Page 74 of The Little Shop on Silver Linings Street
Bea tutted. ‘Bertie, stop being so naughty. Explain to Lawrence what it is you’ve decided to do.’
He grinned. ‘Well, in a nutshell I’ve quit the competition.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘And yes, Lawrence, that does now mean you have a fifty-fifty shot… The longer version of events is that I’ve done what I suspect Mum wanted all along, which is to work out what I wanted from my life and then go and do something about it. So, I’m going into business with Luka.’
Lawrence’s head was swivelling from Bertie to his mum, to Kit and back again. ‘You’re doing what?’
‘Going into business with Luka.’
‘Yes, I heard what you said, Bertie, I’m not deaf. But I thought you wanted to run Buchanans. If only to see me ousted from the top spot. Well, that is a turn-up for the books.’
‘Not everything is about you, Lawrence,’ retorted Bertie. ‘I’ve done what’s right for me.’
‘And you’re going to run a what? A bar…?’
‘If that’s what you want to call it, yes. I won’t even bother to explain. But I think we both know that Luka does rather more than run a bar.’
Lawrence made a dismissive noise. ‘Call it what you like. It still sounds like you’re going to be serving people all your life.’
Daisy couldn’t hold her tongue any longer. ‘No, Lawrence. Bertie is going to do what he excels at, which is making people feel special. I can’t think of anything more worthwhile.’
He glared at her, but she no longer cared.
‘So you all knew…?’ said Lawrence. ‘Yes, of course you did. Well, you’re out of the competition, Bertie, and that’s all that matters to me.’
‘Yes, you’ve made that quite clear,’ Bertie replied, giving Daisy a warm smile. ‘But although you may have heard what I said, Lawrence, you didn’t listen. Such a shame you haven’t worked out yet what this has all been about.’
Daisy saw the flicker of confusion cross Lawrence’s face, but she knew he would never admit to curiosity.
‘Shall I tell you? You see, when I said that I thought it’s what Mum wanted me to do all along, what I meant was more that this competition was never just about who gets to run Buchanans, but rather who had it within themselves to face up to who they really are. And stand up for what they believe in. In fact, very cunning, Mum, very cunning indeed. And getting Daisy to help… stroke of pure genius.’ He grinned. ‘I probably shouldn’t say any more, but I just wanted to add my own very personal thank you to Daisy. If it hadn’t been for you, I never would have figured out my own part to play. I just hope I’m right about everything else.’
This time it was Daisy’s turn to look confused. She knew that Bea had been smart where Lawrence was concerned, guessing quite rightly that he would try and get Monique to help him, but was what Monique had said also true: that the competition had been designed so that the brothers themselves chose the winner, and not Bea? But how could that be so?
Lawrence sighed. ‘Can we please get on? I’m happy for you, Bertie. If that’s what you want to do with your life, then that’s great. But you are now out of the competition and there are still two people here for whom the outcome matters a great deal.’
‘Three,’ said Kit.
‘I’m sorry?’
‘You said two, but there are three people here for whom the outcome matters a great deal.’
Lawrence flashed Daisy a tight smile. ‘Yes, quite.’
Bea cleared her throat. ‘I’d just like to add that I am extraordinarily pleased with your decision, Bertie. This isn’t the environment for you, and so I’m very happy that you’ve come to that conclusion. However, we do need to establish a winner, and thus far Kit has been incredibly patient. I think it’s time he had his turn now.’
Kit went to retrieve his present from his coat pocket and Daisy smiled when she saw the long slender box wrapped in silver paper covered with ivy leaves. Despite their argument, she desperately wanted Kit to win and for his sake there must be no trace of doubt on her face as he walked forward.
She couldn’t begin to imagine the thoughts inside Kit’s head. She knew he didn’t want Lawrence to win but, taking into account everything Daisy knew about him, why on earth did he want to run Buchanans? She was sure now that Bertie was right – that the competition was as much about facing up to who you were, and what you really wanted from life, as it was about taking over the running of the family firm. And, out of all three of the brothers, Kit seemed to have worked this out years ago. So, whichever way she looked at it, she couldn’t understand why he was even taking part.
And then a sudden thought came to her. Kit had built his own house for goodness’ sake. He had designed and built every element of it. He was an expert at crafting things. God, why had she never realised that before? His design would be nothing less than outstanding, it had to be. Her heart was in her mouth as Bea began to open the box. Oh, please dear God, let him have chosen something amazing.
Underneath the wrapping, the box was made from cardboard, with a simple flap for a lid. It was tied with a piece of raffia to keep it closed until Bea was ready and, as she pulled the bow undone, Daisy craned her head to get a better look. Eventually it was free and Bea pulled back the lid to look inside.
The box was empty.
25
Tuesday 24th December
One shopping day until Christmas
