CHAPTER THREE
The shocked silence was electric, and for a brief moment, I was frozen to the spot with the sheer horror of it.
And then chaos broke out.
Marguerite was falling over herself to apologise, almost forcibly removing Lady Arabella’s jacket for her and insisting (rather wildly and hysterically) that she had contacts at the dry cleaners and it would be done that very day and delivered by courier to her house.
The client, for her part, seemed fairly non-plussed by the incident, shrugging it off – along with the stained jacket.
Meanwhile, Marguerite fussed around her, examining the stain and dabbing ineffectually at it with a tissue. Refusing in her fury to even look at me, she was talking to Lady Arabella as if I wasn’t even there.
‘I can’t apologise enough for my assistant’s clumsy behaviour.’ She shook her head, her lips pressed together. ‘I always say if you want a job doing well, you should do it yourself. Don’t you agree, Lady Arabella? Because employing half-wits like this one is certain to land you in trouble.’ She gave a tinkly laugh to imply she was just joking.
Lady Arabella looked at me doubtfully. ‘You know, I’m not sure it was her fault.’ To my surprise, she smiled and held out her hand to me. ‘I’m Arabella.’
‘Annalise,’ I blurted out, as we shook hands daintily. I didn’t dare look at Marguerite.
‘What a lovely name!’ Lady Arabella smiled warmly. ‘I always think that life is a series of obstacles you need to overcome, and this morning’s challenge just happened to be a glass of Bucks Fizz! But it’s just a jacket. No one died.’
Marguerite looked startled. ‘Well, it’s lovely of you to be so understanding, I’m sure,’ she murmured, with a steely look in my direction.
‘Not at all.’ Lady Arabella looked around her. ‘I’m looking forward to trying on some of these glorious gowns and tiaras.’
‘Yes. Yes, of course.’ Marguerite smiled and regained her composure, hands clasped against her heart. ‘And can I just say what an honour it is having you here in my little shop, Lady Arabella. Can I offer you some refreshment while you peruse the rails? Tea? Coffee? Bucks... er, champagne ?’
‘Just a glass of water, please. We don’t want to push our luck with the Bucks Fizz, do we?’ She smiled at me, her eyes sparkling with mischief. ‘And meanwhile, I’m sure your lovely assistant here will be a great help in showing me around.’ She leaned towards me and confided, ‘I’m leaning towards a fairly simple style? No fussy bows or sparkles.’
I nodded. ‘Er, yes. Yes, of course. We do have some stunning dresses I can show you.’
‘Excellent. Well, lead the way, Annalise.’
I glanced nervously back at Marguerite. Her right eye had gone into over-drive, and furious resentment was emanating from every pore. I’d thought the client would be angry at the ruined jacket, but in favouring me and demoting Marguerite to water-fetcher, she was making it plain she thought I’d been unfairly treated.
‘I’ve always hated my big boobs,’ she confessed as I escorted her over to a rail of dresses. ‘But I’m sure we’ll find something here that will make me look rather more in proportion.’
‘I’m sure we will.’
I stole another glance at Marguerite. She had a murderous little smile on her face as she left the shop floor, and I could sense she was plotting my demise. It didn’t matter that Lady Arabella had seen her shove me, which had resulted in the glass toppling over.
I had a feeling the Bucks Fizz disaster was just the excuse Marguerite had been looking for to fire me...
*****
Going into the hospital to see my grandmother a little later, I decided to keep the news to myself, at least for now. Loli had enough to contend with, without finding out I’d been unceremoniously dismissed the moment Lady Arabella had left the shop.
Marguerite hadn’t said a word. She didn’t have to. Her eyes skewered through me, glittering dangerously, as if she was silently daring me to start talking about tribunals.
‘I guess it hasn’t worked out,’ I said, feeling surprisingly calm.
‘No. It hasn’t.’ Her tone was clipped and decisive. ‘You can leave now. You’ll be paid for the work you’ve done, of course.’
I’d collected my jacket and bag, and opened my mouth to say goodbye, but Marguerite had already turned away and was making a phone call, tapping her foot agitatedly and looking so wound up, one of Loli’s favourite sayings came to mind. But I didn’t think Marguerite would appreciate being told that ‘stressed spelled backwards is desserts’ and maybe some carbs would help!
I felt relieved as I left. My self-confidence, which hadn’t exactly been high when I’d started on Monday, was now nearing rock bottom. I wasn’t sure how long I could have worked for Marguerite before I lost every last shred of dignity and self-worth. But it was also a real worry because I needed to be earning.
Loli’s condition was currently being stabilised in hospital with daily kidney dialysis but eventually, she’d be allowed to go home. And when that day arrived, as we waited for her to climb to the top of the transplant waiting list, I wanted to be able to treat her... make some more lovely memories... so that we weren’t just sitting at home waiting for that phone call from the hospital. Bournemouth, for instance. And the Lake District. We’d spent many a lovely holiday in both of those places and I wanted to take her back there. But I needed money to do that.
I had to find another job.
But who was going to employ a woman whose only work experience since dropping out of college had been working weekends in a dress shop and making puddings to sell at market? Loli kept saying she could sell her house, but I was determined she wouldn’t have to do that. There were far too many precious memories attached to that old family home...
But as I entered the hospital, I pushed these worrying thoughts aside and hurried over to the lift that would take me up to Loli’s ward.
A tall man in buff-coloured jeans and a dark green polo shirt was already standing there, and we exchanged brief smiles as we waited...
. . . and waited . . .
. . . then waited a bit more...
‘Maybe it’s stuck,’ he said at last, nodding at the number four which had been lit up and static for ages. ‘I don’t know about you but lifts always push my buttons.’
I looked at him, liking the way his dark eyes were twinkling at me. ‘They do have their ups and downs.’
He laughed, and we lapsed into silence again.
The lift was still on level four.
‘They can be an uplifting experience, though,’ I ventured at last, having been racking my brains for more lift puns. For some reason, I wanted to make him laugh again.
‘I guess they do pick you up when you’re down.’
We both laughed that time, and at that moment, the lift doors opened – to reveal a snogging couple, who immediately sprang apart when they saw us standing there.
I was expecting them to come out at the ground floor, but the girl smiled awkwardly and pressed another button. ‘We’re going up.’
My lift companion and I stepped in, exchanging a subtle knowing look once we were standing behind them. He nudged me gently, while staring straight ahead, his lips twitching in a hint of a smile. I chuckled and turned it into a cough, and when we stopped at the third floor, the couple got out without a word.
We departed the lift ourselves and watched them walking swiftly along the corridor ahead of us.
‘Just wrong,’ he murmured. ‘On so many levels.’
I snorted and was trying to think of another witty comeback when I realised he was turning into one of the wards on the left. Loli’s ward was straight ahead. He gave me one of his twinkling-eyed smiles. And then he was gone.
I continued on down the corridor, feeling odd, as if I was floating. The banter between us had felt so natural. Not forced at all. It was strange how your mood could change in an instant. I’d been feeling so down after my clash with Marguerite and everything that had happened, but after that encounter with a perfect stranger, I was suddenly feeling... light as a feather!
Reaching the ward, I found Loli sitting up in bed, glasses on, reading. When she saw me, she put the magazine down, pushed the glasses onto her head and beamed at me, her blue eyes sparkling. ‘What a lovely surprise! This is early for you.’ Her thick white hair was sleek and smooth over her shoulders this morning, instead of piled up as usual, and this gave me hope that her condition must be improving. She must be feeling better if she’d found the energy to give herself a blow-dry.
‘I had to run an errand for the boss nearby, so I thought I’d pop in,’ I improvised. ‘So, how are you feeling? It’s good to see you looking so cheerful.’ I sat down on the side of the bed.
‘Yes, well, life is short. You need to smile while you –’
‘Still have teeth. Yes, I know.’ I chuckled. That was another of Loli’s favourite sayings. ‘But how are you really?’ She still looked quite pale beneath the spots of blusher she’d applied.
‘Oh, you know. Like I’ve been beaten up by a couple of heavies at a Taylor Swift concert.’
‘Why Taylor Swift?’ I asked lightly, as my stomach clenched with worry.
She smiled. ‘Only pop star I could think of.’
‘Well, I wouldn’t worry. You’re bound to feel tired after everything that’s happened.’
‘I suppose so. But what about the garden? I need to get back to it. The lawns must be running amok and I’m missing the exercise.’
‘The garden’s fine. Trust me. I’ll be mowing both lawns and doing some weeding tomorrow.’
‘Tomorrow?’ She frowned. ‘But you’ll be at work all day, surely?’
I swallowed, looking down. ‘Well... when I get back, I mean.’
‘Lisa?’
I sighed. Loli was too sharp for her own good sometimes. ‘Everything’s fine. I don’t much like my boss, that’s all.’ To divert her, I placed both hands on my hips in a jokey confrontational stance. ‘ You just need to concentrate on getting your strength back so that you can get home, okay? And mow those lawns yourself.’
She fixed me with a knowing look. ‘You’re hiding something from me and I want to know what it is.’
I made a face at her. She knew me far too well.
‘Come on. Trying to hide things from your wise old grandmother is a very bad idea .’
‘Yeah, I know. Speaking of very bad ideas, remember how your old neighbour, Henry, named his dog “Shark”? All was fine until Henry decided to take him for a walk. On the beach!’
It had happened years ago but we still found it funny.
Loli hooted with laughter. ‘Shark the sheepdog. Poor old Henry. He had no idea he was terrifying the entire beach when he called for his pooch!’
She darted another sharp look my way. ‘Stop changing the subject, Lisa! What aren’t you telling me?’
‘Nothing.’ To further distract her, I dived into my bag and brought out a book she’d wanted me to bring her from home.
‘Oh, lovely. Thank you.’ She pulled down her glasses and read the synopsis on the back with a smile.
‘And... guess what else I found on the book shelf!’ I pulled a little blue notebook out of my bag that I knew Loli would recognise instantly. We’d thought we’d lost it, and I saw her face light up.
‘Millicent Edgeworth’s Book of Puddings! Oh, my. I thought I’d never see it again.’
I’d felt similarly triumphant myself when I’d stumbled across it that morning.
Mum had found it in a second-hand bookshop many years ago. She’d bought an old hard-back cookery book and when she’d got it home and was leafing through it, she’d found the notebook tucked inside the pages. It was full of pudding recipes from long ago, all written down in an elegant, curly script by a woman called Millicent Edgeworth, who’d lived through the Second World War. Mum had been entranced by her magical find, and we’d pored over the little book together and even made some of the puddings Millicent described in it.
It had always been just Mum and me. I’d never known my dad. He’d walked away when Mum found out she was pregnant. But that had just made the strong bond between us even more special.
After Mum died and I moved in with Loli, to her house overlooking Sunnybrook village green, the little book had somehow gone astray, although Loli and I had still talked fondly about it and how it had been Mum’s prize possession.
There were tears in Loli’s eyes now, as she flicked through the little notebook. She looked up at me. ‘Your mum would have been over the moon to know that we’d found it again.’
‘She would.’ I smiled sadly.
‘It was this woman, Millicent, who gave us the inspiration for the pudding business!’
‘That’s true.’
We’d been trying out all the old-fashioned puddings ever since Mum found that book. And much later, Loli and I had set up our little business together, selling our homemade puddings at the local farmers’ market. It was only in the last few weeks – after Loli had become dangerously ill again – that I’d finally had to throw in the towel and cancel our regular stall booking. It had been a sad day, but I had to concentrate on Loli now – and I’d also thought I’d be working full-time at the wedding boutique. So much for that!
Loli was looking at me sternly over her glasses. ‘I still think there’s something you’re not telling me, Lisa. Come on. Out with it. I can take it.’
I sighed. ‘Okay, okay. So I got fired today. Happy?’
I couldn’t bring myself to go into details – it was all still too raw – but I told her I’d failed to make it through the trial period because I wasn’t good enough.
Loli snorted. ‘Well, it’s that Margaret woman’s loss. She must be mad if she couldn’t see what a great asset you’d be to that shop.’
‘It’s Marguer ite .’ I smiled. ‘She’d be furious if she heard you calling her Margaret. So common !’
‘Well, if you ask me, I think you’ve probably dodged a bullet there.’
I nodded. ‘I think my stress levels would have been permanently through the roof. She seemed to expect me to know the ropes right from day one.’
‘Well, there you are, then.’ She took my hand and smiled. ‘It was a good thing she let you go. Now, have you thought any more about the competition that Tina gave me the link for?’
I laughed. ‘No, of course I haven’t. She wasn’t being serious.’ Tina was the woman who brought round the hospital’s library trolley, and she and Loli seemed to have struck up quite a friendship since she’d been in the hospital.
‘Of course she was serious. She tried the syrup sponge pudding you brought in the other day for me and she absolutely loved it – which was why she drew the competition to my attention. It’s being run by The Flour Mill at West Allenby and –’
‘Yes, I know. You already told me, Loli. They’re running a competition for small businesses. They were once a struggling start-up themselves and now that they’ve become successful, they want to help promote other small businesses.’
Loli nodded eagerly. ‘Specifically, businesses in the food industry, like ours. There’s a ￡5000 prize for the winner and their product will be on sale in The Flour Mill’s on-site shop. That place gets hundreds of visitors every month to their flour mill tours and their bread-making classes.’
‘Sounds amazing.’
‘I know. Imagine if we won!’
I laughed in disbelief. ‘Yes, but Loli, making puddings at home together and selling them at the market is one thing. But do you seriously think we could compete with proper businesses?’
Loli frowned. ‘Ours is a proper business.’
‘It was very small-scale. How many puddings did we make for the stall each week? Thirty. Forty at most.’
‘Yes, and we sold out practically every week because people love those old-fashioned school-dinner-style puds.’ She reached for my hand again. ‘Look, I know I’m no help whatsoever at the moment, stuck in this hospital bed, but I have every confidence in you, my love. And the puddings speak for themselves.’
I smiled, my heart filled with affection seeing the earnest expression on Loli’s face. She was my biggest fan and I was so grateful for her belief in me. But she was living in Barbie land if she thought this was a competition we could actually win. The other competitors... the professional businesses that were at least big enough to employ staff and need an accountant to deal with the numbers... they would wipe the floor with us!
‘Look, we’d need a better name first of all.’
‘What’s wrong with Ye Olde Traditional Puddings?’
I grinned. ‘Erm . . . just about everything?’
‘But I thought you liked the name.’
‘It’s... well, it’s fine. But we’d need something far more snappy and modern to be taken seriously by The Flour Mill.’
‘Okay.’ She frowned, thinking about this. ‘How about... Patty’s Perfect Puddings? Hetty’s Home-Made Heaven in a Dish? Fanny’s Farmhouse Favourites?’
‘Fanny’s Farmhouse Favourites?’ Laughter burst out of me. ‘Now you really are joking! Aren’t you?’
Loli smiled. ‘Well, okay. That was me harking back to the golden days of Fanny Cradock teaching us all how to cook on TV. Ably assisted by her husband, Johnnie, of course.’
I grinned. ‘And now you’re going to tell me about that infamous remark Johnnie made.’
She nodded. ‘It’s well worth repeating.’ She cleared her throat. ‘And may your doughnuts always turn out like Fanny’s.’
Aware of the family at the next bed stopping their conversation to tune in to ours, I chuckled. ‘Keep your voice down. Do you think Johnnie realised what he’d said?’
‘Who knows? So anyway... we’re definitely not going with Fanny’s Farmhouse Favourites. But I’m sure you could think of something better if you put your mind to it.’
‘Well, maybe something like Vintage Puddings, since we make the more traditional style of desserts,’ I mused, finding myself carried along by her enthusiasm.
‘Vintage Puddings,’ said Loli thoughtfully. ‘I like the sound of that.’
‘But I’d need lots of other stuff as well... like packaging and proper costings. A place to buy my ingredients at a reasonable price. And of course I’d need a following on social media.’
‘Social media?’ She looked confused. ‘What on earth for?’
‘Loli, every business needs a following on social media to be taken seriously these days.’
‘So do it! People love all the old-fashioned puddings. Especially people my age. It takes them back to their school dinner days. Organise some packaging and put your golden syrup pudding on that Ticky Tock thing. You’re sure to get loads of followers.’
I laughed. ‘TikTok. If only it were that simple.’
‘You’ll never know until you try,’ she said with a smile. ‘What was it that famous sportsman said? You miss one hundred per cent of the shots you don’t take.’
‘Maybe. But this, if you don’t mind me saying, would surely be a shot in the dark !’
Loli sighed. ‘I wish you’d believe in yourself the way I do. You have greatness in you, Annalise. You just can’t see it yet.’
I was about to laugh – it was such a corny thing for her to say – but then I saw that she was serious. ‘Your support means everything to me,’ I told her softly. ‘But what I really need is another job.’
‘And you’ll find something. I just wish to goodness you hadn’t dropped out of your catering course. It’s my fault you’re not forging ahead with all your lovely career plans.’
‘Hey, don’t say that! I don’t regret for a single solitary minute that I left the course to be there for you. You would do the same for me, wouldn’t you?’
‘Of course.’ She drew in a deep breath and patted the covers decisively. ‘Any day now, I’ll be offered the kidney I need and then I’ll be able to get back to making puddings for the market, so the financial worry won’t all be on your shoulders.’
‘I’m not worried,’ I lied. ‘And anyway –’ I stopped abruptly.
‘Anyway what?’ Loli gave me a sharp look.
I shrugged wearily. ‘I was just going to say you could have the kidney you need right now if you’d only agree to me donating one of mine.’
‘Lisa, we’ve talked about this,’ she said warningly.
‘I know. But why can’t I at least get tested to see if I’m a match? It makes me so sad to think that you could be up and about, back to your normal self, mowing your own lawns , if only you’d let me –’
‘That’s enough.’ She held up her hands, her cheeks flushed in agitation. ‘You know I’ll never allow it, so it’s pointless talking about it.’ She sighed. ‘Look what happened to me , for heaven’s sake. I gave your mum a kidney and it worked for a while. But then it didn’t! And we lost her. And in an ironic twist of fate, I’ve ended up with kidney disease myself.’ She shook her head. ‘Do you really think I’m going to allow you to endanger your life by giving me one of your kidneys? What if you end up in my position later in life? I’d never forgive myself!’
‘But I won’t –’
‘You don’t know that, Lisa,’ she snapped. ‘And I’m not prepared to argue about it. You’re far too precious to me to want to take a risk with your health. So let that be an end to it.’
I sank back in the chair, feeling emotional and thoroughly defeated.
I’d stressed her out, which was the last thing she needed. I wanted so much to help her, but I was wasting my breath trying to convince her. She’d made up her mind.
Loli’s only other relative was a sister, but she lived in New Zealand, and Loli was refusing to let her know about her condition. (‘She’d only worry and want to donate her kidney and I’m not having her go through that.’)
We sat in tense silence for a moment. Then Loli looked over at me with a wicked smile.
‘A very dishy young doctor came to check me over today.’
I grinned. ‘Oh, yes?’
‘I told him I had a granddaughter about his age, and she was currently free and single.’
‘Loli! You didn’t!’
She shrugged. ‘If you won’t get out there and find a lovely, kind man, you can’t expect me to sit here and do nothing.’
I smiled at her, shaking my head. Underneath the light-hearted humour, I knew she was being serious. We never talked about it, but I knew Loli worried that if she didn’t make it, I’d be all alone in the world, with no one to look after me. It scared me to death, too... the idea that I could lose her and have to cope without the loving care and guidance I’d always been able to depend upon, ever since we’d lost Mum a decade earlier.
But I certainly wasn’t about to go looking for a man so that we’d both feel better about things!