The Little Shop on Silver Linings Street: An absolutely unforgettable Christmas romance Read online

  Kit jumped off his chair as soon as Bertie entered, but she tried to ignore them both and turned her attention back to her customer.

  ‘And then you have something very different in style such as this emerald cut stone,’ she continued, showing the man another ring. ‘The stone is larger but they’re a little less… well, bling, and often appeal to people who like a more vintage look. I’m showing you two extremes of style deliberately as both rings say something very different. I think that’s a really important thing to consider when you’re choosing the ring for someone else.’

  The man smiled. ‘You can say that again, but that’s where I’m going to struggle.’ He pointed to the larger emerald cut diamond. ‘Suzanne has beautiful hands, long graceful fingers that would really suit a larger ring.’ He pulled a face. ‘And I would love her to have something like this – she’s definitely an individual rather than a follow-the-crowd sort of person – but I just don’t have the money for it.’

  Daisy hoped he would say something like that.

  ‘Then would now be a good time to mention that this ring is actually slightly cheaper than its brilliant cut, but much smaller, neighbour. Only by twenty-five pounds, but well, you could buy a bottle of champagne with the difference.’

  The man laughed. ‘Not very good champagne,’ he said.

  ‘No, well, diamonds I’m good with,’ she replied. ‘Champagne… not so much.’

  ‘I’m beginning to see that.’ He grinned at her, picking up the larger of the two rings. ‘Did you honestly just say that I could afford this? I’m not sure I quite believe it.’

  ‘Well, it’s true,’ she said, very aware that Bertie was watching her. She could see him out of the corner of her eye. ‘Brilliant cut diamonds are probably the most popular, which in itself pushes up the price, but they are also the most expensive because of the way they’re cut – most of the rough diamond goes to waste during the process and so you get a lot less stone for your money. But with an emerald cut stone that doesn’t happen, and this difference allows for a much larger stone for the same price. Plus, as in the case with this ring, that means that extra detailing can often be included in the setting itself.’ She took the ring from its box and held it up so that he could see the beautiful shank. ‘This one is quite unusual.’

  He took the ring from her, his eyes widening. ‘Would you have told me any of that if I said I preferred the other one?’

  She smiled. ‘Perhaps not, but only because I want you to feel good about your choice, and it is your choice. There are plenty of others to choose from apart from these two. I only offered them to illustrate the two very different styles.’

  He looked down at the display case. ‘And yet all the time I was talking to you before you selected those two, I could see you were taking in what I said and weighing up what would, and wouldn’t, be suitable. Why do I get the funny feeling you’ve picked the only two that come close to fulfilling what I’m looking for?’

  Daisy blushed. ‘Well, that is my job.’ Her cheeks began to grow hot, both from the compliment and the weight of Bertie’s presence.

  There was silence for a moment and Daisy let it continue. They were now into serious thinking time and these things couldn’t be rushed.

  ‘Could I ask you a favour?’ he said after another few minutes or so had passed by. ‘It’s probably a bit cheeky, but could I ask you to try this on for me, so that I can see what it looks like?’

  He was still holding the ring and she held out her hand so that he could slip it on her finger. Her face felt as if it was on fire and she was glad the man was looking down instead of up.

  She could see his eyes soften, his expression turning to one of wonder as he saw the possibilities of his future opening up in front of him.

  ‘I can try the other on as well if you like?’

  Her remark drew him back to the present. ‘Oh yes… you better had, just to be sure…’

  Daisy slipped off the ring and replaced it with the smaller but far more sparkly solitaire. But almost immediately her customer shook his head.

  ‘No, that’s not right at all. It would get lost on Suzanne’s hands.’ He looked up at Daisy then, a full-on gaze, accompanied by a high-wattage smile. ‘It’s the first one. Definitely. Mind made up.’ He blew out his cheeks. ‘I can’t believe it was that simple. I thought I was going to be in the shop for days…’

  Daisy smiled. ‘Sometimes things just fall into place, don’t they?’ She tried to keep the wistful note out of her voice and almost succeeded. She cleared her throat, continuing quickly. ‘Now, I don’t want to throw a spanner in the works but there is just one more thing I should mention…’

  ‘Oh… yes?’ She could almost see Bertie lean closer as if to hear her better.

  She reached back down into the cabinet to select another ring. ‘So, we looked at this ring in a platinum setting but it’s also available in eighteen-carat gold which makes a huge difference to its appearance. Do you know which your girlfriend prefers? Or what metal she generally wears?’

  He looked panic-stricken. ‘Oh God, I’m not sure.’ He scratched his head. ‘I got her sister to check her ring size for me, but I didn’t really think about that… she has a…’ He trailed off, obviously trying to recall what he’d seen her wear before. He looked confused for a second and screwed up his face. ‘Gold… I think…’

  Daisy smiled. ‘Okay, so what colour hair and eyes does she have?’

  ‘Like yours, brunette, and beautiful amber-coloured eyes…’

  ‘And what colour clothes does she generally wear?’

  ‘Erm… sort of reddish… or brown… green sometimes. Earthy kinds of colours, I guess.’

  Daisy slipped on the ring with the gold band. ‘Then I would say that this would almost certainly suit her better.’ She held up her hand beside her face for a moment so he could see how it looked before putting the identical platinum ring on the other hand and then holding it up instead. Then she held up both hands so that he could see the contrast. ‘Do you see what I mean?’

  ‘I do!’ He looked astonished. ‘Oh God, I can’t believe I almost fell at the last hurdle. I’m not sure what to say… except thank you. Thank you!’ He looked so overjoyed that Daisy thought for a split second that he was going to kiss her in gratitude, but instead he just beamed, his eyes shining.

  Daisy took off the ring and handed it to him. ‘And the best thing is that because this is set in gold rather than platinum, it’s that bit cheaper as well. Now you can buy a really expensive bottle of champagne!’ She swallowed a little nervously before leading him over to the sales desk, studiously avoiding Bertie’s eye.

  Ten minutes later her customer left the shop a very happy man, swinging his little blue bag with a spring in his step. Daisy couldn’t help but sigh with happiness at the thought of the young woman who would very soon be receiving the most wonderfully romantic surprise. She returned the sales pad to the desk drawer, passing by Kit as she did so. He was doodling on something and idly eating a sugared mouse, but he looked up as she drew level.

  ‘That was beautifully done,’ he said, his voice hardly more than a whisper. ‘I don’t know how you do it.’

  She looked at him in surprise, wondering if she’d even heard right, but Kit’s eyes had skittered away from hers and his head was already bent back to his drawing.

  ‘Yes, well done, Daisy, well done! Oh, and hello too, of course.’ Bertie was leaning up against the counter on the other side of the room.

  She blushed. ‘Thank you,’ she said, immediately flustered. ‘Erm… I didn’t know you were coming in today. Bea didn’t say anything.’

  ‘Didn’t she? Oh… Well, never mind. She asked me if I could pop in one day this week to bring the sales figures up to date. Just to see how the land lies, I guess, before the big push up to Christmas.’

  Kit exaggerated a yawn. ‘Sales figures time,’ he added. ‘Whoopy do.’

  Daisy ignored him, realising belatedly that, despite the light tone of
Bertie’s words, he looked worried.

  ‘Was that okay?’ she asked nervously. ‘Just now I mean. I know I probably could have sold that man a more expensive ring, but it didn’t seem right somehow… and he was so nice.’

  She flashed Kit a quick glance but he still had his head bent, intent on his doodling.

  Bertie glanced at his watch. ‘Isn’t it time for your lunch break, Daisy? Why don’t you come through to the back, and we can have a little chat about the run-up to Christmas.’

  He was smiling and didn’t look particularly cross, but Daisy’s heart sank as she mutely followed him through. She was in for it now.

  ‘I won’t beat around the bush,’ he said as soon as he was sitting behind the small desk which occupied the far corner of the room. ‘I’ll update the figures but I don’t think it’s going to make any real difference to what I’ve already told Mother. Which is that we need to have a really good Christmas, Daisy. I probably don’t need to tell you, but sales have been dropping off over the last couple of years, and this year worse than ever.’

  She hung her head, feeling her cheeks colour again. ‘Is Bea going to be cross with me?’

  His voice was kind. ‘No, Daisy, she’s not going to be cross with you. How can she be when you’re the only one who seems capable of selling anything?’

  She still couldn’t look at him. ‘But I let that last man buy a cheaper ring. That’s what you mean, isn’t it? That I should do better?’ She peeked up at him, feeling the intensity of his gaze on the top of her head.

  ‘You have a real talent for dealing with customers, Daisy. And I think you’re right in that he went away very happy. Maybe now he’ll be a customer for life, who knows? But I guess Bea would be happier if today you’d sold him the emerald cut in the platinum setting, or even the brilliant cut stone.’

  She nodded, stroking the back of one hand with the other in comfort. It was kind of him to say that about her even though she wished he wouldn’t. She was far happier talking with customers than to people she knew, especially people like Bertie.

  ‘You have the ability, Daisy, I know you do, so all I’m saying is that, while it’s really lovely that you take so much care over our customers, the bottom line is that we need more money coming in. And I think you’re the person to make sure that happens, but you might need to be a little less…’ He searched for the right word.

  ‘Honest?’ she blurted out, immediately regretting it. He hadn’t been about to say that. It was what he’d meant but he’d been trying to find a word which didn’t make it sound so bad. And although he wasn’t exactly her boss, he was close enough. How could she possibly say that she disagreed with him?

  He smiled. ‘I know it isn’t always easy with Kit… well, just being Kit… but we can’t keep on losing money. There might have to be some changes and Kit is, well he’s…’ Bertie trailed off, a sheepish expression on his face. He hadn’t the heart to say it, but Daisy understood him very well. Kit was family, and if anyone was going to lose their job it wouldn’t be him.

  ‘Yes, I understand,’ she said. ‘And thank you, I’ll do my best.’ She dipped her head. He was only trying to be kind.

  ‘Sorry, I’m keeping you from your lunch, Daisy,’ he added. ‘Please go ahead and eat, don’t stop on my account.’

  She stared at the fridge where she had placed her lunchbox that morning. She ate the same thing every day, but even so she usually looked forward to it. Now, she really didn’t think she could stomach anything.

  Bertie pulled a face. ‘Listen, I might just pop out and get a proper coffee before I make a start. I can’t drink the instant rubbish we have here. Can I get you anything? One of those nice hot chocolates with cream and marshmallows?’

  Daisy shuddered at the thought. ‘No, thank you. Honestly, I’m much happier with just plain tea.’

  ‘Okay, well, I’ll leave you to it then. I won’t be long.’

  And he left her, staring at his back as he returned to the sales floor, feeling like her world had just been cleaved in two. Whatever would she do without Buchanans?

  Despite the cold, Daisy took her time walking home that evening. She paused as she reached the end of Silver Street and turned to look back at the shop that had been the biggest part of her life for so many years. It seemed like only yesterday that Bea had joked to her that it should be called Silver Linings Street, offering her the job that had been a much-needed lifeline. The thought that it might no longer be there was unbearable.

  The busy rush of the market square soon receded, replaced by the stillness that hung over the water particularly in the winter, and by the time she descended onto the canal path, it was almost completely silent, and very dark.

  Few people would even contemplate walking the path at night without a torch, but Daisy knew her way as much by instinct as familiarity. Her tiny two-bedroom cottage had originally belonged to her grandparents when they were the lock-keepers, and she had been a regular visitor after school and in the summer holidays when she was younger. Set a little way back from the towpath, it was well hidden, but there wasn’t an inch of the canal that Daisy hadn’t explored and, even though the job of lock-keeper had long since disappeared, she still helped boats through in the busy height of summer.

  By the time she reached her front door, Daisy was already feeling calmer. The walk had been just long enough to restore some of her equilibrium and, once inside, her evening routines would serve to settle her even more. She closed the front door behind her and laid her back against it for a moment, breathing deeply, hearing the soothing tick of the mantel clock from the sitting room. Then she crossed the hallway into the kitchen to set the kettle to boil and took off her outdoor clothes to hang them by the back door. With a satisfied nod she went back to the sitting room and put a match to the fire that she had laid ready that morning. She was home.

  Upstairs was one large bedroom, with a tiny one beside it, both nestled under the eaves, so that in summer Daisy could hear the rustle of leaves against her windows and, in winter, the light scurry of the mice with whom she inevitably shared her home. It was altogether the most perfect place in the universe as far as she was concerned and in it she felt safe and sheltered from the storm that was the outside world.

  She slid off her work clothes – a white blouse with a Peter Pan collar, which she consigned to the laundry basket, and a long black skirt, which she hung beside two other identical ones in the wardrobe. She touched a hand to the other white shirts also hanging there, mentally counting their number while straightening them and, once satisfied that there were sufficient, she closed the wardrobe door. Her reflection stared back at her and she frowned. Not at her slender figure or pale alabaster skin, or at the soft brown ringlets of her hair which had formed as the day had gone on, but at the intricate sapphire necklace which hung from her neck.

  Almost purple, it accentuated the dark violet of her eyes, but even though Daisy could appreciate its beauty, she took it off; it had no place here in her home. And if she was still wearing the necklace then she would also be wearing the matching bracelet which she had removed from Buchanans’ safe earlier that morning. She wore them so often that she sometimes did forget to take them off before leaving work, and the fact that she had done so tonight was an indication of how distracted she had been. There was an odd sock which she kept in a drawer for just such an occasion, however, and she slipped the items inside without another thought. Tomorrow she would wear them again, just for the time she was at work. Outside those hours Daisy wore no other jewellery, indeed she hardly owned any.

  Dressed in her pyjamas and dressing gown she returned downstairs to feed the fire with logs. Then she made herself a cup of tea and took down a tin of tomato soup from the cupboard. A line of labels faced her; three tomato, and two mushroom soup in case she fancied a change. The shelf below held a packet of rich tea biscuits, a box of Weetabix and a jar of peanut butter, together with three tins of peaches and a pot of custard. All exactly as they should be.

>   It wasn’t until later that evening, once Daisy had eaten, washed up, read for exactly one hour and made a mug of warm milk, that she allowed herself to think about Bertie’s words of that afternoon.

  2

  Thursday 5th December

  Twenty shopping days until Christmas

  Daisy tried to concentrate on what Mr Bennett was saying but the young couple with matching jackets were edging ever closer to the shop door and, unless someone said something, they would slip away at any moment. Of course, it didn’t help that the ‘someone’ in question was currently idling behind the counter opposite, lost in thought as he so often was.

  ‘Yes, but the last necklace you looked at was a garnet, Mr Bennett, and this is a ruby, they’re really not the same thing at all…’ She dragged her attention back to her customer, and fixed a smile on her face. ‘Well yes, both are red admittedly, but rubies are special; they’re not in the same league at all, and I really don’t think your wife would get them confused.’

  She shot a glance over the shoulder of her customer. Something had held the couple’s attention momentarily – now would be the perfect time to ask them if they needed help. She tried to get Kit to respond by the sheer force of her will, but nothing… Oh for goodness’ sake. Bertie’s message from yesterday couldn’t have been any clearer and he must have spoken to Kit about it too. They needed to make every sale they could, not ignore their customers.

  ‘You see, garnets are a much deeper colour, darker and more earthy, sometimes with distinct orange tones, whereas a fine ruby such as this one should be a vivid red…’ She held the necklace up to the bright overhead light, watching it sparkle, and angling it so that Mr Bennett could appreciate its vivacity. She turned the word over in her head, one which he had often used to describe his wife. They had recently celebrated thirty years of marriage and were both still so much in love. He was so romantic…