The morning of the September market dawned bright and sunny. But it was perhaps just a little chillier, thought Lily, pulling her sweatshirt around her as she walked towards the stable block.
Despite the early hour, the normally quiet courtyard was bustling with people. Trestle tables were covered with piles of goodies to be bought. Money was being counted. Everyone was getting ready for a busy day ahead.
Lily wandered past one stall that was piled high with jars of homemade apple chutney. The next had beautiful cushions and tablecloths, which had been made by Eleanor’s mother. Eleanor had set up a couple of tables in front of her workshop and was piling up tubs of creams and potions.
Skye had also flung open the doors to her workshop and was arranging various jars and vases that had been delicately decorated with metallic paints.
The other stalls were selling everything from candles to homemade biscuits. Lauren was also manning a stall where she had once more baked delicious cakes of all flavours.
In the last couple of days, Lauren had come out of her shell and had even managed not to break anything valuable. In the afternoons, everyone had been lured to the kitchen as the smell of home-baking had wafted through the house.
Skye waved. ‘Morning!’ she shouted out. ‘Will’s manning the entrance to make sure everyone heads this way instead of into the main house.’
Lily nodded. ‘I saw him already. Can I do anything to help?’
‘I think we’re all set.’
‘We just need the customers!’ said Eleanor, glancing at her watch.
But she needn’t have worried. By mid-morning the place was packed with locals wandering about and purchasing lots of goodies.
‘Is it always this busy?’ Lily managed to ask Skye at a brief interlude later in the morning.
‘Every month,’ said Skye, looking proud. ‘It was all Will’s idea. He got it up and running.’
‘Excuse me, but is there a drinks stand or somewhere to get a cup of tea?’ asked a lady nearby.
‘I’m afraid not,’ said Skye.
As the lady went away, Skye looked at Lily and shrugged. ‘We have mulled wine at Christmas, but I suppose we should think about something else for the rest of the year.’
They were then interrupted by someone else asking about one of Skye’s decorated lanterns, so Lily left them to it. She walked through the main avenue, past the stalls, and found her feet leading her to where Jack was sorting out some wiring inside the dairy house.
‘Looks like the weather will hold,’ Lily told him.
‘Thank goodness,’ said Jack. ‘Because I don’t think it’s quite ready for anyone to use as a shelter yet.’
‘Have you tried the cake?’ she asked, as he carried on fixing a light switch onto the wall.
‘Not my thing,’ he replied. ‘Although I’d kill for a coffee right now.’
Lily frowned. ‘You’re the second person who’s just mentioned the lack of refreshments. I wonder if we need to set up an extra stall next time.’
Jack nodded. ‘Sounds like a good idea.’
‘Of course, if it rains…’ she began, her voice trailing off as she stared around the large room.
‘What?’ said Jack.
‘A tea room!’ said Lily, with a wide smile.
Jack raised an eyebrow. ‘I thought you weren’t supposed to be taking on any more work.’
‘But it’s just lying here, empty,’ she told him, waving her arm around the room. ‘What do we need?’
‘Electricity,’ he told her. ‘Tables, chairs, someone to serve, food. All of it.’
But Lily could only see the possibilities. ‘A tea room! That’s such a good idea! Oh my God. I must go and tell Annie.’
But Jack reached out his arm to stop her leaving. ‘No, no, no way,’ he said, shaking his head.
She gave him a winning smile and kissed him briefly on the cheek, before ducking under his arm and rushing out of the door.
She came across Rose almost immediately.
‘Rose!’ she said, rushing up to her. ‘We’ve just had the most amazing idea.’
However, Rose wasn’t listening to her. Instead, she was glaring across the courtyard.
‘Whatever’s the matter?’ asked Lily.
‘That man!’ hissed Rose. ‘The bare-faced cheek of him coming here!’
Lily looked across at a well-dressed older man walking about from stall to stall, although he didn’t appear to be buying anything.
‘Who is it?’ whispered Lily.
‘That,’ spat Rose, in a white-hot fury, ‘is Eric Thatcher! And with him is that grubby Councillor Roberts.’
Lily turned to stare at the man. ‘I can’t believe they’d come here.’
‘I can,’ said Rose, glaring at him as he came towards her.
‘Rose Harris,’ he said, with a nod. ‘You haven’t aged one bit.’
‘You, on the other hand, Eric Thatcher, appear to be losing your hair,’ said Rose, in an imperious tone.
Eric glared at her and turned away.
‘Right,’ muttered Rose, spinning around to the nearby WI cake stall. ‘I’ll give you what for, Eric Thatcher.’
She picked up a rock cake from one of the plates and lobbed it into the air. The cake flew as if in slow motion over the people in front of them to land, instead, on the shoulder of the councillor, where it disintegrated.
He gave a start and turned around, staring up in the air to wonder where the cake had come from.
For a minute, Lily thought they had got away with Rose’s moment of madness. But no.
‘Mine are too soft,’ cried one of the other women. ‘You’ll do no harm with those. Here,’ she handed Rose a rock cake from a different plate, ‘use Mavis’ cakes. They’re always as hard as steel. They’ll be perfect as a weapon.’
Rose nodded in agreement, picked up another cake and threw it at Eric Thatcher. This time it bounced off his head.
‘Hey!’ he said, becoming cross.
‘Excuse me!’ boomed one of the other women from nearby. ‘I’ll have you know, Daphne McGuinness, that my rock cakes are quite soft, actually!’
‘Don’t take it personally, Mavis darling,’ cried Rose, grabbing another cake. ‘Just let him have it.’
‘It’s all in the whipping, dear,’ cried another woman, throwing another cake.
‘I know about whipping,’ snapped Mavis. ‘Don’t tell me how to make rock cakes.’
‘Ladies!’ cried Rose. ‘Can we concentrate on the enemy at hand?’
‘What is this?’ snapped Eric, now very angry.
‘This is a sign that you’re not welcome here!’ boomed Rose, bringing the whole place to a shuddering halt. ‘How dare you come to our lovely market when you’re threatening to mow the whole place down with your ghastly bypass! This is the man!’ she announced to the crowd, which was now silent and watching. ‘This person wants to take away our village! Our life! Our history! With his horrid bypass. These two men are responsible for it all!’
The silence stretched out as everyone stared at them.
From a nearby vegetable stall, Lily saw a couple of tomatoes fly across the courtyard to splat against the man’s white shirt and stain it red.
‘What the hell!’ muttered the councillor. ‘What is this?’
And then the food really began to fly.
Cabbage, tomatoes and eggs flew across the courtyard, pelting the men as they tried to leave. Cakes were thrown. Cream smeared across the floor.
‘Not my shortbread!’ shouted one of the WI ladies, grabbing her plate and clutching it to her chest.
A beetroot flew from somewhere behind Lily to hit the councillor smack in the pelvis region. She looked around to find Arthur with a smile on his face. ‘It’s all in the spin action,’ the Earl of Cranley murmured, waggling his hand movement at her before he wandered off in all innocence.
Jack had rushed out of the dairy house to see what the commotion was. To Lily’s amazement, he burst into laughter. His face softened in amusement as he took in Eric’s humiliation.
‘You’ll regret this!’ announced Eric, glaring at everyone before quickly leaving. Despite his threat, everyone cheered heartily and gave themselves a huge round of applause.