A Merry Christmas at the Castle – Chapter One

Hello! How’re you?

Have you seen my recent release The Cornish Vintage Dress Shop?

You can buy it here

Or, read the first three chapters here

Anyway, I’ve stupidly decided to release two books in two months, so I’m already thinking about the next one! Coming 12th November is A Merry Christmas at the Castle. You can read the first chapter below and pre-order the ebook here.

Chapter One

“Eve, I need to talk to you.” Carlo’s voice called from the other side of the restaurant. 

Eve rolled her eyes. She’d just walked through the door. A glance at her watch told her she wasn’t due to start work for another half an hour, and already her manager wanted to speak to her. 

“I’ll be right there,” she called back. Eve dropped her bags on the closest table, careful to avoid the small fake pine trees wrapped in cheap tinsel. It was Carlo’s budget attempt at making the backstreet Italian restaurant look Christmassy. Eve swept her hair back into a low bun and walked through the kitchen to Carlo’s office. When she applied for the job at Carlo’s Calzones, Eve had expected the role to involve cooking. Instead, she was a glorified waitress who stepped in when the chef was ill. Three years studying Food Science at Reading University and this was all she’d amounted to. 

“Morning, Eve.” Eric, the chef, called to her as she walked past. He had swapped his chef’s hat for a red velvet Father Christmas one. Eve stopped herself from rolling her eyes again. 

The kitchen was already hot and stuffy, despite it only being ten in the morning. I Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday blared out from the radio and Eve fought the urge to throw it out of the front door and into the Thames. Since the first of December, Eric had tuned the radio into Christmas FM and festive tunes had echoed around the kitchen. 

“Morning, Eric.” Eve waved but didn’t stop to talk. 

“Eve, come in.” Carlo was sitting behind his desk in the office. 

There was no seat for her and so Eve stood in front of the desk, clasping her hands in front of her as she waited for Carlo to speak. It wasn’t unusual for him to call staff into the office. He had a very particular way of running the restaurant and liked everyone to know he was in charge. Even if that meant he did very little himself. 

“Eve, I’m afraid I have to let you go.” He took a drag from the vape he held in his hand. Eve winced as the sickly sweetness filled the air. She’d told him repeatedly that he shouldn’t be vaping inside the premises. 

“Let me go?” she gasped out. 

“Yes. The last couple of years have been financially challenging and I’ve had to make cuts.” He shrugged, refusing to meet her eye. 

“It’s three weeks before Christmas and you’re firing me?” Eve raised her voice. She’d worked for Carlo since graduating from University five years ago. 

“I’m sorry, Eve.” 

Without uttering another word, Eve stalked out of the office, back into the restaurant, and picked up her bags. This time she swung them at the stupid faux Christmas tree, knocking it onto the ground. She walked out of the restaurant and onto the icy street. Eve bit her lip to stop the tears which were forming in her eyes. It would do no good to cry. She went to pull her phone from her pocket, wanting to call her boyfriend. His comforting voice would help. Her fingers wrapped around the phone in her pocket just as it started vibrating. It was Rihanna, her neighbour and best friend. 

“Hi Rhi,” Eve answered. She took in a deep breath of the icy London air to stop her voice from wobbling. 

“Eve, Michael’s moving his stuff out of your flat.” 

The words echoed around Eve’s brain as she tried to make sense of them. Moving his stuff out of the flat? The flat they shared? Rhi must have been wrong. Michael would be at work by now. Eve had waved him off earlier that morning, kissing him goodbye, and wishing him a good day. 

“I’m coming,” she replied and put the phone down before Rhi could say anything more. It would all be a silly mistake and they’d laugh about it over a glass of wine and a takeaway tonight. The sickening feeling in her stomach knew the truth. 

The tube journey back to her flat in Stratford felt never-ending. Eve stared out the window, watching as they passed each station. Her mind was threatening to cave in, but she was forcing herself to keep going. Just a few more steps to her building. She took the lift to the fifth floor, where the door to her flat was wide open. 

“Michael?” she called. Her legs shook as she slowly entered the almost-empty flat. 

“Eve, what are you doing here?” Michael whirled around to face her. His eyes were wide. 

“What are you doing?” Eve asked, ignoring his question. 

“I thought it would be easier this way.” He shrugged. 

“What would be easier?” she asked. 

“Leaving you.” 

Eve stood open-mouthed, not knowing what to say.

“I think it’s best if I go.” He pointed towards the door and Eve nodded, unable to get any words out. Without a goodbye or a last hug, Michael walked out of the door. 

“Eve?” Rhi was standing in the doorway peering in at the desolate flat. Most of the furniture had been Michael’s. 

“He’s gone.” Eve felt a sob rising in her throat. 

“Oh, Eve. I’m so sorry.” Her friend walked over and wrapped her arms around her. 

“I lost my job, too.” Eve needed to tell someone. 

“Come back to mine. I’ll make you a cup of tea.” 

Eve allowed herself to be guided into Rhi’s flat across the hallway. She propped herself up against the kitchen cupboards whilst Rhi busied herself with making tea. 

“What happened?” Rhi asked. 

“Carlo’s struggling financially, so he had to let me go.” Eve’s voice sounded detached. 

“What an ass.” Rhi handed Eve a strong mug of tea and they made their way into the living room. “Hold on a minute. I saw something on Facebook this morning.” Rhi grabbed her laptop from the coffee table and pulled up her internet history. “Here. Look!” She flung the laptop into Eve’s lap. 

Eve squinted at the screen, trying to read the tiny writing. It was an advert for a private chef. 

“Rhi, I’m not a chef.” Eve went to hand the laptop back, but Rhi wouldn’t accept it. 

“No, but you can cook. We just need to tweak your CV.” 

Eve didn’t have the energy to argue, and so, an hour later, Rhi had ‘polished’ Eve’s CV for her and emailed it off with a cover letter. 

“I can’t believe you sent it.” Eve shook her head and took a sip of the coffee she’d made while Rhi was drafting the letter. 

“It’s only two weeks’ work. Do you want to spend Christmas alone? Or you could get this job and spend a wonderful Christmas up in the Scottish Highlands.”

“The Scottish Highlands?” screeched Eve. 

“Yes, didn’t you read the advert?” Rhi chuckled. 

“Rhi, I didn’t think you were serious when you first showed it to me!” 

“Oh.” At least Rhi had the good nature to look a little guilty before a huge grin spread across her face. “You’re going to Scotland!” 

“I haven’t got the job!” Eve argued. 

“Oh, but you will. Your CV is very impressive.”

“What do you mean?” Eve narrowed her eyes. She should have read it before she allowed Rhi to hit send.

“I embellished your role at Carlo’s.” Rhi shrugged.

“Rhi, what do you mean you embellished my role at Carlo’s?” Eve spoke slowly, enunciating each word. 

“I just tweaked your role at Carlo’s slightly and possibly didn’t mention that his restaurant is a backstreet Italian.” Rhi shrugged her shoulders and poured a handful of skittles into her mouth. 

“Rhi,” Eve grumbled. “Tell me exactly what you put on my CV.” 

“I said you were the head chef at an up-and-coming London restaurant which specialised in adding a modern twist to classic cuisine.” 

“Oh, Rhi.” Eve hid her face in her hands. “Maybe we should email them and retract my application.” Eve reached for the laptop. 

“Absolutely not. I will not allow you to spend the festive period sitting in that flat feeling sorry for yourself.” 

“I’m okay. If I’m honest, I’m more upset about losing my job than losing Michael.” Eve had been thinking while Rhi was lying on her job application. She and Michael had been drifting apart for a while now, but neither of them had wanted to confront it. 

“I never thought you two suited each other,” confessed Rhi.

“I know. It was just easy with him.”

“Anyway, enough about Michael. We should go shopping. It’s going to be freezing in Scotland at this time of year.” 

“I’ve not even got the job. Besides, I can’t afford to go shopping. I’ve got no income and I’ll have to cover Michael’s half of the rent.” Reality was dawning on Eve and she wanted to bury her head in the ground. Maybe escaping to Scotland was a good idea. 

“Give your notice on the flat and move in with me. I’ve got a spare bedroom.” Rhi’s tone suggested this was an instruction and not a suggestion. 

“That would be perfect. Thank you, Rhi.” As much as Eve treasured her independence and having her own space, she could hardly afford her half of the rent, let alone Michael’s. 

“Shall we email the agents now to let them know?” Rhi grabbed for the laptop again, and Eve agreed before she could change her mind and allow her pride to resurface. 

“Oh look, you’ve got an email.” Rhi had just hit send on the email to the letting agent. “It’s from the job we applied to.” 

“Rhi, I think we should email them and retract my application. My CV is a lie and I can’t cook for someone. My cooking isn’t good enough.”

“I think it might be too late to retract it,” Rhi whispered, squinting at the screen. 

“What do you mean?” Eve asked. It surprised her to find excitement bubbling away in the pit of her stomach. 

“They want you to call them to arrange your transport. Oh my gosh, Eve, you got the job!”

Eve stared blankly at the screen in front of her. This morning she’d woken up ready for another day at work. With Christmas three weeks away, she had planned to nip out to the shop between lunch and dinner service to buy Michael’s Christmas present. At least she hadn’t wasted her money on a pointless gift. She glanced at the clock on Rhi’s laptop. It was midday. Usually, she’d be flitting from table-to-table taking orders and bringing food out to hungry patrons. Instead, she was single and sitting in Rhi’s flat, contemplating taking a job in the Scottish Highlands. 

“Life can change in a matter of minutes,” Eve muttered. She was still staring at the screen. 

“Exactly. Do something a little crazy and accept this job. Eve, you’re an amazing cook. It’s two weeks cooking for a posh family.”

“Rhi, I can’t do this. I’ve only ever cooked for friends and family. You can hardly call making a few pizzas and pasta dishes at Carlo’s cooking.”

“Come on, Eve! Your food is amazing. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?” 

“I could make a mess of it and be forever blacklisted in the food industry.” 

“You’re so dramatic. You’ll be cooking for a family over Christmas. It’ll just be lots of roast dinners and various cold meats.” 

“But I’ve lied, Rhi! Well, you’ve lied for me. They’ll realise I can’t cook and throw me out.” 

“But you can cook! Eve, remember last Christmas when my oven broke? Michael was away visiting his family so you were spending Christmas Day alone. Without a second thought, you took all my ingredients and told me to enjoy the morning with my parents and you’d bring lunch over at midday. We all loved your food, Eve. I’m not just saying this because you’re my best friend. You’re an amazing cook and I know you can do this!” 

Eve thought about it. She was no stranger to throwing together last-minute meals, but that didn’t mean they were restaurant quality. But perhaps Rhi had a point. What was the worst that could happen? After all, she was already unemployed. Without allowing herself another second to think, Eve grabbed her mobile from the table and dialled the number of the agency that was arranging the job. 

“Hello, Peace, Joy and Love Catering Company. How may I help you?” The sound of a bored voice floated down the phone. 

“Hello, It’s Eve Merry. I applied for a role and I just received an email asking me to contact you to arrange transport.” 

“Oh, yes. Let me just pull up the information.” The woman’s tone hadn’t changed. Eve could hardly believe she was making such an enormous change so close to Christmas, and yet this woman was acting as though it was nothing. “Here we go. The client has offered to pay for transport, so we can book you on a train on Friday. It’ll be an overnight journey. You’ll arrive Saturday lunchtime, staff will settle you in, and then you’ll start work on Monday.” 

Eve reached out for a pen and paper. Thankfully, Rhi’s job as a freelance writer meant there was an abundance of writing pads and pens scattered throughout her flat. The conversation only lasted ten minutes and by the time Eve put the phone down, they had booked her on the Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William. Once she disembarked in Fort William, a driver would meet her and take her to The McLeod’s Castle. She had almost choked on air at the mention of a castle. However, her nerves settled when the woman told her there would only be a party of seven in residence. Eve had covered Eric in the restaurant many times. A party of seven would be easy. 

Eve took a deep breath as she put the phone down. “I’m leaving on Friday,” she whispered. 

“Oh, my!” Rhi gasped. 

“I can’t believe I’ve said yes to this.” 

“I can. Carlo’s Calzones was never enough for you, Eve. This is just the beginning for you. Perhaps this agency will keep you on. You could spend summer sailing around St-Tropez cooking on a luxury yacht!” 

They were getting carried away, but Eve wondered whether it would be a possibility. She was single and unemployed, there was absolutely nothing stopping her from travelling the world and cooking. At eighteen, when she joined University, Eve had big plans to cook on every continent. However, life had got a little too real when she graduated and had to find a job. It was a field where experience was everything and Eve had spent three years studying, when it seemed everybody else in the industry had spent three years working. It had felt like an answer to all her problems when Carlo offered her the job of waitressing and asked if she would be open to being trained up as cover for when Eric was off. 

“Are you listening to me?” Rhi interrupted her thoughts. 

“Sorry. What were you saying?” 

“We need to pack!” Rhi stood up, grabbing Eve’s keys from the coffee table. 

“Rhi, it’s only Monday.” Eve laughed. She’d be in the kitchen for the entirety of her stay, so she wouldn’t need to bring much with her. The agency had told her chef whites would be available for her at the property. She would work each day, but with breaks outside of mealtimes, so Eve only needed a few pairs of jeans and jumpers. 

Rhi stood with her arms crossed and her steely gaze focused on Eve. “I’m not taking no for an answer.”

Reluctantly, Eve followed Rhi back into her flat. She was shocked to discover Michael had even taken the chest of drawers, leaving all of her clothes on the mattress. He had bought the bed frame and so there was just a mattress left in the middle of the floor. 

“He must have been planning this for ages,” Rhi commented, looking around at the sparse flat. 

“I know.” Eve gulped. She’d been happily trundling on with life. Meanwhile, Michael was planning to leave. It was an eye-opener for her. She’d got too comfortable, and it was time for a change. Twenty-six was far too young to settle. 

“Come on, let’s move your stuff into my spare room. There’s no point in delaying.” Rhi grabbed Eve’s suitcase and started piling her clothes into it. It didn’t take long and the entirety of Eve’s clothes fit in one case. She spent most of her life in chef whites or her waitressing uniform and had little time for clothes. 

“I might have to lend you a few pieces,” commented Rhi. It horrified her to see just how little Eve owned. Eve cringed at the idea. Rhi’s taste was very different from hers. Rhi was confident and had enviable curves. Eve was the polar opposite. She decided not to argue. So long as everything fit inside her suitcase, she didn’t mind what Rhi put inside it. She glanced in the only mirror Michael had left behind and realised she didn’t look like someone whose boyfriend had dumped them on the same day they’d lost their job. Instead, she looked like she was excited about the future. There was a sparkle back in her eyes. Food had saved her once before. It could do it again.

“Do you not own any makeup?” The horrified voice of Rhi echoed in the bathroom. Eve laughed and rolled her eyes. She owed a lot to her friend. Without her, she’d be sitting on the rug in the living room eating a gallon of ice cream, and contemplating how to pay the rent.