Page 18 of Cupcakes and Kisses in Micklewick Bay
ELEVEN
Tuesday morning found Jasmine fizzing with nervous energy thanks to her upcoming meeting with Lady Caro.
Once she’d dropped Zak and Chloe off at school, she hurried back home where she rushed round, loading a pile of clothes into the machine ready to set away on her return.
The client who’d ordered the cruise ship birthday cake had been and gone – another satisfied customer, who’d declared Jasmine’s design stunning.
Keeping busy had kept her mind occupied rather than sitting around allowing her anxiety to bloom while she waited until it was time to get ready for her appointment at Danskelfe Castle.
Uncertain of what to wear to meet a member of the aristocracy – and with a wardrobe that was distinctly casual – Jasmine opted for her newest pair of green cargos, teaming them with a white shirt.
She eschewed her favourite Converse for a pair of chunky brown leather sandals on the grounds that her faithful plimsols were now on the shabby side.
She gave her eyelashes a quick sweep of mascara followed by a smudge of green eyeliner on her lower lids.
After running her fingers through her hair – that was, for once, free of all traces of edible glitter and the stickiness of icing sugar!
– all that was left to do was scoop up the folder of photos she’d gathered together of her cake commissions so she’d have something to show Lady Caro, and she was good to go.
Once in the car, she threw the folder onto the passenger seat beside her then dropped her bag into the footwell, a background thrum of nervous anticipation running through her.
She pushed the key into the ignition and turned.
A reluctant ‘pfft’ followed. Jasmine’s heart lurched.
She repeated her actions a further three times before the old banger spluttered indignantly to life and proceeded to kangaroo hop to the end of the road.
She’d almost reached the junction by the Micklewick Majestic Hotel when the car juddered dramatically before grinding to an abrupt halt and thrusting her forward.
‘No! Don’t do this to me. Not today, of all days!’ Jasmine tried the ignition several times, but the car refused to come back to life.
She put her head in her hands as panic rushed through her.
She wasn’t going to be able to get to Danskelfe; she’d have to cancel her meeting with Lady Caro after all.
She groaned and flopped back in her seat just as the noisy beeping of a car horn sounded behind her, making her jump and reminding her she was in the middle of the road.
‘I haven’t stopped here on purpose!’ she said, throwing her hands up frustratedly as the driver swerved round her.
Gathering her thoughts, she drew in a slow breath.
‘Just calm your jets, Jasmine. Don’t give up so easy.
You need to think straight, there’s bound to be a solution,’ she said out loud.
Her mind started running through any other options of getting to Danskelfe.
She ruled out a lift from her mum straight away since she was covering her shift with Spick ‘n’ Sparkle, and her dad was out of the equation since he was working a shift on the buses.
Gnawing on her bottom lip, the next idea to come up was the possibility of catching a train to Danskelfe; Jasmine knew there was a stop at the nearby village of Lytell Stangdale but she wasn’t so sure there was one at Danskelfe itself.
Getting the train timetable up on her phone revealed that even if there had been a stop at Danskelfe, the station was miles away from the castle.
And besides, the next one in that direction wasn’t until early afternoon and would involve a change at Middleton-le-Moors.
As for taking the bus there, that would involve a lengthy journey with numerous changes ‘Ugh! That’s no good, it’d be tomorrow by the time I got there! ’
She massaged her temples where she could feel a headache brewing, at a loss for what to do next.
Just as she was considering calling Lady Caro to rearrange their meeting, a succession of beeps from a car horn pulled her out of her thoughts.
‘Jeez!’ She glanced in her rear-view mirror, her eyes locking with local wide-boy, Dick Swales – or Dodgy Dick as he was known in town – smirking at her from his fancy four-wheel drive.
‘All right, all right! I’m not sitting here for the fun of it, you know!
’ She turned the key in the ignition again, but was met with nothing.
Just as she expected, the car behind beeped again.
‘Argh!’ Jasmine opened her door and climbed out just as Dodgy Dick manoeuvred his vehicle around hers, before driving off, Wendy, his bouffant-haired wife, treating her to a mocking smile.
Jasmine couldn’t dislike the slippery businessman and his wife any more if she tried.
They’d been pestering Florrie and Ed to sell the bookshop to them with the intention of converting it into a hair salon and beautician’s.
It hadn’t gone down well when their offer had been refused and a campaign of intimidation had followed until Dick and Wendy finally got the message, which had taken some considerable time.
Since then, all friends of the bookshop owners’ were treated with the same disdain by Dodgy Dick and his wife. Not that Jasmine could give two hoots.
With the shiny four-wheel drive disappearing around the corner, she turned her attention back to her predicament. She needed to find a solution, and fast.
‘Morning, Jazz, you okay?’ Florrie’s voice interrupted her musings.
Jasmine turned to see her friend standing alongside Ed who had their black Labrador, Gerty, on the end of a lead.
‘Hiya, Jasmine. Looked like you were miles away just then.’ Ed grinned at her, brushing his dark, floppy fringe off his face.
‘Oh, yeah, hi.’ Jasmine gave a small smile. ‘My car’s finally given up on me.’ Gerty nudged her knee and she bent to ruffle the Labrador’s ears. ‘Now then, lass.’
‘But aren’t you supposed to be heading over to Danskelfe for a meeting with Lady Caro later this morning?’ asked Florrie, looking slightly alarmed.
‘I am.’ Jasmine rubbed her brow with her fingertips. ‘I was just trying to work out how I could get there but neither the bus nor the train’ll get to that part of the moors on time. I’ll have to cancel.’ The thought made her heart slump.
‘ What ?’ said Ed.
‘No way should you cancel, Jazz! You’ve been looking forward to this meeting,’ said Florrie.
‘I don’t have a choice, everyone’s busy or at work.’
Florrie pushed up the sleeve of her cardigan and checked her watch. ‘Right, what time do you need to be there?’
‘Eleven o’clock. Why?’
‘I can take you.’ Florrie nudged her glasses up her nose.
‘But what about the bookshop?’
‘Leah’s in first thing, and I can call my mum, ask her if she can pop in a bit earlier; she won’t mind, she’ll be happy to help, especially once she hears the reason.
And it’s not as if we have any events on or school visits today.
Ed’ll still be able to crack on with the window displays.
I do believe a hammock is going to be included in one of them, isn’t that right, Ed? ’
‘If I tell you that, it’ll completely spoil the surprise.’ The window displays were always hidden behind a thick curtain, and only revealed once they were fully complete.
‘I’d better warn you, if a hammock is included, I make no apologies if I’m tempted to climb in it,’ said Jasmine.
‘We’d have no problem with that, Jazz,’ said Ed.
‘As long as you don’t snore,’ added Florrie.
‘’Fraid I can’t guarantee that.’
Ed’s displays in the double-fronted bookshop’s windows had become legendary in the town, with each one declared better than the last. Florrie’s partner had previously worked as an artist and dressing the windows had allowed him to set his creative talents free.
It had also generated a huge amount of interest for the bookshop, thus increasing their trade.
‘So, is it a yes for the offer of a lift?’ asked Florrie, bringing the subject back to Jasmine’s current predicament.
Jasmine glanced between Florrie and Ed, her friend’s suggestion running through her mind. ‘But?—’
‘No buts. And don’t forget I did tell you on Friday, if you wanted any company to just holler.’ Florrie grinned, hitching her eyebrows.
‘Looks like I’ve got some company, then.’
‘Fab!’ Florrie beamed at her.
‘First, I reckon we need to get your car out of the middle of the road,’ said Ed, watching a driver slow down, craning her neck as she drove by Jasmine’s abandoned vehicle. ‘And if you leave the key with me, I can get in touch with the garage for you, if you like? Get them to collect it.’
‘Um…’ Concern for the potential cost of getting her car fixed was jostling for priority with being late for Lady Caro.
‘Come on, let’s get cracking, missus.’ Florrie patted Jasmine’s arm, breaking in to her thoughts.
‘You get in and release the handbrake, we’ll push.
’ She headed to the rear of the car where Ed had positioned himself, while Gerty looked on from where he’d hooked her lead over the railings of the Micklewick Majestic.
‘Thanks for this, Florrie.’ Jasmine pushed her sunglasses back and gazed out of the window as they took the turn for the moors, following the road sign that directed them to the villages of Lytell Stangdale, Arkleby and Danskelfe.
A clear blue sky spread out before them, with the undulating moorland and verdant green fields drenched in sunshine beyond.
She released a sigh. The background thrum of stress had shrunk back to its familiar level and now only a trace of her earlier headache lingered. She could cope with that.
‘Hey, it’s no problem at all, flower. I haven’t exactly made a secret of the fact that I’ve been desperate for an excuse to head back to Danskelfe Castle since our sleigh ride at Christmas.’ She flashed Jasmine a smile, her brown eyes hidden behind her prescription sunglasses.