Page 36 of The Little Shop on Silver Linings Street
Grace ran her finger across one of the silver ivy leaves before handing it back to Daisy with a soft sigh. ‘I’ll just go and check on the soup,’ she said. ‘But we’re also going to have to work out what we’re going to say to Flora, because I know she’s dying to see how your wreath turned out, Daisy, but there’s no way we can let her see this.’
‘Oh…’ Amos grinned. ‘Oops, I hadn’t thought about that.’ He picked up his mug and took several swallows, waiting until Grace had left the room and was out of earshot.
‘Well, that didn’t go quite the way I thought it would,’ he said, still keeping his voice low. ‘I thought it would take ages for you and Grace to work out what would make the perfect gift for Flora, and that by hearing Grace talk about her own likes and dislikes it would help you. Now what do we do?’
His look was full of apology, but Daisy just smiled. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘It’s quite the strangest thing, but I already have in my head the image of how I want Grace’s necklace to look. Now all I have to do is translate what I can already see into reality.’ She pulled a face. ‘That’s the scary bit.’
‘Or the exciting bit…?’
Daisy bit her lip. ‘Maybe.’
Amos sat back in his chair, his dark eyes twinkling. ‘No, I think you’re going to be just fine. Didn’t I say that right from the start?’
She gave him a quizzical look and was about to ask him how he could possibly know that, when Grace reappeared.
‘Won’t be long,’ she said. ‘Now, tell me why you don’t think your jewellery and Buchanans would be a good fit, because honestly I can’t see how they could possibly fail to be blown away by the things you make. I understand that it would be radically different from the things they sell, but surely at the very least they would encourage you with it; you’re a loyal employee. They could even offer you a small space to sell from – goodness only knows the retail sector is struggling at the moment and maybe a little diversity would be a good thing?’
Amos was nodding in encouragement, but Daisy pulled a face. She had thought endlessly of the possibilities that Buchanans could offer her, if only they had a mind to, but every time she considered it, she still came back to the same point – that she honestly didn’t believe they would find any merit in what she did. And she wasn’t about to make a laughing stock of herself.
‘It isn’t that easy,’ she replied. ‘Especially now.’
‘Why, because your boss is retiring?’ asked Grace. ‘But, if you think about it, the fact that someone new will be taking over Buchanans could also make it the perfect time.’ And then she stopped. ‘Oh…’ Her eyes widened. ‘You will still have a job, won’t you?’
‘Possibly… I’m not even sure about that any more.’
Amos’s face was full of sympathy. ‘Then it would really help you to get your own business up and running now, wouldn’t it? Whether you tell them about it or not. Do you know yet who’ll be running the company?’
‘Not exactly,’ she replied. ‘It will be a family member – there are three sons all waiting in the wings, but it’s not as straightforward as it sounds. Bea is a little, shall we say, eccentric… She has a love of the theatrical. So, whereas anyone else might make a decision about who is to be their successor based on logic and careful consideration, Bea has decided that the only way to separate the relative merits of each brother is to hold a competition.’ She went on to quickly explain the rules of the task that Bea had set.
Amos’s eyes widened. ‘I can’t decide whether that’s absolutely monstrous, or the best idea I’ve ever heard.’
‘No, well you should try being in the middle of it all,’ muttered Daisy. ‘They all squabble like little children and, although I had a lovely day out with Bertie, he’s completely clueless when it comes to business, Kit hardly speaks, and I’m dreading my day out with Lawrence. What’s worse is that I don’t think I’d like to work with any of them.’
‘Oh, how come?’ asked Grace.
Daisy shot Amos a quick look. He had met Kit but Grace shouldn’t know that, and she hoped he wouldn’t put his foot in it.
‘Well, Lawrence is an arrogant bully, Bertie is a party animal, and Kit… well, he isn’t always… how can I put it, full of initiative. The business needs someone with a passion for what they do, and the vision to see an idea through. I just don’t think that’s Kit.’
Amos smiled. ‘Maybe he’ll surprise you.’
Daisy gave him a puzzled look but he avoided her eyes, concentrating on his drink.
‘Perhaps… I mean he’s nice enough…’ She trailed off, thinking about Kit’s words earlier that day, and the look in his eyes… ‘He’s just very quiet,’ she finished, feeling an unexpected colour in her cheeks.
‘Not a nice position for you to be in, though,’ added Grace. ‘And I can quite see why you’re a little reticent about confiding in them. But, perhaps when you’ve got to know them better, you might think differently. There’s still every chance that they’d be open to new ideas.’
‘Not mine they won’t,’ replied Daisy. ‘Not when I tell them what I really think.’ She glanced across at Amos but he was eating a mince pie. ‘You asked me before how I started making my own jewellery, and the simple reason is that I see things differently from Bea. She’s been very good to me over the years and gave me a job when I needed it most but I don’t want to make the kind of jewellery that Buchanans sells. Whether you have pots of money, or none, people are mostly the same when it comes to matters of the heart. I deal in love, you see, day in, day out, and what matters most when you’re giving a gift is not the cost of it, or what it says to anyone else, but that it speaks only words of love.’
She blushed at her words, fearing that she had become carried away by her emotion. ‘And that’s why I make the things I do, because I don’t think Buchanans sells things that speak only of love. Their jewellery speaks only of wealth and possessions and status, and that’s not the same at all.’
Amos looked up. ‘That jewellery should speak only words of love,’ he echoed. ‘I think that’s the most beautiful sentiment I’ve ever heard.’
12
Friday 13th December
Twelve shopping days until Christmas
