way of others who hadn’t been sitting down for the quiz vying for seats now they were vacant. It was like watching the Changing of the Guard – everyone who’d been sitting down wanted to stand and all those on their feet were desperate to be on their bottoms.
They ordered another couple of mulled wines and stayed by the bar. ‘I’ve told Julian it has to stop in the new year,’ Lucy recounted. ‘I’ll let Maud go into Christmas happy but after that she deserves the truth.’
‘Will you stop seeing her?’
‘I’d like to keep visiting, but alone. It’s Julian I have an issue with, not her.’
‘What did happen between you? You never really explained, just that the love fizzled out.’
‘I was fobbing you off saying that.’
Tilly pretended to be shocked but then grinned. ‘You don’t say.’
With the scent of mulled wine snaking through the air and classic Christmas tunes she’d heard over the years giving the pub a lively atmosphere, she told Tilly, ‘Julian liked to live a bit in his own world. I think he ended up telling so many lies that half the time he didn’t know what to believe himself.’
‘That doesn’t sound like a healthy relationship.’
‘It wasn’t. I had to get out and I have never once regretted doing so. His family were all local too so when this job and the flat came up as an opportunity it was the best thing that could’ve happened.’
‘What did he lie about?’ Tilly asked, but they were joined by a rowdy Celeste and Jade, who’d been enjoying the mulled wine all evening, and Lucy didn’t really want the whole village knowing her business. And anyway, she didn’t want to talk about Julian tonight so a change of topic was welcome.
Once Celeste and Jade had talked about their mince-pie battle, citing key ingredients and pastry techniques, and Lucy and Tilly had assured them both that they were on hand to do tastings whenever it was required, Lucy left them to it. There was something comforting about leaving a pub that was still going strong, its punters taking it long into the evening with a hum of merrymaking despite the gradual thinning of the crowd, and, pulling her scarf tight and buttoning up her coat, she set off for home. The weather forecast hadn’t suggested snow but it certainly felt cold enough tonight as she made her way along The Street.
The main road in the Cove was decorated for Christmas in true village style. Strung between the lamp-posts on either side of the street, along its entire length, were coloured lights illuminating the way. The air around her was mostly still except for the gentle breeze making itself known every time there was a gap between buildings or houses. The chapel had a nativity scene out front and she paused to admire it. Made in a hutch at the front of the grass area, the figures were lit up from behind so you could see the nativity day and night. Baby Jesus was tucked up in his manger with the angels keeping watch from above, three wise men held their treasures in their hands and Mary and Joseph knelt beside their infant. She continued along, past the track that led down to the water’s edge, the beautiful sand at the wine-glass-shaped bay of water that gave Heritage Cove its name. She’d been on a couple of bracing walks down there last week; she needed to go again but work had picked up so much she wasn’t sure when she’d get a chance.
As she reached her workshop she wondered whether Daniel had gone home after the confrontation with his brother. Or was he at the shack now? Her feet almost took her there to find out, but did she really know enough about Daniel to disregard all of Harvey’s doubts? She was all for giving someone a second chance but Daniel’s presence had evoked such a strong reaction from his brother, it did make her wonder whether he really was the kind, genuine person she’d met and been drawn to.
She went up the steps and let herself into her flat, Shadow trotting towards her the second she got in and before she’d had a chance to take off her coat. She popped the Christmas-tree lights on and congratulated him for not destroying the tree after she’d been out for hours. She scooped him up into her arms as she squeezed behind the tree to look out of the window and across to