Page 15 of Cooking Up a Christmas Storm
Jodie hadn’t settled one bit. She hadn’t opened her suitcase, let alone unpacked. She’d spent most of the time since they’d left her in the Dower House plotting, and then failing, to escape. What would Gemma say? ‘Yeah. It’s lovely,’ she told him.
He raised an eyebrow. ‘It’s decorated like the inside of an ageing great-aunt’s knicker drawer.’
She couldn’t help but laugh.
‘Sorry. Budgets don’t run to redecorating at the moment, but if you want to have a go, feel free. There’s remnants of paint and stuff from other rooms in the small hall. Help yourself.’
She could paint the fireplace wall red in the living room. She’d always wanted a red wall. Had she? Jodie wasn’t actually entirely sure, but now she’d thought of it she very much wanted one right now. Gemma would have hated a red wall. She was all Scandi-neutral and minimalist.Be more Gemma.
‘It’s fine, really,’ Jodie reassured them. It wouldn’t be sensible to decorate, and sensible was her new Gemma watchword. Being here was a stopgap while she sorted herself out and worked out her next move. She’d be here until she got her first pay packet. Second at most. And then it would be time for this version of Gemma Bryant to simply disappear.
Darcy was pulling glasses from a cupboard and opening bottles. ‘Red or white?’ she asked.
Jodie, honestly, wasn’t a drinker. She was an awful drunk – she got loud and embarrassing so it was better all round if she abstained. Gemma had exquisite taste in wine though and also exquisite manners. The Gemma she was creating would be the sort of sophisticated woman who would have one or two drinks and never get lairy at all. ‘I don’t mind. Whichever you’re opening.’
Darcy opened a bottle of red and poured four glasses, topping them up to finish the bottle. She held Bella’s glass in front of her. ‘Work time over.’
‘I need to send this email.’
‘Adam!’ Darcy called in reinforcements.
‘No work after six on a weekend,’ he insisted. ‘Seriously, laptop closed in five, four, three…’
Darcy joined in with the rest of the countdown. ‘Two, one!’
Bella pulled her fingers from the keyboard just as Darcy flipped the lid down. ‘Finished.’ She picked up her wine glass. ‘Actually I might not drink tonight. I’m feeling a little bit off.’
Adam frowned. ‘Off how?’
‘Little bit queasy. I’m fine. Probably just hungry.’ She pushed her stool back from the island and stood up. ‘Speaking of which…’
Bella opened the fridge. From where Jodie was perched on her stool at the island she could see that the fridge was rammed full of Tupperware.
Adam frowned. ‘Why did you make so much ragu?’
‘I wanted it perfect, and Hugh got such a good deal on the beef so it seemed worth buying more.’
‘We’re going to be eating bolognaise for the rest of our lives,’ Darcy murmured.
‘No. We won’t. I’ll freeze some and I’ll take a batch to the Strachans, and I’ve already messaged Jill to ask if she wants some for the pensioners’ lunch club. And we can put it on the lunch menu at the pub. We’ll get through it in no time.’
It didn’t take long for Bella to reheat the ragu and cook pasta on the stove. Adam moved around her, finding bowls and cutlery. Jodie watched mutely. This was what home life was like in adverts. Couples together in the kitchen laughing and exchanging affectionate glances. This was the life that Jodie was supposed to fit into.
‘They asked loads of questions today.’ Bella started filling them in on the lesson she’d taught that afternoon. ‘What’s the difference between ragu and bolognaise?’
‘Aren’t they the same?’ Jodie was glad Darcy asked the question.
‘Well, technically a bolognaise has more tomato and less big bits of beef. A ragu is meatier. We’re in Lowbridge not Bologna though so I think it’s fine.’ She stirred the pot in front of her. ‘So, Gemma, what really made you apply for this job?’
‘Erm, well…’ What would Gemma say? ‘The place looked amazing and I was ready for a change.’
‘Something less corporate?’ Darcy prompted.
Was that what Gemma had told them? Her previous job had been for a restaurant chain, so maybe that was true. Jodie nodded. ‘Exactly.’
‘We’re so glad you’re here,’ Bella added. ‘Having another pair of hands is going to make everything so much easier. At the moment Darcy is all over our finances, so invoices and bookings for the cookery school, and Adam has a landscape design business so he’s in Edinburgh part of the time, but he still looks after the land and the gardens – like the actual physical estate, you know?’
Jodie nodded. She didn’t know at all. With hindsight, her time on the train here would perhaps have been better spent googling the Lowbridge Castle Estate than scrolling Instagram.
