Christmas at Lilac Cottage: (#1 White Cliff Bay) (10 page)

‘Well, I think Edward and Daniel, my line manager, have explained that very clearly. I know how important the reputation of this company is and I’m delighted to be offered a place here based on my skills and experience.’

He hoped that would be the end of it.

‘We’re a family business here. I do like to know the people who work for our family. Dinner would let us get to know each other better.’

‘Well, I was just about to join Daniel for lunch in the staff canteen, you’re welcome to join us. I hear the cheese and pickle sandwiches are to die for.’

She narrowed her eyes at his deliberate obtuseness. Just then Daniel came back. He looked at Clara in confusion – obviously it wasn’t the norm for her to be seen talking to the carpenters.

‘Oh hello, Ms Stratton,’ Daniel said. ‘Are you lost?’

Henry clenched his lips together to stop the laugh from bursting from his mouth.

Clara forced her eyes from Henry to look at Daniel.

‘What do you mean, lost?’

‘We don’t normally see you down here, I thought you might have taken a wrong turn,’ Daniel said, innocently. ‘Henry, here are your papers, are you coming to lunch?’

‘Yes, of course. Clara, are you joining us?’

Daniel gave a blatant laugh which he turned into a coughing fit.

She glared at Daniel before returning her attention back to Henry. ‘Perhaps another time.’

She turned and strode away, back the way she had come, her bum swaying frantically at the speed she was departing.

‘Bloody hell, Henry, the last person you want to get involved with is Clara Stratton,’ Daniel said, when she had gone. ‘I’d try to stay out of her way from now on if I was you.’

Henry sighed. The perfect job was coming with a red-headed downside.

P
enny stepped back
to look at her finished sleigh. She had to drop it off at a party tonight before she went on to the competition. She loved the bulging sack with a tumble of presents coming out the back. The intricate bows and shapes of the presents had taken quite a long time to get right, but she was proud of the finished result.

She glanced over at Daisy who had been working silently and diligently for the last hour, taking her time with her piece. Penny had showed her a few skills to work on that were particularly useful for this sculpture and, as she had picked it all up very quickly, Penny had pretty much left her to it.

She moved round to look at the snowflake now that it was largely finished and felt her mouth drop in awe. Daisy had already asked Penny to cut the block vertically in half so the snowflake was a lot thinner, even though Penny had warned Daisy that this could make carving a lot harder because the thin bits could be broken off. But Daisy had done a wonderful job. All the tiny delicate fingers of the snowflake had been carved to perfection, each branch rounded so the snowflake looked like it was made from thin tubes.

‘Daisy, this is incredible.’

Daisy looked at her in shock. ‘Really?’

‘Yes, you have a real talent for this stuff. I can’t believe this is your first time.’

‘I did do that wood carving course in the summer, so that taught me a lot of things.’

‘Yes, but even so you’re an absolute natural at this stuff. The thing with carving and sculpture is you either have the eye or you don’t, it’s not something that can really be taught. You’ve definitely have the skills to actually do this professionally.’

‘Nah, I mean it’s OK, but it’s not like yours.’

‘It’s better than mine, and I’ve been doing it for ten years. Why don’t you enter it into the competition tonight?’

‘Oh god, I couldn’t. All those professionals and my crappy snowflake.’

‘What have you got to lose?’

‘My dignity, when I come last.’

‘I never enter to win, I enter just to be a part of the experience. Come on. I promise you it’s good enough to be entered.’

Daisy stared at the snowflake and then back at Penny, a grin slowly forming on her face.

‘OK.’

‘Brilliant. Come on, let’s get warmed up and changed. Josh will be here soon and I need to wrap up the sculptures ready for moving them.’

Daisy helped Penny put the carvings back in the freezer and walked out the cool room, bumping straight into Henry as he came through her back door.

‘Oh hey, Dad, you looking for me?’ Daisy asked.

Henry flashed Penny a quick glance that told her he’d actually been looking for her. ‘Yes, I wondered if you were in here.’

Daisy wrapped an arm round his waist and he planted a kiss on her forehead. Penny loved how tactile they were with each other.

‘How was work?’ Daisy asked.

‘Interesting,’ Henry said, giving Penny another glance. ‘The people are great, I think I’m going to enjoy working there. And I love the furniture they make, it’s so stylish, I can’t wait to be a part of that. I met Clara too.’

Penny tried to keep her expression neutral. She’d seen Clara around town a few times and she knew how beautiful she was. She wondered what Henry’s impression was of her.

‘The boss lady?’ Daisy asked.

‘Yes, she came downstairs to talk to me specifically.’

‘Oh, that’s nice, maybe I was wrong about her,’ Penny said, turning away. She wasn’t wrong, Clara had come downstairs to speak to Henry because he was hot and that was the only reason.

‘She asked me out for dinner.’

Penny opened up a can of beans and poured the contents into a saucepan, throwing the empty can into the bin a bit harder than was necessary.

What must it be like for Henry to have all these smart, beautiful, rich, successful women throwing themselves at him? He could have any woman he wanted, yet he had kissed her. Had he kissed her simply because she had been upset and he felt sorry for her? That would be an awful reason to kiss her. Now his boss was asking him out. Surely it would be professional suicide to turn her down. And as she was so beautiful it wasn’t exactly a hardship.

‘Eww, Dad, don’t go out with your boss, that’s such a cliché.’

‘I have no intention of going out with her. It would be beyond awkward if things turned sour. Besides, she isn’t my type.’

Penny glanced over at him, and although he was talking to Daisy she felt like he was saying all this for her benefit.

‘You mean she didn’t have sleek blonde hair, big tits and a tiny waist,’ Daisy laughed. She grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and went to take a bite out of it before Henry snatched it from her and put it back in the bowl again. Daisy pouted.

Penny looked down at her tiny breasts and definitely not tiny waist. This conversation was getting better and better.

‘I don’t just go for blondes, I don’t have a type. I’m attracted to personalities, not looks,’ Henry said.

‘Yeah right. That’s why all your girlfriends have been verging on the supermodel end of the spectrum.’

‘You’re not painting me in a good light here,’ Henry growled at Daisy and she laughed, completely unperturbed with the idle threat in his voice.

‘You create your own reputation, that’s nothing to do with me.’

‘Come on, trouble, we’ll leave Penny to some peace and quiet.’

‘She asked me to come with her to a competition tonight, it’ll be great experience for me to see the other carvers and their work. Can I go?’

Penny waited for Daisy to tell Henry that she was submitting her own piece to the competition but she didn’t.

Henry looked over at Penny. ‘Is that OK?’

‘Yes of course.’

Henry shrugged. ‘All right then. Well, let’s go and have dinner and Penny can knock for you when she’s ready to go.’

He ushered her out through the connecting door and gave Penny a little smile as he closed the door behind them.

If that conversation about Clara had been designed to make her feel better it’d had the complete opposite effect.

H
enry finished washing
up the dinner things when a movement caught his eye outside the window. There was a huge man outside and, as Henry watched, he let himself into Penny’s house through the back door.

Henry quickly rushed to the connecting door and opened it a crack. The man was big and muscular but quite young too, maybe early twenties. He was wearing a t-shirt and both arms were covered in tattoos. The man looked around the kitchen, spotted Penny’s rucksack and loaded it with her purse and her mobile phone. He spotted a camera and threw that into the bag too. Then he opened the fridge and helped himself to a handful of chocolate bars, which joined the other stuff in the bag. He zipped up the bag and moved back towards the door.

Henry slammed the connecting door open, making the man jump out of his skin.

‘Going somewhere with all that stuff?’ Henry asked.

The man stared at him with wide, terrified eyes. He pointed vaguely to the open door, made some kind of squeak of pure fear and then bolted out the door, taking the bag with him.

Henry was hot on his heels. The guy was fast, but Henry was faster and, as the man sprinted round the corner of the house, Henry threw himself at his legs, bringing him face down onto the gravel driveway. The man let out a wail of pain as Henry used all his weight to keep him pinned to the floor.

‘Henry, what the hell are you doing?’ Penny said, running towards them from the front of the house.

‘I caught this thieving little shit stealing your purse, phone and camera. Call the police.’

‘Henry, this is Josh, a friend of mine. He helps me to take my carvings to events. I told him to grab my bag. And you just threw him down on the floor.’

‘He’s a friend of yours?’

‘Yes. He works for me.’

Henry processed this and quickly scrabbled off Josh, and then pulled him to his feet, brushing the dirt and stones off him.

‘Sorry about that, mate, I just saw you come into Penny’s house and take her stuff, and I thought… Sorry, you’re not hurt I hope? Why on earth did you run? You could have just told me you were a friend of Penny’s.’

Josh still looked absolutely terrified of him, obviously wondering if he was going to get a pummelling at any second.

‘Because you probably scared him, have you seen the size of yourself? You scare me too.’

Henry blinked at this new revelation. ‘You’re scared of me?’

‘Oh, there’s a million things that scare me about you. Josh, get in the van, we need to go.’

Penny handed her bag back to Josh and walked back round the side of the house towards her kitchen. Josh didn’t move for a moment but Henry ran round the house after Penny, catching her arm just as she was about to open his back door.

‘Why are you scared of me? I would never do anything to hurt you.’

Her face softened slightly and she ran her hand over his stubble. Her touch was like fire on his skin and he instinctively moved his hands to her waist.

‘I’m not scared of you physically hurting me, though I suspect the end result will be the same.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘Why did you kiss me last night?’

‘You know why.’

‘But you told me you’re not looking for anything serious, and I get that, I totally do. Daisy is your number one priority and I never want to get in the way of that, but we agreed we would just stay as friends. I know I kissed you, I know it’s my fault. I really like you and I suspect that the discrepancies in what we want will be the thing that hurts the most.’ She sighed. ‘I have to go.’

She opened his back door and stuck her head inside. ‘Daisy, we need to leave now, are you ready?’

He heard the thunder of feet as his daughter came down the stairs and he quickly dropped his hands from Penny’s waist.

Penny looked at him pointedly as she stepped away.

Daisy ran outside, stepping between them as she shoved her feet into her Converse and dragged a coat on. He was surprised to see she had done her hair in curls and even put some make-up on.

‘I’d like her back by ten,’ Henry said, trying to distract himself from what Penny had just said.

‘Dad!’

‘Half ten then.’

Penny nodded. ‘We shouldn’t be too late.’

He watched Daisy link arms with Penny and they disappeared round the side of the house.

He went back inside, a little bit annoyed that his daughter was allowed to go out with Penny but he wasn’t.

A
fter setting
up Penny’s competition piece on the stand, Josh went back for Daisy’s piece while Penny went to pay and register for her and Daisy. She hadn’t even looked at the other competitors’ pieces yet as they were so late getting there.

She moved back into the village hall and found Daisy pressed against the back wall, seemingly too nervous to mingle or look around. The room was dark, lit up only by the spotlights arranged underneath the sculptures, making them look ethereal and magical in silvery puddles of light. Penny watched Josh carry the small snowflake across the room as if he was carrying a newborn baby and unwrap it with the same care.

‘Everyone will laugh at my snowflake when they see it, I shouldn’t have entered.’

‘Of course you should. You have a real talent. In all honesty I don’t think either of us will win tonight. I’ve just seen the list of competitors and there’re at least three other entrants who always enter something that is truly magnificent. Fabio is from Italy and apparently he has won some big international championship in America this year so I don’t think we can compete with that, but it’s fantastic to see other people’s work and skills.’

‘I just don’t want to come last, that would be so embarrassing.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with coming last. But as it happens these competitions choose first, second and third place so there is no last. If you don’t come in the top three you can say you came joint fourth.’

Daisy grinned up at her.

‘I’ve come joint fourth on many occasions.’

‘Have you ever won?’

‘Once, last year, which is why the big competition is being hosted in White Cliff Bay this year, at the ball – the winner’s town hosts it. I’ve come second once and third a few times, but, as I said, some of these guys pull out all the stops. One year Octavia had a tiny village with moving people, cars and lights that went on and off, all made from ice, with some kind of radio-controlled pieces inside. The Ice Carving Federation had to create a ruling that only ice was allowed in competitions from now on because people were going crazy with flashing lights and other things they had frozen inside the ice. Those sorts of things are great at a party or a wedding but when you do a carving competition they take away from the focus of the carving skills, which is the thing that is supposed to be judged.’

Penny watched Josh walk over to them. Normally Josh would help her set up at the competition and then leave, he very rarely stayed. But he and Daisy had chatted quite a bit on the journey, first to the party to drop off the sleigh and then on the way here. He very rarely spoke at all so it was quite a revelation to hear him so vocal. He rubbed his wrist again and Penny wondered if he had hurt himself when Henry had threw him to the ground.

‘Shall we have a look around at the other sculptures? Watch out for the other carvers, they’re a slightly weird bunch. Just stay out of their way and it’s probably best to not talk to any of them unless I say it’s OK. It gets highly competitive.’

‘Is that why the police are here?’ Daisy joked.

Penny winced. ‘Yeah, last time there was a punch-up between Geoffrey and Fabio and that wasn’t the first time something happened between the two of them. One year Geoffrey got drunk and pissed all over Fabio’s sculpture, which caused it to melt.’

‘Ewww, that’s disgusting.’

‘I know, he’s probably the weirdest of them all. He was banned for two years after that. But he came back last year and before the competition had even started there was a punch-up between them.’

They moved off to look at the first sculpture, a wonderful mermaid that was bursting from the waves. It was very well done though some of the un-textured surfaces were not as smooth as they could be, suggesting that the carver was new to the craft. It was beautiful though. Penny looked at the name of the competitor to see it was created by a girl called Melody. It wasn’t a name she recognised from previous competitions and she smiled that someone new had joined their crazy little group. Penny looked around for her but there was no one standing nearby. Penny made a note to come and say hello to her later.

They moved on to the next sculpture, a stunning dragon that looked ferocious and ready to attack. Its minute scales must have taken hours of painstaking work. Penny looked at the name of the competitor and noticed it was Geoffrey, the insane, hugely talented carver from the furthest shores of Scotland and possibly one of the rudest men she had ever met. Daisy reached out to touch the sculpture but Penny snatched her hand away, knowing if Geoffrey saw her touch his precious carving he would go ballistic. But it was already too late. He suddenly loomed from the shadows at the very edges of the room.

‘Don’t you dare touch my dragon,’ Geoffrey spat and Daisy shrunk back in shock. ‘Thirty-seven hours this took me to carve, thirty-seven hours where my hands were bleeding and raw from working with the ice. Do you have any idea what level of commitment and dedication it takes to achieve this level of talent?’

‘She didn’t touch it, she…’ Penny said but suddenly trailed off as Josh suddenly stepped forward like a silent bodyguard. With one hand on Geoffrey’s chest he pushed him firmly away from Daisy. Geoffrey turned to release his wrath on Josh but, seeing the sheer size of him, he thought better of it. With another glare at Daisy and Penny, Geoffrey shrank back into the shadows like a monster disappearing back inside his cave.

‘Don’t pay any attention to these carvers, some of them are the weirdest people I’ve ever met,’ Penny muttered in Daisy’s ear, taking her arm in the vain hope that she could protect her from the weirdness.

‘Penny!’ A loud, deep voice rang out and Penny winced as Fabio strode across the room. At some point Fabio had obviously looked up what a stereotypical Italian stallion looked like and dressed accordingly. He was the epitome of some eighties porn star, with waist-long, sleek black hair which he swished over his shoulder as he walked, wearing black leather trousers and a shiny black shirt. His appearance was so dated, it was impossible to take him seriously. She found it hard to believe anyone would willingly dress like this unless it was for some fancy dress party. His face was strikingly handsome and he was toned in all the right places but he was a complete creep. But it seemed she was the only one who thought like this. He made all the women in the room swoon.

‘
Bella donna
,’ Fabio said, kissing Penny on both cheeks in some exuberant European gesture. ‘Sooo pretty, ze stars they are nothing compared to you.’

Daisy stifled a giggle next to her. Penny had always thought that Fabio wasn’t a real Italian, his accent sounded terrible and he was a walking stereotype, but she hadn’t dared call him out on it. It certainly didn’t do him any harm with the ladies.

‘How are you, Fabio?’

‘I am alls the better for zeeing you. When will you agree to marry me and make beautiful babies?’

When hell freezes over. Probably not even then. Fabio had been begging her to marry him for years, ever since she started doing these competitions. She had never taken it seriously because at the end of the night he always left on the arm of a different woman.

‘Ah, I’m always so busy with work, I have no time for making babies,’ Penny shrugged.

‘When I win tonight, will you marry me then? These sculptures are nothing in comparison to mine.’ He swept his hands out in a theatrical gesture and for a split second it seemed that tiny crystals flew from his hands, covering Geoffrey’s dragon in a sprinkle of sparkling magic before they vanished from sight. Penny blinked. Had she imagined it? Dust was easier to spot under the translucent lights and the shafts of lights around the room showed hundreds of particles swirling in the air, so maybe it had just been dust from his clothes.

‘You must come and zee, you will love it.’

Fabio took Penny’s arm and guided her across the room. The crowd parted and Penny stared at it in confusion for a few seconds before she gasped in horror. Captured in ice was a life-size sculpture of her, naked and in a passionate embrace with Fabio. It was intricately carved with wonderful craftsmanship and was quite possibly the creepiest thing she had ever seen.

Daisy burst out laughing next to her and Josh quickly averted his gaze but Penny couldn’t take her eyes off it.

‘Do you like it,
bella donna
? It is you,
sì
?’

‘I… Why?’

‘Because I am in love with you and I want to marry you.’ He got down on one knee in a theatrical gesture and the spectators around them gasped and then cheered. Penny glanced over at Daisy, who was filming the whole thing on her phone.

Just then there was a shout and a cry of pain from across the room. All eyes swivelled from the bizarre marriage proposal to Geoffrey, who was also on his knees in front of his dragon. Though Geoffrey’s cry seemed to be made out of despair as his sculpture melted and bubbled like a fountain. Within seconds the six-foot dragon was reduced to nothing more than a small lump of ice and a big pool of water.

Penny had never seen anything like it. As much as she disliked Geoffrey for his rudeness, no one really deserved to have their hours of hard work dissolve in front of their eyes. Who would do that?

Although she knew one person who would be quite happy to destroy the other competitors’ work. She looked down at Fabio who was still kneeling at her feet. He gave her a wink and she snatched her hand from his, not wanting any part of his pettiness.

‘YOU! You did this,’ Geoffrey roared, a livid rage boiling behind his eyes as he charged across the room towards Fabio.

Josh was quick to move Daisy out the way and Penny stepped to one side as Fabio leapt up and Geoffrey bulldozed into him. They both crashed into Fabio’s pornographic ice sculpture, which tottered on the table. Fabio punched Geoffrey in the stomach and Geoffrey pulled Fabio’s hair, pushing him back against the table again. This time the sculpture wobbled and fell in slow motion onto the floor, smashing into a thousand pieces.