Chapter 27
There was a collective gasp from the crowd and suddenly everyone was talking at once, and Jade found herself going ice cold. The shock she’d felt earlier was washing over her once more.
‘Is she somewhere we can get to her?’ she asked Dave.
‘I’m just fixing on the coordinates. But no, probably not without help.
She’s not actually that far away. It looks like she’s in some kind of hollow back in the cliff which is why I didn’t see her when I flew over that bit earlier.
She’s very lucky she went off there.’ He paused.
‘OK. First things first. I don’t want to scare her by flying the drone in too close so I’m going to close this down. ’
‘And then what?’
‘We’re going to need to call out the coastguard.’
‘Will they help?’
‘Let’s see.’ He glanced at Ursula and Jade saw the silent communication that passed between them. There was something that one of them wasn’t saying.
She touched Ursula’s arm. ‘What is it?’
Ursula shook her head. ‘Um, nothing. Give me a second.’
‘Shall I go and tell Ben and Sarah? And the rest of the people out searching?’
‘Just hold on until Dave knows what’s what. We’re not quite there yet.’
Jade struggled to contain her impatience.
Surely it would be simple now. All they had to do was explain and the coastguard would send out a rescue team or whatever they usually did in these situations.
She’d seen things on the news before. Coastguards were great at rescuing stranded people and animals from sheer cliffs.
Dave had clearly got through and was now talking to someone on his mobile. He moved away slightly, the phone clamped to his ear, and Jade couldn’t hear what he was saying. But he did sound quite forceful.
Hopefully he was emphasising the predicament Chocko was in. The fact that there was a whole wedding on hold. The coastguard could be heroes on tonight’s BBC News.
Hero coastguards save dog and double wedding.
The headlines flashed in front of Jade’s eyes. What were they waiting for? Anxiety was gnawing at the edges of her mind as Dave finally came back towards her and Ursula and the other guests who were now talking animatedly, as they caught up with what was going on.
Dave shook his head. ‘I’m sorry. I did call them earlier in case we found Chocko on the cliffs.
They have to put in a tasking request to the powers that be who then do a risk assessment and either approve or deny.
It’s come back denied, because it’s too much of a risk to human life.
They’re pretty stretched today by the sound of it.
They’ve advised me to call back later if she doesn’t get free by herself. ’
‘But did you explain what was going on?’ Jade felt her voice begin to rise. ‘Did you actually tell them what’s been happening?’
‘I did tell them and they’re sympathetic but they haven’t got anyone available to come out for a stranded dog. At least not right now.’
Jade couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
‘So what are we supposed to do? Just leave her there?’ This was almost worse than not finding her at all.
She could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage.
She paced away from the little group, so distressed that she didn’t see Sarah coming across the perfect green lawns that Zoe had told her had been rollered for their wedding, until she’d practically run into her.
‘What’s happened? What is it?’ Sarah grabbed her arm. ‘Jade, tell me what’s going on.’
Jade became aware that Ursula had followed her and also that Finn and Callum and the best men had just appeared too on the other side of the garden, and was that Declan with them?
They all looked hot and dishevelled, shirts coming untucked and ties and kilts askew. And now they all looked worried too.
She drew deep shuddering breaths as she tried to calm down. Sarah’s urgent voice was slowly getting through to her.
‘Jade, tell me.’
‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. There’s kind of good news, but there’s bad news as well.’ She finally got herself together enough to explain what was happening and there was a little silence as they all took it in, at various speeds.
‘Where’s Ben?’ Finn asked. ‘Does he know about this?’
‘No. Not yet.’ Sarah explained where he was. ‘And it’s best that he doesn’t know until we’ve decided what to do.’
‘What can we do?’ Declan was the first to speak. ‘We’ll just have to be patient like they’ve told us. There’s nothing else we can do.’
Sarah shot him a look of such utter disdain that he actually stepped back a pace, his blue eyes alarmed. ‘What? I’m just saying it how it is.’
‘What are you thinking?’ Jade touched Sarah’s arm, noticing idly that her best friend’s cream romper suit hadn’t fared well on their hike. The trouser legs were grubby and there was a map-shaped grass stain on the top.
‘I’m thinking that we have options,’ Sarah said. ‘There are always options. And sitting around patiently waiting isn’t one of them.’
‘Is having something to eat one of them?’ Angus asked and got a glare that was almost as withering as the one Sarah had given Declan.
‘No, it isn’t.’ Sarah turned back to Jade. ‘I think we’re going to need to rescue Chocko ourselves. Have you got the coordinates, Ursula?’
‘Er, yes. But it’s not going to be that simple. She’s halfway down a sheer cliff.’
‘I think it’ll be quite simple,’ Sarah said. ‘We have plenty of volunteers. Don’t we?’ She put her hands on her hips and turned to look at the men, and all of them except Callum and Finn, and more surprisingly, Declan, backed away.
‘We’re fine,’ she said. ‘We can do a bit of cliff climbing, can’t we, guys?
Who needs the coastguard! Heaven forbid that we might get stuck though and in need of rescue ourselves!
’ She turned back to Jade and winked and Jade finally caught up with what she was talking about.
Ursula had clearly caught up too and she was frowning, but she was also nodding.
‘You’ll give me the coastguard’s number, won’t you, Ursula. Or,’ Sarah added sweetly, ‘I can find it myself.’
Jade swallowed a mixture of emotions. It was so typical of her audacious maverick friend to home straight in on the solution.
Sarah had never been one for sticking to the rules.
Not if she thought they were wrong. She bypassed them, broke them or plain ignored them.
And she had absolutely no qualms about lying through her teeth if it was for the greater good.
‘So what you’re suggesting,’ Jade began, deciding she’d better just clarify what she thought was happening to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, ‘is that we phone the coastguard and tell them there’s a person stuck on the cliff? We don’t actually have to have a person stuck on the cliff.’
‘Correct,’ Sarah said. ‘Although it might be a bit more convincing if a person was actually stuck on the cliff too. Otherwise they might come out in their helicopter or whatever they do and see it’s just a dog and do that risk assessment thingie and turn round and beetle back home again.’
Jade was aware that Dave had just arrived and had overheard Sarah’s last few comments.
‘I’m on pretty good terms with the coastguard in this neck of the woods,’ he said. ‘So I think I’d better pretend I didn’t hear what you just said.’ He handed Jade a piece of paper. ‘But here are the coordinates for where your dog is. Good luck, doll.’
For the first time that day, it seemed that luck was on their side. It transpired that one of Callum’s wedding guests, Little John, who wasn’t very little at all, was actually a climber and had some ropes and other equipment in the boot of his car.
He’d been part of one of the search parties and had recently got back and was now in the bar, on his second pint.
‘I’m happy to give you a run through on the gear,’ he told them. ‘But I’m not up for abseiling down a cliff right this minute. Two pints on an empty stomach has gone straight to my head.’
‘We’ve got volunteers,’ Sarah told him. ‘We just need you to be there in an advisory capacity.’
‘Then I’m your man.’ He stood up, towering above them, a cheeky grin on his face. ‘Let’s do this.’
Jade and Sarah exchanged glances. They’d just had an earnest discussion about what to tell Ben.
‘I’m tempted to tell him nothing, because I don’t want to get his hopes up,’ Sarah had said. ‘Do you think I’m being too overprotective?’
‘No, I don’t. I think that’s wise. One of us ought to stay here with him.’
Jade hoped Sarah wasn’t going to suggest it was her. If Finn was going anywhere near a cliff with a rope, she wanted to be there to supervise.
Sarah’s adoptive parents came to the rescue.
Sarah had told them a brief, sanitised version of what was going to happen and they said they were more than happy to make sure Ben was OK and stayed safe back at the hotel.
And the other dogs, of course. They’d already helped to walk Mickey and Buddy, along with Dawn and Ben. No one was taking any chances.
‘We don’t want Ben in any danger. Not if you’re going near a cliff.’
‘Thanks.’ Sarah had leaned in to give them both a kiss.
Jade saw Hector and Charlotte coming towards them. Bless them, they must be feeling as anxious as everyone else.
‘Can we do anything?’ Hector asked. ‘We could keep people up to speed with what’s going on and Charlotte was wondering if there’s anyone here on their own who needs looking after?’
Her father was a very calming presence, Jade observed, and both he and Charlotte were so upbeat and positive too. She was glad they were here. Even if it hadn’t turned into the wedding they were expecting.
It was amazing how adversity had brought everyone closer.
Everyone had pitched in today. She’d been amazed to see Declan tagging along with Finn’s search party.
His partner, Grace, who she’d met fleetingly earlier, had been outside searching the hotel grounds which were extensive.
They had a vegetable garden as well as a bluebell wood in the grounds and Grace had been in both.
She’d been wearing gorgeous yellow boots, but she’d been more than happy to get them covered in dust and grass stains in the efforts to find Chocko.
In the Bluebell Cliff kitchens, Mr B, who’d been preparing to serve most of the wedding guests, had just been told by a nervous Clara that there was now to be another delay.
He had not taken this well. Clara had thought for a few dreadful moments that he was going to explode into a ball of red-hot anger and splatter the entire kitchen with bits of Mr B. To say he was apoplectic would have been seriously underplaying the situation.
He was currently pacing circuits around the courtyard just beyond the kitchen doors where deliveries were brought in, with his arms folded across his chest and his legs stiff with fury.
Clara watched from a safe distance as he muttered under his breath.
‘This is a shambles. The stupid, stupid zounderkites. I thought they had found the dog. Why are they still dillydallying around? Morosophs, the lot of them. Not a grain of common sense between them. Fopdoodles. How am I supposed to run a kitchen in this complete and utter chaos?’
Clara waited until he’d finished muttering. She knew better than to interrupt before stepping forwards and blocking him mid-circuit.
‘I’m sure it’s not going to be much longer, Mr B.’
His dark eyes flashed. ‘Finally. Something we agree on. It’s not going to be much longer.
Because the food is ruined. This is not a burger bar.
I’m not just knocking up substandard cardboard circles.
These are dishes that have been created, crafted.
Slaved over. Perfect food. It’s a criminal waste. It’s flagitious.’
Clara made a tactical retreat, knowing he was off again. Flagitious meant villainous and was one of the insults he saved for people who’d committed the ultimate sin, which of course was exactly what had happened in his eyes.
She chewed her lip. She went back to the kitchen to find Piers, Mr B’s sous chef, who was nowhere to be seen, and finally discovered him hiding in the tall cupboard where they kept all the cleaning equipment.
‘What are you doing?’
‘What do you think I’m doing? He’s lost it. He’s definitely lost it.’
‘He’ll calm down.’ She sighed. ‘Look, in the meantime I just need you to do something for me.’
‘What?’ Piers looked at her suspiciously. ‘If it involves reasoning with him, then forget it. I’d rather resign.’
‘It doesn’t,’ Clara said crisply. She knew what he meant. ‘I just need you to stop him from throwing the food away.’
‘You stop him,’ Piers retorted. ‘He’s more likely to listen to you than me.’
‘Please,’ Clara begged. ‘It’s not going to be very much longer. I promise. We’re about to start getting the guests in. We’re almost ready for you to serve.’ She crossed her fingers behind her back and then looked around her. ‘Where are the waiting staff? I didn’t see them when I came through.’
‘If they’ve got any sense, they’ll be hiding too,’ Piers said, throwing a nervous look towards the back door. ‘I don’t blame them.’
‘OK, I’ll go and sort out the waiting staff.’ Clara went back out to the restaurant and discovered that a few of the waiting staff were at the bar with Zoe. To her alarm there seemed to be even fewer wedding guests in evidence than there had been earlier.
‘We’re about to bring in the first lot of guests,’ Clara told them. ‘So we’re going to need you to be ready. Everyone OK with that?’
‘Sure, boss.’ One of them shot a glance around the half-empty bar and raised their eyebrows in consternation.
‘Thanks.’ Clara swallowed a sigh. The Bluebell Cliff might be able to make dreams come true in the normal course of events – she worked very hard to make sure it did – but she was going to need a flaming miracle to make anyone’s dream come true today.