Free Christmas at the Castle by Jenny Kane

shoulder, Alice blurted out, ‘I’m so sorry, Charlie. I’m sorry. I thought you were exaggerating about Cameron not noticing you. But you weren’t, were you, and then …’
    Signalling to the waiter that a whisky was required urgently, Kit gently pulled Alice from Charlie’s shoulder and sat her down. ‘And then?’
    â€˜I’ve upset Cameron, and now we need a new venue for the festival.’

Chapter Eleven
    Monday November 30 th
    Sniffing into the serviette Kit passed her, Alice spoke over the dram of whisky she now held. ‘I’m so stupid.’
    Determined to stay strong, and swallowing back her natural impulse to ask what was wrong, Charlie said, ‘Alice, I’m sorry you feel stupid, and I genuinely do want to hear about it, but right now we have no home for the festival. The authors will be arriving at the end of next week. What do we do?’
    Alice, who’d expected Charlie to be all sympathy rather than practicality, stuttered, ‘What the hell do you care about the festival? You walked out on it.’
    â€˜Don’t be ridiculous! I did no such thing.’
    â€˜What?’
    Seeing that they were in danger of getting caught in a whole heap of explanations before Alice got to the reason why the festival was homeless, Kit intervened, ‘Girls, please.’ She paused then addressed Alice, ‘Charlie was the one who secured the bookshop stall, and she has been helping me with all the school visits and posting all those leaflets through the doors of the town, in between making sure her novel is written.’
    Holding up her palm so Alice didn’t have the chance to speak, Kit turned to Charlie, ‘Am I correct in saying that the only reason you told Alice you wouldn’t help was because you were tired of being treated like a tool in a business plan and not a friend, and because you hadn’t been told about Cameron’s involvement?’
    Charlie nodded, not trusting herself to speak, as Kit continued, ‘Right then, as I see it, we have three options. We persuade Cameron to change his mind, we cancel, or we approach one of the other castles. All the promotional material has been based around the fact that the event is being held in a castle, so it has to be at a castle.’
    Checking her watch and seeing that it was almost ten o’clock in the evening already, Kit abruptly stood up. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I think I should leave you two alone to discuss this situation.’
    â€˜But we all need to sort this out!’ Alice was virtually pleading now.
    â€˜Indeed we do, but first you two have to sort yourselves out. Emergency meeting at nine o’clock tomorrow morning in The Gift Shop Café? This is a situation that needs clear heads and coffee.’
    Striding out of the café, sounding far more self-assured than she felt, Kit was glad that the women didn’t know her well enough to recognise how far out of her comfort zone she’d just stepped.
    Kit pulled out her mobile as she headed to a short row of taxis. ‘Phil love, I know it’s late, but I need your advice …’
    Having sent Alice to the bistro’s bathroom to make herself feel more human, Charlie took advantage of having five minutes alone. She knew she should demand a proper explanation from Alice, but she was also aware that, for the first time since she’d known her friend, she had the upper hand. It was a strange feeling, and despite her determination not to go back to being in Alice’s shadow, Charlie didn’t have the heart to stay angry.
    Ordering two more drams of whisky, Charlie moved to an armchair by the roaring fire, watching the flames flicker dangerously near to a set of Santa’s legs which had been placed further up the chimney.
    When Alice returned she no longer looked as though she had been attacked by a toddler brandishing a mascara wand, but although she appeared as unruffled as ever,