Chapter Eleven

 

‘I’ve fixed the tree in the dining room,’ Robin said, walking into the kitchen where Evie and her mum were trying to write a shopping list. ‘You want the other one in the lounge, right?’

‘Actually,’ Evie said, glancing up from the three-page list on her Tablet, ‘Mum and I have been thinking about that. Is there any chance of you bringing us another couple of trees, please Robin? We can afford to pay you, astonishingly, in actual money. Don’t die from shock, will you?’

Robin looked perplexed before returning Evie’s smile. ‘Yeah, sure. But where do you plan to put them? You’ve already got one in reception and another in the bar. With the one I’ve just put in the dining room and the one I’ll put in the lounge, I can’t see where else a tree can go.’

‘The ones in the bar and reception are fake,’ Molly said. ‘They look realistic enough but because we’ll have so many people staying, we want to make every part of the inn look its best, and only a real tree has that Christmassy smell of pine.’

‘So that’s an extra two,’ Evie said. ‘Plus, we think we should have one outside, or possibly two, like we usually do. We were going to give them a miss this year as things were looking bleak, but now. Well. Possibly one big one would do it. We don’t want to spend all this money before we’ve got it, do we?’

Molly nodded. ‘That’s true. We’ll probably need to take out a loan to pay for the turkeys. It’s a good thing Ben had a few extra this year but gosh, they are expensive, even taking into account his ‘loyal customer discount’. And what this little lot will add up to would probably pay for a new roof.’ She cast her eyes over Evie’s list and shook her head. ‘I’m going to make a pot of tea. Would you like a cup, Robin? Evie, go and wake Jessie, please. How she managed to sleep through all this excitement I’ll never know. And it’s almost dark. Tell your father to come down off that roof before he falls down. A broken leg is all we need right now.’

‘I’ll tell him,’ Robin said. ‘I’ll give the tea a miss, thanks. I had enough at Jane’s to sink a battleship. Does one of you want to come with me to select the trees? Or do you trust my judgement? I can get them now and bring them straight back because Mum’s standing in for me this afternoon.’

‘We trust you,’ Molly said.

Evie turned as she headed towards the hall and flight of stairs leading to the family bedrooms. ‘Absolutely. But why don’t you take Raven to give you a hand. I’m sure she’ll love that.’

Robin pulled a face. ‘Only if I tell her that Roland’s coming. I may as well be invisible otherwise.’

So Robin had noticed. Evie wondered if Roland had too. Raven did go all doe-eyed in Roland’s presence, so the boy would have to be blind not to.

‘What’s this?’ Molly asked. ‘Has Raven got a crush on Roland?’

‘Please don’t say anything to her, Mum,’ Evie pleaded. ‘She’s been almost human since he appeared yesterday. We don’t want things to go back to the way they were when she arrived.’

Molly grinned. ‘My lips are sealed. Well, well. Roland and Raven. Who’d have guessed?’

‘Ask her anyway,’ Evie told Robin.

Molly nodded in agreement. ‘And if you tell her that there’s no better way to make a person jealous than to appear to like someone else, she may even be nice to you too.’

‘And reindeers might fly,’ Robin said.

Jessie appeared, making Evie jump. ‘Reindeers do fly,’ Jessie said, gently shoving Evie aside with her arm. ‘If you believe.’

Robin grinned. ‘Oh I believe, Mrs Starr. Especially after a pint in the bar. But some things take more than magic dust to make them happen.’

‘Anything worth doing or having takes effort.’

‘I was just coming to get you Gran,’ Evie said, following Jessie back into the kitchen. ‘We’ve got some exciting news.’

‘Well, don’t wait until I’m on my deathbed to tell me. Spit it out. And Molly, is there any tea in the pot? My throat’s as dry as magic dust.’

‘Just making some,’ Molly said, switching on the kettle.

‘OK Gran. You might want to sit down before I tell you.’ Evie took a seat at the table and waited for Jessie to sit.

‘I’ll go and get those trees,’ Robin said, dashing off. ‘See you later.’

Jessie took longer than usual to lower her frail-looking body into one of the armchairs near the Aga. ‘It’s getting chilly now the sun’s going down. I need to keep these old bones warm. Go on then. I’m sitting.’

‘We’ve had a large booking today and they’re arriving tomorrow.’ Evie watched Jessie’s expression change from one of interest to one of confusion.

‘Already? But this can’t be anything to do with the Thorn boy, can it? He hasn’t even been here yet.’

Evie glanced at her mum for support. ‘Actually, it is. Sort of.’

‘Now we don’t want you to get upset,’ Molly said, placing several Christmas mugs on the table. ‘We know we usually close over Christmas but we need the money. Six people paying what is frankly a King’s ransom just so that they can spend Christmas in this gorgeously festive, cosy inn, is too good an opportunity to pass up.’

‘Christmas?’ Jessie’s white brows met at the bridge of her shapely nose. ‘You mean the actual day?’

‘And Christmas Eve and Boxing Day,’ Evie added. ‘In fact, they’re arriving tomorrow. All fifteen of them.’

‘Fifteen?’ Jessie didn’t sound upset but she did sound surprised. ‘I thought you said six.’

Molly made the tea and carried the large red teapot decorated with white snowflakes to the table. ‘Six for Christmas. The other nine leave on the morning of Christmas Eve.’

‘And they’re paying a lot of money to do so?’ Jessie asked.

‘A lot,’ Evie said. ‘We’ve hired a chef to help in the kitchen. Logan Dorset, Jane’s grandson.’

‘I know who Logan is. I’m not senile. I’ve known Logan since the boy was in nappies. Does he know he’s been hired? Or has Jane agreed to it on his behalf?’

Evie laughed. They all knew that Jane felt it was her place and her God-given right to organise her grandson’s life in any way she felt appropriate. Thankfully, Logan was a good-natured young man and from the tales Jane told, he always seemed to either agree to go along with whatever scheme she had concocted, or talk his way out of it without causing any upset. Evie was looking forward to seeing him again. He was roughly the same age as her and when she’d spoken to him on the phone at Jane’s, he sounded as charming and friendly as he had the last time she’d seen him many years ago. He and his mum hadn’t been to Snowflake Cove since his dad passed away. Prior to that, Logan had spent every summer holiday with his gran, and several Christmas holidays too.

‘I spoke to him myself,’ Evie said. ‘He’s looking forward to it.’

Jessie’s eyes glistened. ‘Is he indeed? Hmmm. He’s the same age as you, isn’t he, Evie?’

‘You know how old he is, Gran. We’re also hoping to get some temporary waiting staff and general housekeeping, but we don’t want to throw money away, so we’ll do as much as we can ourselves. You don’t mind then? About having guests here over Christmas?’

‘Why should I mind? The more the merrier. Especially if they’re paying to be here. Has anyone told Severine?’

Evie and Molly exchanged looks.

‘Not yet,’ Evie replied. ‘We’re considering telling her when she arrives.’

‘I think even Severine will notice that the place is full of people once she’s here. You won’t need to tell her.’

‘That’s precisely what we were thinking,’ Molly said. ‘God knows I love both my daughters, equally, but darling Severine can be very hard work sometimes. High maintenance they call it, I believe.’

‘Selfish little madam, I call it,’ Jessie said. ‘But we love her none the less. That tea won’t pour itself you know, Molly. Do you expect me to get up and do it? I do enough around here as it is. Oh. And whilst we’re on that subject, don’t even think of asking me to do extra chores. I’m not scrubbing toilets for anyone, no matter how much they’re paying.’

Evie laughed at that image and Molly poured the tea, handing Jessie a mug with a cartoon reindeer on the front.

‘Not even for Joshua Thorn?’ Evie said. ‘One of the richest men in the UK, apparently. Oh! But you know that of course because you said you knew Zachary’s grandpa.’

The reindeer – and the mug – flew out of Jessie’s hand and crash landed on the floor.

‘What did you say?’ Her eyes narrowed and her lips shut tight and pressed together.

‘Joshua Thorn. He’s one of the people coming to stay. I don’t know how or why, but I’m fairly certain this booking has something to do with you, Gran.’

‘Joshua Thorn is coming here?’ Jessie hissed. ‘For Christmas? The man himself? Not just his grandson?’

Evie nodded. ‘Yes. Joshua and, by the sounds of it, his entire family. They’re the party of six staying for the extra days.’

‘Over my dead body.’ Jessie rose surprisingly quickly to her feet. ‘If that man comes here for Christmas, I’m going to stay with Jane Dorset until he’s gone.’ She strode out of the room like a woman half her age.

‘Gran?’ Evie called after her.

‘Leave her,’ Molly said. ‘She’ll explain in her own good time and I’m sure it won’t be a problem. You know what she’s like. I think that’s where Severine gets it from. It’s certainly not from my side of the family. I’ll have a word with your father and see if he can sort it out. Now let’s get back to this shopping list. We haven’t got much time.’

Out of everyone in the family, her gran was the last person Evie had expected to throw a tantrum. Especially as it seemed to be less about having guests over Christmas and more about one particular man. This business with the Thorns and her gran was getting to be more of a mystery than she had ever anticipated.