Page 126 of The Twelve Dates of Christmas
Kate had never been more grateful to see her friend. And what a friend she was: two small children at home who would be up at five a.m., but instead of getting an early night she was here, on a mercy mission at eleven o’clock at night. Kate wondered how she would manage without Laura when she moved away.
Laura listened while Kate lamented her fated romance and didn’t sayI told you soonce. They curled up in the sitting room with just thelight from the fire and the tree lights and talked and laughed, and ate chocolate until long after the witching hour.
Ben was at home with the children and Laura had a full night pass, and when they had exhausted all the unpleasant names they could think of to describe Richard, Laura settled into the spare room for a rare night of unbroken sleep.
Kate lay awake for a long time after. Her anger was exhausted, but the humiliation still stung. By morning everyone in the village would know. The thought of it made her cringe in the darkness. She was a fool. She wondered what lies Richard would conjure for his wife to explain his bloody nose.
She poked her arm from out under the duvet and grappled around her bedside table for her phone. Then, under the harsh glow of its light in the dark room, she systematically deleted every text and phone message from Richard, deleted his number from her phone, and blocked him from all possible social media avenues.
As the pale dawn light began to leak through the gap in the curtains and Kate had purged herself of feelings of revenge and resentment, telling herself that someone like Richard didn’t deserve even her tiniest consideration, she finally fell asleep.
At ten o’clock Laura came in and woke Kate with breakfast in bed: hot buttery toast, boiled eggs, and tea in mugs the size of vases. Laura was showered and dressed, and they shared breakfast before she dashed back to her waiting family.
The wine-tasting date began at four p.m. The vineyard was half a mile north of Blexford Manor. In the snow she would have to allow an hour to walk there to be on the safe side.
She still had a few things she wanted to stock up on for Christmas, so she decided to spend the day making lists of what she’d need. Shewould pick up some wine at the vineyard, but she wouldn’t go overboard, as Mac and Evelyn had been over to France a while back and returned home with as much booze as they could legally transport in one car.
Most of the vegetables for Christmas dinner would come from the garden, but there were some bits she needed besides. Patrick wasn’t fully back on his feet yet, but two of his sons were managing the farm, and his wife and youngest son ran the farm shop.
Kate emailed a list of things she needed to the shop, and within ten minutes she had a reply telling her Andy would deliver it all to her door tomorrow. That took care of the extra veg, salad, sausages, bacon, and ham joint. She’d put her name down for a turkey weeks ago, and Andy would deliver that at the same time.
She checked the larder and noted down a few extras she could pick up at Evelyn’s shop. She was aware that she would be gone in just a few days, but she was confident that any store-cupboard leftovers could be dished out between Laura and her dad.
In the back of the store cupboard were four large biscuit tins. Each held a Christmas cake that Kate had made on stir-up Sunday. She’d been feeding them with brandy ever since. One was for her and Mac. Two were orders for the café, and the last was for Matt.
Kate paused after she’d pulled them out and laid them on the worktop. What would she do with them? She would have to get them to the café somehow, but shereallydidn’t want to see Matt. Even less so after last night’s excruciating embarrassment. Now he would think she was pathetic as well as jealous! She decided she would leave them with Evelyn when she went in to get her shopping.
Lists complete, Kate set off for Evelyn’s. The sky was a strange yellow-gray, bulbous with snow but keeping hold of it for now. The sunwas thin and watery and without the wind of the last few days, it actually felt marginally warmer.
Kate took the long way round so she could drop some mince pies in at her dad’s en route. She bumped into one or two people along the way and felt a niggling paranoia that they looked at her strangely.
She was acutely aware that she’d been unwittingly cast into the role of mistress. She hoped that if they did know about last night, they also knew she hadn’t embarked on an affair with a married man on purpose. Perhaps she should wear a sign around her neck:I didn’t know he was married!
She found Mac at his kitchen table doing the crossword. He invited her in for coffee but she didn’t have time to stop, so instead he walked with her to the green and carried two of the Christmas cakes for her, which were surprisingly heavy.
“He was married then,” he said.
Kate groaned.
“How did you hear?” she asked.
“I bumped into Barry when I was picking up my paper this morning,” he said.
“I didn’t know,” said Kate.
“’Course you didn’t, love.”
They reached the green.
“Why don’t I take those into the café for you?” said Mac.
“Would you?” said Kate. “I’d really appreciate that. Thanks, Dad.”
Mac smiled and Kate handed over the other cake.
“I don’t suppose you’d get me coffee while you’re in there?” Kate asked.
“Having withdrawals?” joked Mac.
