Page 38 of The Secret Christmas Bookshop
‘In a minute. I need to update Harry on my chat with Annie.’
‘Of course. See you soon.’ Fiona and Jazz went back round the side of the house, and Sophie resisted the urge to call a thank you to the young woman, because her words had sparked an idea, something possibly ridiculous but potentially brilliant.
Dexter went inside to rescue Lucy before she became a fully fledged witch, and then it was just Sophie, Harry and his goat.
‘I’ll have to make it up to Birdie somehow,’ Harry said. ‘After I’ve reinforced the entire perimeter fence, fixed the dodgy plumbing in the manor, replaced the draughty windows and got Felix some kind of escape alarm.’
Felix bleated, looking up at Harry.
‘Yes, I am talking about you,’ he said. The goat batted his head against Harry’s chin.
Sophie’s pulse was fluttering unnaturally. She wanted to wipe the mud off Harry’s forehead. ‘Are you OK?’ she asked instead. ‘That sounds like a long to-do list.’
‘My life is one long to-do list,’ Harry told her. ‘I’m used to it though. Sort of.’
‘Are you working, as well as fixing the house?’
‘I still do some financial consultancy for the firms I worked with in London. I don’t have to go down there more than once a month, though, and it pays well. The manor is turning into a money pit, so every bit is welcome, even if the work itself isn’t that stimulating.’ He sighed. ‘How are you?’
Sophie resisted asking more questions. Whatwouldhe do, if he could do anything? ‘I’m good,’ she said. ‘Annie’s going to look into festive games for the arcade, and Birdie’s delighted that she can sell her chutneys and jams this year.’
‘Don’t let her bring packets of mushrooms to sell.’
Sophie’s mouth fell open. ‘Seriously?’
‘Seriously. But chutney and jam should be fine: we’ll make her give us an ingredient list. We’ll need that for all food and drink, anyway, in case anyone has allergies or intolerances, but the suppliers should be used to that. And we need to check what regulations there are; any permits we need.’
‘Winnie didn’t mention anything about that.’
‘Winnie is used to it, running the hotel – she would have done it without a second thought – but we need to look into it. It’s better to be safe than sorry.’
‘Of course,’ Sophie said, just as Harry winced. ‘What is it?’ she asked. ‘Do you need to put Felix down?’
‘It’s not that,’ he said, as they walked through Birdie’s garden towards his Defender. ‘I just realized that I sounded like the most boring person on the planet.’
Sophie laughed. ‘Since when do you care what people think of you?’
She thought Harry must not have heard. He was busy securing his goat in the back of the Land Rover.
Once his arms were empty, he leaned against the driver’s door. ‘Thanks for sorting those things out.’
‘No problem.’
He rubbed a hand over his eyes. He smelled of grass and mud and a hint of the clean sea air. Sophie’s insides were a jangle of knots and confusion. She took a step towards him.
‘You know,’ she said, ‘if you need help with things at Mistingham Manor, then you can always ask me. You’re helping me with the festival, so it’s only fair.’
He dropped his hand. ‘It’s not fair. We both got volunteered for this thing. It doesn’t stand to reason that you should fix all my problems too.’
‘But the village, the community …’ Sophie thought of what Jazz had said. ‘We help each other out, don’t we? I don’t like to think of you struggling by yourself.’
‘I’m not,’ he said gently. ‘I’ve got May, at the house, not to mention Darkness and Terror.’ His mouth curved. ‘And Felix.’
‘A goat and two dogs can’t help you repair draughty windows,’ she said, but his mention of May was like a bucket of cold water. She was overstepping, and she needed to back off.
‘I’m fine, honestly. But thank you for checking in.’
‘You look …’ She bit her lip.
