A Perfect Cornish Christmas. Phillipa Ashley

      ‘I’m sure we can find you something,’ Sam said. ‘When you’ve settled in, let Ellie know if you want to join in, or give one of us a call.’

      A few of the younger committee members went to the bar, and Troy vanished to the loo, leaving Scarlett next to Evie, while Aaron, Jude and Ellie chatted.

      Evie shuffled closer. ‘Are you feeling any better these days?’ she asked in a low voice. ‘Ellie’s told me that your mum and dad are still having a few problems, not that she’s shared the details – or that it’s any of my business.’

      Scarlett baulked at the open mention of their issues, however, Ellie had had to make some excuses for her behaviour the previous Christmas. Evie was so sweet and genuine that Scarlett didn’t mind too much. She was determined to be cheerful and show her festive meltdown had been a one-off, and besides, this was an opportunity to make a few enquiries of her own.

      ‘It’s OK, and you’re right, Mum and Dad are going through a difficult patch … um, do you know them well?’

      ‘Not very well. Obviously, your auntie Joan was a stalwart of the village. Such a clever lady. I loved her books.’ Evie winked. ‘She used to give me a signed copy when a new one came out, even the racy ones. Did you know about those?’

      ‘Joan didn’t think Ellie and I knew, but we found the copies hidden away even before she died.’

      ‘She was one of a kind, was Joan. So refined and ladylike but with a wicked sense of humour, and very open-minded.’

      ‘Hmm …’ Scarlett replied, wondering if it was an open secret that Joan had been having a relationship with her ‘handyman’. ‘We all loved her to bits and miss her a lot, especially my mum … she used to spend a lot of her time here, particularly when we were young.’

      ‘No wonder. Seaholly Manor is a beautiful place.’

      ‘Mum found it peaceful and soothing. With my dad working away such a lot, she liked to bring us here for holidays when we were little … and she used to come with Ellie before I was born.’ Scarlett felt like she was treading on wobbly stepping stones, not sure if she should venture any further. ‘Do you remember those days? Mum says they had a lot of fun.’

      ‘Gosh, I remember the parties, not that I went to any of the wilder ones. Me and Troy were too busy bringing up Aaron and Gemma. I was Joan’s age, so still a lot older than your mum, obviously.’

      ‘Wild parties?’ Scarlett gave a laugh. ‘That doesn’t sound like Auntie Joan,’ she joked, knowing her great-aunt had loved entertaining but intrigued to know what Evie meant by ‘wild’.

      ‘Oh, she had a few at the manor with her arty friends from London, authors and artists and such like. She’d host them and invite all and sundry from the village … I could have gone, but they weren’t Troy’s scene, as you can imagine. They went on late. Joan’s friend – Lawrence Guise, the gardener – said Joan would stay up until late but the younger ones would party ’til dawn on the beach in the summer.’

      ‘Sounds like a real blast.’

      ‘I do think some turned a bit on the lively side … you know, wacky baccy, skinny dipping and shenanigans in the dunes …’ Evie’s eyes glittered with mischief. ‘Like I say, I only heard the gossip. You should ask your mum about it all. I’m surprised she hasn’t told you more about it already.’

      ‘She probably didn’t want to be a bad influence on us,’ Scarlett replied, dying yet dreading to hear more of the juicy details.

      Evie giggled. ‘Oh, go on. I bet you’ve done some stuff you don’t want to tell her.’

      Scarlett smiled. ‘We all have to have a few secrets, don’t we?’ She tried to make it sound light-hearted, but she felt disturbed by Evie’s revelations. Had her mother been involved in some of the ‘shenanigans’?

      ‘I doubt very much she’d have been involved, with you little ones to look after, and anyway, I don’t think Joan had that many really rowdy dos after the seventies. She was growing out of all that herself.’

      Troy arrived back from the gents.

      ‘Sorry I’ve been a while. Pickled herrings for lunch. I love ’em but they play havoc with my digestion.’

      ‘That’s way too much information, Troy!’ Evie cried. ‘I think we should be getting home. My knee’s stiff. I had a new one in the summer,’ she told Scarlett. ‘Come on, you old devil. Take me home.’

      Ben and Zennor left the pub along with Troy and Evie, and shortly after, Sam and Gabe finished their drinks and went home too, which left Ellie and Scarlett alone with Aaron and Jude.

      Scarlett wasn’t sure how much she’d really learned about her mother’s past other than that Joan’s parties were even ‘wilder’ than she’d imagined, by the sound of them. Short of asking Evie straight out if she’d known if her mum had shagged anybody local, she couldn’t see how she was going to get that much further forward.

      With the departure of some of the others, Jude had moved from the stool to the bench seat next to her. While Ellie and Aaron chatted away like old mates, Jude was much quieter. Scarlett had only met him once before and the previous occasion had hardly been conducive to small talk.

      Scarlett was gradually adjusting to seeing him minus his ears and thinking of him as an ordinary bloke rather than the elf man who’d rescued her. However, ‘ordinary’ perhaps wasn’t quite the word for him. His hair was thick and bleached into many shades of blond by the sun, but his eyes were his most striking feature by far. They were green, but not some common or garden hazel colour but actual green flecked with amber. So maybe he was one of the elf people after all. Scarlett stopped herself from laughing just in time …

      ‘Everything OK?’ he asked.

      ‘Why?’

      ‘You were away with the fairies for a moment there.’

      She almost choked on her gin. He could read minds, too. She laughed. ‘Sorry, I was only thinking how strange it is to be here in Porthmellow after all that’s happened.’

      He thought before replying. ‘Tonight must have been a baptism of fire. It took some guts to walk in with us lot here. Assembled Do-Gooders of Porthmellow.’ He added a gentle smile and Scarlett, expecting to be embarrassed at the reference, instead felt relieved that he’d mentioned it in a low-key and humorous way that she could live with.

      ‘I never thought I would come back, to be honest. And there’s nothing wrong with doing good. I just didn’t expect to be on the receiving end of it.’

      ‘There’s no shame in needing help. Ellie said you’d had a bit of a family crisis on Christmas morning. Please, you don’t have to tell me any more. Unless you want to, of course, but I’m guessing you’d rather forget the whole thing?’

      ‘Walking into the pub in my slippers, yes. Unfortunately, the other stuff is more complicated.’

      ‘Things always are.’ Jude had a wistful look in his eye, then he smiled. ‘Your glass is empty. Another one?’

      ‘I’ll have a small G&T, thanks, but let me pay. I insist.’

      Jude nodded. ‘OK.’

      Aaron and Ellie still had half-full glasses, so Scarlett went to the bar and returned with Jude’s half a bitter and her gin. They chatted about her job and she told him some of her plans.

      ‘Did Ellie tell you Zennor and Ben run a graphic design company? They might need a copywriter. It’s worth asking them. Probably only small clients, but still.’

      ‘Any new client would be good, but I’d feel awkward about approaching them for work when I’ve only just met them …’

      ‘They wouldn’t mind at all. I’m not sure they’re swamped with top copywriters like you in Porthmellow.’