Eden’s Comfort Kitchen

Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Eden might have known her new life in the bay was going too well. Ralph had asked her to do a last-minute extra shift, and the irony was that she wasn’t even meant to be working that night. Afterwards, she couldn’t decide whether she was being cut a break or given a bad hand by being there, but when a face from her past – one she never imagined she’d see again – walked into the Darling Dolphin that night, Eden couldn’t have been more horrified.

The night had been quiet so far, and Eden had taken the opportunity of many gaps between customers to grill anyone who’d listen on new ideas for her community café.

‘I’m thinking about a lunch club,’ she said to Livia on one such occasion. ‘For the old people. I think Bilbo and Mavis might host it. They could do dancing and stuff, and we could do an afternoon tea type thing with sandwiches and cakes.’

‘There’s already a tea dance in town.’

‘Well, OK then, there doesn’t have to be dancing. Something else? Bingo? Old people love bingo!’

‘You have to give out prizes for bingo. Have you got the money for prizes?’ Livia leaned on the counter, and Eden felt as if she was trying not to laugh. But she didn’t let it faze her.

‘Can’t they play just for fun?

‘Bingo is a serious business, you know. Nobody plays for fun.’

Eden frowned. ‘You think it’s a terrible idea.’

‘I think you might be getting carried away. I think what we’ve got is just right. Remember what Ralph said: you don’t want to take too much on; you need downtime for yourself, or you’ll burn out and be no good to anyone.’

‘I know, but I just…’

How could Eden explain it? The feeling she was getting from her success was like a high, and she couldn’t get enough of it. Being so needed, doing so much good, feeling as if she mattered, it was almost addictive to her. The more she did, the more she wanted to do.

‘Why don’t we talk to Ralph some more later when we’ve got time? And maybe Bilbo will have some thoughts. After all, you did just say you wanted him to play a big part in your lunch thing. He might come in later, and we can grab him then. If not, pop over to his house tomorrow.’

‘I don’t know where he lives.’

‘That’s easily fixed – I do.’

Eden was about to reply when her attention was drawn to the entrance. ‘What…?’

Livia followed her gaze. ‘What’s the matter?’

Eden would have told her, but the fact was she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. One of the partners in the company she’d worked for in London had just walked in. But…surely it couldn’t be? ‘What’s he doing here?’ she murmured.

It had to have been him she’d noticed over the past few weeks. Only a couple of times from a distance on the beach, and she hadn’t been certain – in fact, she’d dismissed it, certain she was wrong. She wished now she had been wrong because this could only be bad news. She didn’t know what he was doing in Sea Glass Bay, but her brain worked quickly to figure it out. And she came to one awful conclusion. The land the scout hut stood on was up for sale, and he was in the business of buying land like that to build on. Unless he was on holiday, but she doubted that. The coincidence was too big – he had to be here after the land.

He gave the pub a cursory once-over, but he didn’t seem to have noticed Eden behind the bar.

‘Who’s that?’ Livia asked.

‘Cam bloody Faulkner,’ she whispered. ‘Balls of stone and a heart of steel.’

Livia started to laugh. ‘Shouldn’t that be balls of steel and a heart of stone?’

‘Either way it’s bad news. If he’s got his sights set on our bit of land, we’re going to have a fight on our hands.’ Eden grimaced. She knew this because, to her shame, she’d helped him get what he wanted in the past. It was Cam she’d gone to with the information that had led to him picking up the community centre her mum volunteered at for a knock-down price. That brief conversation with him in his office had seemed so innocuous at the time but had come back to haunt her in the most tragic way. She’d spent many hours wishing she could take back her words.

‘It’s not our land?—’

‘You know what I mean.’ Eden stiffened. ‘He always gets what he wants, but not this time. He’s never had to get it from me before.’

Livia stared at her, and Eden glanced to her side to catch it. Puzzled, surprised – she could understand why. Cam’s appearance had set off alarm bells, and Eden had come out fighting already. She didn’t even know for certain he was here about the land. For all she knew, he could have been on a lovely little jolly. Except for the fact that she knew him of old, and he didn’t do lovely little jollies in sweet, unspoiled British resorts. He worked hard and played hard. He was more about swish hotels in Dubai or luxury yachts on the Med than quaint seaside towns.

‘Sounds like you’ve had run-ins with him before,’ Livia said.

‘No. Before we were on the same side. I worked for his company in London. Back then I’d have been selling the places we built on the land he acquired. I’d have loved him when my commission came in. But I know how he operates, and that’s what worries me.’

‘You don’t even know?—’

Eden didn’t get to hear the rest of Livia’s sentence. As Cam turned her way, she was gripped by a sudden panic. Before he could see her, she dashed through the doorway at the side of the bar and into the tiny storeroom where they kept their cleaning supplies. She didn’t know why she’d reacted that way; she only knew that she didn’t want him to see her. Not here, doing this job.

What did it matter? Her rational response would have been that it didn’t. What did she care if he saw her working in a pub? He was nothing to her. He might have gone back to his company and perhaps had a laugh about seeing her, and there might have been a few days of gossip, but it would have been forgotten soon enough. And it wasn’t like she’d be seeing any of her old colleagues any time soon – if ever again.

Then there was the matter of what had brought him to Sea Glass Bay – it had to be something to do with the land where the scout hut stood. Presumably he’d come to check it out. If that was the case, then she ought to find out all she could about his plans, and that would mean facing him whether she wanted to or not. Unless…she could get Livia to find out. Could she? Was there a way Livia could start up a conversation and drop it in? Cam was the sort of guy who’d love showing off to a pretty girl. So if he was up to something like that, he’d probably want to boast about it.

Putting her head around the door she hissed out, ‘Livia!’

Her friend turned to her with a confused look. ‘What?’

‘Come here!’

Livia went over, and Eden ducked back inside the cupboard. ‘What’s…? You’re not hiding from him, are you?’

‘I bloody am! You don’t know him.’

‘He can’t be that bad.’

‘I just…’ Eden grimaced. ‘I just can’t face him right now. I know it’s weird and childish, and I can’t explain it, but I can’t. I’m sorry.’

‘You can’t stay here all shift.’

‘I know. I’m going to go in the kitchens and see if they need me – if I can get past without being noticed. Can you serve him? And try to get him talking – see if you can find out why he’s here.’

Livia looked unconvinced but nodded. ‘I’ll see what I can do. But you’re going to have to be quick because he’s at the bar checking out the whiskies. That’ll keep him busy for all of thirty seconds.’

‘Don’t worry, I can do it in ten. Just go and serve him…please!’

Livia went out, and Eden could hear her make quite a fuss of Cam. Clearly she was doing her best to keep him distracted to allow Eden’s getaway.

But as she emerged from the cupboard, she glanced up to see him looking her way. There was instant recognition – she could see it in his reaction, the way he paused, a faint look of confusion on his face, but he didn’t say anything. She wondered if he’d recognised her on the beach and dismissed it, as she’d done with him. She supposed, as she hadn’t told anyone at the company where she was intending to go when she’d left London, he might have been confused to find her here and perhaps doubted the accuracy of his recognition. She’d done exactly the same, after all. Context – or lack of it – was a weird thing that could play tricks on someone. That was fine by her – he could be as confused as he liked; she wasn’t about to put him straight.

In the kitchen, she made a pretence of needing to check something on a food order, hoping to mess around long enough for Cam to leave the bar area and sit down. But even as she did, it soon became depressingly obvious that her spontaneous escape had been silly and pointless. What if he decided to enjoy his drink at the bar? She’d have to go back out there sooner or later. And who was to say he’d only have one drink and then leave? Even if he went to sit down, he might well come to the bar for another round, and Eden might have to serve him.

As she turned to go back in, Livia met her at the kitchen doors.

‘You’ve been rumbled,’ she said. ‘Sorry, I did my best, but he asked your name, and then he said he knows you. I mean, I had to tell him…I didn’t know what else to do because he seemed as if he knew anyway.’

‘As soon as I got in here, I knew you were right about me doing a runner. I couldn’t have hidden in here all night, could I? It’s all right. I suppose I ought to go and say something to him.’

‘Like what?’

Eden shrugged. ‘Bog off back to London?’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t want to get into any kind of proper conversation with him because I just don’t like him. He’s all smiles and charm, but he’s not a very nice guy underneath it.’

‘Hmm…well he just bought us both a drink. In fact, he gave me forty quid. A bit flash, I’ll admit, but I’m not going to complain. I put your half behind the bar for when you’re ready.’

‘He can have it back – I don’t want his drink or his money.’

Livia raised her eyebrows. ‘Wow…you really don’t like him, do you? What’s he done to you?’

‘Nothing. It’s what I know he’s capable of that bothers me.’

‘I think you should probably just accept the drink and try to be nice to him. He’s a customer, after all. Or if you don’t want the drink, put it in the kitty for the next community dinner or something.’

Eden nodded. ‘I’ll do that. Twenty quid will buy a lot of pasta from the wholesalers.’

They both spun round before Livia could reply to see Ralph staring at them from the kitchen doorway.

‘What’s going on here? Mother’s meeting? Has the bar gone self-service?’

‘Sorry, Ralph,’ Livia said, hurrying past him. ‘I’m on it.’

‘Sorry…’ Eden made to follow. ‘It was my fault – I messed up an order and Livia was helping me to put it right.’

‘I don’t see why it takes two of you, but OK. Please don’t leave the bar unattended like that again.’

As she walked across to the bar, Eden could see Cam leaning against it with his whisky, talking carelessly to Livia. He turned and grinned at her approach.

‘This is a turn-up for the books. Of all the places I might have expected to run into you. What are you doing here? And you work here? The fast-paced world of property development not exciting enough for you?’

‘Something like that,’ Eden replied stiffly. ‘I’m spending the summer here. This is a temporary job to give me something to do.’

He nodded slowly as he sipped his drink. ‘I can’t say it makes much sense to me, but whatever floats your boat.’

‘So…’ she continued, trying to keep her tone neutral, ‘you’re here on holiday?’

He shook his head. ‘No. Business.’

‘Oh?’ Eden’s heart sank. She had the most awful feeling she already knew what the business was. She had to ask, but she wondered if she really wanted to hear the answer. ‘So you’re after acquiring somewhere local? In the bay? Because I’m not sure I know of anywhere…’

‘Some small parcel of land. I think there’s a scout hut or something on it now. I’ve been looking around here for a while, and it seems like the best bet.’

‘This is a very quiet resort – wouldn’t you be better off in one of the bigger holiday towns?’

‘You know how this works. We buy the land cheap, and we make the town a desirable destination, and our investment becomes a stroke of genius. We could make a killing in a place like this – there’s a lot of untapped potential. If we can push prices up, our bit of land—’ He stopped and fixed her with a look of humour. ‘I don’t know why I’m explaining it to you – I’m sure that has already occurred to you. When your sabbatical is over, you might even want to get involved in the deal – after all, you’d have a working knowledge of the town, wouldn’t you? Perfectly placed, I’d say. That’s assuming this’ – he swept a hand, taking in the interior of the pub – ‘isn’t your new career, of course. In which case, I will assume you have even less interest in what I’m doing here.’

‘I asked, didn’t I? Of course I’m interested, or I wouldn’t have said so. And if you recall, I’m not on sabbatical. I left. For good.’

‘So you did. I assumed you’d change your mind…’

He studied her for a moment, careless humour in his expression. ‘So you decided to come on holiday and get a job in a bar when you already had a very good job in London? Fancy that. I heard you’d gone weird, but I didn’t believe it.’

‘You couldn’t have heard anything because I haven’t been in contact with anyone from the company since I left,’ Eden replied with a coolness she didn’t feel.

‘Right. In that case, I must have heard that before you left.’

‘I heard you’d turned into a heartless bastard…Oh no, hang on, you didn’t turn into one because you were always one.’

‘You can’t talk to me like that.’

‘Yes I can – you’re not my boss any longer.’

‘I’m your customer.’

‘A customer we can do without.’

‘Harsh,’ he said, grinning as he sipped at his whisky. This was amusing him, and the idea only riled Eden further. ‘Is there a reason for this sum-up of my personal worth or…?’

‘Do you have any idea what your plan will do to this community?’

‘Of course I do. I know it as well as you do. It didn’t seem to bother you quite so much before, back when you were making all that money selling all those lovely properties that did things to communities.’

‘Before it wasn’t…Before it wasn’t here . London suburbs – people there expect prices and land values to go up; it’s the deal when you live in London.’ Eden wondered vaguely whether Cam even remembered the community centre deal, the one she’d tipped him off about. To him, she supposed it had been nothing, just one of a string of deals he made every week. She’d never made it clear how significant it had been to her mum, and she doubted he’d have cared even if she had.

‘We’ve never just operated in London.’

‘I know?—’

‘And you were never bothered when it was Newcastle or Liverpool or Manchester or some other city or town. So you’re what? A NIMBY now? You’re suddenly a community warrior because it happens to be a place where you are? Is that it? Would you have quite such a conscience if you’d never heard of this place?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe not. But I do know this place, and it’s brilliant and special, and I don’t want to see the community here destroyed. Life is hard enough without you working to push up property prices.’

‘Hard for who? You? For everyone else who doesn’t have the drive to get themselves a decently paid job? If people can’t afford to live here, that’s their problem. If they can’t afford to live here, they’ll have to find a way to afford it or leave. Isn’t that how it always works? You never had a problem with it before.’

‘I do now.’

‘Why?’ He studied her for a moment. ‘What does it matter to you? You said you were only here for the summer.’

‘Why do you care? It’s got nothing to do with you.’

‘Tell me anyway; I’m intrigued. You’re only here for the summer; it’s not your home.’

‘I know, but…well, I’ve got something going on…actually…’ Eden took a breath and smoothed her expression. Perhaps if she came clean, she could appeal to his better nature. Even Cam Faulkner must have one of those. If she told him why she wanted him to leave that plot alone, he might understand, maybe do it as a favour to her? After all, they’d been on the same side once. Not close, admittedly, but surely the fact she’d worked for him had to be worth something? ‘We use the scout hut every week for community dinners.’

He frowned. ‘What’s a community dinner?’

‘It’s a dinner for the community.’

‘Yes, I’m not stupid. What I’m asking is, why would anyone run such a thing? Surely if the community wants dinner, they eat at home or they go to a restaurant. So what’s that about?’

‘It’s for people who struggle. Either because they’re down on their luck financially or because they’re lonely or isolated in some way.’

‘And you run that?’

‘Yes. Sort of. With help, of course.’

‘Why?’

‘What do you mean, why? Does there have to be a reason?’

‘Of course. What do you get out of it?’

‘Nothing.’

‘Rubbish!’

‘OK, I get…It makes me happy.’

He shrugged. ‘Well, there’s no accounting for taste. A rare steak and a decent red would be more my thing, but whatever.’

‘Listen, Cam, I’m asking you…’ She lowered her voice and glanced uneasily around the pub before turning back to him. ‘I know we were never close and you don’t owe me any favours, but please…could you see your way to leaving this one be? Set your sights on something in a town that won’t be quite so affected? Surely Sea Glass Bay isn’t all that? And I’ve seen the plot – its tiny, hardly worth bothering with.’

‘I’m perfectly aware of how big it is; I wouldn’t have come here if I hadn’t thought it worthwhile.’

‘No. Come on, Cam. Please. There must be a dozen places on this coast that would be better. Surely the other partners would be pleased if you got somewhere already established. It’s just one lousy little plot in a tiny seaside town. Just leave and forget about it. Let us have our thing.’

He shook his head. ‘All you’ve done now is intrigue me.’

‘Look, I’m telling you it won’t be suitable. I’m trying to save you a wasted trip.’

‘Of course you are. So you don’t need to run your thing from there?’

‘Why do you think I’m asking for this? What do you want? You want to make me beg?’

‘Not really…All right, maybe just a bit.’

She shook her head slowly. ‘You haven’t changed. This is all just a game for you, isn’t it?’

‘I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy a challenge, but no, it’s not a game. At the end of the day, I’m doing my job.’

‘You don’t have to enjoy it quite so much.’

‘What’s wrong with enjoying my job?’

‘Depends on what it is, doesn’t it? When it involves ruining people’s lives?—’

‘How is this ruining anyone’s life? Just find somewhere else to do your supper club or whatever it is.’

‘There is nowhere else.’

‘There must be.’

‘Nowhere we can afford.’

‘Not my problem. Put your prices up so you can afford…Who even uses it anyway? A handful of scroungers?’

‘Loads of people! They come every week, and they love it – and they’re not scroungers!’

‘OK, OK, they’re not scroungers. There’s no need to get angry. You do realise I’m a customer here and you’re supposed to be nice to me?’

‘I ought to have you barred.’

He shook his head slowly, regarding her with amusement. ‘Entertaining as I’m finding this, I don’t have time for it. I’m going to acquire the land. Where you go or what you do is not my problem.’

‘What about the scout hut then? Could you see a way to?—’

‘If you’re about to ask if we can leave it there, then you’re more deluded than I thought. You know that’s not going to happen. The land will be cleared, and something far more profitable will be built there. Sorry, Eden. You’ve lost this one already. If I were you, I’d accept defeat with some grace and find somewhere else to do your suppers.’

‘You realise I’ll fight you. And you know I can be a pain in the arse, so I hope you’re ready to spend a lot of time and money trying to get that land. And if that’s the case, maybe you go and tell your partners that it won’t be worth it. After all, it’s a tiny plot in a small, insignificant seaside town – how much money can you make out of it?’

‘If it’s so insignificant, then why are you so bothered about it? And don’t give me that – you know as well as I do the land in places like this is gold dust. Up and coming, as yet unspoiled, beautiful location – if you like that sort of thing, of course. We can make a lot of money from it. You’re going to have to do a lot better than that to put me off. Frankly, I’m insulted that you don’t consider me a more worthy adversary.’

Eden was riled. It was true she’d never spoken to Cam in this way before, despite the fact he’d always made her a bit nervous when she’d worked for him and they’d never had what anyone would call a friendship. But she didn’t work for him any longer, and now he was here threatening everything that was giving her life meaning. She couldn’t help but speak to him this way. ‘You think you’re a worthy adversary?’

‘I know I am. I’ll win; I always do.’

‘That’s because you play with rules fixed in your favour.’ Eden regarded him for a moment, processing what she knew of him, her thoughts a melee that she was working hard to form into some kind of useful strategy. ‘I wonder how good you’d be if someone else set the rules. I think you’d be in for a shock.’

‘Yeah? You keep dreaming. I can win by any rules.’

‘Care to put that to the test?’

He finished his drink. ‘I think it’s time I left.’

He turned to the doorway, but Eden wasn’t done.

‘Scared, are we?’

‘What?’ He spun back to face her. ‘Scared of what? You and your old folks’ army?’

Eden folded her arms and fixed him with a challenging stare. ‘Yeah, I think you are. You might not want to admit it, but we both know local opposition can be a pain in the arse. And take it from me, I can rally some serious local opposition. We might not win, but it would make your life very difficult for the next few months. Then again, we might win. Sometimes – not often – but sometimes local opposition does win. Is it worth the risk? Wouldn’t it be easier to move on and try for a plot that doesn’t matter quite so much to the people who use it?’

‘I don’t think so. I’ll look forward to coming down here and laughing at your home-made, misspelled placards.’

‘There’d be more than that.’

‘Oh, like chaining yourself to trees? Please, you and I both know I’ve seen it all before, and it’s never made a bit of difference to the outcome. So you all go ahead and stage your little sit-ins and enjoy them, because you won’t be able to sit there for long.’

‘Hmmm. So you think you can win by any rules?’

‘I’m a born winner. I can win no matter what.’

‘Then come and volunteer for me.’

The words were out before Eden had even thought about them. They’d come from nowhere, and instantly she regretted it. But that regret turned into intrigue as she noticed the shock on his face. She’d achieved that much at least – something she’d never have expected to see on Cam Faulkner. How far could she push this? Was she on to something?

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ he said.

‘What’s ridiculous about it? Come and volunteer for me. Two weeks in my kitchen. If your conscience is still clear about what you’re doing after two weeks there, then I’ll hold up my hands in surrender.’

‘I’m not volunteering in your ridiculous kitchen.’

‘Scared it might get to you?’

‘Of course not. It’s insane, that’s all.’

‘You’re scared. You don’t want to do it because you know it will make you feel guilty.’

‘It won’t make me feel anything. It would be a complete waste of time.’

‘Well, if you think you’re so immune to persuasion, then surely two weeks of chopping the odd vegetable is a far easier battle than months of local action to stop you demolishing the scout hut? Two weeks and it would be over, and you’d have your land.’

His frown turned into a mocking smile. ‘You really think you can win by making me spend two weeks in your stupid kitchen?’

‘With people you’ll grow to love, yes.’

‘I highly doubt that.’

‘We’ll see.’

‘I’m not doing it.’

‘Aren’t you?’ Eden raised her eyebrows.

‘Absolutely not.’

‘Surely it’s a no-brainer. Two weeks. If you’re not convinced, you’ll get no opposition and you’ve won. It’s that simple.’

‘I’d have your word on that? This isn’t some stalling tactic that you’ll stretch out when I tell you it hasn’t convinced me at all?’

‘You have my word. If you’re not convinced, then we’ll leave quietly.’

He was thoughtful for a moment. Eden could see she’d hit a nerve, but would he take the bait? She knew he was smarter than that, but she also knew his competitive nature would make it hard for him to resist a challenge, especially one he’d think he could so easily win.

Eden had other ideas, of course. She knew how easy those people in her kitchen were to love, even for someone with a heart of stone like Cam Faulkner. She might not have bet her entire life savings on it, but she’d certainly put a considerable sum out there. After all, they’d won her over, and hadn’t she once been as hard and cynical as Cam? True, she’d had reasons for wanting to change, and so perhaps she’d been a bit more open to it, but who was to say similar things weren’t going on in Cam’s life right now? For all she knew, he could be harbouring a secret longing to change, just as she’d been. At the end of the day, she was increasingly convinced this was the only way to win this battle, and she had to give it a try. All that other stuff she’d talked of – it rarely worked, even if it postponed things. This might not work, but she had more control over it than anything else, and she had faith in her new friends.

‘Come on,’ she pressed. ‘Why the hesitation? Is it because you think I might win the bet?’

‘A bet? Is that what this is?’

‘Of course it is. I’m betting the future of the community café. You’re betting the deal. And the odds are massively in your favour – at least, you think they are. Surely it’s a dead cert as far as you’re concerned? And if it is, what’s the problem with saying yes?’

‘All right,’ he said slowly, mockingly, supremely confident that this would be a walk in the park. That’s what he thought, Eden could tell, but she was going to prove him wrong, and then she’d enjoy seeing that smile wiped off his smug face. ‘Two weeks. But I come in, I stir your soup or whatever other shit you have lined up for me, and I don’t do anything else. No talking to me, no trying to win me round, no socialising of any sort.’

‘You’re going to have to talk to someone at some point, if only to communicate tasks.’

‘Then the minimum – that’s all. Don’t think you can try to be my friend. Don’t tell anyone else to try to be my friend?—’

‘As if anyone would want to. We’re not desperate, you know.’

‘Good. So long as we’re clear. I’m not going to fall for your emotional blackmail, if that’s what you think. I’m only doing this because I have to admit you’re right about one thing – it’s a speedy and easy solution, and why wouldn’t I take it?’

‘Good, well that’s one thing we can agree on then. It’s a speedy and easy solution.’

He let out a laugh that was unexpectedly genuine. ‘I can’t fault your tenacity, though. Let’s also agree that we both think we’re going to win and that the other one is sadly misguided.’

‘True enough. So when can you start?’

‘You’re really not going to let go of this, are you?’

‘No. When can you start? What are you doing this Wednesday?’

‘Um…’ He got out his phone and opened the diary app. ‘What time?’

‘About three.’

He looked up at her. ‘Three in the afternoon? What time do you eat? I thought it was dinner.’

‘It is, but there’s a lot to do.’

‘I can’t make three. Some of us still have a proper job, you know.’

‘When can you make?’ Eden asked, ignoring the jibe.

‘I suppose I could make four thirty. Maybe four at a push.’

‘Right, so get there when you can. Four, four thirty, it doesn’t matter – we’ll find some way to make use of you. And don’t try to be crap at everything so we stop asking because that’s not going to wash. While you’re there, think of me as your boss and treat me with the respect you’d give your boss, which means doing things to the best of your ability. If you’re doing this thing, you’re going to commit.’

‘Yes, boss,’ he said, and that mocking tone was back.

‘Good. Just as long as we’re clear. If you don’t play by the rules, then I won’t either – remember that.’

‘OK, OK, I got it. Wednesday then.’

‘Are you staying close by?’

‘Hotel. Close enough, don’t worry.’

‘I wasn’t. I just wondered…’

‘If I’d use it as an excuse not to come?’

‘No. I only meant…forget it.’

He gave a dismissive wave as he turned to leave. As soon as he was gone, Livia came across from the other side of the bar where she’d been polishing glasses, probably in a bid to look as if she wasn’t listening when, in reality, she could hardly do anything else. Eden didn’t blame her – she’d have been eavesdropping too.

‘What was all that about?’

‘Well, I hope it’s a stroke of genius on my part, but I’m already worried I’ve dropped a massive clanger. Then again, sometimes in life, you have to take a risk, right?’

‘Well, that’s not cryptic at all…’

Eden gave a rueful smile. ‘I laid down a challenge to try and save the kitchen. Mr Faulkner is going to come and work for us for two weeks?—’

‘ What? ’

‘And then,’ Eden continued, acknowledging Livia’s incredulity but not addressing it, ‘if he hasn’t been convinced of its value, I said I’d give up the fight for the hut and let him have it without a fuss.’

‘You can’t do that!’

‘It was the only way, trust me. I realise it sounds like madness, but I know what that man is capable of. Normal weapons won’t work – we have to go nuclear or not at all. You can petition and stage sit-ins and get the local papers in and all that, but it won’t matter to him. I needed something outside of the box…I only hope this is good enough.’

‘So do I – for your sake.’

Eden sighed. ‘I suppose there would be other venues. Not nearly as suitable. Not suitable at all, in fact, but…’ She shook herself. ‘I don’t need to worry about that because I have a plan.’

‘You do?’

‘Yes. We’re all going to go on a major charm offensive. He’s going to have so much fun he won’t want to leave once his two weeks are up.’

‘How does that help us keep the hut?’

‘Well, he’ll like us all so much he won’t want to be such a Scrooge McDuck.’

Livia slowly shook her head. ‘I hope you know what you’re doing.’

‘Me too,’ Eden said, not entirely sure that she did. Had she just signed the death warrant for her community café?