The Cosy Christmas Teashop Read online

  Ellie leaned into him, let her head rest against his chest. She felt the rhythm of her heart slow to the strength of his, and closed her eyes for a few seconds.

  2

  ‘Hi Ellie, it’s Lucy.’

  Just four words, but there was something in her tone, seemingly flat at first but then that lilt of panic, that made Ellie’s heart freeze. It was the day after Bank Holiday, Ellie was back in the teashop kitchens, preparing salad, ready for the lunch session. She’d just picked up the phone.

  ‘Lucy, is everything okay?’ This was not how a bride-to-be, just two weeks from her wedding day, should sound.

  ‘No.’

  Oh, no. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘It’s Daniel … We-we’re going to have to cancel the wedding.’

  But they had seemed so well suited. Ellie had got on really well with both of them during the wedding planning. They had come to feel like friends. Was it just pre-wedding jitters?

  ‘He’s had an accident, Ellie. Come off his motorbike … he’s in a real mess.’ A sob echoed down the line.

  ‘Oh, no. Is he going to be all right?’

  There was a little hiccuppy noise, ‘I think so … but it’s not good. He’s broken that many bones, his left leg in I don’t know how many places, his ankle, collarbone, wrist and … he’s lost the feeling in his legs.’

  ‘Oh Lucy, how awful. I’m so sorry.’

  ‘But the wedding … We’re going to have to let you and the castle down. There’s no way it can happen now. And, there’s the florist, and the band booked, and you’ve probably made the cake already, and all the catering …’

  ‘Hey, that’s the least of your worries right now. What’s important here is Daniel’s recovery. We can sort out all that other stuff. Just leave it to me to contact the florist and the band.’

  Yes, some food might be wasted, Ellie realized. They had hired caterers for the main wedding meal, but she was catering for the arrival drinks and canapes, and breakfast for the overnight guests. Her special-recipe fruit cake was already made, ready to be iced, but that could be used up somehow.

  Dear God, wasn’t life precarious. They were such a lovely couple, in their early thirties. They seemed very much in love, what a terrible thing to happen. Ellie felt a little queasy. She so hoped Daniel would be okay. But, if he’d lost the use of his legs, how bloody frightening.

  Ellie remembered vividly when they’d first turned up to view the castle as a potential wedding venue, with some friends on a trio of Harley Davidson motorbikes roaring up the driveway. Yes, she should know better than to judge by appearances, but she couldn’t help but imagine some kind of Hell’s Angels types as they’d rolled up in their black-leather biker jackets. Then they’d taken off their helmets, given her broad smiles, shook hands, and had been so warm and friendly. They had clicked and chatted easily as she’d shown them around, and they had just loved the quirkiness and character of the castle as a wedding venue.

  ‘Honestly, don’t worry about us, Lucy,’ Ellie took up, ‘You just concentrate on getting Daniel better. Then you can make a decision about the wedding at a later date. Let’s think of it in terms of a delay, that’s all. Just let me know in time, and we can rebook. Okay?’

  ‘Okay … thank you. Can you hang on to the deposit then, and I’ll keep you posted.’

  Bless her, she sounded in shock.

  ‘Of course, if that’s what you’d like. And, I’ll go ahead and advise the other parties involved, as far as postponing the booking here. Don’t worry, I’ll sort all that out.’

  ‘Thank you so much.’

  ‘Is there anything else we can do to help at all, Lucy?’

  ‘Not really, I don’t think so. Dan’s still in the hospital for now. The Royal Victoria in Newcastle.’

  ‘Okay, well send him our best wishes … Which ward?’

  She’d send a card, maybe some of her homemade fudge – he’d loved it when she’d served it with their coffee as they were chatting through their wedding plans. It wasn’t a lot, but it might just help to cheer him up. It was hard to know quite what to do to help, in such circumstances.

  ‘Ward Seven. I’m popping to see him again this afternoon, I’ll say you’re asking after him …’ There was a long pause. ‘It was a lorry, you know, that did it. Cut across on the wrong side of the road on a bend, just took him right out.’

  ‘Oh God, how awful … I’m so, so sorry, Lucy.’

  ‘At least he’s still here. He might be all bashed up, but oh God, to think …’

  It was almost too dreadful to go there, to let your mind take that next step.

  ‘Take care now, both of you. And don’t go worrying about anything here. It’s just one of those things. It’s fine, we can rebook whenever you are ready. Just let us know how things go for you both.’

  ‘Thank you … for being so understanding.’

  ‘Hey, it’s no problem. He’ll get through this, Lucy. I’m sure he will, my lovely. After all, he’s got a wedding to get to.’

  Ellie was stood in a bit of a daze after putting the receiver of the landline down. Deana had put the call through to her in the teashop kitchen. Joe came in, found her stood stock-still, staring at the work surface where she’d been slicing tomatoes and cucumber.

  ‘You okay?’

  ‘Oh … I’ve just had a bit of a shock. You know Daniel and Lucy, the next wedding booking?’

  ‘Uh-huh.’

  ‘Well, that was Lucy … Oh Joe, it’s Dan, he’s had a really nasty accident. Came off his motorbike and is in a right mess by the sounds of it.’

  ‘Oh, Jeez. Is he going to be okay?’

  ‘Hopefully, but he’s broken loads of bones, and at the moment he’s lost the feeling in his legs. That’s so worrying.’

  ‘Ah, shit.’

  Life could change in a split second. We were all so bloody fragile. Ellie began to feel a bit wobbly, there were tears misting her eyes. ‘It’s just taken me a bit by surprise. They’re such a nice couple. It seems so unfair. They should be getting their lovely wedding day.’

  ‘Come here.’ Joe’s strong arms were around her, comforting, steady.

  She rested her head against his chest and allowed a tear to run down her cheek. She felt so lucky that they had met, that she had taken the chance on coming up here to take on the lease for the teashop, five years ago now. Even three years after their own wedding, she still had to pinch herself that it had worked out so wonderfully. It felt so very precious to have found the right person, having his arms around her at night, and at times like this.

  ‘Right,’ she rallied. ‘I’d better get on with this cooking and my next batch of baking, or the tearooms will be out of cookies and cake, and that will never do. Oh, and I must ring the catering company, and Wendy at the florist’s and the band from Berwick that were booked too, to let them know the wedding’s had to be cancelled.’

  ‘I’ll see you later, then. I need to go over and check the farmstead next. You sure you’re okay now?’

  ‘Yes, of course. I just really feel for them. What a dreadful thing to happen, and what a shock.’

  ‘Yeah, they’re a great couple. He was chatting to me about his bike last time they were here. He was going to let me have a go on it, when they were next back up. I fancied blasting it along the castle driveway.’

  ‘I didn’t even know you could ride a motorbike?’

  ‘Yeah well, hidden talents of a misspent youth. Right, I’d better crack on.’

  Doris bustled into the kitchen soon after; she’d been waiting expectantly for news on the urgent phone call that she had intercepted, and had to fetch Ellie for.

  ‘Everything okay?’ she angled.

  ‘No. Not really.’ Ellie was still feeling the shock, trying to take it all in.

  The middle-aged waitress’s eyebrows shot up.

  ‘You know that lovely couple who’ve been planning their wedding with us, Daniel and Lucy? It’s in two weeks’ time. The ones who turn up on the motorbik
e. Well, he’s been involved in a terrible road accident.’ She felt her voice catch on the words. ‘That was Lucy, she’s devastated. They’re going to have to cancel.’

  ‘Ah, bless. Yes, I remember them, they were nice sorts. Not like those awful ones from down south for the other September wedding, the ones who keep changing their damned minds on everything. She’s turning out to be a right Bridezilla, that one.’

  Ellie knew exactly who Doris meant, and had to agree with her. They were the most difficult couple that they’d had to deal with by far, in the last four years of hosting weddings at the castle. To be fair, the groom seemed okay, he had probably learnt to do what he was told, but the bride and her mother …

  ‘Yes, I know … But there you go, the customer is always right Doris, and they come in all shapes and sizes. We have to do our best to meet all their needs, however demanding.’

  ‘Hah,’ Doris spluttered, ‘it would help if they knew what those needs were!’

  ‘Agreed.’ Ellie gave a small smile and a sigh all at once, and started rolling out another batch of cookie dough for some white chocolate and hazelnut biscuits.

  Why did the bad stuff always have to happen to the good guys? Life didn’t seem fair sometimes.

  3

  ‘She wants a bloody unicorn now!’

  Ellie had phoned through to Deana’s office, her fifty-something friend and colleague, and Lord Henry’s long-term PA. Deana was down-to-earth, warm-hearted and had been Ellie’s rock in times of crisis through her early years at the castle. She was also helping Ellie with the wedding coordinating that seemed to be taking up so much of her time these days. Ellie needed to share this latest, crazy request from Bridezilla. The wedding itself was only three weeks away, and the daily phone calls and demands from the bride and her mother were getting more and more extreme. It wouldn’t be so bad if they’d choose something and stick to it, but it was an ever-evolving wish list, that pushed Ellie’s organisational skills and patience to the limit.

  ‘A unicorn, how the hell do we get a twatting unicorn to a wedding?’ Deana gave an exasperated sigh down the line.

  ‘It’d be funny, if it wasn’t us had to deal with it,’ Ellie commented. ‘Are there any white horses around the village?’

  Deana laughed, ‘It’s a starting point, I suppose … But how exactly are we going to make it grow a horn from its head?’

  ‘I have no idea. I’m just trying to think creatively.’ Ellie was shaking her head at the craziness of the situation.

  ‘Come and see me later, when Irene’s in, and you get five minutes. We’ll put our heads together over a cup of tea.’

  Irene was the latest addition to the teashop staff and what a godsend she had been. Wendy, the florist, had recommended her. She’d been a school cook, was now retired, but found she had too much time on her hands and was desperate to find some local work. She was a happy soul, never made a fuss, and could bake like Mary Berry; her cakes were very traditional but amazing. Her Victoria sponge was to die for, and her fruit cakes, wow, they were proving quite a hit as wedding cakes. Irene would make the fruit-laden cakes, feeding them well with brandy over a month or so, and Ellie would use her creative skills to ice and decorate them – they made fabulous celebration cakes. The lovely Irene was also a dab hand at quiches and scones.

  At the interview, she’d reminded Ellie of a younger Nanna, with her neat grey curls, warm smile, and with her love of baking too, that had sealed the deal. Ellie had learnt her baking skills from her Nanna. She remembered vividly standing on a stool as a little girl, stirring the cake mix, in her Nanna’s galley kitchen in her brick terraced house in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She still missed her so much; Ellie would love for her to have seen the success she’d made of the Castle Teashop, and to be able to have a really good catch up with her over a slice of cake and a cup of tea. But yes, having Irene to help, was the next best thing, and it had freed up some valuable time for Ellie to coordinate the wedding events they hosted at the castle, knowing the teashop was in safe hands.

  ‘Well, we can’t afford to upset the bridal party. We still need the final payment.’ Deana brought her back to the here and now.

  ‘Yes, I know. We really can’t scoff at the money they’re prepared to pay. But blimey, we’ll be working for it. Oh and get this, we need hundreds of white rose petals to line the chapel aisle, the reception tables and the honeymoon suite. Wendy’s going to love having to peel those off one by one. And, they have to be perfectly fresh – done on the day. Silk ones just won’t do.’

  ‘Oh well, Wendy’ll just have to charge an hourly rate for petal picking on top of the flower bill.’

  Whatever they did for this wedding, Ellie was sure it would never be quite enough in the end, but they could only try their best. She usually loved her wedding co-ordinator role at the castle, but this particular wedding was turning into a bit of a nightmare, pushing her to the limits.

  ‘Right, better get on, Deana. I’ll catch you later. I’ll pop across when I get chance.’

  ‘Yeah, see you soon, pet.’

  Ellie couldn’t stop thinking about poor Daniel, wondering how he was after his accident. It had kept her awake in the night. She wished it was their wedding she was sorting out, not this bloody nightmare couple’s. Before the customers started piling in for the day, she’d give Lucy a call, and see how they were getting on.

  But first, Ellie quickly looked in on the tearooms. Irene had just arrived and was busy baking; a couple of Victoria sponges by the looks of it. Her fresh strawberries and cream filling was going down a treat with the summer visitors; perfect with a cup of Earl Grey, or Darjeeling. Ellie had extended the tea range with a host of new flavours and some herbal specialty teas. Doris had struggled with this at first, Who on earth would be wanting peppermint or ginger tea, and camomile and honey, really? What’s wrong with a cup of Rington’s traditional breakfast? But they had, and she continued to serve it with a frown.

  They were also doing well with their ‘afternoon tea’ special. Irene’s mini-scone selection was a delight, and she’d cut dainty slices of all the teashop favourites for the three tier stands, including Ellie’s lemon drizzle and the now famous Choffee Cake (chocolate and coffee in layers), as well as crust-free perfect fingers of smoked salmon and cream cheese, cucumber, and ham and local honey-mustard sandwiches.

  ‘Morning, Irene. You’ve cracked on well already.’

  ‘No time like the present. And how are you today?’

  ‘Good, thank you. Ready for another busy day. We have a coach booked in for lunch at oneish, so I’ll pop some extra jacket potatoes in. Do you think you could make a couple of extra quiches too?’ Irene’s quiches were amazing – leek and bacon, salmon and asparagus, and her good old Quiche Lorraine with roasted ham and extra-strong cheddar, yum. Her pastry was even crispier than Ellie’s.

  ‘Of course, lovey. I take it you’ve ordered in all the ingredients I need.’

  ‘Yep, all in the store and the fridge. Thanks, Irene.’

  Ellie popped through from the kitchen to the teashop itself, where Doris was giving the pretty rose-patterned oilcloth covers a wipe-over ready for the day ahead, and topping up the water in the posy vases. Ellie felt proud as she walked in there; of how the teashop had come on, and how she had grown herself, what she had managed to achieve by following her dream.

  The teashop was set in an ancient sandstone-walled castle that dated back to the Thirteenth Century. The tearooms had the same rugged stone walls, and high ceilings, with a minstrel’s gallery that looked down over the twelve tables. There was a huge fireplace that was always lit whatever the weather or season, keeping the tearooms cosy. There were two sets of lead-patterned windows on the inner wall that, if you stood on tiptoes on the seating nooks, you could peep out from into the courtyard of the main castle. So much must have happened here over the centuries. So many lives lived out. Kings had stayed en route to and from Scotland – the castle being nestled in the border lands of Northumberland. Se
rvants and masters will have loved and lost, had their children, grown old, died young, here. The dramas, the dreams, the happiness, the sorrows.

  Ellie carried through two cakes she had baked that morning to set on the counter; a carrot cake and a rich chocolate sponge with dark cherries layered with whipped cream. Her chocolate-chip cookies were cooling on wire racks and would be ready shortly, and Irene’s scone selection would appear next. The counter display looked scrummy, she had to admit. It was nice to have a lovely selection of cakes and goodies on show for the castle visitors, and hopefully it would tempt them to spend out on a homemade treat. Ellie had had to develop a keener business mind as well as her baking skills – there were staff to pay and a living to make for herself. She’d started making up pretty cellophane-wrapped bags of mini brownies, shortbread and meringues that guests could buy to take home too – they were proving very popular.

  Once everything was set up, Ellie nipped back to the kitchen. There was one phone call she really wanted to make.

  ‘Hi, Lucy. How’s Daniel getting on?’

  ‘Oh Ellie, how lovely of you to call. Well, he’s so, so … It’s going to be a long job. To be honest, he’s in a bit of a bad way.’

  ‘Oh no. What a shame. I’m so sorry to hear that.’

  ‘He’s just got so many broken bones, his whole body has got to recover. It’s tough on him.’

  ‘And you too, I bet. How are you? It must be so hard for all of you, Dan’s family too.’

  ‘I’m okay, surviving. I’m trying to stay strong for Dan’s sake. I’m at the hospital every day with him. Fitting it around work … my firm have been great actually. And, he’s chatting a bit now, which is brilliant, but he gets really tired. Even a conversation can whack him out. But hey, we’ll get through somehow.’