Page 5 of Cupcakes and Kisses in Micklewick Bay

Maggie had her own cottage business designing and making bespoke teddy bears out of recycled luxury wool and Lady Caro had commissioned her to make some for the lodges in the Danskelfe Castle grounds as well as a bride and groom set for the bridal suite. She’d recently delivered an order for a new range of lodges in the castle grounds, which was when Lady Caro had broached the subject of wedding cakes.

‘You’re very welcome, flower,’ said Maggie. ‘Lady Caro just mentioned in passing that a couple at one of their recent weddings had the “most magnificent creation”. From her description, I thought it sounded like the one you’d made forKendra and Tom Wilson, with it having five tiers and hand-painted sugar-paste flowers tumbling down the side. Turns out it was the Wilson’s cake. Lady Caro said everyone was totally blown away by it, describing it as a work of art and wanting to know whose handiwork it was.’

‘Ooh, I’m not surprised. That one was so dreamy,’ Lark said wistfully. ‘If I ever get married, that’s exactly the sort of wedding cake I’d like.’

‘We’ll be sure to let Nate know.’ Stella gave an impish grin, making Lark shake her head.

Nate was Lark’s friend who owned a successful upcycling business on Endeavour Road. He’d been sweet on Lark for as long as her friends could remember, but for reasons none of them could quite understand, she’d kept him firmly in the friend zone.

Maggie picked up what she’d been saying. ‘I pointed Lady Caro in the direction of your Instagram page, too. She was really impressed, so it was nowt to do with me really, your amazing cakes speak for themselves.’

Jasmine felt her face grow hot at the compliment. The cake she’d created for the Wilson’s wedding had been one of her favourites, one that she’d felt showcased her cake-decorating skills to their best advantage. She’d gained a whole heap of orders off the back of it. She’d pushed herself with the amount of work involved, staying up until the early hours until she was happy with every tiny detail. The end result hadn’t only served to prove her efforts had been worth it, they’d also confirmed that cake decorating – particularly wedding cakes – were what she’d love to do full-time given the choice.If only, she’d thought at the time.

‘So, the upshot is that Lady Caro wondered if I’d be interested in being their go-to wedding cake maker and provide all the cakes for their weddings as part of the planning servicespackage. She gave me a brief low-down of her ideas but then suggested I pop over to Danskelfe Castle to have a proper chat so we can iron out the details. Said she’d show me round the place while I was there so I could get a feel for what they’re after.’

That had sent a thrill running through Jasmine, though a spike of concern had followed hot on its heels, momentarily tempering her excitement, as her thoughts had gone to her diary and her already jam-packed schedule. She couldn’t even begin to think how she was going to fit in such a meeting over the next couple of weeks; it seemed every single second of every single day was accounted for. But come hell or high water, Jasmine was determined to do just that. After all, it wasn’t every day you got a business proposition from somewhere like Danskelfe Castle and something told her it could be an opportunity that was too good to turn down. If she had a guaranteed, regular income from this new venture, then there was a chance she could give up one of her other jobs and concentrate on her passion of baking and decorating cakes. The thought had triggered a flutter of excitement in her stomach.

Jasmine went on to explain how Lady Caro had told her that the number of bookings for weddings had increased, such that they were having to turn couples away, which was far from ideal, especially when they were eager to build on their success in that department. Lady Caro had said that it was after a brainstorming session that offering an in-house wedding planning service was settled upon. This discussion had also led on to considering the option of hosting weddings on a smaller scale, using one of the less grand rooms at the castle. That way they could offer packages with a lower budget, making it more affordable and, hopefully, increase their appeal to couples who wouldn’t be able to stretch to the more expensive alternative. They still intended to keep the more lavish option, having thecapacity to run both size weddings on the same day, so that wouldn’t be a problem.

‘It would mean I’d need to have two wedding cakes ready at the same time,’ said Jasmine, ‘but if I cut down on my hours cleaning or at the bakery, then that should be totally manageable. I suggested offering a small-ish range of designs to choose from, that way I’d be able to make a load of sugar paste decorations and elements in advance and in bulk, which seemed to go down well. I also mentioned offering slight variations with the colour scheme if the couples wanted something more unique to them. Things like different coloured ribbons and trims, cake stands; small things that wouldn’t be time consuming to implement.’ Jasmine could feel her enthusiasm for Lady Caro’s proposal building by the minute.

‘That sounds genius, Jazz!’ said Florrie. ‘At last, your cakes are getting the recognition they deserve.’

‘Yeah, it’s about time, they’re awesome, everyone says so.’ Lark beamed at her.

‘Thanks.’ Jasmine felt her cheeks flame at the praise; she’d never been good at taking compliments, but it didn’t stop her heart from surging with fondness for her friend.

‘So, have you organised a day to pop over there?’ asked Maggie.

‘I just need to see if I can do a bit of re-jigging with my shifts, but I’m hoping to get across sometime next week.’

‘If you need a companion for moral support, I’d be happy to oblige.’ Florrie gave a jokingly hopeful smile.

In truth, Jasmine’s heart had sunk when Lady Caro had told her the only time she was free the following week was Tuesday morning at around eleven o’clock. It was when Jasmine had a shift cleaning. Lady Caro had given the impression that she was eager to get started as soon as possible with the wedding planning service, and Jasmine didn’t want to risk delaying themeeting in case it caused her to look elsewhere for a cake maker. She desperately didn’t want that to happen, so had made the excuse that she’d need to check her diary – which wasn’t to hand – and get back to her to confirm the meeting. She’d been relieved by Lady Caro’s breezy reply in the affirmative.

As soon as the call ended, Jasmine had reached for the calendar she kept on the wall by the fridge. One glance at next week told her what she’d already suspected; she was working every day, with Tuesday morning blocked out by a session cleaning for Stella’s mum. Cancelling it wasn’t an option for several reasons, the first being that she prided herself on being reliable and didn’t want to let Alice down and have to find a replacement, the second was that the client was Hilda Jenkins. Jasmine had grown fond of Hilda and knew her elderly friend looked forward to her shifts. For Hilda, the session wasn’t just about having her house cleaned, it was about looking forward to having some company and a bit of a chat. Jasmine didn’t want to disappoint her. And there was also the reason that Jasmine simply needed the money. The balance for a week-long sports activity Zak had been eager to sign up for that ran in the summer holidays was due in a fortnight and her finances were already stretched to the limit.

Her son had bounded through the door after school last month, bursting with enthusiasm. ‘Please can I go, Mum?Please. All my friends are going. They reckon some famous footballer’s going to do a day’s coaching. It’ll be dead mint! Please say yes,’ he’d said, thrusting the leaflet into her hand. Jasmine had struggled to hide her shock as her eyes landed on the price.How much?She’d steadied herself, her brain doing a quick calculation of how many extra shifts she’d need to do to cover the cost. She didn’t have the heart to quash her son’s happiness and tell him she couldn’t afford it, especially since her finances had meant he couldn’t go on the trip to Edinburgh lastApril. The edge had been taken off her guilt for that one by the knowledge that he wasn’t the only one of his friends not going. But she could see how excited Zak was about the summer sports camp and had told him he could go.

On top of that, her ancient little car had developed a reluctance to start recently and much as she kept trying to tell herself it was just one of the vehicle’s quirks and that it would be okay, her gut told her otherwise. And then there was the rattling sound that emanated from the bowels of the engine without warning as she drove along. It would grow alarmingly loud before seemingly running out of steam and puttering to a stop. Jasmine was uncomfortable with the attention it attracted, and that it made people stop and stare. There was no denying a trip to the local garage was on the cards, and that was never cheap.

Sitting there in the pub, Jasmine put that particular collection of worries out of her mind. She’d called Lady Caro back later that afternoon, confirming their appointment in the hope that she could swap her cleaning shift with her mum who also worked for Spick ‘n’ Sparkle. To say Lady Caro was thrilled would be an understatement.

‘That’s me all caught up on my news,’ Jasmine said, feeling she’d hogged the conversation for long enough.

‘Well cheers to our Jazz and her future success as a professional wedding cake designer.’ Stella raised her wine glass and the others followed suit.

‘Cheers to our Jazz!’ they chorused, making Jasmine’s cheeks burn bright.

‘So what’s new with everyone else?’ she said.

‘Been a pretty quiet week for me,’ said Lark. ‘Though I did hear that the new owners have moved into Njord’s View.’

The art deco-style property located in an enviable spot on the cliffs had undergone an extensive refurbishment project that had taken months but now stood proud looking down on thenewly built marina, its vast windows glinting in the sunshine. The identity of the new owners had generated much speculation in the town, but no one had put a name to them yet. It would seem that was about to change. Jasmine felt her curiosity spring to life.

‘Really?’ Maggie looked suitably intrigued. ‘I’d heard the scaffolding had been taken down and work was finished on it.’

‘And rumour has it the man who owns it is pretty hot to trot,’ said Stella, waggling her eyebrows. ‘Not sure if he has a partner though.’

---