Christmas at Lilac Cottage - Holly Martin Page 0,30
on.’ Penny ignored the pout from Daisy, after telling her that they had to stop. ‘We’ll have some lunch and then we can go back to it later this afternoon. It’s important to take breaks when working at low temperatures and it’s not exactly warm in here. I normally give myself a maximum of two hours of carving before taking a long break. Your snowflake will still be here later.’
Penny moved to admire Daisy’s work. ‘This is really good. If you ever wanted a job, I’d be happy to employ you. I turn down so many jobs because I just don’t have the time to do them.’
‘I would love that!’ Daisy almost shouted and Penny regretted saying something before checking with Henry first. It was an offhand comment, but Daisy clearly did have the talent for it and Penny could easily teach her the skills she didn’t know; she was obviously a fast learner.
‘Well, we’ll chat to your dad, if he’s OK with it then you could help out at weekends, providing it didn’t interfere with any homework. I can help you with any tricky bits and I’d pay you of course.’
Daisy had the hugest grin on her face as Penny pushed both sculptures back into the freezer and then walked out into the kitchen.
Penny smiled when she saw two plates of sandwiches waiting for her and Daisy. Jill had obviously made lunch for them. But her smile grew even more when she saw Henry sitting at the table, drinking a mug of tea. She quickly tried to wipe the smile away and that feeling him being there gave to her.
Henry looked up and flashed her a huge smile and she hated that something as simple as that warmed her from the inside.
‘Jill made us all lunch. She just left and she didn’t want to disturb you by saying goodbye. She’s a gem that one, isn’t she, where did you find her?’
‘She was our live-in housekeeper, cook and nanny growing up. She’s never stopped coming round, even though it’s only me here now. I feel bad, especially when I’m more than capable of cleaning myself, but when I once tried to stop her she laid the biggest guilt trip on me about everything that she’d done for us and then didn’t speak to me for over two weeks, despite all my apologies. Then one day she turned back up here cleaning again as if the whole argument had never happened. We’ve never spoken about it since nor would I ever suggest that she didn’t clean again. I love her, she’s literally like a second mum to me.’
‘Maybe she needs the money.’
‘Her husband is probably one of the richest people in the area so I doubt that. He owns the White Cliff Bay Furniture Company.’
Henry paled significantly, clearly backtracking over every comment he had made to Jill to make sure he hadn’t said anything untoward.
‘Oh, don’t worry, he has nothing to do with the company any more. He took early retirement from being CEO many years ago. He still has shares in the company and he’s on the board of directors but he leaves all the management side of things to his son and daughter.’
Penny watched Daisy grab her sandwich and take a massive bite before even sitting down but at a glare from Henry she sat at the table. Penny washed her hands and then joined her.
‘I got the impression that Jill didn’t have any children?’
‘She doesn’t; Clara and Edward are her step-children, from Thomas’s previous marriage. She was housekeeper for them too which is how she and Thomas met. When his wife died she was there for him a lot. A year later he married her and they’ve been happily married ever since.’
‘I think I met Edward at the interview,’ Henry said, thoughtfully.
‘I’m sure you did, he is very hands-on. He knows everyone’s name at the factory and oversees everything that happens. He seems a lovely man.’
‘Don’t think I met Clara, though.’
‘You probably didn’t. I don’t think she gets involved in that side of the business at all. She’s joint CEO but I think her role is more design or publicity or something like that. Well, her team is in charge of that. I’ve never met her but by all accounts she isn’t a nice person.’
Penny looked at Henry’s empty plate in front of him. ‘Did Jill make you lunch too?’
He nodded. ‘I popped by to see if Daisy had finished about half an hour ago and she insisted