Vanessa looked taken aback. ‘Do you?’
I nodded. ‘Yes, I do. Look, I need to get back as I am cooking for quite a few people in the town. Luckily my sister made Frank keep the old Agas.’ With a fake smile I said, ‘It’s been good to finally meet you and give my love to your mother.’
Vanessa turned her attention to Layla. ‘Aren’t you going to say hello?’
Layla looked terrified and that made me cross. I stepped in front of her and stared at Vanessa. ‘I know about how horrible you have been to her. She works for me now.’
‘Have you told your new boss about all the lies you told me about my Ryan, Layla?’
‘They were not lies,’ Layla mumbled.
I looked Vanessa in the eyes and the old me stepped up. ‘Why are you and your family making her life a misery? She’s twenty-one, she has a baby son and when I arrived here, she was homeless. I also heard you’d been urging her cleaning clients to cancel her jobs. You are a grown woman. You should be ashamed of yourself.’
Vanessa took a step back in shock. Her mouth hung open. It was clear no one had ever stood up to her.
‘Why is your sister spreading lies about Ben and getting her son to pick on his daughter?’ I took a step forward and she took a step back. ‘Why did you have an affair with my sister’s husband?’
She raised her hands. ‘Can we talk about that?’
I scowled at her. ‘I don’t talk to bullies. Goodbye, Vanessa. Come on, Layla, we are leaving.’
I strode away and Layla trudged after me. ‘Oh God, Rachel, you were amazing,’ she squealed. ‘I have never seen Vanessa back down like that.’
Once we were out of sight from Vanessa I turned to Layla. ‘Hug me. I am trembling.’
She laughed and threw her arms around me. ‘You were the best.’
As we trudged back, we saw a few people gathered outside their houses. Fuelled by my bravery against Vanessa, I found myself saying, ‘If you need Christmas lunch – come to the manor house. We have so much food and I would love to see you there.’
‘Really?’ A woman cast me a shocked look.
I nodded. ‘My name’s Rachel. I would love to see you all there. Merry Christmas.’
‘But there’s four hungry people in my family and…’
‘Bring everyone who needs feeding and is without power.’ I laughed. ‘It’s on Frank Baxter so let’s have a good Christmas. I’ll be serving up at 2pm.’
To my amazement they all cheered.
Layla and I made our way back to the Manor House. ‘I can’t believe you’ve invited all those people,’ she exclaimed. ‘Where will we put them all?’
‘Okay, I want to open up the west wing,’ I explained. Her eyebrows rocketed up her forehead in shock. ‘Do you think that’s wise?’
‘We can tidy up afterwards and it will look like no one will have been in there. I will do a buffet style dinner and people can go sit with their families.’
‘Frank and Maddie won’t be happy,’ said Layla.
‘They are away in Malibu and will never know,’ I said with an air of confidence.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-EIGHT
‘How many are we catering for?’ Ben asked as I walked back into the kitchen. He was wearing a blue apron, a white fitted shirt, and black jeans. His hair was gently tousled, and he’d even tidied up his beard.
‘A lot.’ I giggled with nervous hysteria. ‘I invited quite a few people in the town, and I told them to spread the word.’
Ben scratched his head and cast me a worried look. ‘You know what you’re doing so I will be your glamorous assistant chef.’
‘I am thinking a buffet-style Christmas lunch. We can use the back work surfaces. People can walk along and fill up their plates like you would do in a carvery. They can then go into the house and eat their food.’
