Page 100 of The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts

It didn’t take long. People were still desperate for a treat after the misery of the floods and soon Amber overheard Josh calling Lesley and asking if she wanted to make it a more regular occurrence.

It turned out that Lesley had a friend who made pastries and so a daily delivery of fresh croissants and Danish pastries was soon filling the shop with a tempting aroma along with Lesley’s home-made cakes.

Then someone else had made bramble jelly, which was beautifully wrapped in jars with ribbons around the side. All the ingredients were also listed on a small cardboard tag.

Day by day, the shop was slowly restocked with home-made goods.

Stanley filled up his shopping bag each day almost to the brim. ‘This is wonderful,’ he said. ‘I wanted to cancel my weekly delivery from the supermarket anyway and this is the perfect excuse. You have everything I need.’

He then set his shopping down behind the counter whilst he waited for Frank to join him for their morning coffee. People were beginning to view the shop as a meeting hub and Amber was often updating everyone with the news regarding the roads reopening and even the weather.

It was mid-morning later in the week when Amber heard a commotion outside the shop. She went to the window and peered out, somewhat amazed to see at least twenty elderly ladies standing in a group and looking around.

She went outside, wondering if they were lost and needed help.

‘Ah! There she is!’ called out Del, whom she hadn’t spotted just around the corner having a cigarette as he looked into the coach engine. ‘Our saviour!’

‘Hi,’ said Amber, a little self-consciously. ‘What’s going on?’

‘The coach broke down,’ he shouted out to her. ‘We’ve only been going for around twenty minutes, haven’t we, ladies?’

They all nodded, looking thoroughly miserable and shivering.

‘Come inside,’ urged Amber. ‘It’s warm in there whilst you wait.’

So the shop quickly filled up with the coach passengers and Amber offered them all a free cup of tea and coffee whilst they waited for Del to fix his coach.

‘Looks like it may take some time,’ said Josh, weaving his way through the crowded shop. ‘He’s still got the bonnet up.’

‘Perhaps I could try one of these cupcakes whilst we wait,’ said one of the ladies. ‘How much are they?’

‘Only £2,’ Amber told her. ‘They’re handmade by a lady in the village.’

‘How marvellous,’ said another lady. ‘Did you hear that?’

‘It’s wonderful,’ said the lady who had bought the cake and already had her mouth full.

‘And that’s from the Chairwoman of the Women’s Institute!’ said the particularly glamorous lady in front of her. ‘Shall we all partake, ladies? I don’t know about you, but I need the energy.’

‘That’s because of your boyfriend wearing you out, Rose,’ said Grandma Tilly, who had just come through the front door.

The glamorous lady in front of her gave a throaty, somewhat naughty laugh before giving Amber a wink. ‘Tilly Kennedy! You’ll make me blush in front of this nice lady.’

‘You’ve never blushed in your life, Rose Harris,’ said Grandma Tilly, with a knowing smile.

‘The upper classes never do, dear,’ said Rose imperiously.

Amber immediately wondered who she was but was too shy to ask. Thankfully Grandma Tilly did the introductions.

‘This is Rose Harris. She’s the sister of the Earl of Cranley. They live in Willow Tree Hall, a few miles down the road.’

Amber nodded, having heard somebody mention the stately home before. ‘I’m Amber,’ she said, shyly.

‘I think I met a Sam Harris recently,’ said Josh from nearby.

‘My grandson,’ Rose told him in a proud tone.

Josh nodded. ‘Nice guy. We were thinking about stocking some of your Willow Tree Hall cider here in the shop.’