Page 47 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
Zoe faced the front to watch the judges close their discussion of Magnus’s entry. They scribbled some notes and then movedon to the next, while people whispered and Geoff gave Magnus’s arm a little squeeze before following it up with a light kiss. Corrine was smiling as she watched them. And then she did the most extraordinary thing. She’d framed it as an accident, but later, as Zoe considered it, she was certain it hadn’t been. Corrine spun round to her own display and knocked the belltower clean off.
‘Oh dear,’ she said, and it was so convincing that both Zoe and Billie stared at her in disbelief. ‘Well, that’s torn it, hasn’t it?’
‘Can’t you stick it back on?’ Billie asked.
‘I could, but it will still look a mess.’
‘Better than it does now.’
‘Yes,’ Corrine said. ‘You’re right. It will look a bit better, won’t it?’
Clumsily, she picked up the chimney and plonked it back on top of her house. But the force with which she did it cracked the roof.
‘What the hell?’ Billie hissed, her tone so dismayed that anyone who didn’t know might have thought Corrine had just destroyed her entry.
‘Never mind,’ Corrine said. ‘Can’t be helped.’
By now the judges were appraising Flo’s entry. She had her arms folded, her body language daring them to utter one word of criticism. The judges, on the other hand, were perfectly courteous, with smiles fixed to their faces as they made more notes on their clipboards. Then they looked at Ottilie’s, giving her the briefest of smiles before moving on.
‘They didn’t spend long on Ottilie’s, did they?’ Billie said. Zoe tried not to grin because despite the strange and troubling experience at Emilia’s house, it was warming to see how invested Billie was in the events happening right here in the village hall. ‘I wonder what score they gave her.’
‘We’ll find out soon enough,’ Corrine said.
They watched as the judges continued along the row, stopping to chat briefly and taste bits from everyone’s display. Ten minutes later, they reached Zoe and her little group.
‘Hello, Corrine!’ the woman from the WI greeted her warmly. ‘It’s lovely to see you again. What do you have for us this year?’
They crowded round as Corrine moved aside, and then the other woman tutted. ‘Oh, seems like there’s been a bit of an accident here.’
‘Just,’ Corrine said. ‘Can you believe it?’
‘Such a shame,’ the chef agreed. ‘It’s a real masterclass of construction too.’
‘Isn’t it?’ the women agreed. ‘Shall we taste it?’
They all took a piece and agreed that it was delicious, congratulating Corrine, and then made notes before going on to Zoe’s. The look they gave her was more sympathetic.
‘It’s a very good effort,’ the WI woman said. ‘I like the little Christmas trees here…May I?’
She plucked a tiny tree from the garden and lifted it to her mouth.
‘Oh no!’ Zoe reached to take it from her. ‘Sorry, they’re plastic!’
‘Ah!’ The woman put it back. ‘Is there something on here we can eat?’
‘Here…’ Zoe plucked the gate from the wall and offered it to her. ‘This is probably the least burned, so try this.’
The celebrity chef was stifling a grin. Zoe shared a look with him and shrugged. There was no point in being anything less than honest because they could all see she’d burned most of her gingerbread. She blamed Alex for that, distracting her while she was baking with his soft lips and lovely eyes. She should have told him to go, but she hadn’t, and then she’d run out of time to make more. Then again, would it have been all that much better even if she’d been allowed to concentrate?
In fact, the chef didn’t take a piece but made some excuse to look at something else while the two women tried it. They both chewed, forcing bright smiles for Zoe.
‘Mm… it’s quite… gingery.’
‘Fiery,’ the other agreed. ‘Punchy. You wouldn’t need a lot to know you’ve had it.’
Zoe wondered what on earth that meant but guessed it wasn’t complimentary. ‘Thank you,’ she said, now stifling a grin of her own as they turned their attention to Billie’s.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘Some of the decoration fell off. We got it back, but…’
