Page 67 of The Little Shop on Silver Linings Street
‘He’ll find a way,’ said Kit darkly. ‘I don’t know how, but he will. That’s just what Lawrence is like. No point trying to outwit him.’
Bertie swallowed a mouthful of his tea and then put the mug down very carefully, clearing his throat as he did so. ‘There is one way to swing the outcome of the competition in your favour…’
Daisy looked at him bemused. ‘Well, I don’t see how when…’ She broke off as she suddenly realised what Bertie meant. She flashed a look at Kit, but he was studying the floor, avoiding her gaze. ‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘Absolutely not, that’s cheating.’
Bertie opened his mouth to speak but she held up her hand. ‘Don’t even think about it,’ she warned. ‘I could have given the game away at any point over the last couple of weeks, to any of you, but I haven’t, nor will I. My feelings about who gets to run Buchanans are immaterial. If they weren’t then Bea would have given me a say in who wins, but she didn’t. So it’s her decision and hers alone, and whatever that is I will just have to accept it.’ Kit’s gaze was still resolutely on the floor and she kicked his foot to make her point. ‘I thought I’d made that perfectly clear.’
He looked up, startled, and threw Bertie a warning look but it was too late.
‘Daisy… your loyalty does you enormous credit, and when I was in the running for this place I was incredibly grateful for it, but come on, the whole situation is different now, surely you can see that? Besides, if Lawrence wins then I dread to think what will happen to this place. Despite ducking out of the competition, I still care enormously what becomes of Buchanans; it’s been in the family for years for goodness’ sake. We owe it everything and l can’t stand by and let all that fall by the wayside because Lawrence has ideas above his station.’
He gave Kit a pointed look. ‘Sorry, Kit, I don’t mean that you’re not in with a chance, of course you are, but look, it’s the just the two of us here – who’s going to know if we stack the odds slightly in your favour?’
Kit groaned. ‘Bertie, that’s really not—’
‘For goodness’ sake, what is the matter with you two?’ exclaimed Daisy. ‘Am I really the only one here with any morals? And I thought better of you, Bertie. I really thought you were prepared to play by the rules, but first Kit and now you!’ She banged down her mug and glared at them both.
Bertie was looking confused. ‘Have I missed something here?’ he said, looking at his brother, and then he gave a wry chuckle. ‘Well, Christopher Buchanan… seems like you can’t help yourself after all. Pretending to be all holier than thou when really you’re no better than the rest of us!’
Kit looked like he was about to explode and Daisy winced. Bertie was only teasing, but whereas Kit would probably have shrugged it off before, now it was all getting a little too personal. And that was probably her fault.
She raised her hands. ‘Listen… this isn’t helping anybody—’
But Kit wasn’t about to heed her words.
‘For your information, Bertie, I have never considered myself above anyone in this family. I simply live a different life from the rest of you, but I’ve never interfered in your choices, I just accept them. And I have certainly not cheated, despite what Daisy seems to think – last night was just a misunderstanding, that’s all.’
Bertie slapped a hand against his head. ‘Of course, your meal! How did it go?’
‘Fine…’ Kit’s voice echoed just a split second behind her own, but his voice was flat. She looked imploringly at Bertie to drop the subject and was relieved when he winked at her.
‘Oh I see, bit of a touchy subject. I’ll keep quiet then.’
Daisy rolled her eyes. That was almost as bad, but at least she didn’t have to say any more. She fixed both brothers with a steely gaze.
‘Right. I’ll just make this clear again, shall I? I will not be entering into a discussion with any of you about the competition, on any level, so I suggest you refrain from bringing up the subject again. Kit and Lawrence can both do what has been asked of them and, on Christmas Eve, Bea will decide who is running Buchanans. Following that, I will decide whatIwant to do. And that’s it. End of story. And now, if I’m not very much mistaken, Bertie came in to tell us his good news and as such we should be congratulating him, not bickering like small children.’
Kit had the grace to look sheepish.
‘She’s right, Bertie. Fighting among ourselves isn’t going to help, and I am really pleased for you. So if this competition has helped you to work out what you want then it’s had its uses after all. I suppose that’s something to be thankful for at least.’
Bertie nodded. ‘Although I think it was mostly down to Daisy.’
‘But I really didn’t do anything,’ she protested. ‘Perhaps it’s just that the time is right.’
‘Maybe…’ He thought for a moment. ‘No, it isn’t that. I know exactly what made me change my mind – it was seeing you, whirling on the ice, the look of absolute joy on your face as you were reminded what that felt like. It’s the little things, you said, and it really is. We were in the middle of a busy town, crowded with people, and the thing that made you happy wasn’t the shops, or the food, or the spectacle of the whole thing, but a simple memory of something that meant a lot to you. And I did that, by taking you there, I brought that back to you, and it made me realise that if I could do it for you, I could do it for other people too. Or at least give them the chance to make those happy memories.’
She leaned forward and impulsively kissed his cheek. ‘I think that’s perfect,’ she said.
‘But what about you two?’ asked Bertie. ‘What do you want to do? If you could do the one thing that truly made you happy, what would it be?’
Daisy smiled. ‘I’m working on it,’ she said lightly.
Kit looked straight at Daisy. ‘I already know what I need to be happy,’ he said. ‘And maybe one day I’ll get my wish. I hope so.’
Bertie smiled. ‘I hope so too.’
22
