me too,’ said Kristian.
‘The scenery is spectacular,’ said Bernhardt. ‘It is one of the great scenic railway trips and I really ought to do it one day.’
Mina realised she still hadn’t said anything, and that Luke was watching her, a slight look of worry on his face.
‘That’s brilliant, thank you,’ she said. And it was, really. She was being churlish. The trip would be fantastic. Actually, she told herself, she was being extremely churlish. Cheese and chocolate. A vintage train. What was not to like?
‘I can’t wait,’ she said, smiling broadly at him as his face softened in relief while the others discussed the practicality of getting to Montreux, what time the train left, and what they’d be doing at work that day in their respective cities.
Luke winked at her and she recalled their conversation on the mountain. She’d far rather be here.
Chapter Fourteen
The train, waiting like a show pony on the platform, gleamed with old-fashioned patina; the vintage Pullman coaches were painted in smart cream and navy livery and decorated with flowing gold script. Along the length of the train, the open doors reminded her of a line of smart soldiers ready to welcome everyone onboard.