Just a Family Affair

by Veronica Henry

  She laughed, and everyone laughed with her. They were, Patrick realized, completely absorbed in what she was saying.

  ‘Buying into the brewery seemed to me to be the obvious thing to do. I don’t want to blow my money on status symbols.’ She gave an abashed smile. ‘Well, I know you’ve all seen the car, but I’ve always been a bit of a girl racer. That’s my one little indulgence. I want to do something constructive with the rest. Something I can be proud of. And I want something I’m interested in and I believe in. I don’t want a knicker shop or a jeweller’s. I want a challenge. And I want success. And I think Honeycote Ales can bring me all of that.’

  She looked around the room. You could have heard a pin drop. Then Mickey started clapping. Then James. Then everyone else. By the time Patrick joined in, he realized that he had little choice.

  As the applause faded away, he got to his feet. Mayday was still standing. The two of them locked eyes across the boardroom table. Memories of the past and visions of the future hung between them. Two young lovers who had shared their hopes and dreams. Friends locked together by a bond of steel they could never break. Was it folly, not to try and break that bond now, while he had the chance?

  ‘Well,’ said Patrick. ‘I think there’s only one thing we can say after that speech. And that is . . .’

  He looked around the room. At his father and uncle. His father-in-law. Robert, who looked rather anxious. And Mayday, who gave him the sweetest smile, with those blackberry lips.

  ‘. . . when do you start?’

  As Mayday slipped into the front seat of her car, she shut her eyes for a moment, enjoying the comfort, the smell of the leather, the feel of the steering wheel at her fingertips and the prospect of the power she would shortly unleash when she started the ignition. It had been an incredibly long day. There had been so much to discuss. Poor Robert’s pencil had flown over his legal notepad as point after point had been brought up. But it was over. The final vote had been cast. Hands had been shaken.

  She owned forty per cent of Honeycote Ales.

  She hadn’t enjoyed the look of panic in Patrick’s eyes when he had realized the truth. That hadn’t been the point of the exercise. For over the past few days, she had come to her own painful conclusion about her relationship with him. She didn’t want to be married to Patrick, and have the responsibility of a family, a heritage, and the Liddiard name. She would never be the most important thing in his life. And that wasn’t good enough for Mayday. It was all or nothing.

  This way, she was free. But she still had him. She always would.

  She started up the car, and the purr of the engine sent a thrill through her that made her shiver. She drove up the hill out of the brewery drive, taking it carefully through the winding lanes. When she finally hit the main road that led to Eldenbury, she let her go. She knew the road only too well. Every bend. Every corner. The torque, the camber. Poacher’s Hill reared up in front of her, nearly a mile of steep ascent. The Aston gobbled up the tarmac effortlessly. The needle nudged ninety. A hundred. It was like flying.

  Shit! She could see the blue lights in the mirror, hear the warning siren. She supposed she’d asked for it. She’d shamelessly flouted the speed limit. With a sigh, Mayday pulled into the lay-by at the top of the hill, then sat and waited demurely with her hands in her lap, looking down on the village of Honeycote below.

  ‘I’m sorry, officer,’ she said, as the door opened, and looked up into Rob’s astonished face.

  ‘Mayday!’ he stammered. ‘What the hell . . . ? What are you doing in this?’

  ‘Speeding?’ She grinned at him impudently.

  ‘Tell me you haven’t nicked it.’

  ‘Of course not. I won the lottery, didn’t I? What do you think?’

  Rob towered over her, at a loss for words. She ran her eyes up and down him. She wondered exactly what was underneath that uniform. He might fool the public with those sleepy brown eyes and those curls, that slow way of talking, but underneath he was a powerhouse. She had seen the bulge of his muscles under his clothes, imagined his rock-hard thighs, the strength in his arms. Once or twice she’d seen him in action, banging a drunk and disorderly up against the wall, sorting out a fight that had gone wrong. And she’d been impressed with what she saw. There were a few other bulges that intrigued her too. Images of truncheons and handcuffs leapt unbidden into her mind.

  ‘Come on,’ she urged. ‘Get in.’

  ‘I’m on duty,’ he protested.

  Mayday said nothing, just held his gaze and pressed her foot down on the throttle. The engine purred as softly as a newborn kitten.

  Rob only hesitated for a moment. It was a no-brainer, really. The chance to ride with Mayday? In a brand new Aston Martin? It was two of his dreams come true. He would never as long as he lived get an opportunity like this again. And so what if he did get sacked? It would be worth it. Anyway, there were plenty of security firms around at the moment looking for ex-coppers.

  He jumped into the passenger seat. Mayday gave a whoop of glee and barely waited for him to shut the door before accelerating off at a speed that nearly took his breath away. Rob shut his eyes. Even on his police driving courses he hadn’t done nought to sixty in such a short space of time. He knew he should be telling her to slow down, but the adrenalin rush was irresistible. Mayday’s perfume filled the air. Roses, he thought weakly, but not the sort of roses he was used to, cellophane-wrapped in a black bucket. These were intoxicatingly wicked roses, opium-drenched blooms that made you do things you’d never dreamt of when you inhaled their narcotic scent.

  ‘Where to, Rob?’ she asked, looking deep into his eyes, which he had now managed to open.

  ‘Um . . .’ He didn’t have a clue what he was supposed to say. ‘I ought to get back to the station.’

  She just laughed. A deep, throaty, wicked laugh, then pressed down on the accelerator. Rob wondered where was she taking him, panicking slightly, then decided he didn’t care.

  The music system kicked in. The familiar riff pounded through their bodies. Steppenwolf. It could have been written for her.

  She had everything. Beauty. Money. Power. Freedom.

  But she was still born to be wild.

  The Honeycote Wedding Guide

  For most people, weddings are torture. There’s the agony of deciding what to wear, what to buy as a present and where to stay, only to be rewarded by an excruciating afternoon standing around while the wedding photographs are taken, a nondescript three-course meal sitting next to someone you have never met before and never want to see again, followed by interminable speeches, all the while wondering whether it would be rude to leave before the bride and groom.

  And weddings have become more and more competitive. With the average cost nearly topping £20,000, one has to query the point of a 50-foot Swarovski-studded train, horse-drawn carriages and rivers of vintage champagne. It is largely a façade, and not a true reflection of what the bride and groom represent at all. A momentary madness seems to take over when planning a wedding, turning the most unassuming of couples into profligate show-offs, ably egged on by the in-laws-to-be, more often than not.

  My own wedding was short but sweet. I didn’t even want to go there with a seating plan. I had major generals at one end of the social scale and art school drop-outs at the other, a potentially explosive mix. We held the ceremony in the church round the corner from my parents’, followed by Pimm’s and canapés in their garden. A friend of ours who is a whizz with a camera wandered round taking pictures, and we left at five in our vintage A35, when everyone was feeling nicely mellow. Job done. It helped, of course, that it was a glorious hot day - there is nothing more pleasurable than getting quietly sozzled in an English country garden - but people even twenty years later say that it was the best wedding they have ever been to.

  It’s not about penny-pinching and scrimping. It’s about spending money on the things that are important, and not bothering with the things that aren’t. What matters is getting the
people who are important to you together, for them to enjoy your union, and then buggering off before drunken oblivion or total boredom set in. What doesn’t matter is a phalanx of overdressed bridesmaids, wedding favours for the guests and an official master of ceremonies in full regalia. Fine if that’s what you’ve set your heart on, but there is no need to feel pressurised into all the bells and whistles.

  So with the help of the Liddiards I have put together a guide to a short but sweet and stylish wedding. And never be afraid to enlist the help of friends - amongst them will be keen cooks, photographers, florists, all eager to help. Their contribution would be a much more welcome present than a set of matching saucepans.

  I recommend a two o’clock ceremony followed by tea and cocktails. All done and dusted by five so the bride and groom can escape and be alone together . . .

  Mickey Liddiard’s Wedding Cocktails

  No one knows better than Mickey the importance of alcohol at a social function. Two or three of any of these concoctions will make sure your reception goes with a swing. But remember - have plenty of water and non-alcoholic alternatives available so the aged aunts don’t start a handbag war after one too many.

  BLUSHING BRIDE

  70ml champagne

  30ml lychee juice

  A few drops of grenadine

  Combine the champagne and lychee juice. Add the grenadine gradually so the colour spreads through like a blush.

  MAID OF HONOUR

  40ml gin

  20ml rhubarb puree

  15ml elderflower cordial

  10ml syrup from a jar of stem ginger

  25ml cranberry juice

  50ml soda

  Whizz it all up in shaker with crushed ice and pour into a glass.

  BEST MAN

  40ml vodka

  1 freshly squeezed lime

  4 basil leaves

  2 teaspoons sugar

  Soda

  Muddle the basil leaves and sugar as if making a mojito. Fill the glass with crushed ice, then add the vodka and lime juice. Top up with soda and garnish with a basil leaf.

  WEDDING VEIL

  25ml gin

  20ml fresh lemon juice

  10ml sugar syrup

  Blackberry liqueur

  Mix the gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup together in a glass with crushed ice, then slowly drizzle liqueur into the mix until it sinks to the bottom. Garnish with fresh blackberries.

  TILL DEATH US DO PART

  50ml Grand Marnier

  Prosecco

  Cranberry juice

  Mix all the ingredients and chill well.

  The standard pub measure for spirits is 25ml. Please drink responsibly.

  Lucy Liddiard’s English Country Garden Tea

  The most important thing is to keep the food plentiful and keep it coming so no one is necking back the cocktails on an empty stomach. Most people will have access to obliging teenagers eager to earn twenty quid - get a small team together and give them instructions to keep the food circulating so no one goes hungry.

  Kick off with the traditional sandwiches - smoked salmon, cucumber and egg are popular - together with some savoury bites. Use a variety of white, wholemeal and granary bread. Follow with some substantial buttered tea bread, then finish with scones with cream and jam, biscuits and cakes. Here are a few of Lucy’s favourite recipes to inspire you.

  CHICKEN AND ALMOND SANDWICHES

  Mix finely chopped chicken fillets with thinly sliced celery and flaked almonds. Bind together with mayonnaise. Make sandwich fingers with best thin white bread, cutting off the crusts of course!

  PESTO PASTRY HEARTS

  2 sheets puff pastry

  2 tablespoons pesto - one red, one green

  30g butter

  40g grated parmesan

  Divide the butter between two bowls then mash one with green and one with red pesto. Spread on to the pastry sheets and cut out hearts with a shaped pastry cutter. Place on lightly oiled baking trays and bake in a medium oven for 10 minutes until puffy and golden.

  ROAST BEEF CROSTINI

  1 thin French stick

  Mayonnaise

  Wafer thin slices of rare roast beef

  Horseradish

  Slice loaf into thin slices and place on an oven tray. Bake in a medium hot oven for 15 minutes, turning once - be careful not to burn, you want them gold not black! When cool, spread with mayonnaise, top with a slice of beef, and garnish with horseradish.

  You can also do these with smoked salmon topped with a little horseradish mixed with crème fraîche, Parma ham garnished with a slice of fresh fig, or pesto and a slice of goat’s cheese finished off with a basil leaf.

  CARAMELISED ONION AND FETA TARTLETS

  2 large sliced onions

  Butter

  1 tablespoon brown sugar

  2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

  30g feta cheese

  Jar of sun-blush tomatoes

  2 packets ready prepared croustades - available from good supermarkets or delis.

  Cook the onion gently in the butter until soft and golden - at least 30 minutes. Add the sugar and vinegar and a tablespoon of water, stirring carefully so the onions caramelise but don’t burn. When cool, fill the croustades with a teaspoon of onion mixture, then top with crumbled feta and a snip of sun-blush tomato.

  TEA BREAD

  1½ cups best mixed dried fruit

  1 tablespoon glace cherries

  ½ tablespoon brown sugar

  ½ pint cold tea -nothing fancy, just builders’ tea.

  1 egg

  2 tablespoons of thick-cut marmalade

  2 cups self-raising flour

  A pinch of mixed spice

  Soak the fruit and sugar in the tea in a large mixing bowl overnight until plump and juicy. Add the flour, beaten egg, marmalade, salt and spices and mix together thoroughly. Pour into a greased loaf tin and bake in a medium hot oven for 1½ hours. When cool, serve thickly sliced and spread with cold best butter.

  PERFECT SCONES

  350g self-raising flour

  100g caster sugar

  85g butter

  175ml plain yoghurt

  Rub the butter in with the flour and sugar until it resembles breadcrumbs (as if making pastry). Tip in the yoghurt, mixing with a knife until you have a smooth dough. Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface, then roll out to about an inch thick. Stamp out tiny rounds with your smallest cutter, then repeat until all the dough is used. Place the scones on a baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes in a medium oven until they are golden.

  Split and serve filled with cream and jam - strawberry is traditional, but ring the changes with damson, boysenberry, raspberry or apricot. Lucy gets her jams from the WI in the farmers’ market.

  PANSY CAKES

  These pretty cakes are bedecked with sugar-frosted pansies from Lucy’s garden. You can use any edible flowers - just brush them with egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar - or buy sugar flowers if this all seems too time-consuming!

  100g butter

  175g self-raising flour

  175g caster sugar

  1 teaspoon baking powder

  2 eggs

  ½ cup of milk

  Zest of one lemon

  Juice of one lemon

  100g caster sugar

  Put the butter, flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, milk and lemon zest in a food processor and whizz until glossy and smooth (you could do this with a wooden spoon but it will be an arduous task!). Pour into a greased and lined square cake tin. Bake for 35 minutes in a low oven until golden and firm.

  Mix together the extra sugar and the lemon juice, then drizzle this over the cake while it is still warm so it soaks in. When cool, cut into bite-sized squares and top with the frosted flowers.

  CROQUEMBOUCHE

  A towering cone of profiteroles, a croquembouche makes a spectacular centre piece for a wedding, and is stunning when studded with silver almond dragées and miniature sparklers. Lucy makes hers with a l
emon cream filling and dips them in white chocolate. Both Delia and Nigella have reliable profiterole recipes.

  LEMON CREAM

  4 egg yolks

  3oz caster sugar

  2 lemons - zested and juiced

  2oz butter

  ½ pint double cream.

  Cook the egg, sugar and lemons gently in a pan for five minutes until thick. Remove from heat and beat in the butter. Chill in the fridge. When ready to fill the profiteroles, whip the cream and then fold into the lemon mixture.

  Fill an icing bag with the lemon cream and use to fill the profiteroles, then dip them in best white chocolate.

  Lucy makes baby meringues with the remaining egg whites.

  Mandy Sherwyn’s Alternative Wedding Presents

  When most people get married these days, they have usually lived together and built up a home, so they already have most of the things necessary for starting married life. And there is nothing duller and more prosaic than a department store wedding list, especially when you get to it late and there is only a gravy boat left. So with Mandy’s help here are a few suggestions for a more imaginative present list.

  BUILD A LIBRARY

  Look up a list of the nation’s top one hundred books on the internet, replacing any you already have or don’t fancy with choices of your own. Guests can buy a single book, or the complete works of Dickens/Harry Potter/Jane Austen. Also add to the list bookshelves, reading lamps and a set of library steps. You will have years of pleasure curled up on a sofa or lolling in a hammock and working your way through your list.