Ben stared at me. ‘Wow, you do know what you’re doing.’
I nodded. ‘I still have a lot of nibbles left over from yesterday so we can add those; plus there’s things we can make in the next few hours.’
‘What do you want me to do?’
‘Are you any good at Yorkshire puddings?’
He grinned and said confidently. ‘The best.’
‘Fighting talk, Ben. They better be good.’
He laughed. ‘Right, show me where you want me to set up my Yorkshire pudding factory?’
Once he had got to work, I went into the east wing living room. Aunty Bev, Grandpa, Ben’s mum Cath, and Darren were all admiring the photos of Darren and Abi’s new addition, a baby boy called Freddie. I hadn’t had a chance to have a peek at the photos yet.
‘Ah, he looks cute,’ I cooed.
Darren cast me the proudest smile. ‘He’s adorable and my wife is amazing.’
‘Where are the kids?’ I said, looking around for Rosie and the twins.
Cath smiled. ‘Playing hide and seek with the dog upstairs. You don’t mind – do you?’
I grinned. ‘It’s Christmas Day. I hope they’re enjoying themselves.’
Aunty Bev leaned in and whispered, ‘I hope you know what you’re doing. Letting little kids run wild never turned out well for me.’
I smiled. ‘It’s Christmas. Relax.’
Cath gestured for the door. ‘I am going to go check on the little rascals.’
Layla came into the lounge. ‘Do you want to open up the west wing, Rachel?’
I nodded. ‘Let’s do it.’
To my surprise Aunty Bev gasped. ‘Is that necessary?’
I turned around. ‘We have a lot of people to accommodate?’
Aunty Bev rubbed her forehead. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea.’
I dismissed her. ‘It’s only one day, Aunty Bev. Once everyone goes home, I will clean up every room.’
Grandpa placed his hand on my shoulder. ‘Listen to your aunty Bev.’
I shook his hand away. ‘Grandpa, it will be fine.’
Layla opened the west wing lounge and whilst she was talking to Aunty Bev, I hid Maddie’s journal and the photos of Josh in a desk drawer.
‘Rachel,’ Layla said, ‘Cath is shouting for you upstairs.’
I raced up the stairs to find Cath outside the master bedroom and three naughty looking children. ‘Rachel, I should have been watching them.’
My heart ground to a halt. ‘What have they done?’
She let out a heavy sigh and pushed open the door. I gasped as there were pink lipstick drawings all over one of the cream walls. ‘They’ve also spilt a can of Coke inside the wardrobe, and I think Humphrey weed on the bed.’
My eyes flicked to the huge damp stain on the bedding and my nose picked up the aroma of dog urine. ‘Okay,’ I squeaked. ‘Cath, can you take the kids downstairs while I clean up.’
