Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Ben and Rosie met us halfway down the driveway. They had been trudging up to the house as Layla and I were making our way into town. ‘Merry Christmas,’ Ben cried out, planting a kiss on my cheek. ‘We’ve got no power and Mum is having a small breakdown as my oven is electric.’
‘We’ve not got any power either,’ I said, before wishing Rosie a Merry Christmas and high-fiving her. ‘Come to ours for Christmas lunch.’
Ben looked at me. ‘We can’t do that: we put you to enough trouble yesterday.’
I arched my eyebrows. ‘Ben, I love cooking. We have two giant wood-burning Agas and a gas hob. You can be my cooking assistant.’
His face lit up. ‘Really?’
I nodded. ‘Get your mum and come up. Bring candles.’
Rosie cheered. ‘I can give Humph-Wee my present for him.’
‘Okay,’ said Ben, ‘I’ll go get Mum and candles. Are you going to see who else has no power?’
‘Yes, will be back in a bit.’
Layla and I made our way into the village. The snow was deep in places and driving was going to be difficult as the roads had not been cleared. As we walked, we looked out for lights on in houses. To our dismay everywhere looked dark and gloomy.
As we reached the bakery, I saw Darren coming out of the shop door. He looked harassed and was holding the hand of his two emotional twins.
‘Power has gone,’ he snapped. ‘We live above the bakery. Abi is in hospital as the baby came early yesterday and she’s being kept in until tomorrow. The twins are having a meltdown because there is no Christmas TV and at this rate there will be no dinner.’
I staggered towards him and gave him a hug. ‘Come to the manor house. Bring the kids. Rosie is coming so they can all play together. I am cooking. We have more than enough food.’
Frank could stick his wish to keep the locals away from his manor house where the sun doesn’t shine. It was Christmas and people needed us.
Darren’s eyes widened. ‘Seriously?’
I nodded. ‘Definitely. Ben is going up now so he will be there when you arrive.’
Kneeling in the snow I smiled at his two tear-stained twins. ‘Fancy playing hide and seek in a big house today?’
They both cheered. ‘Can we go to Narnia?’
We all laughed, and I stood up. ‘Get yourselves over there.’
Darren smiled. ‘Thanks, Rachel, this means a lot to me.’
Layla and I made our way along the high street. It was eerily quiet. As we were about to turn back, I noticed the blonde woman who was the daughter of Mrs Hall, the lady I had rescued. She was coming along the road. ‘Bloody power cut,’ she snapped. ‘Mum’s home from hospital and we have no bloody power.’
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Layla flicking her eyes to the floor. The woman stared at me. ‘You’re the woman who rescued Mum – aren’t you?’
I nodded. ‘She’s okay then?’
The woman nodded. ‘Broke her arm but she’s okay. I can’t thank you enough.’ She outstretched her hand and smiled. ‘I’m Vanessa.’
Every part of me clenched. So, this was the infamous Vanessa. She was attractive with bushy blonde hair, a golden tan and sparkling blue eyes. There was no contest on beauty between her and Maddie though: my sister was far superior in terms of looks.
Layla was still looking at the ground and I recalled what Layla had told me about Vanessa and her son Ryan. I thought about Denise, the lies she had spread about Ben, and how her son had made Rosie sad.
‘Rachel,’ I said, ‘I’m Maddie Baxter’s sister.’ My old voice had returned. The tough voice I once used to stop a gang of girls from bullying Maddie at school. The stern voice I used to tell drunken blokes to stop being rude to me when I was serving them hot food at festivals. The powerful voice I used when I told Mum I was going to turn an old van into a mobile kitchen.
The strong and assertive voice that I lost when I started listening to Mum.
An uncomfortable silence descended. Vanessa’s eyes flicked to the snow. She cleared her throat and lifted her gaze to mine. ‘Oh, so you’re her sister. I have been hearing a lot about you. You and an older woman came into my pub looking for trouble.’
‘I have heard a lot about you, Vanessa,’ I said, shifting my weight and leaning on one hip. ‘I know everything so there’s nothing you can say that will shock me.’
Vanessa looked taken aback. ‘Do you?’
I nodded. ‘Yes, I do. Look, I need to get back as I am cooking for quite a few people in the town. Luckily my sister made Frank keep the old Agas.’ With a fake smile I said, ‘It’s been good to finally meet you and give my love to your mother.’
Vanessa turned her attention to Layla. ‘Aren’t you going to say hello?’
Layla looked terrified and that made me cross. I stepped in front of her and stared at Vanessa. ‘I know about how horrible you have been to her. She works for me now.’
‘Have you told your new boss about all the lies you told me about my Ryan, Layla?’
‘They were not lies,’ Layla mumbled.
I looked Vanessa in the eyes and the old me stepped up. ‘Why are you and your family making her life a misery? She’s twenty-one, she has a baby son and when I arrived here, she was homeless. I also heard you’d been urging her cleaning clients to cancel her jobs. You are a grown woman. You should be ashamed of yourself.’
Vanessa took a step back in shock. Her mouth hung open. It was clear no one had ever stood up to her.
‘Why is your sister spreading lies about Ben and getting her son to pick on his daughter?’ I took a step forward and she took a step back. ‘Why did you have an affair with my sister’s husband?’
She raised her hands. ‘Can we talk about that?’
I scowled at her. ‘I don’t talk to bullies. Goodbye, Vanessa. Come on, Layla, we are leaving.’
I strode away and Layla trudged after me. ‘Oh God, Rachel, you were amazing,’ she squealed. ‘I have never seen Vanessa back down like that.’
Once we were out of sight from Vanessa I turned to Layla. ‘Hug me. I am trembling.’
She laughed and threw her arms around me. ‘You were the best.’
As we trudged back, we saw a few people gathered outside their houses. Fuelled by my bravery against Vanessa, I found myself saying, ‘If you need Christmas lunch – come to the manor house. We have so much food and I would love to see you there.’
‘Really?’ A woman cast me a shocked look.
I nodded. ‘My name’s Rachel. I would love to see you all there. Merry Christmas.’
‘But there’s four hungry people in my family and…’
‘Bring everyone who needs feeding and is without power.’ I laughed. ‘It’s on Frank Baxter so let’s have a good Christmas. I’ll be serving up at 2pm.’
To my amazement they all cheered.
Layla and I made our way back to the Manor House. ‘I can’t believe you’ve invited all those people,’ she exclaimed. ‘Where will we put them all?’
‘Okay, I want to open up the west wing,’ I explained. Her eyebrows rocketed up her forehead in shock. ‘Do you think that’s wise?’
‘We can tidy up afterwards and it will look like no one will have been in there. I will do a buffet style dinner and people can go sit with their families.’
‘Frank and Maddie won’t be happy,’ said Layla.
‘They are away in Malibu and will never know,’ I said with an air of confidence.