It was going to be hard keeping it quiet, especially with extrasensory Doris about. But it seemed wise for now. At least Ellie wore an apron at work, which should hide any growing lumps and bumps for a while.
It would be their special secret to harbour for a little while longer.
The day flew by. They were busy with a large group of ramblers, as well as several tourists, and a few of their regular locals. It was 4 p.m. before Ellie knew it, when she finally had chance to catch her breath and have a bite of late lunch herself.
Deana popped her head around the door. ‘Busy day?’
‘Yeah, you could say that, this is my lunch.’ Ellie gestured to her cheese toastie, which was going down a treat with a nice cup of Earl Grey. ‘You’ll have been all go in admissions too, I bet.’
‘Oh, yes.’
‘Joe’ll be happy anyway, all good news for the castle takings. We might even get a smile out of Henry at this rate.’
‘Now come on, don’t take things to extremes. Lord H. might like the income, but he certainly won’t like the fact that they’re all trooping around his home. It’ll be a grin and bear it, not a smile.’
‘True enough.’
Lord Henry still struggled with the fact that he had to let people in to his country estate. But finances had diminished, as well as the property itself over the years, and like so many stately homes, this was the only way to keep it going. It had been more than ten years since they had had to open the castle to the public, but it still was a bug he had to bear.
‘Fancy a coffee or anything, Deana?’
‘Sure. If you’ve got time?’
‘I’ll make time. I need a five-minute breather, anyhow. Haven’t had a break since nine o’clock this morning.’
Doris trooped in with a tray of dirty cups and saucers ready for the dishwasher.
‘Blimey, that last lot we had in were a stingy bunch. Never served so much hot water! Tea for two and there were six of them. Kept wanting top-ups of hot water. I think they were just about wringing the teabag out at the end.’ She was shaking her head animatedly.
‘Oh well, I suppose some people are on a budget.’ Ellie was trying to be considerate.
‘Funny how the kids had new phones then, and those Nintendo thingies. Didn’t hardly speak to each other, heads down in them all the while. With all this fabulous history around them too. Think they should be banned from using them in the castle. Then they’d have to look up and see what’s here. They might actually learn something then.’
‘True,’ Deana agreed.
‘Oh, I’ve been thinking some more about the Christmas Craft Fayre,’ Doris piped up. ‘While you were away, I had a word with the committee on the Kirkton Country Show, the one that’s on in the summer. They always have a craft tent, you see, and it’s lovely. They’ve put an e-mail out to all their past stallholders for us, so we’ll see if we get some interest. I’ve already heard back from knitted toys, the jam and chutney lady, the honey farm and a handmade soap company.’
‘Sounds great … Good idea, Doris, thanks. I’ll put my mind to it, too. I’m sure there’s lots we can be doing in the teashop for the event, making up foodie gifts and the like.’
‘Oh, can you make up some of that gorgeous fudge you do, Ellie? I can put it in the Christmas hamper gifts I make up for my Mum and Auntie Dora.’ Deana was smiling.
‘Hampers … now there’s a thought.’ Ellie’s brain was ticking over. ‘The Teashop in the Castle Christmas Hampers with all sort of goodies in. We could even raffle one off for a good cause.’
‘Brilliant.’
‘We could make a few up for display, with all the longer-life things, but then for all the fresh cakes and the like we could take orders for collection nearer Christmas time … Hmm, Christmas cakes. Bet people would love a homemade Christmas cake, without all the bother of having to do it themselves.’ Ideas were popping in to Ellie’s brain thick and fast now. ‘Do you fancy a coffee at all, Doris? I’m just making one for Deana.’
‘No, ta. Need to get on. Our Simon’s popping over for his tea tonight. His Stacey’s on a night out down to the cinema with the girls. I’ll just get this lot loaded up, and then wipe over all the tables. That’s me done, then.’
‘Okay, thanks, Doris. I’ll mop the floors in a minute, so no need to do that.’
‘Thanks. Oh, I meant to ask you before, did you go and see that lad? The one in the hospital?’
‘Daniel? Yes.’
‘How’s he getting on? Been thinking of him. Nice boy.’ Boy, he was well into his thirties.
‘Not too bad. Going to be a long job though. His leg must have been really smashed up. Got more ops and a lot of physio to go through yet. He’s still all wired up to some metal leg brace.’
‘Oh, poor thing,’ Deana commented. ‘I remember them, a lovely couple. Bikers, weren’t they? Not at all like you’d think bikers are, though. Wasn’t he a dentist or something, and she’s an accountant?’
‘Yes.’
‘Riding a motorbike doesn’t make you a thug, Deana.’ Doris tutted.
‘No, I know that. Of course, it doesn’t. It’s just a few of those Hell’s Devils mobs give it a bad name.’
‘Well, most motorcyclists I know are just out for a road trip, some fantastic scenery, a bit of company, and a good time. Our Simon took it up for a while. I did use to worry about accidents, mind. It’s just you and the road if you come off. You need all the right gear. And thank God helmets are compulsory these days. There’s still some bloody awful accidents though.’
‘I know.’
‘Right, I’ll wipe over these tables, and then I’ll be away home, Ellie.’
‘Thanks, Doris. And, thank you for all the help on my days off this week.’
‘You’re welcome, pet.’ There was even a trace of a smile.
Ellie had got to know Doris’s dour ways over the past few years, but they had warmed to each other too. Underneath the slightly miserable exterior lurked a heart of gold.
Irene was already away home. She tended to start early, cracking on with the baking in the morning before they opened, and then left as the customers tailed off later in the afternoon. It seemed to work well. On busier days, Bank Holidays and weekends, they had Lauren and a couple of the girls from the village in too. Together they made a good team.
Ellie felt shattered by the evening.
‘Busy day out on the estate?
‘Yeah, and you?’
‘You could say that. Deana said we’d had about a seventy admissions through.’
‘That’s great for early October. Feeling okay?’
‘Yeah, bit tired but that’s nothing unusual.’
‘Yeah. By the way, I saw Dad earlier … up on the roof believe it or not, long story.’
‘Oh, blimey. That sounds dangerous.’
‘It was. He was checking the roof tiles above his rooms, some kind of leak appearing apparently. Wanted to check it out himself, first.’
‘He’s in his seventies.’
‘I know. Bloody nuts sometimes. But I don’t think we’re going to change him now. Anyway, I got him to come down, as quickly and safely as I could. He’d climbed across from the viewing tower … As we’d been away, I thought we’d ask him to supper.’
‘Oh, okay. That’s fine. When did you say?’
‘Tonight.’
Ah, so there went her lazy evening sat in her PJs. ‘Jo-oe.’
‘Sorry, he just seemed a bit lonely, and God knows what he cooks for himself these days. He said he had ham sandwiches for the last two nights.’
She’d been so busy, and with her exciting news, she hadn’t thought to check how he was since getting back from Newcastle. She softened. ‘Okay, it’s all right.’ It was just that she was so damned tired herself, and hadn’t even begun to think about what to eat that evening. Something easy from the freezer on their laps had appealed, but that wouldn’t work now. But, she was a cook after all, she could come up with something for sure. Mayb
e she could wander back down to the teashop, and hijack one of Irene’s quiches. She thought she’d spotted half a salmon and asparagus one left. She’d ask her nicely to make some more tomorrow, lovely Irene. It would certainly save cooking from scratch. With a few new potatoes and some salad, they’d be sorted. She could even warm three slices of chocolate cake, pour some cream over and that would be pudding organized too. ‘It’s no problem,’ she repeated.
‘You’re a star. Thank you. Sorry to dump that on you. I know you’ve had a long day.’
At least her husband wasn’t a heartless soul, who didn’t care if his dad ate cold sandwiches in his lonely room across the courtyard. She gave him a hug.
‘Sure we can’t say anything yet? Our big news …
‘No, not just yet. It’s such early days. Let’s just enjoy it as our little secret for a while longer at least.’
‘Okay, yeah, that’s fine … I’m just so chuffed, I feel like telling the world. But yeah, might be a bit of a shock, to find out that he’s going to be a grandad. I’m not quite sure how he’d take it.’
‘I know. He’s not generally the fondest of children.’
‘Oh well, time will tell.’
‘Yeah, when’s he coming across then?’
Joe glanced at his watch, sheepishly. ‘Five minutes.’
Oh shit. No chance of sitting down yet then. ‘Jo-oe.’
‘What was it like here in the castle years ago, Henry? Back when you were a little boy?’ Ellie was curious.
‘Well …’ Henry paused as he was about to spoon up some chocolate brownie and ice cream. ‘Quite amazing in some ways. Living in a castle, the grand rooms, the gardens, woodlands … It was all like an enormous adventure playground. I had a fabulous go-kart and used to head off up and down the driveway, thinking I was at the grand prix. You took it all rather for granted as a young child … But, it was rather isolating too.’
‘Yes, I can imagine that.’ Ellie was thinking of her own terraced house upbringing in the Newcastle-upon-Tyne suburbs, quite a world away.
‘I had no siblings, you see. So it was always exciting when guests came. Though some of them were more interesting than others. One ghastly girl turned up, she may have been a princess of sorts, that’s what my father had told me. I think it was a warning to be nice to her. The family were from Asia, ex-pats I think. She was a spoilt brat as far as I was concerned, though my life was pretty coddled too. We never had to do anything as such; never had to clean our rooms, boil an egg, light a fire. It was all done for us.
‘But anyhow, this particular girl was dreadful. I remember her ripping up one of my favourite books, because I was reading later that day and not paying her enough attention … Actually, I much preferred it when I could sneak off and play with Derek, that’s our tour guide, Derek. His father was my father’s butler.’ Henry leaned back in his chair. ‘We had some grand old games of hide-and-seek, took us bloody hours to find each other. You can imagine, in a castle this size, and all the grounds too! Sometimes the one hiding would have to give up and go and find the other one.’ He smiled.
‘What about your parents, what were they like?’ Ellie was fascinated, and very much thinking of her own lively, slightly batty, close family.
Joe gave her a glance, surprised at how Henry was opening up. He had never heard any of this, with his father being so quiet, such an introvert. It was often difficult to dig too deep, and Ellie was being rather blunt in her questions, risking rebuke in fact, but Henry seemed more relaxed than usual this evening. Joe was curious too, they were his grandparents, after all, a whole part of his life that he hadn’t had a clue about – they had died before he ever had chance to know them. He’d only got to know his father in the past few years as it was. And it seemed even more relevant tonight, knowing there was soon going to be another new member to this aristocratic, quirky family.
‘Well then, it was in the days of children having very much to be seen (and then only occasionally) and not heard. It was Nanny who brought me up really. Nanny Ida.’ Henry smiled, thinking back. ‘A lovely, rather plump, Irish lady. I did see Mother and Father of course, but only in short bouts. Mother used to pop up and read to me sometimes, that was nice. But yes, my parents always seemed rather distant, somehow.’
That might help explain his own distance. Ellie mused. It was such a different life than her own.
‘Then later,’ Henry continued, ‘like many other boys in my position, I was sent off to boarding school down in Yorkshire, and saw even less of them.’
‘Oh,’ Ellie was finding it hard to take in, hardly seeing your parents, being sent away.
‘It’s all very different nowadays … our lives are very different.’ He looked across at Joe.
Their own father-son experience was another world away from that privileged, yet rather closed, upbringing. Joe had been brought up in a rather deprived area of Newcastle-upon–Tyne in a hard-working, single parent family. Ellie was thinking that he was yet another son who hadn’t really known his father. But they were learning to know each other, slowly but surely. And that was rather lovely. It was never too late. And it seemed so important to be making those bridges, even more so now they were about to have a child of their own. A new member of this family.
The evening had been pleasant. And, Ellie felt she knew her father-in-law just a little better.
‘Would you like a coffee, Henry, or some whisky?’ Joe asked.
‘A tot of malt might go down rather nicely. Thank you, Joe.’
As the two men shared a smile, Ellie noted how similar they looked.
18
October rolled on with mellow, misty days; the nights now drawing in. Being quieter at the teashop now, there were moments where Ellie could look around her and enjoy the ancient stone castle and its wonderful setting. The first tower of the stronghold was built back in the thirteenth century. The building had seen many battles and bloodshed in its time, with earls and dukes as warriors, the infamous border wars, even Kings had stayed there in their way to Scotland. Later, in more peaceful times, it had become a family home. Their family home. It was strange to think of all that history in one place, of all the people who had been there before you. And then, your little piece of history, your story unfolding right now. Ellie held her palm to her belly instinctively, as she looked out from their apartment window across the front driveway.
The huge old trees of the driveway which seemed to stand guard, were now cloaked in golds, russets and browns; the leaves tumbling down like bronze-coloured confetti, the estate lands stretching out as far as you could see. If you were lucky whilst walking in the woods, you might spy the herd of deer who had made this rather magical place their home too. It was so beautiful and peaceful, a world away from the bustle of city life, and had captured Ellie’s heart. It was no wonder it was becoming popular with couples choosing it as the venue for their wedding day. A countryside castle, yours for the day.
The weeks soon passed, Ellie was feeling well, if a little tired at times, but oh-so happy. With the usual teashop routines, the Christmas Fayre to think about, and also coordinating another wedding for the first Saturday of the half- term week mid-October, Ellie was kept busy.
This wedding couple were great, a breath of fresh air after Bridezilla and co; they were just so relaxed about everything. They were both teachers from Leeds, and had wanted a small, intimate do, with just thirty close family and friends for their special day. Maddie, the bride, arrived at the castle in a gorgeous, old-fashioned cream limousine for their 2 p.m. wedding in the castle chapel. Stepping out of the classic vehicle, Ellie loved her outfit – she wore an elegant, cream-satin dress with a neat strapless bodice and long flowing skirt that skimmed her slim curves. With her dark hair swept up into a loose bun with strands of curls framing her face, the bride looked stylish, elegant, yet still very natural.
The bouquet that Wendy had created for Maddie was just perfect; with ivory roses, sprays of white gypsophila and bold greenery that framed t
he flowers. It was striking yet simple, with long dark-green sprigs trailing from it. The groom was smart and handsome in a dark grey suit, white shirt, ivory rose buttonhole and the most gorgeous smile, as he waited for his bride to come down the chapel aisle.
After the service, the guests chatted amiably in the drawing room, as the champagne flowed. Soon they were ready for their four-course sit-down dinner at the antique mahogany table in the Great Hall. It was large enough to sit all thirty guests and was set out with an ivory satin runner, white china plates, cut-glass goblets, and six of Wendy’s floral displays which echoed the bride’s bouquet – with roses, gyp and those trailing sprigs of greenery in tall vases. The Hall looked wonderful.
Ellie had hired in outside catering for the meal, as the menus the couple wanted were slightly complex; her level of cooking wasn’t quite up to chef standard and certainly not for a silver-service style event like this. She knew her limits. But that freed her up to coordinate the occasion in a more relaxed manner, and to ensure that every little detail was just right.
Instead of a disco or band, they had hired in a string quartet, who played beautifully, the classical music filling the room. Ellie felt like she had walked into a period drama. The Hall felt very much like it might have done centuries ago, with the soft glow of candlelight from the grand table, the sound of people chatting, the smells of gorgeous food, the main course being Beef Wellington, the clinking of cutlery and glasses.
There was only one problem earlier, when the catering company hadn’t realized how the food had to be brought up from the kitchen via a flight of winding stairs, which always proved a challenge, but was aided by Ellie lending them her ‘hostess’-style food-warming trolleys for the corridor outside the Great Hall, and also offering Derek and Malcom as spare runners for the chef and his team.
After the meal, and the speeches, the bride, who was in fact a music teacher, hitched up her satin skirt and sat at the cello to play. Along with the violins and viola, she played a piece which she dedicated to her new husband. The music was hauntingly beautiful, and vaguely familiar, and Ellie found out from the Maid of Honour that it was ‘The Secret Wedding’ theme tune from the movie Braveheart, a film that was apparently special to the couple.
The Cosy Christmas Teashop Page 12
