'Okay, but make sure you do. And don't leave out any details.'
'I'll be sure to tell you everything. It'll be like reading a novel.' Ella gave a wistful sigh. 'What else have you been doing?'
'Lots. I thought we'd be lounging on the beach all day but no. And having beaten my fear of water, last year, it nearly came back. We only went swimming with sharks the other day. Sharks, Ella! Can you believe it? Okay, they were small sharks. About five feet or so, and the guy who took us assured us they only take a bite out of a human as a last resort, but still. I've never been so scared in my life, but I was determined to do it. Jet said I could stay in the out-rigger canoe if I wanted, but it was a sweltering day and the water looked so cool and inviting. Even with the sharks. Jet stayed by my side the entire time and said that if a shark tried to attack, he'd make sure it got him and not me.'
'Now that is True Love.' Ella let out an even bigger sigh than before.
Mia sighed too. 'I know. I'm so lucky. Oh, and we visited both a banana and a vanilla plantation. Jet loved those, as you can imagine, being a farmer. One day next week we're going to a place that grows pineapples, avocados and the infamous breadfruit, too. And I wish I could grow some of the flowers I've seen. The bougainvillaea, passion flower, hibiscus and frangipani are intoxicating but the Tiare, which is Tahiti's national flower has an unbelievably heavenly fragrance, and it's got a star-shaped bloom which is stunning. I hate to admit this, but I've been wearing flowers in my hair since the day we arrived. You have to be careful which side you wear it, you know. The left side means you're taken and the right side means you're available. I had no idea until one of the wonderful staff told me. That could've been embarrassing otherwise. And I've learnt how to do the Ori Tahiti. That's the traditional dance. It's like the Hula. It's incredible. Jet says it's really sexy, so naturally I've been trying to perfect it. My hips and knees are killing me. I wish you'd been here having lessons too. We'd have been rolling on the floor laughing.'
'I miss you so much, Mia. But it sounds like you're having a fantastic time. And you deserve it. All your dreams have come true, haven't they?'
'Yep. As I keep saying, I'm very, very lucky.'
There it was again. That tiny pin-prick-sized pain in her heart. It happened every time she said those words. Why was that?
Was it because although she had no right to ask for more than she'd already got, there was one more thing she wanted to make her happiness complete?
A child.
It was early days and she and Jet had plenty of time but she couldn't help wondering if it would happen. She hadn't told Jet of her concerns. He would say she was being silly – and she probably was. But something had been bugging her ever since Bree had broken the news that she and Garrick were expecting.
The fortune-teller at the Summer Fête last August had been proved right, once again.
And that was the problem. Because everything the fortune-teller had told Mia, had also come true. But one thing the fortune-teller hadn't told her was that she would have children.
Did that mean she wouldn't?
'Are you still on the phone with your mum. Or is this Ella?' Jet sauntered towards her wearing smart black trousers and a pale blue shirt, highlighting his bronzed, beautiful body where the skin was revealed. He also wore that grin on his face that had made her heart skip a beat every time she saw it, long before she had realised she had fallen in love with him.
She smiled, the little hole in her heart forgotten as an arid breeze lifted strands of his hair, still the colour of midnight even in the blinding sunshine, and he reached out his hand towards her.
'Yes,' she said, almost sighing the words out. 'It's Ella.'
Jet closed the gap between him and Mia and wrapped one arm around her waist. 'Hello, Ella. We love you. We miss you. But we're going to say goodbye for now because I'm ravenous. And I don't just mean for lunch. It's been at least an hour since I kissed my wife.'
Chapter Six
'You must've seen her at the wedding,' Ella said, pointing at a large coffee-iced cream bun, a jam and cream doughnut and a sugar-coated apple and cream turnover in the display cabinet in Lake's Bakes the following day. 'She looked like she wouldn't be out of place teaching at Hogwarts.'
Jenny Lake shoved a wayward strand of wild red hair back behind the white cotton headband she was wearing and tightened the additional band holding her ponytail in place. She knit her brows as she grabbed a box from a stack to the right of her and a large flat cake knife from the top of the counter. She slid the flat of the knife beneath the turnover and lifted the cake towards the box, stopping suddenly. 'Oh wait.' Knife and turnover hovered above the box. 'Was she the woman dressed head to toe in purple? I think she even had a purple cloak.'
Ella nodded. 'Yep. That was her. I'd only met her once before, myself, and that was very briefly at Christmas. Massive hermit, apparently. But Jet told me – well, he told Mia and Mia told me – that he's known her all his life and sees her a lot because she goes to the farm shop for milk and she's addicted to his cheese. But then, who isn't?'
'Not such a massive hermit then? Just antisocial perhaps?' Jenny popped the turnover in the box and reached for the cream bun.
'Well, she definitely doesn't like Hettie. And I think that feeling is mutual. I saw them glaring at one another a couple of times at the reception but when I asked Hettie about it a couple of days later, she immediately changed the subject. Obviously that didn't stop me. But eventually all she said was, “I'd rather not discuss Mrs Jenkins, deary. And you'd be wise to do likewise.” Or something along those lines. Which naturally made me even more curious.'
Jenny laughed, adding the bun to the box and leaning further into the cabinet for the doughnut. 'I thought hell would freeze over before I saw the day when Hettie didn't want to talk about someone. So did you find out anything?' She made room for the doughnut and closed the lid of the box.
Ella shook her head and sighed. 'Nope. Hettie's not the only one who didn't want to discuss Aurelia Jenkins.' She leant forward, crossing her arms and resting them on the glass cover of the cabinet, above the large display of Jenny's delicious cakes. 'You know that horror story about some guy whose name you mustn't say because if you do, he'll appear and kill you, or whatever?'
Jenny looked thoughtful but slowly shook her head. 'No. But then I'm not really a fan of horror stories. If I watch a horror film I have nightmares for weeks afterwards.'
'I don't particularly like them myself. My uncle's a big fan though and I remember seeing this film when I stayed with him early last year. Just before we moved here, in fact. But I can't for the life of me remember what it's called. Anyway. The point I'm making is that it seems to be a bit like that with Aurelia Jenkins. Everyone's too scared to say her name in case she appears and does them in. Or puts a spell on them, or something.'
Jenny raised her brows. 'So the woman really is a witch then? But how do you know that? I thought you said you didn't find out anything about her.'
'I didn't. It was Gill who told me last night. And that's also weird. As I told Mia last night, I didn't even know he knew Aurelia Jenkins but he told me he's met her several times and not just at the wedding. He also said that she was apparently a good friend of Mattie's.' Ella stood upright and took the box Jenny handed her, slipping it into the tote bag she'd brought with her.
'Mattie's? Mia's great aunt? Wow!'
Ella grinned. 'Is there another Mattie? But what I also don't get is that if Mattie was friends with a witch, why did she go to so much trouble to get Mia and Jet together when she could've simply asked her friend, Aurelia to cast a spell on them.'
'Perhaps she wanted them to meet and fall in love the 'normal' way.'
Ella tutted. 'There was nothing 'normal' in the way she got them to meet. And what also gets me is why Hettie's never mentioned the woman. She's the one who told us about all the old myths, legends and superstitions in this village. But did she ever mention that there's a bona fide witch on our doorstep
? Nope.'
'Wasn't she the one who told Mia about the witch who cast a spell so that more male babies than females were born around here?'
'I don't think so, no. No. I'm pretty sure that was Anna. One of the women Mia met on the beach. Anna said that her grandmother talked about Gosceline, and she told Mia about the spell, but no one actually mentioned that the witch had lived in this village or that her descendants were still here.'
'I wasn't sure I really believed the story about that spell. Although there certainly are more men than women around these parts. But wasn't Gosceline a white witch? White witches only do good things, don't they? So why would people be afraid to mention Aurelia's name?'
Ella frowned. Jenny had a point. Why would people be afraid? 'No idea.'
Jenny looked perplexed. 'Perhaps Hettie's the only one who still believes in all that stuff. Maybe the rest have simply forgotten it all. Or dismissed it as mumbo-jumbo. That's the reason why no one talks about Aurelia. And if she likes her privacy, perhaps everyone merely respects that.'
'I don't think that would stop Hettie from gossiping about her. No, there's something odd about Aurelia Jenkins. I'm sure of it. And not everyone thinks all that stuff is nonsense. You believe in The Wishing Tree, don't you?'
Jenny nodded a little reluctantly.
'Then there's the Whispering Cave and skinny-dipping in the pond at Frog's Hollow. And let's not forget the fortune-teller who comes here every year. The one who told our fortunes at the Summer Fête last year. But that was before you arrived. Anyway. What I'm saying is this place is surrounded by that sort of magical, mystical stuff and as crazy as it sounds, some of it seems to work. So when I think about it. Why would a witch living in this village come as a surprise to anybody? Including me.'
'When you put it like that …' Jenny pulled a face. 'Which reminds me. Are you going skinny-dipping this year? You said you went last year, didn't you?'
Ella nodded. 'For all the good it did me. Although it did bring Lori and Franklin together. Mia wasn't there of course, because she hadn't beaten her fear of water at the time and she didn't want to merely stand and watch. And she and Jet won't be back in time for this year.' She shrugged. 'The thing is, Gill's not keen on the idea. He can be such a prude at times.'
'Glen's definitely not going. Not because he's a prude but because he doesn't think the local vicar should be seen running around naked at what is essentially a pagan event. He says it's entirely up to me whether I go or not, but I don't think I want to. Not without him.'
Ella pouted. 'That's how I feel. I'm not sure I want to go without Gill. And Cathy told me the other day when we were discussing it, that she doesn't want to go without Leo, who'll be in London, because it's a Monday. And that's the other thing.' She leant forward and whispered, 'The curse of Frog's Hollow.'
Jenny's anxious expression faded as quickly as it appeared. 'But didn't Hettie say that if Midsummer's Night falls on a Monday it's still safe to go to the pond because on that special night Frog's Hollow is protected from the curse?'
'Yeah. But I'm not certain I want to take Hettie's word for it. Are you?'
Jenny looked doubtful. 'No. So that's definitely made up my mind. I'm not going.'
Ella took a deep breath. 'I'm not going either.'
Jenny grinned. 'So … what else did Gill say about Aurelia Jenkins?'
Ella frowned. 'He, like everyone else, didn't seem to want to talk about Aurelia either. The only thing he did seem to want to talk about was this Tabbie woman.'
'Oh?'
Ella pulled a face and changed her tone to mimic Gill. 'She's terribly well-spoken. And terribly well-educated. And terribly attractive. And terribly interested in history – which as we all know, just happens to be one of my favourite subjects. And she's terribly nice.'
Jenny raised her brows and sniggered. 'She sounds … terrible. You've got Gill's voice down to a tee but he didn't really say it like that, did he?'
Ella smirked. 'Nah. When I asked him where the hell he'd been because his note said he was just popping out and he was gone for over an hour, all he said was that Aurelia had a visitor who'd driven her car into Aurelia's pond and that Franklin had called and asked him to give them a hand. Franklin and Justin, that is. To get the car out of the pond. Then he'd had a cup of tea – despite the fact that he was soaked – and that he'd told Tabbie, the visitor, to phone if she wanted to chat about Mattie or anything else.'
'Er. So where did you get all that other stuff from? About her being well-educated and such. Or did you just make that up?'
'Oh no. He did tell me all that. Sort of. When I asked him about it.'
Jenny tilted her head to one side. 'Asked? Or interrogated?'
Ella grinned. 'You know me so well. If I'd had a rack to hand, he'd have been stretched to within an inch of his life. It was like he didn't want to talk about her. And you know what that means, don't you?'
'Do I?' Jenny looked unsure.
Ella tutted. 'It means he was attracted to her.'
'Oh come on.' Now Jenny tutted too. 'It means nothing of the sort. And you've just said yourself that he didn't want to talk about Aurelia either. So on that basis, he must be attracted to Aurelia as well.'
'Aurelia's in her sixties – and looks twice as old as that.'
'Whatever floats Gill's boat.' Jenny laughed and shook her head. 'You're being ridiculous, Ella, if you don't mind me saying so. Gill adores you, you know that.'
'Does he? I thought he did but now I'm not so sure.'
Jenny reached out across the counter and poked Ella's shoulder with her fingertip.
'Is something going on that I don't know about? Ever since the wedding you've seemed … I don't know. Not quite your usual happy, carefree self. Are you having doubts about your relationship with Gill? I thought you two were for ever.'
Ella snorted. 'That's exactly what Mia said.' She looked Jenny in the eye. 'And it's what I thought too, but recently … well, since the wedding really … things haven't been going quite so well.'
'In what way?'
Ella shrugged. 'I don't really know. He seems a bit … distant. You know what it's like when you've got to tell someone something but you don't want to because you know they're not going to like it and so you keep putting it off?'
'Um. No. But I think I understand what you mean.'
'Well. I think Gill's got something to tell me – only he's not. Because he knows I won't like it.'
'But that can't have anything to do with this … Tabbie, can it? He only met her last night.'
Ella shook her head. 'No. I think it has something to do with me. I think … I think he might be going off me.'
Jenny gave a burst of laughter. 'Now that really is ridiculous, Ella. I'm sure you're wrong. Perhaps he's just worried about his book, or something else he's working on. Or something completely unrelated. Wait. Didn't you date my cousin last year? Maybe Gill's jealous. Perhaps he's worried that you might decide you'd rather get back with Justin than be with Gill. Have you thought about that?'
'Actually I have. I've thought about it quite a lot. But Justin's famous now and really it was just about the sex with him and me, so it wouldn't work. Besides, he'll be going back to L.A very soon and there's no way I'm ever leaving Little Pondale. And I never thought I'd hear myself say that this time last year.'
Jenny looked confused and then she tutted and sighed. Leaning forward, she poked Ella's shoulder once again.
'I didn't mean, have you thought about going back out with Justin, you twit. I meant, have you thought that Gill might think you want to do that? That you might be considering dumping him to date my cousin again.'
'Oh right. Um. Yes. I did wonder if he'd think that. But he doesn't seem the least bit bothered about Justin being here. He didn't even mind when Justin asked me to dance at the wedding. And when I told him that Justin was staying on for the entire month that Mia and Jet are away, he simply said, “Yes. So I heard.” Then he smiled and changed the subject as if we were d
iscussing the weather, not the fact that one of the hottest men I've ever had sex with, not to mention, one of the best-looking ones, was going to be hanging around for four weeks.'
'That just proves Gill trusts you.'
'Or that he couldn't care less if I ran away with a Hollywood heartthrob. I think he'd be more concerned if I ran off with one of his bloody history books that he uses for research.'
'Oh, Ella. You–'
'Coo-ey!'
Whatever Jenny was about to say was cut short by Hettie who pushed the door open and stood beside Ella, beaming.
'Just the person I wanted to see, deary. And hello to you too, Jenny dear.' She nodded her head at Jenny before turning her full attention back to Ella. 'Gill's good at digging things up, isn't he?'
Ella exchanged surprised glances with Jenny.
'Um. Not really, no. Garrick's probably more your man for that.'
'Garrick? I didn't know he was interested in that sort of thing.'
'He's not. Especially. But he's better suited to it than Gill.'
'Are you sure, deary? I thought Gill was the one who helped find Mattie's diaries?'
'He was. But we didn't dig them up. They were hidden in the attic. Beneath the window seat. Gill just showed us where the lock contraption was hidden.'
'Precisely, deary. And he knew that because he's so good at digging things up.'
Ella scratched her forehead with her free hand. 'Um. Okay. Whatever. What do you want Gill to dig up, Hettie – and why are you asking me? Why don't you just ask him yourself?'
'I was going to, deary. But he said he was in a hurry and had to dash out, and that you were in Lake's Bakes.'
'Okay. Now I'm utterly confused,' Ella said with a slightly irritated sigh. 'I don't know why Gill said that because Bree's coming round for afternoon tea. I've just got cakes. Sometimes I think we're becoming so provincial.' She rolled her eyes and smirked at Jenny. 'So he wouldn't be dashing out anywhere. But anyway. Tell me what you want him to dig up and I'll pass the message on. I think he's got some wellies somewhere. But I don't think he'll want to be in your garden today because rain's forecast again this afternoon. Torrential, so they say.'
Secret Wishes and Summer Kisses on Lily Pond Lane Page 5
