Page 30 of The Moon Sister
‘I can’t thank you both enough for today,’ Beryl said as we all enjoyed a piece of warm shortbread. ‘I don’t know what I’d have done without you. At least everything’s prepared for tonight.’
I glanced at all the food laid out on the kitchen centre unit and in a plethora of covered dishes and pans on the worktops.
‘Have you got someone coming to help you serve it tonight?’ I asked.
‘No, Alison was going to be my waitress too, but I’m sure I can manage.’
‘Listen, I’ll stay and help you, Beryl. You can’t do all this by yourself, certainly not properly as the Laird would want it.’
‘Oh no, Tiggy, I won’t ask that of you. It’s Hogmanay and Cal’s taking you down to the ceilidh.’
‘He was, but I can go another time. Beryl, you need me.’
‘Yes, I do,’ she admitted, ‘although the Laird has asked that the help serve in uniform.’
‘Och, Tig, I cannae wait tae see you dressed up as a French maid!’ Cal winked at me.
‘I feel terrible about this,’ Beryl sighed. ‘You’re a wildlife consultant with a degree, not a serving girl.’
‘As a matter of fact, I worked an entire summer in a silver service restaurant in Geneva once.’
‘Then that seals it, but I’m going to call the Laird tomorrow and tell him that if we are opening what he wants to be a five-star hotel, then he has to allow me to employ some proper staff. It’s not fair on you – or me.’
‘Really, it’s no problem. Do you want some help with afternoon tea? I’d better get my maid’s uniform on pretty fast.’ I grinned as I saw it was half past three.
‘No, you go home, have a bath and get some rest. Dinner’s at eight, but I’ll need you from six to serve drinks, if that’s all right by you?’
‘It’s fine, Beryl.’
‘Could you possibly take this down to Chilly before you leave?’ I asked Cal as we walked across the courtyard to our cottage and handed him a container of pheasant stew I’d spooned out of one of Beryl’s dishes. ‘Wish him Happy New Year from me and tell him I’ll be down to see him soon.’
‘O’ course. Shame you cannae come with me tonight, but you’ve won a place in Beryl’s heart forever now.’
I was back up at the Lodge at six, and Beryl gave me my uniform for the night, complete with white apron.
‘Alison’s would have drowned you, so I dug this out of an old chest in the attic. It smells of mothballs, but it should fit,’ she said. ‘Put it on in the laundry room, and I’m afraid you’ll have to tie your hair back too.’
I did as she’d asked and when I was ready, I walked back to the kitchen. ‘How do I look?’
‘Lovely,’ Beryl said, hardly glancing at me.
‘Do I really have to wear this as well?’ I asked her, holding up the white headband with a black stripe that I was meant to tie across my forehead.
‘I don’t think that’ll be necessary. Now, they’ll all be down in a few minutes, so you’ll need to open the champagne. There’s sparkling water and elderflower cordial for any teetotallers in the fridge over there. The spirits are laid out on top of the drinks cabinet in the Great Room. You just need to add a bucket of ice.’
‘Right.’ I scurried off to go about my duties.
I’d always enjoyed acting in school plays, and I really got into character whilst I was handing round the champagne in the Great Room, almost wanting to add, ‘Yes, m’Lord’, ‘thank you, m’um,’ and perform a quick bob before I moved on to the next guest. From my vantage point near the drinks cabinet, I could see the guests were a well-heeled bunch; five men dressed in black tie, three women in cocktail dresses and expensive-looking jewellery. Even though they spoke English as a group, I could also hear a variety of accents, ranging from German to French.
‘How’s it going in there?’ Beryl asked as I appeared in the kitchen and ran to the fridge.
‘Fine, although we’ve finished the first six bottles of champagne already.’
‘I’ll call them in for dinner in about twenty minutes or so. I just hope that Jimmy the Bagpipes remembers he’s meant to arrive at the front door to play in the New Year.’
I returned to the Great Room with the fresh tray of champagne, and all eyes turned to me.
‘Ah! Here she is! For a moment, I wondered if the staff had drunk all the cases I had sent up!’
