Christmas at Lilac Cottage - Holly Martin Page 0,48
sorts of things are great at a party or a wedding but when you do a carving competition they take away from the focus of the carving skills, which is the thing that is supposed to be judged.’
Penny watched Josh walk over to them. Normally Josh would help her set up at the competition and then leave, he very rarely stayed. But he and Daisy had chatted quite a bit on the journey, first to the party to drop off the sleigh and then on the way here. He very rarely spoke at all so it was quite a revelation to hear him so vocal. He rubbed his wrist again and Penny wondered if he had hurt himself when Henry had threw him to the ground.
‘Shall we have a look around at the other sculptures? Watch out for the other carvers, they’re a slightly weird bunch. Just stay out of their way and it’s probably best to not talk to any of them unless I say it’s OK. It gets highly competitive.’
‘Is that why the police are here?’ Daisy joked.
Penny winced. ‘Yeah, last time there was a punch-up between Geoffrey and Fabio and that wasn’t the first time something happened between the two of them. One year Geoffrey got drunk and pissed all over Fabio’s sculpture, which caused it to melt.’
‘Ewww, that’s disgusting.’
‘I know, he’s probably the weirdest of them all. He was banned for two years after that. But he came back last year and before the competition had even started there was a punch-up between them.’
They moved off to look at the first sculpture, a wonderful mermaid that was bursting from the waves. It was very well done though some of the un-textured surfaces were not as smooth as they could be, suggesting that the carver was new to the craft. It was beautiful though. Penny looked at the name of the competitor to see it was created by a girl called Melody. It wasn’t a name she recognised from previous competitions and she smiled that someone new had joined their crazy little group. Penny looked around for her but there was no one standing nearby. Penny made a note to come and say hello to her later.
They moved on to the next sculpture, a stunning dragon that looked ferocious and ready to attack. Its minute scales must have taken hours of painstaking work. Penny looked at the name of the competitor and noticed it was Geoffrey, the insane, hugely talented carver from the furthest shores of Scotland and possibly one of the rudest men she had ever met. Daisy reached out to touch the sculpture but Penny snatched her hand away, knowing if Geoffrey saw her touch his precious carving he would go ballistic. But it was already too late. He suddenly loomed from the shadows at the very edges of the room.
‘Don’t you dare touch my dragon,’ Geoffrey spat and Daisy shrunk back in shock. ‘Thirty-seven hours this took me to carve, thirty-seven hours where my hands were bleeding and raw from working with the ice. Do you have any idea what level of commitment and dedication it takes to achieve this level of talent?’
‘She didn’t touch it, she…’ Penny said but suddenly trailed off as Josh suddenly stepped forward like a silent bodyguard. With one hand on Geoffrey’s chest he pushed him firmly away from Daisy. Geoffrey turned to release his wrath on Josh but, seeing the sheer size of him, he thought better of it. With another glare at Daisy and Penny, Geoffrey shrank back into the shadows like a monster disappearing back inside his cave.
‘Don’t pay any attention to these carvers, some of them are the weirdest people I’ve ever met,’ Penny muttered in Daisy’s ear, taking her arm in the vain hope that she could protect her from the weirdness.
‘Penny!’ A loud, deep voice rang out and Penny winced as Fabio strode across the room. At some point Fabio had obviously looked up what a stereotypical Italian stallion looked like and dressed accordingly. He was the epitome of some eighties porn star, with waist-long, sleek black hair which he swished over his shoulder as he walked, wearing black leather trousers and a shiny black shirt. His appearance was so dated, it was impossible to take him seriously. She found it hard to believe anyone would willingly dress like this unless it was for some fancy dress party. His face was strikingly handsome and he was toned in all the right places but