Christmas at Lilac Cottage - Holly Martin Page 0,124

were making steady progress. Finally they hit the road that would take them to the town. It was covered in snow but because the gritter lorry had obviously been out the night before it wasn’t as bad as her drive.

They drove in complete silence down to the town and Penny had no idea what to say to make this situation any better. The fact that Daisy was coming with them to help with the ball stood for something but Penny still didn’t know where she stood in her relationship with Henry.

As they rounded a corner, Penny got her first glimpse of the town. Every rooftop glistened under a layer of sparkly cotton wool; it looked like something from a movie set as it twinkled in the midday sun. She had never seen the town look so beautiful before and it was a dramatic sight framed against the inky blue backdrop of the sea.

‘Look,’ Penny pointed out to Daisy, forgetting for a moment that they weren’t on speaking terms.

Daisy leaned forward and for a second, just a brief moment, her face reflected the awe of the scene, before the sullen grumpiness returned and Daisy sat back in her seat.

Penny sat and stared at the town for a moment before she swivelled round to talk to Daisy.

‘I am really sorry that we lied to you, it was never our intention to hurt you. Everything happened between me and your dad so quickly and neither of us expected it to. We just wanted you to get a bit more settled in, make some friends, be comfortable here before we suddenly announced that we were dating. I’m so sorry, I really am.’

Daisy looked out the window and refused to even acknowledge that Penny had spoken. Penny glanced back at Henry who shook his head in warning, telling her not to push it any further.

Penny sat back in her seat and sighed. ‘We need to stop at The Pilchard first, pick up a few outdoor heaters and take them to the marquee so we can start warming up the place.’

Henry nodded.

As they got closer to the main town centre, the roads became a lot clearer. There were loads of people on the street digging the snow off the roads and it made Penny smile to see how everyone was laughing and joking with each other. This was not a problem for the people of White Cliff Bay, this was a day out or an adventure.

They stopped at The Pilchard and with Daisy’s help and a few passers-by they managed to load four heaters into the back of the Range Rover.

They drove up to the marquee, which was in a field on the headland overlooking Silver Cove beach. The road hadn’t quite been cleared in that part of the town but, with a little help from the sun that seemed to be melting some of the snow and Henry’s car, they soon made short work of it.

They unloaded the heaters and Henry helped to set them up. Luckily the power generator and cables had all been delivered along with the marquee a few days before and the Portaloos, Penny knew, had been delivered the day before so that was something.

‘I’m going to help with the digging,’ Daisy announced, walking out the marquee before Henry could say anything.

‘I’ll get some more heaters from the other pubs, the sooner this place is warm the better.’

Penny nodded and watched him go. He hadn’t kissed her. He’d given her no sign at all that everything was going to be OK between them.

A van arrived and several tables were unloaded and Penny had to force her attention away from her crumbling relationship to make sure they were set up in the right place.

With no crumb of hope from Henry, Daisy still walking around under a black cloud and the marquee nowhere near ready, it was going to be a long day.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Penny stepped out the bath and towelled herself off. She had no idea what she was going to wear to the ball that night. She supposed she would go for the black dress she wore to the ball every year. It didn’t seem right somehow to wear the green dress she had worn on her first date with Henry when she wasn’t going to the ball with him.

At least the ball was going ahead, thanks to every single person in the town who had turned up to help, either by bringing food, helping to clear the snow or helping her