Page 13 of A Christmas Celebration
‘It certainly sounds like it,’ I said, wondering what sort of help around the house I was going to get roped into.
With the housekeeping at the hall to keep on top of too, I was certainly going to have my hands full and there would be little time to dwell on what had happened in Jordan. In fact, during the trip into town I had barely given it a moment’s thought. How surprising was that? Was it possible that the plan was working already?
As I lowered myself into the passenger seat of the car, I felt Molly’s crystal dig into my hip. I was still a long way off feeling inclined to love myself, but having heard more about the benefits of the scheme I was going to help carry on, and in spite of my nerves, I did like myself a tiny bit more. Wonders would never cease!
‘Right then,’ I said as Archie started the car, and I shrugged off my apprehension about being able to pull it all off, ‘let’s get back to the hall and see if we can dig out Hayley’s designs, shall we? And then you can show me how to get to grips with where and where not to waft the feather duster about.’
Archie gave me a sideways look as he carefully reversed out of the tight space.
‘There’s rather more to it than that,’ he told me, ‘but I have no doubt that you’ll rise to the occasion.’
Surely the cleaning had to be more straightforward than the ever-evolving volunteering?
Chapter 5
Back at the hall, and with Bran close by my side again, everyone listened intently as Archie and I relayed the details of what had occurred in town. Molly looked particularly pleased about the situation.
‘This is all perfect,’ she said, in her dreamiest tone. ‘And just in the nick of time.’
I shook my head at her and, picking up that I didn’t want anyone else to get wind of the fact that I’d arrived at the hall with more baggage than just my rucksack, she thankfully lowered her voice so only I could hear.
‘It’s all going to help that crystal I gave you work its magic,’ she whispered. ‘You’ll be feeling much fonder of yourself in no time.’
‘That really would be quite a trick,’ I whispered back, ignoring the fact that I had already experienced the tiniest shift.
‘There’s no trick to it,’ she told me seriously. ‘But by Yule, you’ll be a different person. You’ll see. The time you spendhelping everyone will be the perfect distraction from whatever it is that’s got you so vexed. Some distance will give you some perspective.’
Given that I was still spending a lot of my alone time catastrophizing over an outcome which hadn’t even happened I didn’t think some perspective would be a bad idea. I needed to assimilate and draw a line under whathadactually happened rather than waste time worrying over whatcouldhave occurred.
‘What do you mean by just in the nick of time, Molly?’ Archie asked loudly, making me jump.
‘For the people who rely on Anna,’ she said back, without missing a beat. ‘As Paige is so willing to start the work straight up again, there’ll barely be a hiccup in the operation now, will there? And that can only be a good thing, can’t it?’
I could tell from Archie’s expression that he wasn’t entirely convinced that was what she had implied.
‘That’s true,’ he responded nonetheless. ‘Kathleen was over the moon, wasn’t she, Paige?’
‘Yes,’ I confirmed, thinking of her reaction. ‘She did seem pretty pleased.’
Dorothy sniffed and when I turned to look at her, I found her lips were set in a thin and uncompromising straight line.
‘Are you all right?’ I asked, wondering what on earth could be the matter.
She had a face like thunder.
‘That woman,’ Dorothy grumbled.
‘You don’t like Kathleen?’ I was aghast.
Archie let out a long breath and raised his eyes skywards and I realized I’d said the wrong thing. Although, how anyone couldn’t like Kathleen with her soft grey curls and can-do attitude was beyond me. I would have thought she and Dorothy would get along like a house on fire. However, it turned out their relationship was more fireworks than comforting glowing embers.
‘I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I dislike her,’ Dorothy tersely said, ‘but she’s put a lot of people’s backs up since she waltzed into town and shook everything up.’
I didn’t know what to say to that.
‘The only shaking up she’s done,’ Archie patiently said, ‘is on the dance floor during the tea dances and classes she runs at the town hall.’
‘Don’t you like the dancing?’ I asked Dorothy.
