THE STORY SO FAR: Carrie had high hopes for Christmas at Granthall Manor, where she’d taken a job as private chef to Mr and Mrs Forbes-Fletcher, a rich banker and his new wife. Since her husband had left her, Carrie was alone in the world and, nostalgic for the happy times she’d enjoyed as a child, she threw herself into planning fabulous festivities for the couple and his teenage twins. It soon became clear, though, that the lady of the house lived up to her nickname ‘Bad Manors’ and had no interest in playing happy families with her stepchildren. Unable to tolerate her rudeness a moment longer, Carrie accepted a last-minute job offer in a Barbados mansion. What would her first Christmas be like in the Caribbean? Would her new employer be another horror? She was about to find out…
Carrie’s plane was within an hour of landing in Barbados, and she was feeling a mix of excitement and nerves. ‘What a crazy few days these have been,’ she reflected as she gazed out of the window.
After Carrie had handed in her notice, Mrs Forbes-Fletcher had predictably been incensed, but thankfully, had jumped into her lipstick-pink convertible car and disappeared down the drive. So Carrie had been able to say her fond farewells to Penny the PA and dear Jim the gardener. Even Mr F-F said how sorry he was she was leaving and wished her well.
Back in her own little country cottage, Carrie had hung up her winter coats and
