Page 26 of Cupcakes and Kisses in Micklewick Bay

‘You don’t have to answer right now, if you’d rather not. Go home, have a think about it and let me know as soon as you’ve made a decision.’

Lady Caro’s words cut through Jasmine’s thoughts. She looked across at Florrie who was smiling happily at her.

‘I don’t need to think any more about it, Lady Car… I mean, Caro. I’ve thought loads about it since our call. Thank you so much for your amazing offer, I’d love to accept it.’

‘That’s fantastic, darling! I’m beyond delighted!’ Lady Caro clapped her hands enthusiastically. ‘I think this calls for a celebratory cup of tea, then I’ll give you a quick look around the castle, show you where the ceremonies take place.’

‘So, do you have an idea of when you’d like to get started with the wedding packages?’ Jasmine asked, before it slipped her mind.

‘Good question. Well, we’re hoping to be able to offer the smaller packages pretty soon. We put out a few feelers to test the water as regards to time and from the feedback we’ve been getting, it could be as soon as a couple of months.’

‘Wow! That’s quick,’ said Florrie, her eyebrows shooting up.

‘I know, it would seem people are rather keen.’ She turned to Jasmine. ‘In the meantime, I wonder if I could place a personal order? A birthday cake for my father.’

‘Of course, I’d love to make a cake for your dad. Do you think he’d like one in the theme of the castle, or would he prefer a more formal style?’

‘I think he’d be utterly enraptured with a castle-themed cake.’

‘Fabulous.’ Jasmine’s mind had already started whirring with ideas.

‘That’s what I think they call a successful trip.’ Florrie beamed at Jasmine as they waved Lady Caro goodbye from the car and headed out of the courtyard.

‘Oh, my days! Did that really just happen?’ Jasmine looked back at Florrie in disbelief. ‘Please tell me it wasn’t a dream and I’m going to wake up and find myself having to do more shifts at the bakery or take on more cleaning jobs.’

‘Jazz, flower, it wasn’t a dream, it was all very real. You deserve some good news like this. Now, just sit back and let it all sink in.’

Jasmine was quite happy to do just that when her mobile phone pinged, heralding the arrival of a text. Her first thought was to hope it wasn’t from school.

She fished it from her bag, tapping on the screen to see a message from her mum.

She opened it, her stomach clenching as she read.

Jasmine, how come there’s a For Sale sign on your house??? xxx

THIRTEEN

‘What?’ Jasmine scrunched up her nose. Her first thought was that her mum must be mistaken. The little houses on Rosemary Terrace were packed in like sardines, maybe the For Sale sign was on number twenty next door. After all, their front doors were side by side and if the sign was placed between them, then it could very easily confuse people. She massaged her brow with her fingertips.

‘Everything okay?’ asked Florrie.

‘Um… I think so,’ said Jasmine, distracted as she tapped out a quick reply to her mum. She pressed “send”, just as the signal bars shrank from four to none. ‘Bugger!’

Aware of her friend casting a concerned glance her way, Jasmine recounted the message from her mum.

‘Surely it must be next door, Jazz. That house has been empty for a while. It would make sense if the owner put it up for sale. I mean, it’s not as if you’ve heard anything from your landlord about your place, have you?’

‘Not about that, no.’

‘Well, there you are. He’s legally obliged to give you notice if he wants to sell the property unoccupied,’ Florrie said. ‘And, more importantly, if he was going to advertise it for sale, he’dhave to let you know the estate agents would be calling round to take photos and measure up, wouldn’t he? And since that hasn’t happened, I reckon you can stop worrying, and get back to basking in the fabulous news of your new business venture.’

Jasmine felt reassured by Florrie’s logic. ‘Yeah, I s’pose you’re right.’ She reasoned that since Micklewick Mansions Estate Agents were also the letting agents for her home it would suggest they’d have given her notice if her tenancy agreement was coming to an end. And they’d also inform her if her home was being put on the market, especially if people were to be shown around while she still lived there. At least, she hoped they would.

‘Good. Now sit back, enjoy the scenery and stop fretting.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’ Jasmine chuckled at Florrie’s friendly-bossy tone.

But as they drove on, a doubt started running through her mind. Though her landlord hadn’t given her notice of his intention to sell eighteen Rosemary Terrace, he had been in touch a couple of weeks ago, telling her he was sending someone round to inspect the property, make sure it was in a good state of repair, which was completely out of character. She usually had to hound him to get things fixed, and even then there was no guarantee it would happen. The reason he’d given was that he’d had his fingers burnt when another of his properties had been trashed by a tenant who’d done a runner owing several months’ rent.

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