The Cosy Christmas Teashop: Cakes, castles and wedding bells – the perfect feel good romance. Caroline Roberts
Читать онлайн книгу.
are burnt out at the trip switch and I need to get a qualified electrician to check and repair that before I can turn anything back on for this section of rooms.’
There was a second of silence and a glare that would melt steel.
‘Well, that is just ridiculous … You are joking!’
‘I have the rooms ready for you right now.’ Deana was already there, giving the guest rooms on the corridor above them a check over right now. Ellie had made a plea for help, phoning after seeing the damaged fuse box. The rooms could have a quick refresh during the wedding service, ready for the wedding guests who should be in them for this evening. Needs must.
‘I knew I shouldn’t have trusted this tinpot of an organisation with the most important day of my life,’ Chelsea shrieked. ‘Can’t you just bring in a generator or something? I’m not moving now.’
‘That might work, but not in the timescale we have. By the time we could possibly get one hired and set up, you’d need to be ready and at the chapel. The only option is to move upstairs. I have staff ready to help you transfer everything across.’
‘Humph! Well, I shall be letting my contacts at the Daily Star know about this shoddy hole of a place. And … I have an old school friend that works at BRIDES magazine.’
Ellie could see all her dreams of the castle becoming one of the best wedding venues in the area tumbling before her very eyes. Bad press would be disastrous. She swallowed the knot in her throat, and was determined not to shed the tear that was forming in her eye. ‘Right, Chelsea, we still have an hour and a half before you need to be at the chapel. We can move everything up in the next five minutes. What are the most important things you need to move across with you? We’ll get right on with it.’ Ellie tried her best to sound professional, though her heart was pounding.
‘I cannot believe this. So, I’m going to have to move across to another poxy room in my dressing gown on my wedding day. It’s shambolic.’
‘Come on Chelsea, let’s just let them move our things. I don’t think we have a lot of time or a lot of choice.’ The head bridesmaid tried to coax her friend to get going and get on with it.
Just then the bride’s mother waltzed in. Ellie felt her heart sink even further.
‘Chelsea sweetie, what’s going on here? Have you been crying?!’ She then fixed a cold stare on Ellie, her voice turning to stone, ‘What’s happened now?’
‘It’s a problem with the electrics,’ Ellie felt her voice quaver, ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘Sorry isn’t good enough though, is it? You’ve made my poor daughter cry on her wedding day. We won’t be forgetting this … will we, Chelsea sweetheart. In fact, we might just have to sue … There, there.’ Her voice went back to a simpering tone. In her bold black-and-white mother-of-the-bride two-piece there was a definite look of Cruella de Vil about her.
Deana marched into the room.
‘Okay folks, apologies. But let’s just sort this out as quickly as we can, and get you ladies and everything you need, to the other rooms as swiftly as possible. They are all ready for you. Malcolm and Derek are here to take up what you need. It’s just one flight up the stairwell. The day can go ahead exactly as planned, and we have an electrician on his way at this very moment. So bridesmaids, your rooms should all be ready again for this evening. And Chelsea, be assured that the bridal suite for you and Kelvin is unaffected.’ Deana gave a calm, confident, we’re-in-control look around the occupants of the room.
Ellie managed a smile, but still felt a bit shaky. She was so grateful for Deana’s calming influence at times like this. She realized she had much to learn about dealing with a crisis. ‘Thank you, Deana.’
Ten o’clock. Crisis resolved, and less than an hour until the moment of truth when the ‘unicorn’ was due to make its appearance, ready to transport the bride down the castle driveway for the start of her big day. The weather was holding fine at the moment, though there was a forecast of sunshine and showers. Ellie had moved the girls, dresses and the equipment, worthy of a whole hairdressing salon, up and into their new rooms with the help of Deana, Derek and Malcolm. So, the bridal hairdo was all finished, and teased into perfect place. Please, please, please let it stay dry, at least until Bridezilla got back into shelter of the castle.
Ellie was stood anxiously on the castle steps. Once the ‘unicorn’ was in sight she was to go straight up to the bridal suite and fetch Bridezilla to be ready on the castle steps for collection. The unicorn entourage were to do a loop, out through the side entrance of the castle, up the hill and through the little hamlet. Ellie had even primed some of their neighbours to stand at the roadside ready to wave and cheer, as Bridezilla had wanted a Royal Wedding feel. They would then come back in to the estate through the very impressive wrought-iron gates of the main castle entrance, down the tree-lined avenue, to meet with her bridesmaids who were to be dutifully waiting on the same steps for her, along with her father. They would then all troop on up into the castle and to the chapel, where hopefully the groom would be ready, or else.
Crickey, there were so many things might go wrong with this part of the day’s events. Tractors blocking the road, animal antics, always unpredictable, Malcom and Derek – enough said. At least Lauren was in control of the action now, and a certain ex-jockey racing stable owner, apparently, which had put Ellie’s mind more at ease. She still hadn’t seen the final plan in action herself, but was assured it would be a hit with the bride.
Ooh look, there was something happening away in the distance. A rattle of carriage wheels maybe? Ellie wasn’t sure whether to be excited or distraught.
There was a small procession coming down the tree-lined driveway. Leading the way was a rather magnificent white horse, and as it neared, Ellie could see it had a very impressive horned head – certainly not the same papier-mache article that Malcolm had created. Leading the horse was a rather handsome chap that Ellie had once met in the village stores – ah, so that was Anthony from the racing stables then. He was in full riding attire, tight beige jodhpurs, smart navy velvet riding jacket, over a crisp, white shirt, and stylish cravat. In fact, he looked rather like a character out of a Jilly Cooper novel – wow. He flashed Ellie a broad smile as they approached the castle steps.
A small gathering had followed them along the driveway, including Derek and Malcolm who were walking beside a rather quaint wooden carriage, and guess who was pulling it – Patrick the Pony. Lauren, was masterfully driving the little carriage, holding the reins confidently, with a unicorn-horn free Patrick, who at this point anyhow, seemed to be behaving himself.
‘Good morning,’ greeted Anthony in a lovely, warm Irish accent. If that voice, on top of the white-stallion unicorn and the Colin Firth-style riding breeches, didn’t have the bride as putty in his hands, Ellie wasn’t sure what would. She began to relax, just a little.
‘Morning. Thank you so much for helping out at late notice. Right then, I’ll just go and fetch the bride.’ And off she dashed, feeling a little like Cinderella herself.
Across the courtyard she scampered, and up the stone stairwell to the second-floor suite of rooms that the bride and her bridesmaids were now in. She knocked, with her fingers on the other hand crossed behind her back. Here goes.
‘Who is it?’ came a bark from the far side of the door.
‘Just Ellie, we’re ready when you are Br …’ Ooh, she nearly let it slip, ‘Chelsea.’ She opened the door to be greeted by hair tongs and straighteners, nail varnish bottles open at precarious angles on the furniture, handbags, jewellery, discarded underwear, empty bottles of prosecco, half-filled flutes, bouquets in rainbow-coloured hues, a heavy scent of ladies perfume, and twelve very glamorous, if slightly (she was being kind) over-the-top, ladies, plus a ragged-looking hairdresser.
Chelsea