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‘Tamara mentioned Eric Snead was poorly. Poor man, I like Eric. Jamie’s not had to do it himself, has he?’
Lucie laughed. ‘He couldn’t. For one thing, he’s too shy, plus he’s in overall charge tonight so he needs to be available. No, he got the lovely Jago to do it. Going down a storm apparently, especially with the yummy mummies. They were all shoving their little munchkins off his knee and demanding Christmas kisses for themselves under a sprig of mistletoe!’
Honor spluttered into her cocoa. ‘I wish I’d known when I was talking to Tamara earlier. I would have paid my fiver just to witness that.’
‘I know what you mean. If it wasn’t for Jamie, I’d definitely have Jago Pengethley in my stocking!’
CHAPTER27
‘DECK THE HALLS’ – TRAD.
The women walked the short distance to the lifeboat station for the carol singing, with Merryn bouncing along beside them. When the girl spotted Avril, who was holding Ivy by the lead and talking with Ciara Carmichael and her daughter Holly, she squealed and dragged Tracy over to join them. Honor was disappointed to see Father Christmas had shut up shop and the RNLI ‘grotto’ was now a temporary kitchen from which the mulled wine was being handed out. She would have loved to have seen Jago in his full Father Christmas regalia.
Tamara was marshalling the community choir to stand by the Christmas tree and lead the carols. Still dressed as a sexy elf and now being a bossy one too, she was passing out song sheets to anyone willing to risk the cold long enough to take their hands out of their pockets. Maisie, who was dressed more conservatively in her longer and warmer looking elf dress, had joined her husband, who was holding their little boy in his arms. Chris, in a smart overcoat, leather gloves and a pair of giant reindeer antlers, stood next to Brenda who, in turn, was arm in arm with the vicar, Verity. They all waved. Both Brenda and Verity looked frozen, despite their woolly hats and bulky coats. Alice hugged her grandfather to her and shivered in a pair of unseasonal denim cut-offs worn over thick tights. The singing couldn’t come a moment too soon. It had gone really cold, with that penetrating damp found by the seaside which gnawed into your bones, no matter how old or young.
Shoving her hands in her coat to keep them warm, Honor said to Lucie, ‘It’s a good turnout.’
‘There must be at least a hundred here,’ she agreed. ‘Ah, here’s my husband.’ Giggling, she added, ‘Ooh husband! Still haven’t got used to calling him that. Sounds far too grown-up for either of us.’ She held up her face to Jamie for a kiss. ‘You’ve done ever so well, babe. There are loads here. Let’s hope they throw some money in the collecting buckets. Come on, Honor, come and stand with us at the back. We can huddle against the wall of the lifeboat station, out of the wind. Plus, if our mouths are too frozen to sing, Tamara won’t pick on us!’
As Verity welcomed everyone and wished them all a Happy Christmas with a reminder of the Nine Carols service at the church on Christmas Eve, Honor looked around for Jago. He was tall so would be easy to spot, but she couldn’t see him anywhere. The wind got up and blew the halyards on the dry-moored yachts in the yard behind her. They clinked so hard it was difficult to hear what Verity was saying.
‘Oh good,’ Lucie said next to her. ‘She’s reminding everyone to donate generously. Oh, here we go. “’Tis the Season to be Jolly”. Got your song sheet, Honor? And we’re off. Ooh. Who’s that screeching?’
Honor giggled. ‘Marion Crawford. She thinks she’s Kiri te Kanawa but she can’t hit a note.’
‘She can’t knit either but she told us all Kaffe Fassett pinched one of her patterns.’ Trying not to laugh, Lucie gave a loud snort instead.
Jamie elbowed her. ‘Come on you two, you’re not even singing.’
Honor and Lucie looked at one another. When you thought about it, it was such a silly carol. ‘Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!’ they sang and burst into giggles.
‘Oh thank goodness, you’re here, Jago,’ Jamie said as the man slipped out of the back door of the RNLI shop. ‘Can you sort these two out? Think they’re on a sugar high. Far too much of Tracy’s hot chocolate, if you ask me.’
‘Well, she does sneak rum into it,’ Lucie explained. ‘And I had two.’
‘I must try it,’ Jago said.
‘Here, stand between me and Honor and then you can share a song sheet with her. I’ll snuggle up with my beloved.’ Lucie turned to Jamie and batted her lashes at him. He tried to look cross but a grin stole through and he kissed her.
Honor was embarrassed. She and Jago had had little to do with one another since the kiss at the German Market and now really wasn’t the time to clear the air. She thrust the piece of paper towards him and he held one side of it. They had to stand close together to see the words. ‘Sorry I missed you being Father Christmas. I hear you were a hit,’ she said, over the sound of the carolling.
His eyebrows rose so high they disappeared into his beanie. He bent to talk into her ear. ‘With one section of the population maybe. Not so much with the children. I had one kid slide off my lap when I gave him his present saying it wasn’t bicycle-shaped and I was a crap Father Christmas if I thought it was. Then he tried to pull my beard off! Wouldn’t have minded but Jamie had stuck it on with some kind of glue.’ He rubbed his cheek. ‘I am never,everdoing it again. Eric Snead must be a saint to do it every year.’
‘Oh dear,’ Honor said, reining in the giggles. There was an awkward pause. It occurred to her that she might not be the one he wanted to be with. ‘Avril’s at the front with Merryn if you want to sing with them.’
‘Why would I want to?’
Honor frowned. ‘I assumed you’d want to celebrate with your wife.’
Jago did a double take. ‘With my wife?’
‘Yes. Avril,’ Honor repeated, louder, as if he was stupid. Maybe the stress of being Father Christmas had got to him. Or maybe he’d been at Tracy’s hot chocolate too.
‘Avril’s not my wife. I don’t have one.’
Lucie prodded him. ‘Come on, guys. Sing. This is the fun bit.’
‘Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la- la!’ they roared.
