Page 11 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

‘Hello,’ she said, with a warm smile before drawing her into an unexpected hug. ‘Lovely to meet you at long last. Hannah talks non-stop about you.’

‘Hi,’ replied Lily, stepping back from the embrace and smiling at her. ‘Lovely to finally meet you too.’

Faye looked like an older version of Hannah, tall with blonde hair, albeit with wisps of grey mixed in. There was also a similar softness to her, of a gentleness of character.

‘This is Grandma,’ announced Hannah, leading Lily over to the table to introduce a grey-haired lady who was standing nearby. She was petite but Lily was surprised by the strength of the woman who then engulfed her in a hug.

‘You must call me Dotty,’ she said, when she had stepped back. ‘Gosh, your red hair is gorgeous.’ She reached up to touch her grey hair and frowned for a moment before letting her hand drop. Lily was surprised to see how many rings she was wearing on each hand, all of different styles. ‘Come and sit down with me and warm yourself up by the fire.’

‘It’s such a lovely room,’ said Lily as she sat down.

‘We’ve got our own small kitchen,’ Dotty told her. ‘Walter and I live in the gamekeeper’s lodge just over there, you see.’ She pointed through a window to where Lily could just see a tiny oak-framed lodge in the semi-darkness. ‘But everyone ends up gathering in here.’

Lily nodded. She understood. It was a family kitchen, something she didn’t know too much about. There had been the odd time growing up when she and her parents had snuggled up on the sofa to watch a movie but most of their time had been spent entertaining or going out for official functions.

‘So you’re not working at that pub tonight?’ she asked Hannah.

‘I took the weekend off because you were coming here,’ replied Hannah, laying out some knives and forks.

‘Good job too,’ said Walter, creasing his grey fluffy eyebrows into a frown. ‘They work her all hours at that place and the pay is rubbish.’

Lily looked at her friend with concern. Hannah’s good nature meant that people were always taking advantage of her.

‘It’s fine, Grandad,’ said Hannah, with a wave of her hand. ‘And the pay isn’t that bad.’

‘Great,’ said Ben as he came into the room. ‘Lend me a fiver, I’m broke.’

Hannah shot her brother a grin. ‘Me too, bro,’ she replied.

Lily still felt embarrassed about how they had met but thankfully Ben seemed quite at ease as he grabbed the bread basket from the side and brought it over to the table.

Faye placed a large pie topped with golden pastry into the middle of the table, ready for serving up, alongside vegetables, mash and gravy. As the family all helped themselves and chatted away, Lily felt touched by how close they all were.

The chicken pie was delicious and the first taste of home cooking that Lily could remember having for a very long time.

‘This is fantastic,’ she said before thanking Faye.

Faye smiled at her. ‘It’s an old recipe,’ she said. ‘Easy to put together.’

Lily thought that she was very much like her daughter. Gentle in nature and happy to sit back and let the others chat on. Perhaps she too lacked confidence, much like Hannah.

Even though the pie had been warm and filling, there was still room for cake afterwards. Hannah placed a tray of still-warm brownies in the middle of the table which were delicious and Lily found herself also asking for a small slice of cherry cake as well.

‘Yum,’ she said, looking across the table at her friend. ‘I’ve missed your cakes.’

‘I keep telling her that she should open up her own bakery instead of wasting her talents at that pub,’ said Walter. ‘You’ve got a real skill there.’

Hannah rolled her eyes. ‘I’m doing fine, Grandad,’ she muttered, blushing.

It was always the same with Hannah, thought Lily. Dismissing her incredible skills all too quickly. What little confidence she had in her baking in the early days when they had first met seemed to have been eroded over the years. But perhaps she was happiest at home, just baking for her family.

Dotty suddenly turned to ask Lily, ‘So tell us about yourself. Where did you grow up?’

With the whole family listening in, Lily was suddenly embarrassed at the attention. She shifted in her seat, always uncomfortable talking about herself.

She blushed as she replied, ‘Pretty much everywhere.’ She then went on to give a very quick history of how her father’s job meant that they had travelled the world when she had been growing up.

‘So where have you been?’ asked Ben, sounding intrigued.