‘Fine. What do I need?’ Liv grabbed an apron and tried not to look petulant as she put it on.
‘Granulated sugar, whole milk, a tin of condensed milk and butter.’
‘Right.’ Liv turned in a couple of circles while she worked out where to go first.
‘And scales, a bowl, spoon, saucepan and a deep baking tray.’
‘Shall I put the oven on?’
Fraser laughed. ‘No, you don’t bake it.’
‘If you’re going to laugh at me.’ Liv fixed him with a hard stare. It was impossible not to take in his striking features: those eyes, strong jawline and sturdy physique.
He held up his palms as if surrendering. ‘Sorry. No offence meant. Ready?’
‘Obviously not,’ said Liv and she began amassing all the things he’d listed. She soon had everything laid out and she felt a bit like one of those TV chefs who has all the ingredients set out for them, although her pile looked a lot less orderly.
He explained what to do at each step and she melted the butter, sugar and milk together before adding the condensed milk and watched it vigilantly while it boiled. She feared it was going to come over the top of the pan at one stage but Fraser’s calming tones meant she held her nerve.
Before she knew it, it was in a tray cooling and she was helping Fraser with that evening’s far less demanding meal of asparagus and mint risotto, although Fraser was making a big thing about how adding the stock slowly was key to the end result. She was in charge of making a blackberry version of Eton mess, which was thankfully straightforward. And Effie was making a warm winter vegetable salad for the starter under Fraser’s guidance.
They served the starters but Dolly called them back. ‘Look at this,’ she whispered and she pushed the door into the dining room open a fraction. The guests were all chatting and they sounded jolly. The group of listeners all sighed in unison.
While the guests were eating their desserts, Fraser cut the tablet into cubes and Liv wrapped a few in greaseproof paper and tied them with some raffia they’d found in one of the boxes in the tower. The little parcels were rustic but cute. Liv and Effie delivered the packages to pillows while the guests chatted amiably over coffees and whisky in the library, and Liv felt like it was a job well done. The television was working again but there was nothing on worth watching. Instead Dolly and Effie told some tales by the fireside as everyone listened intently and Liv tried hard not to nod off. Kacey did some terribly fake yawns and stretches before announcing she was worn out and virtually dragged Aaron from the room, but it was the cue everyone needed to turn in for the night.
Liv was tired as she flicked on the bedroom light. There on her pillow was another little package of tablet and it made her smile to see it. She assumed Effie had left it there but when she picked it up she could see there was writing on the paper which read –It’s definitely nicer than fudge!It didn’t take a genius to work out who had done that. Liv pulled her curtains closed for the last time. Tomorrow, all being well, she could leave. But not until she’d told Fraser Douglas what she thought of him. The question was after three days in his company what did she think? That was something she would have to sleep on.
She opened the small, wrapped package of Scottish tablet, popped a piece in her mouth and savoured the crumbly sweetness. ‘Not bad, Fraser. Not bad.’
21
Liv was dreaming of being fed Scottish tablet by Fraser who was wearing a kilt and nothing else. She was abruptly pulled from her dream by something. She opened a blurry eye to see a shadowy figure all in black standing at her bedside.
‘Shitting hell!’ she said trying to reverse away, which was harder than you’d think. She was thoroughly wrapped in the quilt like a giant maggot and therefore not the most agile of things. By the time she’d squirmed as far as the other side of the bed she was worn out, but she was also far enough away to see that it wasn’t Janet the witch come for her soul; it was in fact Effie. ‘What are you doing?’ asked Liv, wriggling her top half out of the duvet and trying to calm herself down because her heart was still in fight-or-flight mode – the latter not having worked well at all.
‘Waiting for you to wake up,’ said Effie, her tone very matter-of-fact.
‘Mission accomplished.’ Liv patted the bed for Effie to sit down. ‘What’s up?’
‘I’ve had a message from John. He’s in danger.’
‘What’s happened?’
‘The refugee camp where he’s working was raided by gorillas.’
‘The hairy sort or the soldiers?’ asked Liv with a smile, trying desperately to lighten the mood.
‘I’m not sure,’ said Effie, frowning hard. ‘But he escaped in a truck.’
‘That’s a relief. Is he okay?’
‘I think so. But it’s frightened me,’ said Effie, her lip wobbling.
‘Of course it has. Come here.’ Liv opened her arms and Effie inelegantly crawled towards her. ‘It’s okay. I’ll get up and give you a hug, otherwise it’s weird.’ Liv untangled herself from the duvet and dashed across the cold floor and around the bed to embrace Effie. ‘He’ll be fine. He must know what he’s doing. Hopefully he’ll be home soon. If not you’re flying out there to meet him, aren’t you?’
Effie pulled away and wiped away a tear. ‘I’m scared.’
‘Of course you are. It’s horrible to think of people you care about in danger.’
