Recipe for Love (25 page)

‘Zoe, they need you,’ Rupert called up the stars. ‘It’s time to start cooking, I think.’

‘OK, everyone, settle down!’ Mike clapped his hands, making him seem more like a teacher than ever. ‘Anna is going to talk to you. Cameras!’

‘Well, chefs, all your baskets have been checked. In a minute you can help yourselves to the other ingredients and then Fred will start you off on your next challenge. But before we do that, I just want to tell you about the challenge after that. I know it’s usually a big surprise but we’ve had to schedule another break.’

‘Excuse me, why is that?’ Cher broke in through the murmurs of confusion from the others. ‘If you don’t mind me saying so, we’ve just had a break. Is this another scheduling problem?’

Anna glared at Cher. ‘No. The next challenge is fine dining at its most demanding. It’s the grand finale and you will be cooking a four-course meal for Michelin-starred chefs, judges and celebrity judges. The reason for the extra break is two-fold. One, you will need time to devise and practise your menus: practise and practise until you can do them in your sleep.’ She sniffed in a way that implied sleep was for wimps. ‘The other reason is that the judging is slightly different for the final challenge. It won’t be just the three of us. And the judges we want can’t make it sooner.’

Fred then stepped forward. ‘And after the finale we’re
throwing
a big party. Everyone’s invited, and the best thing of all is that it won’t be televised.’ He paused and then went on, ‘So, for the final challenge we need a first course, a fish course, main and a pudding. You’ll order your ingredients beforehand, or bring anything of your own you want. You’ll have all day to do it. And I’m sorry, but we won’t divulge who the final judges are.’

‘Oh go on, we won’t tell anyone!’ said Cher.

Fred shook his head. ‘I think we should crack on. We still have to eliminate someone. Only four of you will be competing in the last round.’

Zoe stifled a yawn. They’d all been up since dawn and even the thought of the final challenge couldn’t distract her from her concerns for Fenella.

‘So, those of you who don’t have cars will be taken to the station immediately after the judging, or sent back to your accommodation if there isn’t a suitable train,’ said Fred. ‘Mike’s got it all worked out. Anything else we need to tell them?’ He looked at Mike, who consulted his clipboard.

‘I think that’s everything.’

‘OK,’ said Fred. ‘Choose your ingredients!’

Zoe worked as if the devil was waiting for his dinner and it was her job to provide it. She knew what ingredients she wanted and because they were simple, she just grabbed them. Then she cooked like a demon, glad that her knife skills had vastly improved since the restaurant challenge.

At last, the cooking and the judging was over. Zoe stayed in because hers tasted the nicest although it was judged as the least adventurous. Bill made the mistake of cooking cleavers – perfectly edible, even health giving – but in this case, improperly prepared; they had made the judges gag.

‘In our house we call this wild Sellotape,’ said Fred, ‘or goosegrass.’

Thorn was disappointed in Bill for not preparing this delicacy so it tasted good. His opinion of chefs went down a bit.

They all commiserated with Bill and then as soon as she decently could Zoe went back to the house. A quick dash upstairs revealed Rupert frantically searching for Fenella’s pre-packed bag and Fenella insisting in between contractions that she didn’t want to go to hospital. When she saw Zoe she said, ‘Did you stay in?’

‘Yes. Mine tasted nice, so thank you for telling me about the wild garlic.’ She looked at Fenella, who seemed to have something else on her mind.

‘What are you going to do now?’ Fenella asked.

‘Actually, we’ve got an unscheduled break,’ said Zoe. ‘We’re supposed to go home and practise our recipes. They told us about the final challenge.’ She gulped. ‘It’s doing four courses in front of top chefs as well as the judges.’

‘Oh!’ Rupert looked at Fenella, a shocked expression on his face.

‘Why? What’s the matter?’

But neither Fenella nor Rupert took any notice. ‘No,’ said Fenella firmly. ‘We can’t—’ What she couldn’t do disappeared into a contraction.

‘Actually, Zoe, while Fen’s distracted, I’ll ask you. Would you stay here for a bit? Keep an eye on things? I know Fen isn’t going to hospital because she’s worried about leaving—’

‘I am still here, you know,’ said Fenella, panting.

‘And I’m here for you,’ said Zoe firmly. ‘Now, what is it you need me to do?’

‘No!’ said Fenella. ‘You need to practise your dishes!’

‘I can do that here perfectly well,’ said Zoe.

Fenella and Rupert exchanged glances and then Fenella sighed. ‘Well, I’d feel so much happier about Rupert’s parents being here if they couldn’t let themselves in and rampage over the house complaining what a state everything is in.

‘And think!’ Fenella went on, ‘Gideon might stay too and you could – you know – be together!’

‘Darling, Zoe might not want to …’ broke in Rupert.

But Zoe had been doing some thinking. She could practise her dishes here; in fact in some ways it would be better because she wouldn’t be taking over her mother’s rather small kitchen. And if Gideon was able to stay too, it would be heaven. Provided no one found out about it, of course.

‘Don’t worry. I understand, and I’ll stay here as long as you need me to. Now you just get in the car. The hospital’s expecting you.’ Zoe accepted Rupert’s grateful look, which was followed by a hug.

‘You’ve been a total star,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what we’ve have done without you.’

THE OTHERS HAD
long since left. Cher had waved imperiously from her father’s Jag, after ceremoniously giving Zoe an air kiss and hissing, ‘May the best woman win.’ No one had questioned Zoe on what she’d be doing for the two weeks they had free.

Zoe’s first action was to let the dogs out from the room where they lived when the house was full of strangers or people who weren’t keen on them. While they obviously liked their space well enough, they were pleased to see her and ambled into the kitchen.

Then Zoe decided to go upstairs and have a good look round. With Rupert’s parents on their way she’d need to know where everything was and as Fenella had got into the car she had insisted she felt free to go everywhere and find things she needed.

She couldn’t resist going to the bridal suite first, hoping for some sign of Gideon. But there was none. The room looked as if it had never been used it was so tidy. She couldn’t tell if he was planning to come back or not. She knew he didn’t travel with much, but a toothbrush or something would have given her a little hope she might see him again.

The guest bedroom was next to the bathroom she had helped Fenella clean. The airing cupboard was next to that. She went on opening doors and discovered a door at the end of the passage. There were a couple of rooms
beyond
it. One was small but useable if you overlooked the bare floorboards and cracked wash basin but it had a single bed in it. Next to it was a larger room full of tools and ladders and a disconnected bathroom suite. Zoe guessed that the small room would be the bathroom for this room when it was finished.

Zoe made sure she knew where things where before she went back downstairs. She began to feel sympathy for Fenella – no one would want picky in-laws staying when the house was part way through such a major refurb.

After she got downstairs she cleared up the kitchen, which was looking a bit like the
Mary Celeste
: abandoned in the middle of a meal. As she worked she wondered about Gideon. Would he just drive home after the judges had done whatever they did after a challenge? She wasn’t even sure where home was for him. Or would he come and see her? He’d know where she was.

She very much wanted him to come and find her and not go home. Not only did she desperately want to see him again she wasn’t sure if she wanted to sleep in such a huge house on her own with only the dogs for company, with the threat of Rupert’s parents hanging over her like a Sword of Damocles.

She poured herself a glass of wine and toasted herself. She never thought she’d make it this far – to the final. She texted her mother with the good news. Her mother phoned her and they chatted for a bit while Zoe explained what she was up to. Then she went back upstairs to make sure the guest accommodation was ready for Rupert’s parents. Glad it wasn’t the bedroom that she and Gideon had shared and having found a lot of matching bed linen dumped on the bed, waiting to be put on, she enjoyed herself making sure everything looked immaculate, if a little hotel-like.

She wondered about picking some flowers but she didn’t really want to leave the house even for a short time. Gideon or Rupert might ring. She compromised by taking a few sprigs from the flowers in the big arrangement in the hallway, which was beginning to drop a bit anyway. She pulled out the deadest blooms leaving only the best bits. It did make rather a mess on the floor but she would hunt for the hoover and deal with that later.

She went back down to the kitchen once more and, her wine finished, made a cup of tea and looked at the pictures on the wall. There were some of Fenella and Rupert and others of Somerby. Then she examined the array of cookery books perched on the bookshelf that adorned one of the corners of the room. The house was very quiet without the usual bustle going on and she found she didn’t like it. She was beginning to think that Gideon had decided to go straight home and was torturing herself with thoughts that he’d come to his senses and taken the cowardly route by not even saying goodbye to her. She had just reached a very low point when chopping an onion seemed the only way to regain some sense of perspective when the back door opened and Gideon himself walked in.

‘You
are
here. Rupert texted me to say you were. I’m so sorry I was so long! I had to take Becca and the train had gone from the nearest station so I had to drive to Hereford and I got lost in the lanes coming back.’

She walked into his arms and felt she was in the right place. It was familiar and exciting, comforting and thrilling. He had meant to come back to her. She laughed at her wild imaginings.

She raised her face to his. After a deliciously long, luxurious kiss, he led her out of the kitchen and up to the room where they’d shared their night of passion. Neither
of
them spoke. He lowered her on to the bed, kissing and undressing her by turns. Zoe began to melt as lust coursed through her. They seemed welded together, unable to part even long enough to finish getting undressed. Just as Gideon was at last taking off his belt, all the bells of heaven and hell and a lot of banging was unleashed on the front door.

‘Oh damn!’ he breathed, not letting her go although she tried to pull away.

‘Rupert’s parents?’ Zoe asked.

‘Yup,’ said Gideon with a sigh.

The banging started again. ‘We’d better let them in before they take all the paint off the door,’ said Zoe, her voice muffled by Gideon’s chest.

‘Or go through a panel,’ said Gideon, still holding Zoe as if she were a lifebelt and he was a drowning sailor.

She gave a shuddering sigh and broke free. She ran into the bathroom, did up her bra and took a moment to make sure her hair wasn’t all over her face. Leaving Gideon to compose himself she rushed downstairs and pulled open the door.

‘Thank Christ someone’s in this damn money pit!’ announced a tall man in a hat. ‘Why they have to live in this godforsaken
hole
I have no idea! And why can’t they get a nanny like normal people do?’

‘Oh, Algy! We’ve been through this and they obviously have got help which is something.’ The woman following the man was strangely similar to her husband. ‘Good evening, we are Lord and Lady Gainsborough. And you are?’

‘Zoe Harper.’ Just for a second Zoe contemplated telling them that she was not paid staff but just then the dogs pushed through to greet the visitors and the moment passed.

‘Get off, you brutes!’ shouted the man. ‘Haven’t they got a damn kennel? Dogs should never be kept in the house.’

Zoe wrangled the dogs back inside, feeling everything would be better if only he’d stop yelling. ‘Do come in. Do you need help with your bags?’

Just at this moment Gideon appeared. He looked much more presentable than he had five minutes ago although he was still tucking his shirt in. ‘Can you take the luggage?’ demanded Lord Gainsborough of him. ‘Are we permitted through the door? Or would that make life too inconvenient for you?’