Page 32 of A Brambleberry Manor Christmas
‘Please.’ She ducks out and we hear her heels tapping backto the dining room.
‘Right, here goes.’ I pick up the crystal platter with thedessert on it. Then I put it back down and run my hands over my apron.
Flo grins. ‘Sweaty palms?’
‘Can’t risk it slipping out of my hands.’
‘You’ll be fine.’ She opens the door and ushers me out. Thenshe follows behind with the matches to light the sparklers on top.
I walk out into the hall, my eye on the dining room door,which is slightly open. My shoe slips slightly on the polished wooden floor andthe dessert wobbles on the crystal plate, sending my heart rate through theroof. Outside the dining room, Flo strikes a match and lights the sparklers.Then she gives me a big grin and pushes the door open for me.
I walk in, deliberately avoiding looking at everyone exceptMarjery. I can’t risk catching Noah’s eye. Weird things seem to happen to mewhen I do that, and I need this to go smoothly.
Murmurs of surprise and approval fill the air as the guestsnotice the sparklers fizzing on top of the chocolate log.
Marjery smiles over at me. ‘Ah, lovely. I was just tellingConstance, Jenny, that she’s sure to think her drive through the snow was worthit, once she’s sampled your delicious yule log.’
All eyes flick to my face and I smile nervously, locatingConstance at the table. Her blonde head is the only one still turned away fromme as she chats to Noah and Rhoda on her other side.
‘Ooh, that looks absolutely mouth-watering, Jenny,’ saysMelanie, and I shoot her a grateful look. ‘What do you think, Constance?’
As I stand there, letting people take in the drama of thesparklers, the woman called Constance turns her head in my direction.
Our eyes meet.
I blink several times, as an iron fist grips my insides andsqueezes tightly.
No…no, it can’t be her…
There’s a high-pitched whining in my ears and I can feel thestrength draining from my legs. Panic rises up.
And the dessert on its beautiful antique crystal plate slipsfrom my hands and crashes to the floor…
CHAPTER TWELVE
I’m standing just outside the main door, staring outover the snowy vista but not really seeing it, thanks to the nightmarish imagesgoing round and round inside my head.
My teeth are chattering uncontrollably.
‘It would help if you wore your coat,’ says Flo gently, appearingat my side. She helps me on with it, and mechanically, I start trying to do upthe zip. But my fingers won’t work properly, and eventually, Flo gently bats myhands away and performs the task herself.
‘What happened in there?’ she asks softly.
I turn with a rueful look. ‘You mean apart from dropping thepudding and smashing Marjery’s precious crystal plate to smithereens?’
She shakes her head. ‘For goodness’ sake, don’t worry aboutthat. Marjery admitted she never much liked the plate anyway.’
‘Yes, but she was probably just saying that.’
She makes a doubtful noise in her throat. ‘Have you everknown Marjery not to tell it exactly as it is?’
‘No. That’s true.’
‘And everything’s cleaned up, thanks to Noah sweeping intoaction and helping me. He was asking how you are, by the way.’
In spite of everything, my heart gives a little leap. ‘Hewas? That was nice of him. What did you tell him?’
‘That I thought you must have had a bit of a dizzy spell,but that you’ll be right as rain after some fresh air?’
