Page 14 of The Cotswolds Christmas Fair

Jen laughed, but was rewarded by a steady stare from Reverend Pauline, and hastily altered her expression. This woman was not to be messed with, and Jen would bet that her church services were more interesting than most. She was about to ask if she was involved in the school, wondering if she knew Amy and George, but Lou had spotted something she was interested in and began dragging her away.

She pulled her to where a smiling woman was selling home-made children’s clothes. As they passed the tombola they waved at Ted, who was now on the other side of the stall, running the thing.

‘We’ve lost him for the night now,’ Jen muttered, trying not to feel too disgruntled.

‘I know, he’s so dedicated, isn’t he?’ Lou said. ‘That school are lucky to have him, I wish our deputy head was half as keen!’

‘Hmm.’ Jen couldn’t disagree, but she couldn’t help begrudging the time Ted was spending on this. It was her birthday, the friends were having a weekend to celebrate, he’d promised to be by her side if she bumped into Julia, but he was distracted by work.

She watched as a little boy looked hopefully at the tickets he’d pulled out of the barrel, his face crumpling as he realised that he’d won nothing. As his mum comforted him, Ted reached behind him surreptitiously and produced a teddy bear from a stash that he apparently had secreted there.

The little boy’s face was immediately wreathed in smiles as he clutched the bear to him, and the mum smiled gratefully at Ted, who nodded. Jen found herself smiling at this sweet interaction. There was no doubt that Ted was good at his job, good for the children and good for the school. It must be satisfying to know that you were making a difference to children’s lives like that.

She waved as she saw Lottie running over to the tombola, Michelle following her. They waved back, Lottie grinning widely at her before pulling her mum over to the stall. And Jen was happy knowing that, even if the little girl didn’t pick a winning ticket, she wouldn’t be leaving empty-handed.

Lou was cooing over some cute little dungarees as she chatted to the woman at the stall, and Jen helped her choose a set for each of the toddlers, one with reindeer on and one with elves.

‘Christmas Day outfits!’ Lou said, obviously delighted. ‘And maybe a Christmas card photoshoot too.’

‘Thank God there aren’t any bigger ones, otherwise you’d be buying a family set,’ Jen said.

Lou grinned. ‘That’s a great idea!’

The stall woman laughed. ‘I’m afraid I don’t have any that would fit you.’

Jen glanced around as Lou and the woman happily talked on. There was a stall selling sweets, with traditional glass jars filled with treats, colourful lollipops and all kind of festive goodies – candy canes, jelly Santas, chocolate-wreath jazzies and more. There were glass decorations, miniature snow scenes, handmade jewellery, festive cards and wrap. If it was Christmassy, it was there; this was more festive nonsense than Jen could stomach in a year, never mind a single hour.

A spicy tang drifted through the air, and Jen sniffed appreciatively, tracking it to a stall where an older, smartly dressed couple were busy serving customers. The board declared they were selling Jamaican patties, with a choice of beef, chicken or vegetable filling. Her red-painted fingernails matched his festive tie. Jen wondered idly whether it was worth picking up a couple to take back to the cottage in case she found herself in need of a late-night snack.

The most popular stall had a queue of cheerful people waiting for hot chocolates of various flavours and choosing delicious-looking handmade biscuits and cakes. If she hadn’t been so stuffed with sticky toffee pudding, Jen would definitely have been joining them. She heard a warm peal of laughter ring out from there, and realised that it was being manned by the lady from the café, Marnie, and the young girl they’d seen walking the dog.

Next to them was a stall selling wooden decorations – Christmas trees, reindeer, little light-up village scenes and decorations of all kinds to hang from the tree.

‘Let’s check this out,’ she said, pulling Lou over to the stall. There must be something there that her niece and nephew would like. ‘Ooh,’ she murmured as they got a closer look at the twinkling blue eyes of the man behind the stall. ‘He’s quite handsome!’

Lou giggled and smacked her arm. ‘I’m not looking; I’m married, thank you.’

Jen wasn’t married. Something about the stall-holder’s blue eyes reminded her of Train Guy, although this man was a little older. And she’d learned her lesson there.

The stall was full of beautiful things, from delicate keyrings to wooden bowls. But it was the row of Nutcracker toys that caught Jen’s eye, a brightly painted, gleaming row of figures in various sizes. She laughed as she picked up one that held a drum.

‘What do you think to this?’ she asked. ‘Maybe one each for Amy and George?’

Lou admired the toy. ‘It’s gorgeous. But George is only a toddler, isn’t he? I don’t think it would be—’

‘. . . said it’s Auntie Jen, look.’

A little voice cut through the general hubbub. Jen turned at the sound of her name and there, standing just behind them, was Amy, pulling on Julia’s coat and pointing and smiling shyly at Jen.

‘Auntie Jen!’ she said again, her voice more confident now, ringing with excitement. ‘We even didn’t know you were coming!’

Jen smiled down at Amy as her niece stared up at her, dark eyes wide and a smear of something that looked like chocolate on her mouth, still clutching her mum’s coat. Jen crouched, opening her arms and drinking in the solid warmth as Amy stepped into them.

Glancing over the little girl’s shoulder, she saw Julia, her face pale and mouth open. Gazing at her with wide, hopeful eyes.

Chapter Seven

At last Jen disentangled herself from her niece’s grip, the little girl immediately grabbing her hand and swinging herself back and forth, kicking out a leg that was encased in red woolly tights and a red welly. She talked on, unaware of the tension between the two sisters, who stood staring at each other.