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

by Martin, Holly

  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.

  * * *

  After 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.

  This was at least enough to stop the fight as Fabio wailed in horror.

  The police finally made a move, obviously finding the whole spectacle far too entertaining to actually want to stop it. As Fabio launched himself at Geoffrey again, they pulled the two of them apart and dragged them both out the building.

  ‘Get off me!’ Fabio yelled in a perfect Essex accent as he struggled for his freedom.

  The door closed behind them and the room fell into silence. Suddenly people started clapping and cheering, obviously thinking it was all part of the competition. Either that or it was the most excitement the people of White Cliff Bay had seen in a long time.

  Penny turned round to make sure Daisy was OK but she was laughing and clapping too.

  Penny approached and Josh lessened his protective stance in front of Daisy slightly.

  ‘I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have brought you, I never expected it to be like this.’

  Daisy wiped away tears of laughter. ‘Best thing I’ve seen for a long time. You have to bring me to all competitions from now on, even if I’m not competing.’

  With the drama over, people went back to perusing the remaining sculptures. There were only four others now apart from Penny’s and Daisy’s.

  ‘Gives us more of a chance now they are out of the competition,’ Daisy said. ‘Though that Hogwarts Castle over there is getting a lot of interest.’

  Penny peered through the crowds at the castle with each tiny brick carved into the sides, the pointy turrets and even a dragon resting on the roof. It was stunning. ‘That has to be Octavia’s, she is ridiculously talented. She’s bound to win.’

  Suddenly there was a flurry of excitement as the judges arrived. Pippa, the Mayor of White Cliff Bay, came in first, her huge pregnant belly parting the crowds, overshadowing the gold chain of office that hung round her neck. Pippa waved at Penny as she walked in and a feeling of unease settled in Penny’s stomach, remembering how grateful Pippa had been towards Penny that morning over her saving Sam. Surely she wouldn’t be so grateful as to award her first place over the magnificent Hogwarts Castle? Thankfully there was one other judge with her, Mr Cartwright, her art teacher from school. He would make the right decision.

  Daisy made a squeak next to her. ‘That’s Jackson Cartwright. He’s going to be my art teacher at White Cliff Bay Secondary School.’

  ‘He was my art teacher when I was there.’

  ‘How cool is that. He must have been very young when he was teaching you.’

  ‘He was, all the girls fancied him. He rode a motorbike and wore a leather jacket and he smoked so obviously that made him a hundred t
imes cooler than all the other stuffy teachers.’

  ‘He has all these cool sculptures in galleries in London, I’m such a fan of his work.’

  ‘Would you like me to introduce you?’

  Daisy nodded. ‘No.’

  Penny laughed at the mixed signals. ‘Well, maybe I can chat to him and you can be standing next to me.’

  ‘Yes, that sounds good.’

  ‘Competitors, please take your places by your sculptures to meet the judges,’ a loud voice boomed across the hall.

  Penny noted the young red-head standing next to Melody’s mermaid sculpture and gave her a friendly smile. She saw Octavia by the Hogwarts Castle as she suspected and Ignatius, a man with a long flowing white beard and long hair to match, standing by a splendid-looking lighthouse. On the other side of him was Frank, dressed in a dusty pink trouser suit and standing next to an intricately carved vase of flowers.

  The Hogwarts Castle was obviously going to win, but Penny couldn’t call second and third place at all. Even Daisy’s snowflake, though simple in its design, showed a real talent.

  The judges moved around the room, admiring the sculptures and chatting to the competitors.

  Finally they came to Daisy. Penny watched them as they studied her piece and noticed how Daisy was standing almost in shock at being so close to her idol. She willed Jackson to say something nice about it; if he did that would make Daisy’s entire night, even if she didn’t make the top three.

  ‘This is an incredible piece,’ Jackson said. ‘These branches are so thin and perfectly round. I’m very impressed with the detail that you’ve put into this.’

  Penny’s heart soared with happiness for Daisy. She could see she was already beaming from ear to ear.

  He looked at the card with her name and then looked back at Daisy. ‘How old are you?’

  ‘Sixteen.’

  His eyes widened in surprise. ‘You’re the new girl. You’re going to be in my form after Christmas and I’ll be teaching you for art too.’