Page 124 of Cooking Up a Christmas Storm
‘Er… Fi?’ Pavel reached for the accidental weapon and lifted it gently, but firmly, from her grip.
Her shoulders slumped. ‘I left my dad alone at Christmas for him.’
‘I’m sorry, Fiona.’ Jodie didn’t know what to do.
‘We really have to go,’ Pavel whispered.
She looked at Fiona. ‘Come with us.’
Fiona shook her head.
Damn.
‘There’s a problem with your plan,’ she said.
‘There’s about a million,’ Jodie conceded.
‘Probably, but even if you get all our guests, you don’t get their money. The ones you say he stole, they’ve already paid for everything to us.’
They knew that. ‘Yeah, but if we could get the tour groups, then we thought maybe we could make them pay us.’
Fiona nodded. ‘That might work. But I can’t just…’
Jodie snapped. ‘Look, I know you’re Team John and fine, whatever. Your choice, but we have to go.’
‘No. I mean, yes. You do. But I’m not staying to help him out.’ There was something different in Fiona’s voice. ‘I’m so stupid he never thought twice about whether it was dangerous to let me have access to everything.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You go back.’ Fiona folded her arms. ‘I’ll make sure all this works out, and then I’ll go into the office and I’ll transfer an appropriate thank-you fee to Adam for entertaining our guests tonight.’
Jodie couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. ‘What?’
Fiona nodded. ‘I’m done here. John forced my dad to sell this place. He never wanted to. I don’t know what I was thinking.’
‘He’s a very persuasive person,’ Jodie acknowledged.
‘I’m not going to help him do the same to Adam though. This stops. Right now.’
Chapter Twenty
The first ever Lowbridge Castle Hogmanay Gala was a roaring success. The band were on fire. The people of Lowbridge and their guests – both accidental and intentional – had scrubbed up well. The room was a riot of tartans and sequins. The dancing was enthusiastic rather than skilled but people did dance. And the food, everyone agreed, was exceptional. Adam, Bella and Darcy charmed their guests and the presence of a genuine laird elevated everything.
Even Veronica’s presence was appreciated as she sat, perfectly poised, in a corner. Jodie heard at least one guest ask for a selfie, telling their friends that they’d met a real-life dowager, just like Maggie Smith. The only bigger star of the night was Old Man Strachan, who was constantly surrounded by a gaggle of visitors queueing for selfies and calling out for him to tell them to get in the bin.
Jodie made her way through the crowd, checking everyone was happy and everyone’s glass was charged. A dark-haired man in his late thirties stepped out in front of her. ‘Are you in charge here?’
‘Er, no.’ Jodie looked around for Bella but she was busy with another group of guests.
‘But you work here?’
‘Yeah. Sort of.’
He smiled. ‘I’m Kenny. I’m from A2Z Travel.’
The tour company name rang a bell from one of Fiona’s endless lists. ‘Oh. Great.’
‘Yeah. Miss MacCellan told me about the…’ He paused for half a beat, the hint of a smile pulling at his lips. ‘Mix-up. So good of you to accommodate us.’ He handed her a business card from his pocket. ‘Do make sure you send the invoice direct to me. My bosses can get weird about changes of plans.’
