Kitabı oku: «The Ticket to Happiness»

Chapter Two

Hilda, Harriet’s dog, bounded through the door and jumped up at Pippa, knocking her mug of coffee all over her and getting muddy paw prints on her jumper. What on earth had possessed her to wear cream?

‘Thanks, Hilda.’ Pippa rolled her eyes but petted the big Old English sheepdog, who was boisterous but adorable. Harriet and her partner, Connor, a vet, had adopted her from the animal sanctuary a couple of years back and she was part of the family.

‘Sorry, Pip. I tried to contain her but you know what she’s like,’ Harriet sighed as she walked in behind Hilda with her new baby, Toby, strapped to her chest.

They were in the Meadowbrook kitchen, the hub of the house. It had been the scene of many a family meal growing up when they’d shunned the formal dining room for the warmth of the kitchen, with its Aga and Gwen, their housekeeper, baking, which kept the kitchen smelling inviting. Now, it was more of a commercial kitchen, but they managed to retain some of its history, not least with the huge, old kitchen table that sat in the room, etched with their childhoods on it.

‘Can I have my nephew?’ Pippa asked, itching to get her hands on four-month-old Toby.

‘If you can figure out how to get into this bloody thing. It almost needed an engineering degree to get it on; you should have heard my language. If Toby’s first words are all swearwords then you’ll know why.’

Harriet, the oldest at forty, sounded harassed, which was unlike the normally cool-headed woman, but then Pippa guessed being a new mother could do that to you. Harriet was taller than Pippa, with dark hair cut into an efficient bob, and she looked a little like their father, whereas Pippa took after their mother. Harriet was attractive and slim, with translucent skin and brown eyes, while Pippa was more delicate with her blonde hair, pale skin and bright blue eyes. They did share some similar traits, but initially to look at them you wouldn’t guess they were sisters.

Pippa managed to unhook Toby and engulfed him in her arms, where he wriggled before nuzzling into her. She sniffed his head, something she couldn’t resist doing. He looked like Harry, she thought, but his eyes were similar to his father, Connor. He was the most beautiful baby she’d ever seen. Although she was, of course, biased.

‘Right, I need coffee, and loads of it,’ Harriet announced as she left Pippa cooing and moved to the coffee machine, Hilda wagging her tail at her heels.

Pippa opened her mouth and then promptly closed it. Harriet appeared to have her jumper on inside out but Pippa wasn’t sure she dared point it out.

‘Are you all right?’ Pippa asked instead.

Harriet was so strong she rarely showed weakness, or rather vulnerability; she didn’t believe in it. As sisters, Pippa and Harriet were polar opposites. Harriet took being the oldest seriously and Pippa did the same with being the youngest, even milking it, some might say. They bickered, all four of them did, but they were closer than they ever had been – closer than their father even imagined they’d be, Pippa often thought.

‘Yes, I’m absolutely great,’ Harriet said, taking a large gulp of coffee. ‘Even better now.’

‘Good.’ Pippa frowned. She knew she worried about her siblings, but Harriet wasn’t someone who took kindly to being worried about.

‘Anyway, what needs doing for this party?’ Harriet asked.

‘I think it’s all under control. But you’re all staying here, aren’t you?’

‘Yup. I’ve got a baby monitor for Toby, so I can put him to sleep and enjoy the party,’ Harriet grinned.

‘You’re going to drink actual alcohol?’ Pippa asked.

Harriet had barely taken a sip of wine since Toby’s birth. Personally, Pippa thought maybe it would do her good.

‘Yes, I’ve pumped milk for his feeds for tomorrow, and then I can pump and dump in the morning,’ Harriet explained.

‘What?’ Pippa grimaced.

‘There might be alcohol in the breast milk if I drink, so I have to pump it out and get rid. It’s called pump and dump according to the baby book.’

‘Yuk. Anyway, can we stop talking about your breasts?’

Just then, Toby gave out a wail.

‘Well we can, but I’m going to have to whip them out now as my baby’s hungry.’

Harriet reached out and took her son, settling herself down at the kitchen table to feed him.

‘Why is my timing so bad?’ Freddie said as he walked into the kitchen with a grimace on his face.

‘For God’s sake, Fred, you can’t even see anything,’ Harriet snapped.

She had a muslin cloth covering both her and most of Toby. Freddie was the youngest of the male siblings. Only two years older than Pippa, they looked the most alike. Freddie was tall and slim, with the same colouring as Pippa. His messy blond hair crowned his head, but he had the same strong nose as their father and their other brother, Gus.

‘You know what he’s like. Hello, guys,’ Gemma said, appearing from behind him.

Gemma was originally Meadowbrook’s hotel consultant and although there was a huge amount of drama before they opened the hotel, she’d done an amazing job. Gemma was thirty and she was shorter than Pippa, with dark blonde, highlighted hair, but was far prettier than she ever thought she was. When she’d worked for the hotel, Gemma and Pippa had become firm friends. But then just as the hotel opened, she and Freddie fell in love – a case of opposites attract, obviously. Freddie was her loud, party-loving brother and Gemma was shy, quiet, anxious and, especially when she first arrived at Meadowbrook, a bundle of nerves. But she was also bright, sensible and with a fun side, and Freddie seemed to have unearthed those qualities in her. In fact, they brought out the best in each other. When the hotel opened, Gemma had resigned. She wanted to do something outside the family now she was dating Freddie. But Meadowbrook Hotel still felt as if it were a part of Gemma; it was important to all of them and of course Gemma was roped in to help when they needed her. She’d gone to college to study business as a mature student, which she loved.

‘Right, well, back to this party. What do you need us to do?’ Gemma asked.

‘I need you guys to stay here and help set up, if that’s OK?’

‘Sure, but I need to go and get my cocktail bar ready,’ Freddie said.

The bar was his domain, which given his predilection for alcohol could have been a bad thing, but Freddie took the bar seriously and hadn’t – yet – drunk it dry. He was becoming known for mixing fantastic cocktails and actually, having the responsibility had done him good. That and Gemma, of course.

‘Can’t wait to try them; although seeing’s as I’ve hardly touched a drink for the best part of a year, you need to go easy on me,’ Harriet grinned, the old spark seemingly back in her eyes.

‘Harry, have you got your jumper on inside out?’ Freddie asked.

Pippa carried two mugs of steaming coffee out through the back door of the kitchen and into the garden. She wasn’t surprised to have seen Gus pottering out there earlier. Gus, her eldest brother, loved the gardens and he could often be found out there when he wasn’t painting or with his family.

‘Hey,’ she called, waving at him as he was trimming one of the garden’s many bushes.

He stopped, squinted and then beamed.

‘Pippa, just what I need,’ he said as he bounded over to her.

Gus was thirty-nine and looked like a male version of Harriet, apart from his nose. He was tall, with thinning dark hair and a stocky build. Despite his looks, he was sensitive, quiet and creative. Definitely the most creative of the Singers.

She handed him the mug and they stood side by side in silence, looking at the winter sun glinting in the greenery.

‘It looks beautiful,’ she said, which was true.

‘All the hard work’s definitely paid off. Amanda’s flat out today, but she’s going to finish early so she can come up to the house. I know you probably need me to help with the party, but I just fancied being out here alone for a bit.’

‘I understand, Gus.’ Pippa gave his arm a squeeze. ‘But, yes, when you’re ready, it’s all hands on deck. Where’s Fleur, by the way?’

Amanda, who was in charge of the Meadowbrook gardens and had worked for their father, was Gus’s second wife. Fleur, her niece, was his sixteen-year-old daughter from his first marriage.

‘She’ll be up later with the rest of the family; although I’m sure she’ll be wearing something inappropriate and trying to sneak alcohol,’ he complained.

Before Toby’s arrival, as their only niece, all the Singers doted on Fleur and she was also very close to their late father. Gus and she had a tempestuous relationship, mainly owing to the fact that he was overprotective and not ready for his little girl to grow up.

‘I’m sure she won’t,’ Pippa lied, as that was exactly what Fleur would be doing. ‘Anyway, I’d better go and check on the caterers. All OK?’

‘Yes, I’ll finish up here and be in in a bit to help.’ He gave her a hug, handed the empty mug back to her and went back to his pottering.

The peace of earlier in the day was forgotten as Pippa moved around the house. The kitchen was full of catering staff now, who were preparing food for the evening, so Pippa, on discovering everything was under control, ducked out. She stood in the doorway to the bar, watching Freddie and Gemma laughing. It was heartwarming to see how close her best friend and her brother were, they were so in love. Gemma was passing bottles to Freddie, who was making drinks, but every now and then he’d stop to kiss her. Pippa felt a little like a voyeur, but she didn’t want to interrupt their moment, so she carried on.

She ran upstairs and checked the rooms were all ready. It might seem silly but she wanted her siblings and her to sleep in their old rooms for one night. She’d got them all prepared, her room, Harriet’s, Gus’s and Freddie’s. Fleur and Gus’s stepdaughter, Hayley, had rooms on the top floor, which used to be the attic rooms for staff back in the day, and Gwen said she may stay over with her partner, Gerry, but she hadn’t quite committed. Gwen had never slept in the main house, only in her apartment, and although she was family, she still said it didn’t seem right. The rooms weren’t the same as when they all lived there, of course, for they were now decorated as hotel rooms, more neutral. Pippa finished her inspection, satisfied that it was all ready as she headed back downstairs.

Flower arrangements were being set up in the reception area as well as the bar and dining room. Pippa had a florist who delivered every week to ensure the hotel always looked its best and in summer they used flowers from the gardens, too. The dining room was ready to receive the buffet food, which would be laid out on the huge dining table. It was all under control and Pippa was almost disappointed to find that she really didn’t need to do anything.

She decided to head out for a walk before it was time to get changed. As she passed the drawing room, she glanced in and saw that Toby and Harriet were on the sofa. Toby was on her chest and they were both fast asleep. She smiled at the sight of mother and child and quietly headed out.

She found herself at the sanctuary, where the animals, oblivious to the festivities, carried on as normal. One of the paddocks saw the donkey, Gerald, and the ponies grazing, while another was home to four goats – three adults and a baby. The pigs, who were Gus’s favourites, had a space beyond that, next to the field where the two alpacas, Sebastian and Samantha, glared at everyone who passed. In the far field were the cows, or to be precise, the bull, David, the cow, Madonna, and their baby calf, Drake. They weren’t the friendliest, either. Fleur got to name most new arrivals, and liked to name them after rappers – hence baby calf Drake and baby goat Kanye.

As Pippa made her way to the sanctuary office, she passed the chicken pen, the cat quarters and the large kennel, which was apparent by the noise coming from it. Although she loved the sanctuary, she wished that the domestic animals had all been re-homed. She wanted them all in loving homes and the fact they weren’t made her sad. Although Meadowbrook did have a good re-homing success rate, there were always animals coming in to replace those who left and that wasn’t good – or at least not for the animals, as it generally meant they’d suffered.

‘Penny for them?’ Connor asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Connor, Harriet’s partner, was tall, good-looking in a scruffy way, with unruly dark hair and the kindest smile. He had dimples that Toby seemed to have inherited in his cheeks and where Harriet could be scary, Connor was the most laid-back person Pippa had ever met. Yet again, opposites in many ways, but they’d been soulmates from childhood; although they didn’t realise it until after Andrew’s death and when it was almost too late.

‘I’ll have you know they’re worth more than a penny,’ Pippa replied. ‘I was at the house and everything’s under control for tonight, so I thought I’d get some fresh air and I found myself here, maybe thinking of Dad a bit today, you know.’ Pippa tried not to get emotional but she always did when she thought of her father.

‘I know, and look how far you’ve come. He’d be so proud of you.’

‘And you and the sanctuary.’

‘Hey, we’re like a mutual appreciation society. By the way, I seem to be missing a girlfriend and a baby.’

‘At the house, both fast asleep,’ Pippa smiled.

Connor ran his hands through his hair.

‘Harriet, day-sleeping? Wow. Right, well, I’ll finish up here and head up in that case.’

‘See you soon.’

Pippa watched him depart and then headed back to the house. She was so happy that all three of her siblings had such wonderful partners – however, she did wonder, just briefly, when it would be her turn.