Chapter 51
‘For God’s sake, stop fidgeting,’ said Taffy. ‘Here, swap places if you can’t see.’
The folding chairs in the hall were hardly the height of comfort for an uncomfortably pregnant lady, but Holly was determined not to miss out. It wasn’t exactly that she couldn’t see, more that she couldn’t see everything. She was so used to being in the thick of these barmy events in Larkford that attending as a spectator felt weird and discombobulating.
‘Who’s that?’ she asked, craning her neck. ‘Do you think Grace’s outfit is okay? Is Dan still back there? Did you see the press outside?’
Taffy blinked hard. ‘Er, yes?’ he said, hoping to cover all bases. ‘You know you sound like the twins at the seaside, don’t you? If you start nagging for an ice-cream, then I’ll know that the transformation is complete.’ He grinned, watching the expression on her face and knowing her only too well. ‘Dear God. You’re actually thinking about ice-cream now, aren’t you?’
Holly flushed guiltily. The very idea of a sundae with sprinkles was suddenly all she could concentrate on. ‘No,’ she replied. ‘Unless of course you wanted one too?’
Taffy shook his head. ‘Stay here. I’ll go and see what I can rustle up.’
Elsie leaned across Holly’s bump. ‘Actually, I wouldn’t say no to a Strawberry Mivvi, since you’re asking.’
‘Anybody else?’ Taffy said, shaking his head in mock-annoyance, the smile in his eyes softening any irritation.
Alice leaned back in her chair. ‘Maybe a choc ice? What about you, Jamie?’
By the time Taffy actually left the room, he was muttering their wish list over and over again, for fear of forgetting it.
‘I thought you’d be backstage,’ said Holly, secretly pleased not to be the only one consigned to the status of seat filler.
Alice shook her head vehemently. ‘Couldn’t bear it, actually. Seeing all my lovely things just waiting to be sold—’ She pressed a hand to her chest. ‘I know it’s the right thing to do, and they’ll go to loving homes,’ she talked about her dresses as though they were much-loved ponies she’d sadly outgrown, ‘but it’s still going to be awful watching them go.’
Holly nodded. ‘But it might also be amazing, seeing how much money they’re raising for the Air Ambulance and the Maternity Unit?’
‘That too,’ agreed Alice.
Holly watched the way Jamie automatically reached for her hand, the way Coco pressed herself tightly against Alice’s legs, and couldn’t help but think she would be okay. Holly knew how hard the whole process of letting go had been for Alice, but sometimes letting go was the only way to feel free – undoubtedly difficult but incredibly rewarding. Wandering around her little terraced cottage after Taffy’s family had finally departed, she’d realised something similar herself.
Even moving into Elsie’s temporarily had been like a watershed moment. She was, to all intents and purposes, starting over. A new husband, a new house, two new babies on the way – she could only thank her lucky stars that Ben and Tom seemed to be even more excited about all of these changes than she was. Certainly it felt as though everything was falling into place with an ease and serendipity she was unaccustomed to.
She could only hope that the actual moving day might go so smoothly – after all, there was no going back once the deal was done.
‘No sign of Harriet this evening?’ she asked Elsie sotto voce, as though the mere mention of her name might actually summon her presence. They’d heard nothing from Harriet at all, since she’d swept off up to London, and the waiting and not knowing was almost worse than her looming presence. Holly had privately assumed that Harriet would turn up here tonight and cause a scene; she was delighted to be proven wrong. Certainly, Elsie’s insistence on referring to her as Hurricane Harriet was making a lot more sense: sweeping in, causing devastation and, now it appeared, having swept back to LA to lick her wounds.
Elsie looked guiltily relieved as she confirmed that Hurricane Harriet had, officially, left the country. ‘I may have dropped a few heavy hints about reconsidering the property portfolio in California,’ Elsie confided. ‘Not exactly ethical parenting, but it did prove to be the most efficient catalyst!’ She shrugged. ‘Sometimes Harriet doesn’t leave me with the option to be an adoring mummy like you, Holly.’ She waved a hand in the air, as though the topic were now closed for debate.
Holly squeezed her hand supportively, only too happy to change the subject. She looked down to see a little chocolate-coloured nose sniffling at her feet, where Coco had lain down under Alice’s chair. The urge to stroke her soft, silky ears was intense, but Holly already knew she could barely reach her feet any more.
‘Alice,’ she whispered, ‘is there a reason that Judith is over there giving me the evil eye?’
Alice didn’t even look over. ‘It’s not you she’s glaring at. It’s me. We had another meeting to discuss Coco’s future, but she’s not giving up easily on getting the outcome she wants.’
‘And it’s hardly helping her case that she’s being so melodramatic about it,’ Jamie grumbled beside her. ‘Even Judith has to see that not everyone has the same single-minded approach to this.’
‘Oh God,’ gasped Alice. ‘Stop looking at her. She’s coming over.’
Suddenly there was an intense interest in whatever happened to be lurking in the bottom of Alice’s handbag and Holly noticed the back of her neck turn a vivid red. Whether it was her pregnancy hormones, or simply seeing her colleague so flustered, Holly felt an overwhelming surge of protectiveness towards her. Wasn’t Alice already ‘doing her bit’ for their community?
Judith sat primly down in Taffy’s empty seat and held out a thin, crêpey hand. ‘Dr Graham? I’m Judith Lane, from the Canine Oncology Department.’
COD? thought Holly, trying not to react as Judith’s downturned mouth and sulky expression bore a startling resemblance to one. ‘Nice to meet you at last,’ Holly managed, earning herself a strange look, as she attempted to resist the urge to laugh.
‘I gather you support this crazy-hokum scheme that these two have cooked up?’ She waved a hand disparagingly at Alice and Jamie. ‘I think a little romance has gone to their heads and they can’t be relied upon to think clearly, to balance the pros and cons of this decision. Surely the needs of the many outweigh the needs of one individual? Tell me why on earth they have your support?’
Holly’s good mood ebbed instantly in the face of this barrage of questions. She began to wish she’d never sent Taffy on his quest for frosty sustenance. She looked over at Alice and Jamie, Coco nestled beneath them, united in their affection for each other and always, always trying to do the right thing. A slow fuse began to burn and Holly fixed Judith firmly in her sights. It didn’t matter what ‘scheme’ Alice and Jamie had put together, she knew full well it would have been considered with the best of intentions and plenty of soul-searching to boot. She had absolute faith in them.
‘Of course I support them. And if you heard them out instead of shouting them down, perhaps you would too. It’s okay to ask for a little sacrifice, I think, a small stretch out of one’s comfort zone to help other people. But is it right to sabotage the life of a valuable, responsible, community-minded person to reach an arbitrary goal? I don’t believe so and I’m surprised that you do.’
Judith blanched. ‘That’s not what I’m—’
‘Isn’t it though?’ Holly interrupted, on a roll. ‘If you push Alice to surrender Coco entirely, that’s exactly what you’re doing. And yes, you may help many patients, but then so does Alice, as their GP. It’s a question of perspective really, Judith, with a dash of humanity. I’m concerned that you may have lost sight of what you’re trying to achieve. And whilst I appreciate you have your own deadlines and targets, as a doctor, I would ask that you at least consider their proposal.’ She turned away as Taffy arrived with handfuls of ice-creams, cursing the chill to his fingers and effectively ending the conversation.
As Judith stalked back to her seat, Holly swallowed hard and leaned forward. ‘Er, Alice, when you get a mo – can you fill me in on this scheme I’m apparently supporting?’
Alice nodded, swivelling in her seat, her eyes reflecting her gratitude. ‘You’re going to like it; I know you will. But thank you for supporting me sight unseen.’
Holly smiled. ‘I trust you.’ She made it sound so easy, but from the expression on Alice’s face, that simple statement meant so much more than she could have realised.
Jamie caught the choc ices that Taffy expertly lobbed into his hands. ‘We’d love to come and talk to you both about it. Dan too,’ he said. ‘We want Coco to stay with Alice full-time, but for Alice to volunteer at the Oncology Department in Bath one day each week – in the diagnostic clinic, and with Alice as Coco’s handler. Or at The Practice if you’d rather. It’s a bit of a compromise, granted, but it’s the only way we could come up with, where everybody wins, even if it’s only a little bit. We thought maybe a Three Peaks Challenge to kick off some working capital, but we’re going to pool our overheads, so it’s essentially a cost-free option.’
Holly and Taffy exchanged glances. ‘Sounds great,’ they both said at the same time and grinned. ‘Jinx, padlock, Curly Wurly,’ they both said, in unison again, and then fell about laughing.
‘We really need to spend more time around grown-ups,’ Taffy said. ‘I was humming the tune to Peppa Pig in the queue just now.’ He stretched his arms above his head and Holly quickly pulled them down.
‘Don’t do that!’ she said urgently. ‘You might accidentally bid on something!’
He grinned wickedly and flicked through the hastily printed brochure of lots. ‘Ooh, now there’s an idea,’ he said.
A small scuffle broke out at the end of their row. ‘Alice? Alice!’ called a lanky, slightly dishevelled figure with a small rucksack slung from one shoulder.
Holly watched Alice’s face split into wreaths of smiles as she thrust her choc ice into Jamie’s hands and clambered between the seats. ‘Tilly! Oh my God. What the hell are you doing here?’
Tilly grinned at Alice and threw out her arms in greeting. ‘A little bird told me you might be in need of some moral support. And it only took me two flights, one river boat, three trains and a dodgy taxi from Bristol – so I bloody well hope you’re pleased to see me.’
Alice nodded, words apparently eluding her at the sight of her dearest friend. ‘What about your doctors-without-boundaries plan?’ she managed after a moment.
Tilly shrugged. ‘Some things are more important.’ She swung her rucksack to the ground and pulled Alice into another rib-crushing hug. ‘Thought I’d try out the Stepford way of life for a bit.’
Alice automatically glanced down, clocking the minimalist size of her luggage, and her shoulders dropped. ‘You’re not staying long?’
Tilly looked affronted. ‘Don’t be daft. I’ve brought everything I own.’ She gave the bag a little kick. ‘Besides, rumour has it you’ve been having a clear-out, so I thought I might scrounge a few hand-me-downs to get me started.’
Tilly plonked herself down in the seat next to Jamie and leaned in to shake him by the hand. ‘Good work, by the way. Took you long enough.’
Before Connor Danes had even finished his opening remarks, Holly was in pieces. Tilly’s arrival had already tipped her dangerously close to the brink, delighted that her first attempt at meddling had proven quite so adept. After all, it was becoming increasingly obvious that they needed another pair of hands at The Practice. Cursing her hormonal state, she peeked over her handkerchief to see who had borne witness to her aquatic response to Connor’s frank and vulnerable honesty. She was quietly relieved to see that she wasn’t alone.
As though to provide the perfect counterbalance, the entire front row of the audience stood up and turned to face the crowd that packed out the hall.
One by one they introduced themselves.
‘Hi, I’m Ellie, I’m fifteen and the Air Ambulance Team saved my life when I was in a car crash.’
‘I’m Malcom. Sixty-two. The Air Ambulance Team saved me when I fell off a cliff.’
‘Laura. Forty-two. I came off my horse and would have been a quadriplegic if it wasn’t for the Air Ambulance Team.’
By the end of the row, the clapping and cheering from the audience was almost drowning out their words and Chris Virtue, as the nominated representative from the Air Ambulance Team, was looking somewhat overwhelmed on the stage beside Connor.
‘For every tragedy, there are hundreds of stories of triumph over adversity,’ said Connor, holding Chris’s hand high in the air – a little more rock and roll than Cotswold stone, but nevertheless heartfelt. ‘Let’s make sure that everyone who needs their local maternity unit, or an Air Ambulance, or oncology care in their community, can go to sleep at night knowing that’s a possibility!’ he shouted, now ignoring the microphone beside him. ‘And as your auctioneer, I can’t bid, so instead I am pledging to match every single pound spent here tonight for a cause that is truly close to my heart!’
The atmosphere in the room was almost electric. Camera flashes spackled the back of the hall and the anticipation for the auction to begin was almost frenzied. Holly noticed that Jessica Hearst had slipped quietly into the back of the room, her face still oddly immobile on one side, but with her mother uncharacteristically holding her hand beside her. As the pair of them handed out envelopes for Gift Aid donations, it seemed that tonight was full of surprises.
‘We love you, Connor!’ shouted Marion Waverly, startling everyone around her and possibly even herself.
Grace walked out onto the stage, looking stunning in one of Alice’s neat little trouser suits, if a little overwhelmed by the rapturous reception.
‘We love you, Grace!’ shouted Alice, unwilling to let her friend feel outdone, surrounded as she was by pilots and pop stars.
Grace blushed and took to the podium, opening out the auctioneer’s folder and whispering into Connor’s ear to get him started on the right track.
‘Lot Number One,’ he said, hesitant now his duties were upon him. He read the entry again and laughed. ‘Okay then, let’s start as we mean to go on. A rare pair of Degas sketches – ballerinas in repose. Kindly donated by Ms Elsie Townsend.’
‘I bet he’s regretting offering to match every pound now,’ whispered Taffy in Holly’s ear.
‘Nope,’ whispered Holly in reply, ‘he’s richer than Croesus. We actually had to talk him down from signing away his cut from The Hive’s new album. I’m all for charitable giving, but the poor man’s got a life to rebuild.’
‘Who will start me at six—’ He looked up and quailed under Elsie’s stern gaze from the audience. ‘I mean, ten thousand pounds?’
A flurry of paddles rose in the air like a Mexican wave. ‘Er, twenty?’ he adjusted.
Still paddles waving furiously and a telephone bidder trying to up the ante. Back and forth, as Connor grew in confidence and disbelief. ‘Going once, going twice, at sixty-four thousand pounds to the gentleman in the tweed jacket. I’m sorry, sir, the other gentleman in the tweed jacket. Gone!’ He wiped his brow and looked around the room. ‘Bloody hell!’ he said in shock.
Grace gently turned the page in the folder and brought his attention back to the list of lots awaiting his attention.
‘Lot Number Two. Ten dog-training sessions from Jamie Yardley – dog trainer and canine problem-solver extraordinaire.’ Connor looked up and grinned. ‘Quite the variety on tonight’s list, ladies and gents – hopefully there’s something for every pocket and every taste. Do I hear two hundred pounds?’
Holly barely missed out on a weekend for four in a luxury treehouse, although knowing what they had thought were the consequences of their last treehouse visit, perhaps that was just as well. Although, she reasoned, she couldn’t possibly get any more pregnant. Taffy and Dan battled it out to the last, outbidding each other on a pair of tickets to the cricket at Lord’s, despite knowing they would undoubtedly be each other’s plus-one, only to be gazumped at the last moment by a smug-looking Major.
And Elsie, well, Elsie had to be restrained a couple of times from attempting to bid on her own donations, especially the Jackie-O trinkets she’d unearthed, only being allowed free rein with her paddle as she took pity on Alice. Seeing her vintage Fendi baguette on the plinth, spotlit from above and looking gorgeous, Alice’s face had been a picture of remorse and regret. Elsie needed very little persuasion to make the final bid. She leaned forward and tapped Alice on the shoulder. ‘You have to promise to share it with me,’ she whispered. ‘A bag like that should have plenty of outings. No more hiding yourself in the back of the wardrobe.’ She stumbled as she realised her Freudian slip. ‘And the same goes for your fancy togs,’ she corrected herself with an encouraging smile.
By the time two weeks in France, wine-tasting at a vineyard, had surpassed its guide price by one hundred per cent, it was clear to see the pattern evolving, thought Holly. Elsie’s chums at Sarandon Hall appeared to have dug deep into their antiques and jewellery collections, and Connor’s A-list guests appeared happy to pay over the odds for them. Meanwhile, the residents of Larkford were all happy to donate their services or treasures, to suit those with slightly shallower pockets.
Still, there was no accounting for the element of competition.
A baking lesson with Pru Hartley bid through to four figures once Connor’s bandmates had sampled her fudge brownies.
And a meal for two cooked by Teddy Kingsley shot through the roof, once he’d been encouraged to blushingly stand up and take a bow, whereupon the elegant blonde draped across two chairs in the back row and revealing plenty of leg for the cameras insisted on topping any bid if Teddy himself would also be her date for the meal.
Taffy was scribbling busily on the back of his ice-cream receipt. ‘We’re into six figures,’ he breathed. ‘So up yours, Derek Landers! You can shove that up your sustainable efficiency regulations. I think this equates to people putting their money where their mouth is, don’t you?’ He beamed delightedly, throwing his arm around Holly’s shoulders and pulling her in close.
‘Now then, Holls, any chance of you keeping your blood pressure in the healthy range if I take a bid on the next lot?’ he asked cheekily.
Holly’s quizzical look didn’t last long.
‘And the next lot,’ called out Connor from the stage, ‘is really rather special. ‘A Gloucestershire Old Spot piglet. Ten weeks old. Goes by the name of Arthur, apparently.’
Holly raised one eyebrow. ‘Please tell me you’re taking the piss?’ she said laughingly, until he raised his paddle in the air and the smile slid right off her face.