Page 68 of The Little Shop on Silver Linings Street
Wednesday 18th December
Seven shopping days until Christmas
The ground was hard underfoot, sparkling like diamonds as Daisy walked, laying a trail through the frosty grass. It was early, only just gone seven o’clock, and the canal path was deserted. Even Robin was still tucked up inside, his narrowboat closed up against the cold and dark.
She stopped for a moment and looked up at the sky still shining with stars. This time next week would be Christmas Day and Daisy would know her fate. Maybe then her life could go back to being how it was before. But then she stopped herself. Did she really want it to?
She thought back to her conversation with Bertie yesterday. He and Kit had parted on good terms and, just before he left, Bertie had told her how excited he was at the thought of his new life. In fact, he wished it was something he had done years ago. On the face of it his news was a disaster for Daisy, and her future at Buchanans hung in the balance more than ever before. There was now only a fifty-fifty chance that Lawrence would lose and those were not odds she was happy about at all. But more than that was the thought that she was just as guilty as Bertie of not doing anything with her life. What had she beendoingall these years?
And so, tempting as it was to stay in bed an extra hour or two on her last day off before Christmas, she had got up at the usual time and, after a quick cup of tea, headed outside to clear her thoughts. She must finish the piece she had been working on for Nick’s girlfriend – if she didn’t get it in the post today then he would never stand a chance of receiving it in time. She must not think about Buchanans and, more importantly, she must not think about Kit. If she did then the day would escape her and she couldn’t let that happen.
Fortified by the still morning air and the bracing cold, she went back inside to have some breakfast and another cup of tea. Then, and only then, would she start work. She had stayed up the night before last to make the heart, but she had not fired it yet and a fresh look might reveal it to be hopeless. The rest of the design was relatively straightforward, but she didn’t want to skimp on its finish either, and so the quicker she got to work the better.
She fed the fire before sitting down at her work table and then she opened up the small pouch where she had stored the clay heart. Her own heart was pounding as she laid it in front of her. It wasn’t finished, she could see that straight away, but it was good. Her whole being lifted; it was everything she had hoped for and, as she surveyed it critically, she could see exactly what else was needed to make it perfect. She thrust aside the other thoughts in her head and, with a single-minded focus, picked up a small metal tool and set to work.
Two hours went by before she even moved but, at the end of that time, she straightened, lifting her hands clear of the clay and took a deep breath. The heart was intricate, and it had taken several painstaking attempts to get everything fixed in such a way that firing the clay would strengthen the design and not weaken it. She would obviously have to check everything over again very carefully once it was fired, but for now at least she had something she could work with.
She looked again at the messages Nick had sent, and the sketches she had made when the idea had first come to her. She really had no idea whether it would be a suitable gift or not, only Nick’s say-so that he liked it. But somehow, it felt right. She knew nothing about his girlfriend, not even her name, but she had a vision in her head of a petite redhead, with alabaster skin just like Nick had described, and a delicately formed face, just like the flowers she so loved. If any of that were true, then Daisy’s design would look beautiful. If not, then at least Nick had cared enough to try to make her gift something special, and maybe that was all it took to make it the perfect present. Daisy certainly thought so.
It was as she was rolling out the clay for the second part of the design that her mobile rang. Not a number she recognised, she was on the verge of ignoring it when curiosity got the better of her. Her mobile never rang. Why would it, when there was no one to call her?
Fumbling the buttons with mucky fingers she managed to connect the call, fully expecting to hear the rehearsed lines of a cold caller. Instead, she recognised the voice straight away.
‘Flora!’ she exclaimed. ‘How are you?’
‘Busy, but good busy. In fact, very good,’ came the reply. ‘Are you at work?’
‘No, a day off. Why? Is everything all right?’
‘Yes… I was just wondering if you were okay to talk for a minute? And if you were sitting down?’ Daisy could hear the smile in her voice.
‘Go on…’ she replied, wondering what on earth was coming next.
‘Good, because I don’t suppose you know of a place called The Castle, do you? It’s real name is Ravenswick Hall but—’
‘What, the swanky wedding place? What self-respecting romantic hasn’t heard of it?’ She broke off, not wanting to think of anything to do with weddings or romance or relationships or anything that might lead her back to Kit. ‘Anyway, go on, sorry, I interrupted you.’
‘Well, there’s no reason why you would know this, but Hope Blooms supply the hotel with flowers, particularly for weddings. Their events manager and I have become quite good friends over the last six months and she popped in yesterday for a cup of tea on her way home. She wanted to talk about their plans for the new year.’
‘Okay…’ Daisy still had no idea where this was leading.
‘And so, while we were chatting and dunking custard creams, she caught sight of the sketches you had left with me and asked me what they were. I showed her the couple of pieces of jewellery you left and explained who you were, and what you did – she’d heard of Buchanans of course – and well, the upshot is that their plans for the new year include a new bridal room in which they will showcase items from local businesses. She’d like to offer you a space for jewellery.’
Daisy’s heart nearly leaped clean out of her chest, but then almost immediately it sank again. ‘Oh, but I don’t know if that’s even going to be possible,’ she said. ‘It’s lovely of her of course, but not really my decision and I have no idea who’s going to be running Buchanans yet, or what plans they have, so I—’
‘Daisy,’ said Flora patiently. ‘I don’t mean Buchanans, I mean you. Kate would like to featureyourdesigns.’
‘Wha... what?’
‘She absolutely loved them. In fact, she thought they were the nicest thing she had seen in a long time and she also thinks her brides would go for them, big time. Daisy… Are you still there?’
‘Yes, I’m here,’ she replied faintly. ‘Sorry, I just can’t quite believe it. She’d rather have my designs over Buchanans, at The Castle?’
‘That’s what she said. And Kate is pretty decisive, I don’t think there’s any doubt in her mind.’
Maybe so, but there was plenty in Daisy’s. There was a rising sense of excitement deep within her that she would have loved to give free rein to, but this was serious stuff. This wasn’t just making the odd piece of jewellery, this was supplying the county’s most popular wedding venue, something her competitors would give their eye teeth for. If Daisy couldn’t come up with the goods then there would be a whole queue of people waiting to step into her shoes.
She realised she’d been quiet for a little too long. ‘Sorry, Flora… I’m just, speechless, actually. It’s the most amazing news I think I’ve ever had, but I’m not sure it’s something I can do. I have no stock, nothing I can offer for sale and, apart from the couple of designs I’ve shown you, nothing to show The Castle either.’ She bit her lip. ‘I really don’t think I can do this…’
