Page 46 of Moonlight Kisses at Willow Tree Hall

‘I thought I did,’ said Lily, checking her phone for her timings.

‘Nah.’ Lauren stopped to gesture at the loaf. ‘See that line around the outside? That means it’s under-proved.’

Lily was amazed. ‘How do you know all this?’

Lauren blushed and shrugged her shoulders. ‘I love all those cooking programmes.’

‘That bread smells lovely,’ said Annie, coming into the kitchen. ‘I’m starving. Anyone else want a slice with butter and jam?’

‘You’ll need a magic knife to slice this loaf,’ said Lily, showing her the flattened loaf.

‘Oh no!’ Annie grinned. ‘Biscuit tin it is, then! By the way,’ she added, pausing as she went to grab a handful of chocolate digestives, ‘I meant to let you know that some of Sam’s friends are coming for the fete this weekend.’

‘How many?’ asked Lily.

‘Well, let me see.’ Annie counted on her fingers. ‘There’s the band, so that’s five. And Sam’s best friend, Alex: that’s another one. So six more to stay, if that’s OK?’

‘It’s fine,’ said Lily, managing a winning smile whilst thinking of how much work all those extra people would bring.

The arrival of Hazy Memory caused quite a stir on Friday. The family were very excited at breakfast.

‘They’re old friends,’ said Rose, with a smile.

‘Very old,’ drawled Will. ‘They’re all sixty if a day.’

‘With a mental age of twenty,’ added Sam as he reached across for the butter.

Lily thought back to the band when she had seen them at the wedding and the previous summer fete. Despite their long hair and the wrinkles that betrayed a wild social life spread over many years, Skye told her that they were actually a pretty nice bunch of guys. Notwithstanding their overreliance on awful rock music and leather clothing.

‘But that’s all changed now,’ said Sam, with a smile. ‘Number-one album last Christmas. Another easy listening one about to be recorded for this year’s festive season. It’s all coming good for them.’

‘So no more leather?’ said Rose, making a face. ‘How disappointing. I was planning on buying myself a pair of leather trousers now that I’m in full councillor-trapping mode.’

‘Mata Hari, eat your heart out,’ muttered Arthur.

‘Indeed, brother,’ said Rose, nodding.

‘I shouldn’t bother,’ added Will. ‘Sam and I have been talking. We think it’s all a storm in a teacup over nothing. That Eric isn’t going to move a whole road network just because of some ancient history that happened with our parents.’

‘I agree,’ said Sam, nodding. ‘I think everyone needs to stop stressing. Nothing’s going to come of it.’

‘I’m not so sure,’ said Rose, with a frown. ‘He always was a slippery character.’

‘You just like the idea of entrapping and spying on some fancy council chap,’ said Will, grinning.

‘Darling, you read me like a book,’ said Rose, with a wink.

Sam reached for the jam. ‘Looks like you’d better abandon your leather trousers, just like Hazy Memory. They are leather-clad rockers no more. It’s all suits and slicked-back hair from here on in.’

But when the band arrived later that morning and began to pile out of Mick’s Rolls-Royce, Lily saw Sam shake his head in dismay.

‘You can lead a rock band to water but all they really want is tequila,’ said Will, slapping his brother on the shoulder. ‘Still, think of the album sales, eh?’

Lily saw the same five leather-clad, long-haired rockers that she had seen at Annie’s wedding. Annie had told Lily that Hazy Memory were one of the first bands that Sam had ever managed and, apparently, were named after a wild weekend in the early seventies that none of them could remember.

Hazy Memory had the dubious honour of recording the most annoying Christmas single of all time. They all hated their one big hit song but knew it was the only way to make a living. However, a chance singalong at the previous year’s summer fete held at Willow Tree Hall had gone viral, thanks to people recording it on their iPhones. Suddenly, the band were back in the big league with their latest album, full of old-fashioned hits with a soft-rock twist.

It was all smiles and hugs as everyone greeted one another.