‘There’s so much to take in,’ Molly said, not knowing where to start. Surely there was no way Bree knew that her mum had once worked at The Old Bakehouse and that that was where she had been trained by the best baker in the land? Surely, she would have mentioned it if she did?
Molly had quickly done her sums. If Lilian had left around sixteen years ago, then that was either at the time she was pregnant with Bree, or just before. But why would she run from the people who had offered her the world? It just wasn’t making any sense to Molly.
‘I’m just thinking aloud here, but if Barney Miller is one of the judges at this year’s competition, what’s going to happen if I bake this?’ He pointed to the chocolate slab. ‘He’s going to work out that I’m related to Ted and then think I’ve baked this to stir up trouble or prove a point.’
‘Do it!’ encouraged Dixie. ‘Ted was as honest as the day is long. There was no way on this earth he copied anyone. That recipe was created by Ted and Lilian together.’
Cam was unsure what to do. He needed to think this through, but if he wasn’t going to use the recipe, he needed to think quickly about what he was actually going to bake. ‘What do you think, Mol?’ he asked.
But Molly didn’t answer as she was lost in thought. Why had Lilian Allen disappeared that night? There had to be more to this story than met the eye.
Chapter Fifteen
The next morning, Molly and Cam were leaning against the radiator in the nursery with their arms folded, looking around the room. The past twenty-four hours had been more than an eye-opener for the pair of them and Molly had been kept awake by Cam tossing and turning all night wondering whether he had the guts to enter the competition with his Great-Uncle Ted and Lilian’s recipe if it had caused that much controversy before.
‘Are we going to be bold and give the nursery a lick of pink paint?’ asked Molly, looking around the neutral yellow room that had been untouched for nearly four years since George had moved into the bigger bedroom.
Cam’s eyes widened. ‘On Martha’s say-so? Are we really that brave?’ he asked, unsure whether that was the right thing to do.
‘She’s been right about everything else so far! What Dixie revealed yesterday was more than a scandal. A baker disappearing overnight, two more bakers somehow pinching each other’s recipes. You couldn’t write it, could you? And then I’ve got the two words that Bree said going round and round in my brain, but even I know it’s far-fetched thinking we might have the same mother.’
‘I have to admit, I’ve noticed you do have similar mannerisms,’ replied Cam. ‘But Dixie wasn’t aware that Lilian had any children. You’d think that if Lilian was so close to Great-Uncle Ted and was one of the family, that might have come up in conversation over the ten years she worked at the bakery.’
‘Would it though, if that child had been adopted? Would you bring up the past if you had made a fresh start?’
Cam thought about what Molly had just said. ‘Maybe, maybe not,’ he admitted.
‘You must have met Lilian at some point.’
‘It was during my teenage years. I’d discovered girls by then and hanging out at your grandparents’ house was a little uncool,’ he remarked with a glint in his eye.
Molly swiped his arm.
‘I’m joking. I was a shy boy. I probably said hello but didn’t stick around in the bakery as I preferred to be out on my bike or fishing,’ he added, redeeming himself.
‘What I don’t understand is why – if Lilian had a roof over her head, a good job and security after being thrown a life-line to pull her up from street life – would she up and leave in the middle of the night, with not a word to anyone?’
‘I’ve no idea,’ replied Cam.
They stood in silence for a moment before Molly turned to Cam. ‘Are you ready? We do need to leave for the hospital in the next ten minutes.’
He nodded.
‘How are you feeling?’ she asked tentatively.
‘Scared out of my wits. My stomach is in knots and I feel like I could throw up at any minute, but it has to be done.’
‘It does,’ she said, standing in front of him, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him tight.
Walking downstairs, they found Bree standing behind the counter looking proud in her apron. ‘I think there night be a few more customers today as the snow is beginning to thaw a little.’
‘You might be right. Are you up for the challenge?’
‘I am and I can’t wait,’ she replied, straightening the delicious-looking pastries in the glass cabinet.
‘George is with Dixie, but if things get too busy and you need help, ring her and she’ll be right over,’ said Cam, handing her Dixie’s number on a piece of paper.
‘I won’t let you down,’ she relied. ‘I’ve got this.’ The beam on her face was huge as she walked towards the bakery door and opened it wide. ‘Now don’t worry about a thing while you’re out. Are you going anywhere nice?’
