Christmas at the Little Clock House on the Green: An enchanting and warm-hearted romance full of Christmas cheer

‘Rescuing you wasn’t enough? You want conversation from me now as well? Interesting.’

‘It could be, yes. If you had anything to say, that is. Is there some sort of law that prevents us from—’ Emma came to an abrupt stop as a sudden thought occurred. ‘Oh, shit. I mean, sugar.’ Knightley Hall had looked all huge and stately, hadn’t it? All landed gentry, heritage-old. ‘Am I supposed to address you as Sir Jake or Sir Knightley, or something?’

Jake stopped and regarded her for a heartbeat before, with yet another shrug, saying, ‘Either is fine.’

There was that heart-spiking lift of his lips again before he resumed walking along the path and Emma realised he might possibly be playing with her. But on the off-chance she’d be causing some sort of international incident on her first full day as manager of Cocktails & Chai, she decided not to call him out on it, and really, how hard could it be to have a conversation without observing the traditional naming conventions?

As she scurried after him, layers of wool flapping in the wind, she tried to think of something to say but all she could come up with was, ‘I’d love to look around your home sometime.’

‘Really? And why is that?’

Um … Good one, Ems, invite yourself over to the gorgeous stranger’s house, why don’t you? Scrabbling around for something to add, she tried, ‘Because when I walked past it yesterday I thought that it looked absolutely beautiful.’

‘Beautiful?’

The white plasterwork separated with a grid of black wooden beams and the brown twisted fairytale vines running all over it, which she fancied was wisteria that would look stunning in the summer, was maybe more imposing as a structure than beautiful.

‘Handsome, then,’ she amended.

He cocked his head as if to weigh up her description and as they entered a wooded area, deigned to slow his pace a little. ‘Looks can be deceiving,’ he told her softly. ‘Trust me the inside of Knightley Hall is neither beautiful nor handsome.’

‘And it’s what’s inside that counts, right?’

He gave her an assessing look as if she’d surprised him and then nodded. ‘Not a polished concrete surface or a cinema room to be seen.’

‘I guess if your taste runs more to modern, then you probably can’t class it as beautiful, then, but surely it gets extra points for standing the test of time? There’s a beauty in that, isn’t there? Or is it not actually old at all? Maybe it’s one of those clever kit houses, that come flat-packed, and take only a team of four ten-year-olds to erect?’

‘What the… ?’ Jake offered her a horrified look. ‘No it is not a kit house,’ he said with a derision that had her wondering if he was channelling the late and great Alan Rickman.

‘When was it built, then?’

‘The original Tudor frame probably goes back to early sixteenth century.’

Emma’s eyes widened. ‘I guess the oldest houses in Hollywood were probably built around 1870.’

‘That’s close to when my family took over the Hall.’

His family had been in Knightley Hall since the 1870s? Emma couldn’t even imagine a family home existing since the 1970s. Her experience of family was that they often crumbled at the simplest of hurdles.

She snuck a look at her walking companion. All that time, one family, living in one place. Making history. Generation after generation. Maybe he was entitled to the slight odour of smugness that wafted off of him.

Oh, who was she kidding? The scent wasn’t smugness so much as it was cedar wood mixed with a hint of lemon and trying to ignore the way it kept teasing at her, making her want to keep pace and move in a little closer, she looked about the woods.

The smooth white bark on some of the trees had her wanting to reach out and rub her hand over the surface. They looked magical against the milky blue sky. She would have if she was alone, but she didn’t want Jake to think she was some weird tree-hugger.

‘So,’ he said, ‘I’m guessing you were in Hollywood for the same reason every other beautiful woman is there?’

‘Hark,’ she exclaimed to the woods, ‘for he initiates conversation,’ and then with a grin and a flutter of her eyelashes, looked up at him and said, ‘You think I’m beautiful?’

The eyelash fluttering didn’t go down quite as hilariously as she’d hoped, but she decided to think of the dull flush across his cheekbones as a blush rather than a rush of annoyance.

‘What I meant was, you’re obviously an actress?’

‘I am,’ she answered finding pleasure in being able to mimic his short, closed answers of earlier.

‘So then what are you doing here?’

Good question. ‘Resting?’

‘You don’t sound sure.’

Emma glanced down at her borrowed boots. ‘No, I don’t, do I?’ Why on earth had she said she was an actress when the whole reason she’d travelled thousands of miles was to prove she was capable of doing something she secretly suspected was far more difficult: managing a tearoom and bar? ‘I guess I need to see how this is going to work out first.’

‘Hedging your bets,’ Jake said with a grim nod.

‘You make that sound like a bad thing?’ It felt sensible to her. She’d put all her eggs into one basket before and hadn’t eggsactly got hit with the success stick.

‘Pardon me for hoping for Kate’s sake that you make it work out. I guess it’s too much to expect people will actually commit to something these days.’

‘Hey. I resent that. You don’t know anything about me.’

‘Apart from that you just admitted you had commitment issues.’

Emma stopped in her tracks. Her hands went to her hips in full-on umbrage-taken mode and she could feel the heat of embarrassment form two huge circles on her cheeks, making her wonder if she could look any more of a cliché. ‘Kate knew exactly what she was doing when she invited me here. I appreciate her faith in me and you can bet your “arse”,’ she added, swapping to full British accent, ‘I’m going to work hard. I intend to give this my all. I certainly don’t believe in only giving pieces of myself.’

‘Wow. When you use a British accent like that you sound so much more believable,’ he said, turning on his heel and walking away, his pace brisk.

Emma’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times like a guppy coming up for air. Thank God he had his hands full with all his ‘stuff’ because otherwise she was pretty sure he’d have added a slow hand clap.

‘Again, you don’t know me, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk to me like I’m some sort of flight risk. What?’ she called after him, ‘I have to have done something since the sixteenth century to be considered committed to a cause? You know what,’ she said scurrying to keep up with him again when he simply carried on walking, ‘maybe we shouldn’t speak to each other. Let’s flout society’s rules about polite conversation and not converse.’

‘Works for me.’

Emma started muttering under her breath about people who copped-out when a conversation wasn’t going their way.

‘Call me an idiot,’ he huffed out.

‘Idiot,’ she shot back and got a roll of his eyes for her effort.

‘But I assumed that your plan for not talking would actually involve less of this,’ he held up his hand and opened and closed his fingers to mimic a mouth talking, ‘and more of this,’ he said, finishing with keeping his fingers closed.

‘Oh, believe me,’ she hissed out, unwilling to let him have the last word, ‘the thought of respite from your incredible smug-self is definite motivation to stop talking.’

‘And yet …’

She delivered her most fierce death-glare and strode ahead of him.

He caught up with her in five steps and thank goodness, because she could see they were nearing the end of the woods and was she supposed to turn left or right at the end of them? He had her so flustered she couldn’t even think.

They’d taken maybe twenty steps in silence before he shocked her by saying, ‘You know if you really want to see something beautiful while you’re in Whispers Wood, you should take a look around Knightley Hall’s gardens.’

‘Really?’ She glanced up at him. ‘I’d be allowed to do that? What are your opening times?’ Darn. So much for not speaking to him.

‘The gardens aren’t open to the public – well not yet, anyway. I suppose I could give you a tour though. When I have time,’ he added, making it sound like he actually wouldn’t have the time any time soon.

She was just contemplating this when they cleared the woods and stepped out onto the village green. Without thinking she reached out and laid her hand on his arm to stay him and was quietly charmed when he instantly moved protectively in front of her.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, his gaze wandering across the village green.

With a sigh she stepped around him. ‘Nothing. This is my first real look at The Clock House, is all.’

And, oh, it was wonderful.

Three storeys of red brick house standing in regal Georgian fashion, its sparkly clean windows glinting invitingly, beckoning her closer.

She could almost hear the horse and carriages of old, driving up the gravel path.

‘It’s like something out of a regency romance,’ she whispered. ‘I can’t believe I get to work here.’ She couldn’t help herself. Feet no longer as cold as they had been, she went straight into a Happy Dance.

Jake stared at her. ‘You were first in line the day they held auditions for Pharell Williams’ Happy video, weren’t you?’

‘Ha-ha. And I suppose you’ve never busted out a few moves, have you? Or is rolling your eyes at the world your signature move?’

Instead of looking at the huge great big clock, he glanced at his watch and then back at her pointedly, ‘Are you going to celebrate the outside all day, or might you eventually want to go inside?’

‘Oh, I can’t wait to get inside. If it’s half as beautiful as the outside,’ she slid her gaze sideways to his, ‘and it’s what’s on the inside that counts, right? Well, then prepare for more dancing.’

‘I’m pretty sure Kate’s going to frown at you salivating all over the parquet flooring.’

‘I’m embarrassing you? Simply for gushing a bit about a building? Not a romantic bone in your body, is there?’

Those full lips of his pinched tight. ‘To coin a phrase I recently heard: Hey, I resent that. You don’t know anything about me.’

‘I know enthusiasm is anathema to you.’

‘Not at all. But not everything has to produce a larger than life and slap-you-about-the-face instantaneous Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God, reaction, either.’

She realised he didn’t believe or trust her reactions were real and opened her mouth so that the flames she so badly needed to shoot him down with could come out, but all that came out was a huffy-hoity, ‘Your American accent is atrocious.’

His hand went to his heart. ‘You wound me to the core,’ he said in a way that left her in no doubt that she couldn’t possibly. ‘Now are you coming or not? I’m not sure Whispers Wood is ready for you to dab your way across the village green, so you might want to save the celebrations for when you get inside the building.’

‘Hey, you know what would be great?’ she muttered, in hot pursuit as he set off across the village green.

‘What?’

‘If you didn’t provide a sarcastic voiceover in my ear as soon as I voice any kind of pleasure.’

‘Fine.’

And suddenly they were at the front doors and Jake was gallantly gesturing for her to precede him into the entryway.

Emma strode through the double doors and gasped, a huge grin forming as she took in the polished parquet flooring, the sweeping staircase, with the elegant antique writing desk tucked underneath, forming a welcoming reception area. As she lifted her head she took in the balustrade balcony area that must lead to the spa treatment rooms and co-working office space. Looking to her right two double doors had had their wood panels replaced with glass that had ‘Hair @ The Clock House’ etched in swirling white and gold lettering across them. Through the doors she got a brief, delightful, glimpse of chandeliers hanging over ornately framed floor to ceiling mirrors with elegant tables in front of them. The room was obviously still in the stages of being finished but, oh, wow.

‘It’s like out of a film set,’ she said, turning again in a slow circle.

She saw Jake shake his head at her. ‘Could you be more awe-struck?’

American, she thought he meant, but she was too happy to be offended. ‘Probably not. Oh, I love it. It’s like I’m in an actual real-life Regency Pump Room.’

And then she was turning her head to the left because that was where the tearoom had to be…

Oh, shoot! The double doors were closed so that she couldn’t see in.

‘All you need is an empire-line dress and you’ll be all set,’ he murmured. ‘It’s like you’ve found your people, only they’re not people, they’re old things.’

‘Hey, you said you’d be quiet.’

‘Did you know when you’re piqued you get this little wrinkle on the bridge of your nose? Maybe they have a treatment for that here?’

Her hand instantly came up to brush at her nose and she opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

Honestly, either he had her speaking like something out of a turn of century – the last century – novel or, he was making her feel like she needed the safety-net of a script to follow.

She clicked her fingers and said, ‘Oh my God, I’ve just realised who it is you remind me of.’

He looked at her as if he expected her to say some famous actor.

So her smile was extra-wide when she nodded and said, ‘Yep. Also lives in a wood. The Hundred Acre Wood.’

When he frowned she made an uncanny braying noise.

‘You are referring to Eeyore?’ he spluttered.

‘Well, what do you know, not just a hat-rack,’ she said pointing to his head.

She watched with satisfaction as his jaw dropped open and then in the next moment he was pulling in a breath and announcing loudly in a voice full of boredom, ‘Hello? If anyone cares I brought Hollywood with me,’ and just like that he was walking away from her.

Unbelievable!

Insufferable!

‘My name is Emma,’ she called out to his retreating back. ‘And thanks for the asinine conversation.’ With a mock curtsey and an embarrassed look around to check no one had seen her so easily dismissed, she headed off in the complete opposite direction to Sir bloody Mr Knightley.

Chapter 9

And the Fairy-Light Dawns…

Jake

‘Hi, Jake, did you say you’ve brought Emma along with you?’ Kate looked up expectantly from the tower of towels she was stacking in an ornately painted white and gold armoire.

‘I left her downstairs,’ he said, feeling a tad bad for abandoning her. He bent his head into an open box of bottles of lotion and instantly inhaled the heady scent of honey. It was calming which was good but then made his stomach rumble which wasn’t. Should have had a sneaky slice of Sheila’s cake before he’d come out. Or, maybe he should have brought the cake for them all to share. You couldn’t really call it a bribe if the baker was related to the client, could you?

‘Oh, hi there, Jake,’ Juliet said, entering the large storage room with more boxes, ‘is it meeting time already?’

‘I can wait if you need to get this done now?’ he automatically offered. ‘Or I can help?’ He glanced down at his hands. Okay, they were probably the last things Kate and Juliet wanted around their nice-smelling, beautifully packaged bottles and soft-looking towels but anything to get some breathing space from the pint-sized acting mixologist with eyes the colour of silver-grey brunia berries.

He wasn’t quite sure why she’d made such an impression. But from the moment he’d peered around Gertrude and seen her, it had been all he could do to keep his tongue in his mouth.

She was like a beautiful blonde woodland fairy blinking back at him.

Of course then she’d opened her mouth … and kept on opening it … In the category of chatting there was little doubt she could give head of the am-dram society, Trudie McTravers, a run for her money.

And he’d reacted to a little sass by behaving like a complete and utter arse.

What the hell?

It made no earthly sense.

Aside from the realisation he was close to getting sucked in by what was on the outside and then getting slapped upside the head with her unending enthusiasm for her surroundings that was. Oh, and that undeniably seductive life-energy that was practically vibrating out of her.

It was all very thought provoking, he decided.

Alluring? Maybe, he conceded.

Suspicious? Definitely, he concluded.

Because seriously, there had to be a little guile lurking in there somewhere, right? Where was the ‘what’s in it for me?’ And why was she really here in Whispers Wood? Who went from acting to managing a tearoom?

Then, suddenly, it was all making sense.

She had to be straight out of the Marlon Brando school of method acting and was obviously here to learn the ropes and soak up the lifestyle for a part in a film.

Okay.

So with that sorted there wasn’t any need to be any more curious, he decided.

Soon as she nailed how to pull a pint or how to perfect a British accent, which with her melodious voice already halfway to charmingly clipped when she’d said ‘arse’, wouldn’t be long, and then she’d be off.

Not that he was going to be around anyway, he reminded himself.

Phew.

Analysis and compartmen‌talisation complete.

‘We shouldn’t leave Emma on her own on her first day. I could give you both a quick guided tour at the same time,’ Kate decided. ‘I know you’ve probably come up with designs for our courtyard already, but maybe this would help give you an idea of how to tie in the aesthetics?’

‘Sure. Daniel not around?’

‘No, he’s out picking up some extra fairy lights,’ she explained.

‘Fairy lights?’

‘You can never have too many, I think. Especially with Christmas coming up.’

Right. Christmas. Fairy lights. Christmas lights. They all equalled one thing.

Celebrations.

Jake stared at a bale of towels. ‘I have a few boxes you can have,’ he offered without thinking.

‘Yeah?’ Kate closed the armoire doors and began flattening the cardboard boxes as Juliet unpacked them.

‘Yes. Two dozen to be exact.’ He grabbed a couple of the boxes and made short work of deconstructing them. ‘They’re all white though.’

‘That would be—oh,’ Kate broke off as the fairy-light dawned on why he might possibly be in possession of a small town’s supply of stringed lights. ‘No. It’s all right. You don’t have to do that, Jake. Honestly.’

The shrug was hard to pull off when he could hear the sweetness in her voice. ‘It’s not like I need them anymore,’ he stated.

‘Oh, but, you might want to decorate Knightley Hall anyway? You know, for Christmas,’ Juliet added, her voice super-kind, making Jake’s shoulders stiffen. This was exactly why he couldn’t wait to get out of Whispers Wood.

‘Bit tricky on a Grade I listed building,’ he insisted. ‘Seriously, now that they won’t be going up in the gardens, you’d be doing me a favour. One less thing to store.’

Kate smiled gently. ‘Well, let’s see how many Daniel finds, before I give you a definitive answer.’

‘Sure.’ He pushed the word out and tried to leave it nonchalantly hanging as he followed her and Juliet out of the room.

‘It’ll probably take him about half an hour to get back. You okay waiting?’

Jake thought about how if he nipped back home he could pick up the boxes of lights, get them out of the house and still get back in time to have the meeting proper. Then he thought about how getting this job might provide enough funds to fix the leaking roof before it suffered another year’s worth of winter damage and decided that a little oohing and ahhing over a full-ticket price tour was the better option. ‘Absolutely. Lead the way,’ he told Kate.

They found Hollywood in what was going to be her ‘office’.

She was gazing up at the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling rose in the centre of the room. The expression of magical delight on her face was the same one his nieces got when he remembered to re-arrange the fairy furniture in the stumpery before they visited.

‘Is this light an original fixture?’ she asked when they walked into the room, self-consciously removing her beanie and running a hand through her hair.

‘Depends what you mean by original,’ Jake muttered, as he watched the pale gold swathe of her hair swing free and settle gently around her heart-shaped face.

Kate threw him a worried frown and mumbling, ‘It’s absolutely gorgeous, isn’t it?’ walked over to hug Emma. ‘Welcome to your new home away from home. What do you think?’

‘Oh, only that it’s fabulous,’ Emma laughed, her eyes sparkling. ‘I mean, I don’t know exactly what the place looked like before, but the space you have now is amazing.’

Jake had to admit Emma’s enthusiasm was justified here. He’d worked on garden designs for some of the houses Oscar Matthews had renovated so he knew his friend did good work, but to be honest it was hard to believe this was the same room the village congregated in whenever Crispin Harlow called a Whispers Wood meeting.

Oscar had installed a stud wall at one end of the room, presumably so that a small kitchen area could be included behind it. The new wall was now kitted-out with dark-stained oak cabinetry that could give the hand-crafted mahogany bookshelves from the library at Knightley Hall a run for its money.

A couple of feet in front of that there now stood a stunning oblong bar. Oscar had mimicked the traditional Georgian design of the windows by making simple rectangular panels inset into the base at regular intervals and then painted it in thick cream gloss to match the architraving. The bar’s surface was a polished mid-tone marble that picked out the cream of the base and the darker stained oak of the wall shelves. A sturdy kick-bar and hand-rail in burnished copper had been fitted along the outside, and suspended above the bar was a series of small chandeliers surrounded by a glass and copper-piping racking system. A fresh lick of eau de nil paint on the walls and all the original features had been buffed, shined and polished.

The large reception room also now housed a selection of wooden tables and chairs that looked stackable for meetings or for Trudie’s am-dram productions.

‘I hope it’s okay I got started already,’ Emma smiled. ‘I wasn’t sure if you’d like refreshment for your meeting, but there’s already a pot of breakfast tea brewing or, I can make coffee, if you prefer.’

‘Tea would be gorgeous. Hi, I’m Juliet,’ Juliet said, reaching over with a warm smile to shake Emma’s hand. ‘Sorry I wasn’t around to meet you when you got here. It’s my cottage you’ve moved into. Did Kate show you where everything was? How it all worked?’

Jake watched the tiniest hesitation hover behind those brunia berry eyes and then Emma was smiling warmly and gushing, ‘Everything is perfect.’

‘You’re sure?’ Juliet queried maybe seeing the merest hesitation as well. ‘Heating’s a bit temperamental and I meant to warn you about the cats.’

‘Ah. I think I met one of them this morning. I woke up with the weirdest feeling like I was being stared at. Turned over, and discovered I was.’

Juliet laughed. ‘If it was a ginger Tom it was probably Aramis getting a quick look to report back how stunning you are. If it was a Persian and staring at you like he’d never met a stupider human, then it was Catty McCatface.’

‘It was definitely the second one.’

‘Sorry about Catty. He knows we’ve moved house, but,’ Juliet sighed, ‘well he’ll do anything to maintain his ornery rep.’

‘I probably shouldn’t try to make friends, then?’

‘God no, it’ll only make him laugh at you more. The best way to win him over is to pretend he doesn’t exist.’