Beatrice looked around with interest. A huge tree sat in the centre of the yard, decorated but unlit; there was a kiosk with a chalkboard sign on it advertising The Grinch’s Grotto, pony rides and various other activities; and there were several barn-type buildings, as well as the farmhouse.
A woman wearing scruffy jeans, wellies and an oversized hoodie, emerged from one of the buildings, and Beatrice recognised her as the woman who’d won the farm in a raffle. The farm had originally belonged to Walter York and had been in his family for generations, but rumour was that he’d been in financial difficulties, with the result that the farm had been raffled off. Beatrice had bought a ticket, but it was Dulcie – a complete newbie when it came to farming – who had won it. She seemed to be coping alright now though.
‘Beatrice? I’m Dulcie.’ The woman hurried forward, holding out a hand.
Beatrice shook it nervously, suddenly feeling overdressed. She knewofher (how could she not, with Picklewick being so small?) but they’d never actually met, and she wasn’t sure what to expect.
Dulcie said, ‘Come through into the kitchen. I don’t know about you, but I’m gasping for a cuppa.’ She strode towards the farmhouse and Beatrice followed, picking her way carefully over the muddy cobbles.
‘Tea or coffee?’ she asked, after inviting Beatrice to take a seat at the chunky oak table in the kitchen.
‘Nothing, thanks,’ Beatrice replied, gazing around her in awe. This wasn’t how she expected a farmhouse kitchen to look – this was something out of a cookery show on TV.
Dulcie noticed her interest. ‘This is Otto’s domain, not mine. He owns The Wild Side in the village.’
Beatrice knew who he was.Everyonein Picklewick knew that Otto York had been a renowned London chef. She also knew that he’d grown up in Picklewick and used to live on this very farm. But that was as far as it went – he had been a couple of years below her in school, so she hadn’t had anything to do with him, and then he’d moved away and had made a name for himself. Like someone else she could mention, she thought, then gave herself a silent telling off – she was in the middle of a job interview, for Pete’s sake! Now wasn’t the time to be reminiscing about old boyfriends.
‘It’s nice,’ she said, dragging her attention back to the present, her eyes roaming over the stainless-steel units.
‘We’ve only just had it installed. You should have seen it before! Anyway, are you sure you don’t want a drink? I’m having one, and I’m also going to have a red velvet crackle cookie. Otto’s been experimenting with a festive version.’
‘Okay then, thanks. Tea, please.’
Dulcie was really down to earth and as Beatrice sipped her tea and nibbled on her cookie (which really was rather moreish),Dulcie filled her in about the shop, which was also new, having only opened a couple of weeks ago.
‘I can’t manage everything by myself,’ she explained. ‘The business is really taking off, and I’m struggling. If you’ve finished your tea, let me show you around. We’ll start with the shop first, since that’s where you’ll be working.’ She led Beatrice outside and they walked back across the yard, towards one of the outbuildings. ‘We sell fresh produce such as goat’s milk, cheese, eggs and any fruit and veg that are in season and we’ve got a surplus of, so that can vary from week to week – day to day, even.’ She came to a halt outside a door and pushed it open.
Beatrice scanned the room – a chiller, a counter, shelves… Everything looked clean and tidy. Festive bunting was draped around the walls and fairy lights twinkled behind the counter.
Dulcie said, ‘We milk the goats every day, although the yield isn’t great at this time of year and neither is egg production, but we’re hoping the Christmas bits and pieces will make up for it. We’ve got handmade soap, lotions and potions, biscuits, pastries, savouries, milkshakes, soups… And we’re hoping for a good turnout tomorrow for the first of our Christmas Wonderland events, and we’ve got lots of things planned. You might have noticed a sign for the Grinch’s Grotto?’
Beatrice nodded, her eyes everywhere, and she felt a spark of excitement. She could really see herself working here.
‘Come on, I’ll show you the rest of it.’
The restconsisted of a barn with goats, a sheep, chickens (who were roaming free), a couple of Shetland ponies (borrowed from the stables down the lane), and rabbits. A fantastic grottowhich was very in keeping with the Grinch’s story, was in another building, along with a creative area where kids could make Christmas crafts, and a kitchen.
Dulcie said. ‘We’ll be selling mulled wine, soup, coffees, hot chocolate and anything else Otto dreams up.’
‘You said the hours are negotiable?’ Beatrice asked hesitantly, guessing they wouldn’t be as negotiable as she would need them to be.
‘What hours can you do?’ Dulcie asked, and when Beatrice told her, she said, ‘I’m sure we can work around that. When can you start?’
‘Whenever you want.’
‘How about tomorrow?’
‘But you don’t know anything about me!’ Beatrice protested. Dulcie hadn’t asked how she would deal with an awkward customer, or about her strengths and weaknesses, or any of the other questions she had anxiously expected.
‘Walter, Otto’s dad, does. He knows your father and he vouched for you. Besides, it’s more important to me that we get on. I don’t care about retail experience. What I care about is personality.’ Dulcie beamed at her. ‘So,canyou start tomorrow?’
‘Absolutely!’
‘Fab. See you in the morning. By the way, you might want to dress down a bit.’
Beatrice glanced at her blouse and trousers, caught Dulcie’s eye, and the two of them burst out laughing. She was going to like working here!
‘Mummy has got some news,’ Beatrice said to Sadie later that evening as she pulled back the covers for her daughter to dive into bed. She had already told Taya, who hadn’t expressed much interest.
