Chapter One
There was a distinct chill in the air as Lilly Tweed, former agony aunt, now purveyor of fine teas, cycled through the park of her home town Plumpton Mallet. Autumn was just about holding on by a thread, as winter was beginning to make its presence known. Usually her cat, Earl Grey, would ride in his carrier in the bike's basket, but this evening he was snuggled in the large front pocket of her jumper, as his usual place was in use. She'd purchased the sweater specifically for the festive season because it was designed to carry your favourite pet as well as being a holiday design. Whenever the cat stuck his head out of the faux fur-lined pocket sewn around her midsection, he appeared to be wearing an elf hat and ears.
In the basket, Lilly had positioned a picnic hamper filled with buffet food. She was pushing her luck a bit, choosing to cycle rather than drive, but the weather, although chilly, was showing the last few rays of sunshine and she loved riding in it. It would probably be the last chance she would get before winter set in properly and she was forced to relegate the bike to the shed until spring.
As she slowed down and eventually stopped at the rear of her shop premises, she breathed a sigh of relief that she'd managed to arrive with everything, herself and Earl included, in one piece. "We made it, Earl," she said to the snoring cat as she dismounted and carefully leaned the bike against the back storeroom door.
Usually, Lilly would position her bike outside the front window and decorate it according to the season, hanging the tea of the day sign from the handlebars, but this evening her destination was the flat upstairs.
Lifting the heavy hamper from the basket, a voice called out, "Do you need some help, Lilly?" and she turned to see James Pepper, the father of her employee Stacey, approaching from the direction of the car-park.
"Hello, James. Yes, please. Could you take this hamper while I put my bike in the hallway?"
"Of course. I dropped off my contribution earlier, so I'm hands free as it were," he replied, taking the hamper from her and holding open the flat door while Lilly wheeled in her bike.
Earl chose that moment to stick his head out of Lilly's jumper and released an indignant meow. James jumped back in surprise.
"Good grief," he laughed. "What on earth are you wearing?"
Lilly gave a twirl. "It's great, isn't it? The latest thing for every respectable cat owner."
"Mmm," James said. "Well, you're certainly a trend-setter if nothing else."
They climbed the stairs and knocked on the door, which was flung open a second later by an exuberant Stacey.
"Happy Thanksgiving!" she cried, giving them both hugs and pulling them inside.
The holiday was an American one and as such, Lilly had obviously never celebrated it before. According to Stacey, it was modelled on the harvest feast shared by the Pilgrims in 1621 and allows people to give thanks with friends and family for what they have. It's also a celebration of the Autumn, or fall as it's known in America, harvest.
"Happy Thanksgiving, Stacey," Lilly said, stepping inside.
***
Stacey had decorated the flat with streamers in autumnal colours, chubby pilgrims and paper turkeys, all of which were apparently commonly representative of the holiday.
"Stacey," Lilly said. "This looks fabulous. Where on earth did you get it all?"
"I made the streamers, but I asked mom if she'd send me the rest. You can't get pilgrims and paper turkey over here. I asked mom how to cook the turkey, too. It's in the oven. You two sure are early."
"You know, Stacey, the consensus is turkey wasn't actually served at the first thanksgiving," her father said, ever the university lecturer. "I believe the pilgrims mostly ate fish."
"Dad, if you want cod I can do it. But I'm having turkey," Stacey said, playfully punching his arm and laughing.
The bathroom door opened and Lilly saw that she and James weren't the only ones to have arrived early. Stacey's boyfriend, Frederick Warren, stepped out smiling.
"Hello, Mr Pepper," he said politely. "Hi, Lilly."
"Hello, Frederick," James said with a nod. As a mostly absent father until fairly recently, he was still getting used to being part of his daughter's life, so the whole boyfriend scenario was new to him. Although he and Fred had both worked alongside Stacey during Lilly's absences at the shop, they were still overly polite and slightly wary around one another. "So, how do you like working at the café?"
Fred beamed. "It's really good. Lilly and Abigail are both great to work for."
"He's picked it up really quickly, dad," Stacey said from the kitchen, where she was vigorously assaulting potatoes with a masher.
Fred nodded. "I'm looking forward to the grand re-opening. All the training Stacey has been giving us has kept me busy, but I want to put it into practice now. Hopefully I will remember everything."
Late summer and early autumn had been an exceptionally busy time for Lilly. Not only was she running her Tea Emporium, but she had invested in a local café with her former nemesis, Abigail Douglas. They'd closed it down to remodel, giving the place a fresh look and designed a brand new menu. They had hired new employees for the both the tea shop and the café with the idea that Lilly oversee her shop while Abigail ran the café. During that time, Stacey had been promoted to manager of both locations, which conversely allowed her more time for her university studies. She was responsible for training and scheduling the employee shifts at both premises, but was in charge of her own schedule. It was working well so far.
"You'll do great," Stacey assured Fred.
"Thanks," he replied with a grin. "Can I help with the potatoes?"
"Absolutely, this is killing my wrist," she said, sliding the bowl his way.
"Wow, look at all this food," Lilly exclaimed, adding her dishes to the plethora of goodies on the table, which she swore was groaning under the weight. "Is this really what a thanksgiving celebration looks like?"
"Yup!" Stacey said. "I hope you like it."
There was a knock at the door so Lilly went to answer it, as Stacey had put her father in charge of peeling sweet potatoes while she herself tackled a mountain of vegetables for yet another dish.
"Happy Turkey Day!" Archie called out when Lilly opened the door.
"Archie, how great to see you. Come in," she said, giving her friend and former co-worker a hug.
Archie was the senior investigative reporter with the local paper, The Plumpton Mallet Gazette, where Lilly had once been employed as the agony aunt. When the paper had been taken over by a larger concern, she was made redundant as they already had their own agony aunt on staff. It was Abigail Douglas, the woman she was now in partnership with. The irony was, now that Abigail had officially put in her notice with the paper, they were going to be without an agony aunt altogether.
"I hear Abigail is coming to this shindig," Archie said, unable to conceal the misgivings in his tone.
"Be nice to her, Archie. She's my business partner now."
"Better you than me, Lilly. I hope it all works out for you, though. I really do," Archie said, stepping past her to add his contribution to the table. "Golly, this food looks amazing."
"Thank you, Archie," Stacey said. "I've been cooking all day."
"She was cooking all day yesterday, too. Don't let her fool you," Fred said. "And preparing for three days before that."
As people started to trickle in, mostly Stacey's friends from college and a handful of teashop and café staff, Lilly mingled with the younger crowd, pleased to be able to spend some time with Stacey. The girl had recently returned from London having spent her first holiday with her father, so she hadn't seen her for a while. As soon as she'd returned to Plumpton Mallet, Stacey had dived into the staff training and university. This was the first time they'd really had a chance to chat and catch up with one another.
As the crowd grew louder and the noise levels rose, Lilly found herself on door duty to listen out for late arriving guests. There was a knock on the door and she opened it to find Abigail clutching a large chocolate orange trifle.
"Oh, that looks yummy, Abigail."
Abigail came in and her eyes fell towards Lilly's stomach. She raised a brow. "Are you wearing your cat?"
"I am," Lilly replied, turning so Earl could see Abigail. He meowed loudly, then pulled his head back inside the pocket, disappearing from sight. "He loves it. I've tried to let him out a few times, but he's perfectly content where he is."
"You really are ridiculous," Abigail said, laughing good naturedly.
"I know, but he deserves to be spoiled. He had a rough start in life. I don't think he likes all the noise, but Stacey said I can pop him into her room if it all gets too much for him. He spends a lot of his time there, anyway."
Abigail took a look at the vast crowd of people crammed into the small flat and nodded in agreement. "I don't blame him. If he does, I might just join him."
Lilly laughed. It was odd becoming friends and business partners with someone she had been at extreme loggerheads with in the not too distant past. Abigail had been, to put it mildly, difficult and obnoxious, going out of her way to cause Lilly problems. Now, however, she knew the real cause for her behaviour and she was seeing her in a new light altogether.
***
Abigail said hello to everyone, handing over her trifle to Stacey while Lilly got her a drink. When she returned, they moved to a slightly quieter corner where they could sit and talk for a moment.
"Did you get everything settled with your solicitor, Abigail?"
Abigail nodded. "Up to a point. I'm afraid my ex-husband is coming after me for money."
Abigail's erratic attitude had induced Lilly to investigate the cause. Recently, Abigail had taken a holiday and left Plumpton Mallet with very little explanation. Eventually, Lilly had reached out to her and it turned out Abigail had come to Plumpton Mallet in order to flee an abusive ex-husband. Back in the early years of their marriage, Abigail's then husband had been a journalist. It was the reason she'd also got into the business. Eventually, he had become a professor, teaching journalism at various universities. However, due to his inability to work with others and his habit of flying off the handle at every perceived slight, warranted or not, he found himself without work more often than he was employed. With no job and no income, money had become a real problem, and he'd consequently lashed out as a result. It was Abigail who had been in the firing line.
"But surely he's got no claim on your money after all this time?" Lilly said now.
"That's what my solicitor says. He's an idiot to even try, but I suspect he's doing it to frighten me. Hopefully, things will settle down now I have legal representation. I'm just glad I'm taking my own path and doing something for me for a change."
After Lilly had approached her, she'd learned Abigail had always wanted to open her own business. A dream that had been crushed repeatedly by her ex due to his poor financial decisions and the control he had over her. With Lilly's favourite café recently coming onto the market and a healthy profit from her first trading year, Lilly had asked Abigail to go into partnership with her in a new venture. Abigail had been thrilled at the idea.
"Well, try not to think about it too much," Lilly said. "It's just unnecessary stress. The trick now is to look ahead and keep busy. We've got a lot of marvelous things happening you can concentrate on."
"You're right. I am so excited to get the business up and running," Abigail said, sighing. "Lilly, I must say again how grateful I am for your support. After the way I behaved towards you, I still find it unbelievable that you would want to go into business with me."
Lilly shrugged. "Well, once you started talking to me instead of shouting, I was actually able to get to know the real you. It helped me understand what the cause was and the fact the person I thought you were wasn't the case at all. And you have had some excellent ideas for the café. Besides, I certainly couldn't have afforded it on my own. I'm looking forward to opening the doors."
"Do you think everything will be ready in time for the grand re-opening? After all the time and hard work we've put in, it is difficult to believe we actually open in just two days."
"Saturday is going to be very busy," Lilly said. "And probably a little crazy. But I think everyone is ready. Stacey has been working extremely hard training all the new staff."
"And then the Christmas Market is coming up too. I'm eager to get going with it, but it's a lot to deal with all at once. I feel like I've been thrown in at the deep end without a life belt."
"Oh, it's definitely sink or swim time, Abigail. But don't worry, you'll be fine and we'll have lots of support. Both James and Archie have volunteered to help with the market stalls."
"Archie?" Abigail questioned, looking over at the crowd around the table where Archie was chatting with some of Stacey's fellow students. "Do you really think he wants to work with me again?"
"He's only going to be helping with the initial setting up," Lilly said. "And he is a very good friend of mine, so I'd really like it if you two tried to get along."
"I stole from his desk," Abigail said, cringing in embarrassment.
It was true. In one of her less than impressive moments, Abigail had stolen evidence from Archie's desk in an attempt to give herself a leg up in her desire to become an investigative reporter. She had known she was fighting a losing battle being the town's agony aunt. Now, Lilly understood Abigail had been acting out of sheer desperation. If she lost her job, she'd be left with nothing, and the temptation to return home to the cycle of abuse she'd been trying to escape might have been too strong for her to resist.
"Yes, I know you did," Lilly said. "But remember, Abigail, you're not the same person now as you were then. Archie is willing to forgive and forget. You should talk to him, you know. It will help lay the ghosts to rest and enable you to move forward."
"Yes, I might just do that," Abigail said with a nervous smile, as Stacey called out that the Thanksgiving dinner was finally ready.
Chapter Two
It was all hands on deck as the day to re-open the café finally arrived. With the exception of Stacey and one other employee who were both busy running the Tea Emporium, everyone Lilly and Abigail had hired was working hard to ensure every customer who walked through the café door was served quickly, efficiently and left satisfied. Making it more likely they would not only return, but recommend the place to others.
Since Lilly and Abigail had bought the café, it had undergone a complete makeover, both inside and out, to make it look like a sister business of the Tea Emporium. Although expensive, Lilly had opted for a durable medium oak hardwood floor, which set off the rest of the modern take on a vintage theme, which is what they'd both decided on. As with the tea shop, one of the walls had been taken back to the brickwork, then re-pointed and given several coats of matte varnish to make it hard wearing.
The individual tables were honey coloured wood, each with comfy bucket chairs upholstered in a chartreuse, cream and deep raspberry plaid, rather than the common spindle backs which Lilly found uncomfortable, especially on her spine, and a display of realistic dried flowers in tin milk jugs. These were currently a winter theme containing white roses, lavender blue thistles, Gypsophilia and eucalyptus foliage, but would be changed according to the season, holiday, or specifically tailored if they were running a particular event.
On the wall sides there were wooden booths with banquettes upholstered in soft, high-quality faux suede, with button backs imitating Chesterfields. The beauty of which was their stain resistant and water proof capabilities making it easy to wipe down if there were accidents. In a café, this was par for the course. The colour was a darker shade of chartreuse, a favourite of them both. They'd chosen various botanical print throw cushions to add to the comfort factor.
The final bits of the design were the individual chandeliers above the tables and booths, and several large faux potted ferns providing a garden feel as well as some privacy. Lilly had even sourced a couple of standard lamps with original tasseled shades and an old bookcase, which she filled with reading material and colouring books for those with children. The whole ambiance was that of an exclusive club and it was going down a storm with the patrons.
The young employees, mostly teens and college students, were darting about taking and serving orders and working hard in the kitchen. Fred was working as the barista, serving both coffees, much to Stacey's delight, and teas from Lilly's shop.
"We're running low on the new Chamomile blend," Fred told Lilly when she went to see how he was coping. He was filling teapots from the large vintage copper urn Abigail had found on an auction site and personally polished to such a shine, it looked brand new.
"Leave it with me, Fred, I'll get someone to bring over some boxes."
One of the new additions they had made was converting a small back storeroom into an office, which is where Lilly found Abigail a moment later counting cash.
"Golly, you look like Scrooge counting his wealth," Lilly said, laughing.
"I can't believe how many people have been through already. It's a triumph, Lilly. Most of them have paid with notes, so I need to get to the bank and replenish the till float or we'll run out of change. I'll be about ten minutes."
"No problem, you go ahead. I need to ring Stacey for more Chamomile, the staff are recommending it to go with the lunchtime special so it's going faster than I expected."
A quick call to Stacey and she said she'd send several boxes with Rodney Scott, one of the new staff members. He was only in his late twenties but knew almost as much about teas as she did. "Dad has just turned up anyway," Stacey continued. "And he's happy to help."
A few minutes later, Lilly went outside and spotted Rodney making his way down the street. In addition to the tea, he had an old camera hung round his neck. From what Lilly understood, he'd decided to return to college and was studying film and photography. Stacey had told her he was really good at it, having been to one of his exhibitions at the university.
Seeing the camera, Lilly suddenly remembered he'd offered to take some promotional photos of the open day.
"Hi, Rodney, thanks for bringing the tea," Lilly said, taking the boxes from him.
"You're welcome, Lilly," he said, holding up his camera. "I thought while I was here and had a break from the tea shop, I'd take some pictures of the open day. You have an amazing crowd here. I'm sure I'll get some good shots for the paper."
"That's great, Rodney, thank you. Go inside and take as many as you want."
"Would you mind if I did some creative shots as well? You can obviously use them for any promotions you have, but there's a possibility I could use a few in my next course exhibition."
"Of course, you can do whatever you like. It would be lovely to see some of our café images in your exhibition."
As Rodney moved between the tables taking photographs and chatting amiably with the patrons, Lilly went to unbox the teas and help Fred behind the counter. A couple of minutes later, Abigail returned with change, which she put in the till. Once they'd caught up with drink orders, Lilly positioned herself at the door in order to greet new customers. Two of whom she was especially pleased to see.
***
"Well, hello there," Lilly said, grinning at Bonnie and Archie. "I was hoping you two were going to show up today."
"You know we'll always be here to support you," Archie said. "Even if it means supporting Abigail as well."
"Archie Brown! Don't you be so mean."
"I know, I know," he said, giving her a peck on the cheek. "I was just having a little joke. She and I had a good talk at Stacey's thanksgiving celebration. We're fine now, don't worry. But I still need to give her a bit of stick from time to time. It's all part of the fun."
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Are you sure this is a good time, Lilly? You look incredibly busy. Are there actually any seats left?"
"There's a couple in the far window I've been saving for you. Come in and I'll get you both a menu."
They walked through the tables, both Bonnie and Archie smiling and nodding at people they knew, until they reached their table. Lilly gave them a menu each and asked one of the waiting staff to look after them.
"Lilly," Archie said, before she disappeared. "I'm setting aside my crime reporting for a moment to write up a story on your grand re-opening. I'd like to get a couple of quotes from both you and Abigail if you have time?"
"Absolutely," Lilly said. "One of our staff members, Rodney, is taking pictures, too. If you want to have a word with him, he's already suggested some could be of use to the paper."
"I will do that. Thank you, Lilly. Now, off you pop while Bonnie and I see what scrumptious delights you have to offer us. I can see you're needed elsewhere."
Once again, Lilly found herself at the door greeting customers, but this time, she was joined by Abigail.
"Lilly, I'm absolutely stunned at how many customers we've had today, and still they come."
It was well past what would have been the usual lunch time rush, yet it didn't seem to be slowing down in the slightest. Clearly, the Plumpton Mallet townspeople had been eagerly waiting for the café to open again. The door opened and Lilly greeted the man who entered.
"Welcome, is it a table for one?"
"Monty!" Abigail gasped and suddenly grabbed Lilly's wrist.
"Abigail," the man said, scowling viciously. "I heard you'd bought a café and had to see it for myself. So this is what you did with the money you stole from me."
Lilly had heard the name Monty before and felt a surge of anger rise in her chest. This was Montgomery Douglas, Abigail's ex-husband. The abusive partner she'd fled from.
"I didn't steal anything from you, Monty," Abigail replied, and Lilly noticed the slight quiver in her voice. She was still clutching Lilly's wrist.
"Liar," he snarled. "You think I don't know what you've been doing? I've been keeping tabs on you ever since you walked out."
Lilly stood tall and manoeuvred herself in front of Abigail. She didn't want this to get out of hand. "This is neither the time nor the place, Mr. Douglas. If you're not here to eat, then I'd like you to leave."
"Get lost," Monty said. "I'm here to talk to Abigail. It's none of your business. You can't hide from me forever, Abigail. You owe me a lot of money and I'm not going anywhere until you pay up."
"Leave me alone, Monty," Abigail said. "It was my money, not yours."
"You're a little snake and you're going to get what you deserve. I hope you know that?"
"How dare you threaten her?" Lilly hissed, glancing around to find several patrons watching the exchange with undisguised interest. Thankfully, things didn't get a chance to escalate as Bonnie joined them.
"Is everything all right over here?" she asked.
"Mind your own business," Monty said. "I'm trying to talk to my wife."
"Ex-wife," Abigail muttered, and Monty's eyes darted her way. Lilly felt Abigail flinch, which made her even more angry. She was sick at heart to find how much control her ex-husband still had over her. Doesn't Monty live in London? Lilly thought. What is he doing here in Plumpton Mallet except purely to harass Abigail?
"He's just leaving," Lilly said to Bonnie, but her eyes never left Monty.
"No, I don't think so," he said, pushing forward.
Bonnie's arm shot out to prevent him from taking one more step. With her free hand, she shoved her warrant card under his nose. "I suggest you leave quietly unless you want to see the inside of Plumpton Mallet's police station. From a cell."
He scoffed. "Keep your nose out of my business," he said, ignoring the warrant card completely. Lilly wondered if he'd even seen it, or if he really was just stupid? He pushed forward and this time Bonnie reacted with more force. Grabbing his outstretched arm, she wrenched it down, twisted it behind his back and frogmarched him out into the street before he realised what was happening. Abigail and Lilly close on her heels. "Now, you have a choice. You can stay, in which case I will formally arrest you. Or you can leave."
Behind them, some of the people in the café started to clap and one or two shouted out, 'Arrest him!' and 'Throw him in jail.' At the sound of the mocking, jeering crowd, Monty's face contorted in anger, but he seemed to realise he was in a precarious position.
"Fine! I'll go. But I'll be back, Abigail," he shouted over his shoulder. "Don't think you've heard the last of me."
As Monty wended his way across the market square, Abigail let out a shaky breath of relief.
"Are you okay?" Lilly asked.
"I didn't think he knew where I was," Abigail said, wringing her hands anxiously. "I moved here to get away from him."
"I'll make sure you have someone to see you home tonight, Abigail. You're not going alone."
"Really? Oh, thank you, Bonnie."
"That was an excellent move, Bonnie," Lilly said. "I don't think he knew what hit him until he was in the street."
Rodney walked over from where he'd been standing watching the proceedings, eyes on stalks. "What was that all about?" he asked.
"That was my ex-husband," Abigail said, shaking her head. "He's a nasty piece of work."
"I can tell," Rodney said, and lifted his camera. "However, I'm quite sure I managed to get an excellent picture of him being marched outside like a criminal by one of our police forces' finest. I could develop one for you if you like?" he said with a grin.
Lilly and Abigail both laughed, but Abigail declined a copy of the photo. "Thank you, Rodney, but I don't want to see his face ever again."
"Well I'll have one," Bonnie said. "That was one of best moves recently. I'll hang it in the station as a warning."