A Table for Two: Valentine's Gift Set

1. Set the table before you cook: a mat at each place, a holder at either end, and the rose candle in the middle on a heatproof plate.
2. When you sit down, light the Valentine's candle and both holders, and turn the big light off. Trim the candle's wooden wick before each burn and keep napkins clear of the flames.
3. When the rose candle has burnt down and cooled, lift out the rose quartz and keep it. Never leave candles burning in an empty room.

• A rose quartz candle in deep green glass, 8.8 cm across: soy wax with rose quartz, rosebuds and a wooden wick, scented 'Rose Meadow' (bergamot and pink pepper, rose and peony, patchouli and amber), about 22 hours of burning. The story of The Lovers, card VI of the tarot, is printed on its box.
• Two recycled-glass tealight holders, 8 x 8 cm, with dried baby's breath sealed in the glass; handmade in India, so no two are quite alike.
• Six rose-scented tealights for the holders, about 4 hours each.
• Two round placemats of coiled jute and cotton, 30 cm across, with a darker natural border.

The pieces arrive together in one parcel. They are not gift-wrapped. The holders and the candle jar are glass, so unpack them with care.

The oldest surviving link between St Valentine's Day and love is in Geoffrey Chaucer's 'Parlement of Foules', written around 1380, where every bird comes 'on seynt Valentynes day' to choose its mate.