what they were going to carve. Penny smiled, knowing that they at least would be producing willies.
She walked past Daisy, stopping briefly to examine what she was drawing on the side of her block.
‘Don’t worry, it’s not going to be a willy,’ Daisy said.
‘Nothing else dodgy either, if you don’t mind. Your dad will never forgive me.’
Daisy smiled and carried on with her carving. Penny left her to it. A quick circuit of the tables proved that seven of the ten members of the group were in fact doing willies and finding themselves very original and funny for having thought of it. Libby was using the template to make a square boxed cracker and one man was trying his hand, not very successfully, on a tree.
She stopped in the middle, watching her students immersed in their work and smiled at what a lovely feeling it was to see her tuition in progress, to see them enjoying themselves because of what she had shown them. Maybe she really would take Jackson Cartwright up on his offer to come in and teach his students.
But it was too cold and although her students were having fun with the new challenge, she could see many of them were having to stop to blow on their hands. Working at low temperatures was never fun. She had sometimes been forced, for one reason or another, to carve inside her walk-in freezer, but she could only stand it for short periods before her hands and feet got too cold to work, despite wearing gloves and steel-toecapped fur boots. Even Daisy, who was used to working in the cool room with her, was having to stop momentarily to put her tools down and rub her hands together. She had rolled her sleeves up, as she did every time she worked, and her bare forearms were exposing her to the cold more than was necessary.
Outside snow was falling in big fat flakes. Though the ground was too wet for it to be able to settle, it certainly proved how cold it was.
Suddenly there was a cry of pain and Penny whirled round to see Daisy cradling her arm. Penny rushed over to see that she had cut her arm. It wasn’t bad but it had obviously come about from her hands being too cold and numb to hold the tools properly. The gloves Daisy had been wearing were too big for her to grip the tools and they were letting cold through the gaps too.
‘Are you OK?’ Penny asked, wrapping a comforting arm round her shoulders.
Daisy nodded, giving her a weak smile. ‘It bloody hurts. Don’t tell Dad I swore.’
Penny laughed. If Daisy could joke about that then she was fine. She looked around at the group. Henry should be back soon with their drinks to warm them up but Penny wondered whether she should call a halt to the workshop. For some of these guys who weren’t used to working in cold temperatures, they could end up hurting themselves just as Daisy had done.
Penny turned to grab the first aid kit just as Henry walked back into the marquee. His face fell as he saw Daisy holding her arm.
‘Oh crap,’ Daisy muttered. ‘I’ll make a distraction, while you run away.’
‘What?’ Penny said, but the angry look on Henry’s face told her everything she needed to know. This was not going to go down well. She focussed her attention on pulling out a large plaster from the first aid box and managed to use an antiseptic wipe to clean up the excess blood before Henry could get there. But he was suddenly by her side.
His breath was accelerated, fearful as he stared at the cut, which could only have been an inch in length.
‘What the hell happened?’ he said through gritted teeth.
‘Dad, it was just an accident, it was my own stupid fault.’
Henry’s gaze turned accusingly towards Penny. ‘I thought you said it was safe.’
‘It’s too cold in here, I’m sorry,’ Penny said, returning her attention to the cut as she carefully and gently applied the plaster to the wound.
‘I’m going to take Daisy home,’ Henry said, clearly trying to keep his temper in check.
Daisy’s shoulders slumped.
‘I think you’re overreacting slightly.’
‘I’m overreacting?’ Henry said, incredulously.
‘Yes, you’re being an over-bearing, over-protective ass. It’s a tiny scratch and I don’t appreciate you looking at me as if I’m an evil monster,’ Penny said, snapping the lid closed on the first aid box. After a second or two, she was surprised to