It was Rikke who had persuaded Lucy not to do anything rash. ‘Look how happy and settled the children are here,’ she’d said next morning when she’d showed up to take the children to school, and Connell had headed back to Nottingham.
In the bright, cool sunshine after the storm, Lucy agreed that she wouldn’t make any major decisions right now. However, after she had battled on alone for nearly two years, last night had taken something out of her. Her fight, perhaps, or her grit. She had surveyed the damage again, and tried to console the children, who were devastated by the sight of the smashed shed and ravaged oak. And she decided: she really had had enough. In early spring, when the garden was starting to bloom, she would put Rosemary Cottage up for sale. Which left Christmas to consider …
‘You will be coming to us this year, won’t you?’ Anna had asked a couple of days before.
‘Maybe,’ Lucy had replied, ‘but d’you mind if I talk it over with the kids first? I’d just like to make sure that’s what we all want to do.’
‘Oh. Don’t they want to come to us?’ She’d sounded hurt.
‘I’m sure they do,’ Lucy had said quickly. ‘It’s just, I don’t want to assume anything. I still have to be careful with them, you know.’
‘Of course I know that, love. But we’d love you to come.’
Lucy had exhaled slowly. Lately, she had started to feel that she wanted to regain some control over what they did as a family. She no longer had that dinghy-in-a-storm feeling; she was stronger now, and surer of what was right for her and the children. And if they were to move, Lucy felt that it was only right to have Christmas here, just the three of them. She couldn’t leave this house without celebrating it here for the last time. And now, she wondered, would Kenny perhaps let her buy one of his trees? The shed was just a pile of smashed timbers, but she could go all out to make the house as sparkly and beautiful as possible.
If they were to have Christmas at Rosemary Cottage, it would be the Christmas to end all Christmases.
Fuelled by sheer determination, she had ploughed through the last few weeks, being attentive to the few guests who came to stay during the colder months. While James still popped in from time to time, and she was always happy to see him, she sensed a slight distance emanating from him and wondered if she had offended him somehow. When the children told him about the ongoing stained-glass project at school, masterminded by Connell, she detected a catch in his voice as he expressed enthusiasm. What on earth was going on with him? His dad seemed pretty stable, as far as she could gather, and she assumed – and hoped – nothing was going on with Spike, or his ex. James just seemed rather troubled and she couldn’t fathom why. Had he been offended when she’d turned down his offer of helping to rebuild her shed?
‘There’s no point,’ she’d said, perhaps a little sharply. Couldn’t he understand that it would never be the same, and that she had no need for it anyway?
‘I can help out more, if you need me to,’ Rikke said as they sat having coffee at Lucy’s kitchen table one icy December morning, while the children were at school.
‘You have so much else going on, though,’ Lucy remarked. ‘I know how busy you are. Are you still visiting Kenny?’
She smiled. ‘Oh, yes. Need to keep him on his toes. But if it would make a difference to you, and persuade you to stay in the village …’
‘You’re an enormous help already,’ Lucy murmured.
Rikke sipped from the white china mug. ‘I’m really fond of Marnie and Sam. I’d really miss you all if you moved away.’
Lucy reached across the table and squeezed her hand. ‘Let’s just focus on Christmas at the moment.’
‘You know I’m going home for a couple of weeks?’
Lucy nodded; Rikke had mentioned her forthcoming trip to Copenhagen. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said firmly. ‘We’ll still be here when you get back.’ She paused and picked up her phone. ‘I got this email this morning. It’s from the new CEO from my old company. Max, the one who wanted me out, has been ousted and this new woman wants me to pop in for a chat.’
‘You’d seriously give up all of this, to go back to your old company?’ Rikke looked aghast.
‘I’m not making any decisions right now,’ Lucy said. ‘A short-term contract’s coming up, but it doesn’t start until April. It’s a maternity cover and it’s at a much higher level than I was working at before.’ She caught Rikke’s concerned gaze. ‘And then, if it worked out, there might be a permanent position at that grade.’
‘Oh.’ Rikke placed her mug on the table and smoothed back her short blonde hair. ‘It’s a fashion company, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, that’s right. Well, lingerie actually, but my friend Andrew told me they’re looking to branch out into other areas. Nina, the new boss, wants to expand into luxury nightwear, yoga wear, that kind of thing. It’s kind of appealing.’
Lucy passed her her phone, and Rikke frowned as she read the email. ‘She seems very keen.’
‘Nothing’s definite,’ Lucy added, ‘and please don’t mention anything to the children right now.’
‘No, of course not.’ She handed Lucy’s phone back to her. ‘Is this all because of the storm that night? Is that it?’
‘Oh, no,’ Lucy said firmly, ‘it’s more than that. It’s … well, it’s the whole thing really. It’s everything.’
She was oddly touched by how deflated Rikke seemed when she left, and she didn’t even want to consider how the children would feel about leaving Burley Bridge. However, they were resilient kids, as they had proved in the way they had settled here, made friends and even coped with losing their dad. Lucy was immensely proud of them, and she was convinced that they’d manage this next step together, if it happened. Max’s brash approach had failed dramatically and Nina Kerridge had been brought in to sort things out.
Alone now, she reread the email:
Hi Lucy,
I hope you’re well. I’ve been meaning to get in touch with you since I started here at Claudine. I wanted to give you the heads up as early as possible. I know you have your thing going on in the country, and you’ve had an awful lot to cope with in the past couple of years. I was so sorry to hear about your husband and I do hope it’s okay to get in touch now.
I have considered this carefully and I keep coming back to the fact that you’re the obvious person to step in when Dana goes on maternity leave this spring. You know the company so well and have a rounded, considered approach as well as a respect for the brand heritage. You work so well with people and would be a real asset here. It’s not your old head buyer position I’m thinking of. I’m looking for someone to work closely with me, as my second-in-charge.
Lucy sipped the dregs of her tepid coffee. She knew Nina a little, from way back; in fact, Connell knew her too. They had moved in similar circles at college, and Lucy had kept tabs on Nina’s career as she had cut her teeth with a middle-of-the-road high street brand, before moving to a more senior position at a cutting edge chain. She was rather chilly, Lucy remembered – hugely driven, undoubtedly gifted and razor-sharp. She would be inspiring to work for. Maybe a new challenge like this was just what she needed.
As you probably know, the email concluded, it’s been a bit of a rescue mission here, but once things are steady again we have lots of new developments that I’d love you to be part of. Do give me a ring if you’d like to meet up to discuss this further. I do hope it’s a yes.
With all best wishes,
Nina
Lucy would contact her, certainly, but first she had a more urgent call to make. She picked up her phone and took a deep breath before calling her mother to tell her that she and the children would be staying at Rosemary Cottage for Christmas.