‘Nora Sharp might be coming to Damson Day!’
I gripped the arms of my chair with both hands and tried not to swear out loud.
‘What?’
‘I know!’
While Alice and Becky watched a clip of a video on Alice’s phone, drowning out the audio with their increasingly overdramatic exclamations, I held on tight and waited for the world to stop spinning.
‘You don’t look thrilled, Eleanor. Why aren’t you excited about this?’
‘Um. She’s just a person… Damson Day is about Ferrington. And I can’t see her bothering to come all this way for what to anyone outside the village is a glorified country fete.’
‘Er, hello?’ Becky was baffled by my response. ‘It’s also about raising money for the bridge, which means raising the profile of the events. If millions of people hear about us, then loads of them will come to other events. Who knows what it might lead to? Never mind the boost to Damson Farm Retreats. This could be exactly what we need to get the business off the ground!’
‘Plus, she’s posted about it in advance, so even if she doesn’t come, we’ll probably end up packed out on the day,’ Alice said, eyes round with animation.
‘Do we want to be packed out with strangers on the day?’ I asked.
‘If they’re spending money, then yes!’ Alice grabbed Becky’s sleeve. ‘Maybe we should start selling tickets. Or limit numbers somehow? Can we do that at this late stage? I should probably speak to Daniel and see what he thinks. Check out the guidelines on crowd control.’
‘Daniel hates Nora Sharp.’
They looked at me, faces full of hurt and bewilderment that I wasn’t jumping for joy.
‘Have you seen her reviews? Nora Sharp turning up is probably the worst thing that could happen. Daniel will be furious. Everyone will be fawning over her, taking all the focus off what the day is meant to be about – building something wonderful for this community. She’d hijack Damson Day and with one careless comment destroy our business before it’s even started.’
I pushed back my chair and, heart stuttering, on the brink of hysteria, I fled.
* * *
I was in my bedroom rewatching Lucy/Nora’s video for about the dozenth time. She’d been pretending to scroll through invitations, listing her ‘options for the week’. It had included new restaurants, an album launch and a bespoke cruise around the coast of Ireland. Then, right at the end, she’d added one more.
‘Now, what’s this? Damson Day. Oh my goodness, it’s like some retro country fair! I’ve half a mind to go simply because they had the guts to invite me. And come to think of it, it might be a nice change from nine-course tasting menus and small talk with impossibly rich people…’
There was a tap on the door. ‘Can I come in?’ Daniel asked.
‘Yes.’ I shuffled into a sitting position and pushed the straggles of hair off my face while Daniel took a seat on my bed, depositing a mug of tea and a raisin scone on the bedside table.
‘Becky told me what happened.’
I sighed. ‘What, that I ruined their celebratory moment by freaking out and then ran away?’
‘That you shared some understandable concerns about a horrendous D-list celebrity derailing the day.’ He shuddered. ‘The thought of her flouncing about insulting everything we’ve worked so hard on – it makes me seethe, and she’s not even here yet.’
I plastered on a watery smile. ‘She wouldn’t criticise while she was here. It’d be all fake smiles and mock politeness. But it only takes one wrong sentence from her and people will end up feeling crushed.’
‘I’m not so bothered about what she writes. People know what she’s about. I’m more annoyed that she’ll be stressing out the people who’ve been working so hard to make it a success.’
‘Well, if she was rude then it might unite the sides with a common enemy for once, help them forget how much they’re meant to hate each other.’ I sighed. ‘She isn’t going to come, anyway. I just hope Alice and Becky aren’t too disappointed.’
Daniel gently took hold of my hand, looking carefully into my eyes. ‘Why did you hide up here, instead of talking it out with them?’
My heart began to pound, and not because his eyes were so soft and kind.
‘I think I got overwhelmed by everything. This is your family farm. If the retreat doesn’t work out, then I can find another way to earn a living. But I’ve turned your home upside down. I guess the thought of Nora Sharp tainting it with her toxic opinions felt like one pressure too many.’
‘I wondered if it might have triggered some panic about the stalker. Given that you and Nora are both reviewers, your subconscious could have made a link.’ He tugged gently on my hands. ‘Not that I see you and Nora Sharp as havinganythingin common beyond both having been food writers.’
