I glanced at him suspiciously. Did he know I’d lied? But he was already leading the way back round to join the others.
‘Hello!’ I said cheerfully.
‘It’s Auntie Rachel!’ Grace said joyfully. And she ran and put her arms around my legs.
‘Hello, Grace!’ I put my hand on the back of her head, unbelievably touched that she’d remembered me. Not to be outdone, Charlie hugged my legs too from the other side, so that I felt like a sort of Grace-and-Charlie sandwich. ‘Aw, hi, Charlie. It’s so lovely to see you both again and you’ve grown so much! You both look so grown-up I hardly recognised you. And you’re living here now, in this big house with your granny. Are you enjoying it?’
Grace nodded as she let go of my legs. Her dark hair was tied up in a high ponytail and she grinned up at me, showing a gap in her two front teeth. Charlie let go too, and I stroked his fair curly hair back from his freckled face. He looked so like his father and Anthony that it took my breath away.
‘I’m getting a pony!’ Grace told me.
‘Wow! Lucky you!’
‘Right, you two, are you going to help me show Elena and Daniel around or are you going back to sit with Mummy?’
‘We’re helping you, silly Daddy!’ Grace said, catching hold of his hand. ‘I’m going to convince them to get married here.’
‘Excellent! I was kind of hoping the hall would sell itself, but any help is welcome. Right, Daniel, where do you want to start? The pavilion?’
‘Err, yeah, sounds good.’ Daniel smiled amiably and shrugged.
‘Great. We’ll walk this way round the back of the house. Follow me.’ He started to lead the way to the left-hand side of the house.
‘He’s like a scout leader, isn’t he?’ Anthony grinned, swinging Charlie up on to his shoulders. Charlie squealed with laughter and gripped Anthony’s hair to steady himself. ‘Ouch!’
‘Careful, Charlie!’ Julian laughed. ‘Don’t pull any of Uncle Anthony’s hair out – he’ll be losing it soon enough as it is!’
‘Hey! Don’t be cheeky. You’re not far behind me, you know.’
‘Don’t I know it. I found a grey hair the other day. I swear it’s the kids.’
Anthony laughed and, reaching up to steady Charlie, spun around, making him scream in delight and curl over Anthony’s head, holding on even tighter.
‘Careful! You’ll make him sick. He’s just had his lunch.’
‘Oops, sorry!’
Julian laughed. ‘It’s you who’ll be wearing carrots, not me!’ He turned to Elena and Daniel. ‘Anthony pretends to hate kids but he really doesn’t. He’s always coming over to play with Charlie and Grace. They think he’s fantastic!’
‘I am fantastic!’ Anthony laughed as he turned to face us, walking backwards a few steps with Charlie grinning from his shoulders. ‘Isn’t that right, Rachel?’
I raised an eyebrow. ‘That’s a matter of opinion!’
He laughed and turned to face forward again. I was angry he’d asked me like that. What did he want me to say? That I was still in love with him? I’d sooner tell him I hated him than give him the satisfaction of knowing that. I glared at his back through narrowed eyes as we rounded the corner of the house and the pavilion appeared.
‘Wow! That’s impressive!’ Daniel’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. ‘How many guests can you get in there then?’
‘One hundred. Here, have a look inside.’ Julian indicated the entrance and Daniel and Elena disappeared inside. Everyone else followed them in but I lingered outside, looking around at the large garden. It was bordered by shrubs and trees on one side, stretching out towards a line of willow trees at the far end. The air was full of birdsong and the sweet smell of hay.
‘Rachel?’ I turned as I heard my name called and saw Anthony and Julian’s mother, Cath, emerging from the back door.
‘Hi, Cath!’ Smiling, I walked towards her. I was fond of Cath. She’d been quite distressed when Anthony had banned me from the hospital and had phoned me a couple of times afterwards to keep me updated on his progress. Contact gradually stopped when it became clear Anthony was going to make a full recovery. ‘How lovely to see you.’
‘It’s lovely to see you too!’ Her bright-blue eyes, so similar to those of both her sons, were full of warmth as she held out her arms to embrace me. ‘I’m so glad you’re here. How are you?’
‘I’m very well, thank you. How are you?’ I was touched by how pleased she seemed to see me.
‘Oh, I’m fine. A few aches and pains but we carry on. Where is everyone else? Are they in the tent?’
‘Yes.’ I laughed at her use of the word tent. ‘I was just looking at the view. It’s glorious here! And you have so many gorgeous shrubs and trees and flowers growing.’
‘Ah, thank you! It helps that the sun is shining, of course. It’s not quite so glorious when the wind’s whistling and the rain’s lashing the house. Why don’t you come inside for a cup of tea? It’s your friends who need to look around, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, I suppose so.’ I looked back over my shoulder. ‘I’ll just let them know.’
Five minutes later, I was sitting at a large oak table in the middle of a huge kitchen that smelt of baking cakes while Cath set the kettle to boil on the Aga. Doris Day was playing on the radio and sunlight flooded in through the large window, lighting on a large earthenware mixing bowl in the centre of the worktop.
‘It smells nice in here.’ I sniffed the air appreciatively. ‘What are you baking?’
‘A batch of scones, a lemon drizzle cake and a Victoria sponge. It’s for the WI cake sale in the village hall later on this afternoon. I’ve left it a bit late, really, but I think they’ll be ready in time. So, tell me how you really are. I hear you’re engaged to be married?’
‘Err, well…’ I hesitated, not wanting to take the lie further than I already had. To my relief the door opened and Julian’s wife, Liz, appeared holding an empty washing basket against her hip. Her long dark hair was tied back from her face and a large baby bump protruded from her floral dress.
‘Rachel! Hello!’ she said, a wide smile spreading across her face. ‘Julian said you might come today. How are you?’ Putting the basket down on the table, she came over and hugged me. Her large, hard belly felt strange pushing against me and I laughed.
‘I’m fine, thank you. How are you? I see you’re having another baby! Congratulations!’
‘Thanks!’
‘When are you due?’
‘End of September.’ She smiled and ran her hands over her tummy. ‘As you can see, I’m huge already! Julian’s worried that we’re having twins, but the scans only show one baby.’
‘Perhaps the other one’s hiding.’ Cath chuckled. ‘I’ve just put the kettle on, Liz. Would you like a drink too?’
‘Ooh, yes, please!’ Liz sat down heavily on the chair next to mine. ‘It’s so good to see you again! Cath and I were so angry with Anthony for pushing you away like that. We couldn’t believe he’d done it. We told him, didn’t we, Cath?’
‘We did.’ Cath tapped a teaspoon on the edge of a cup with a dink-dink.
‘We knew he’d made a massive mistake and would regret it. Still, it can’t have worked out too badly for you. You’ve met someone else, I hear?’
I smiled politely, silently willing her not to ask any more questions.
‘Julian was saying he was trying to convince you to get married here. Any chance?’
I laughed and shook my head. ‘I don’t think so.’
Liz tipped her head to one side and looked at me curiously. Realising I wasn’t going to get away with leaving it like that, I expanded a bit more.
‘I mean, it would be a bit awkward, wouldn’t it? With Anthony… you know…’
‘No reason why it should be. It’s been over a year, after all.’
I laughed lightly and accepted a steaming mug of tea from Cath. ‘Thank you. Well, let’s see what Elena and Daniel decide. Julian and Anthony are showing them round n
ow.’
‘I heard their voices coming from the pavilion. Grace and Charlie were telling them all about the stars on the ceiling.’
‘Aw, it’s beautiful in there. It’s perfect for a wedding. This whole place is perfect, in fact.’
‘Thank you.’ Cath looked pleased as she scraped back her chair and sat down at the table with us. ‘I’ve been saying so for years, but the boys have taken until now to realise it.’ She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. ‘Of course, we have to make this wedding thing work or else we’ll have to sell. Not that I really want strangers traipsing all over my property, of course, but I can see it’s what we need to do if we’re going to keep Willow Hall in the family.’
‘You never know, you might enjoy it.’ Liz reached over and squeezed her mother-in-law’s hand. ‘Weddings are happy occasions, after all.’
‘How did you like the open day last week?’ I asked. ‘Were you here in the kitchen or did you get caterers in?’
‘Well, both really. I made the cakes and we hired a few waiters and waitresses to do the serving.’
‘You made all those cakes? Wow! You must have been baking for days.’
Cath shrugged. ‘I enjoy it. We made a little bit of money from all those afternoon teas, too, didn’t we, Liz? Even if we only have three wedding bookings for next year.’ She rolled her eyes.
‘Yes, we did. I’m not too worried about the wedding bookings at the moment. It was only our first open day and it was more about getting the word out than anything else. Hopefully our next one will attract a bit more attention. How did you and Elena find out about it, Rachel?’
‘I spotted it in the back of one of Elena’s wedding magazines. You need to have one of those full-colour, glossy, full-page adverts to really catch people’s attention.’
Liz sighed. ‘I know. I think we might have to invest in something like that, but Julian and Anthony nearly choked when I told them how much they cost.’
‘Or, you need a celebrity to get married here. Everybody would want to get married here then. Do you know anyone?’
‘No, we’ve already considered this. I don’t suppose you do either, do you?’ Liz looked hopeful for a moment.
I shook my head. ‘Sorry.’
Liz sagged in disappointment. ‘You don’t get any celebrities in your shop?’
‘Not that I know of. I had a Hollyoaks actress in one day, but I don’t think she’s been in since. I’ve put your brochure in my shop in case anyone’s interested, but I think most people choose their venue before they book their florist, so I don’t know if it will be very effective.’
‘Any publicity like that is useful. Thank you.’
‘My pleasure. I’m happy to do whatever, although I’m not sure if I’m a little bit too far away to be useful. It’s like the florist thing. People will probably prefer a florist that’s a bit more local to the area.’
‘Well, you never know. Chester’s only an hour away.’
‘I was saying to Anthony, perhaps you could put on some different events over the summer to get your name out there – you know, as an event venue.’
‘Oh, yes, Anthony was saying about that.’ Cath pulled a face. ‘I’m not sure I could cope with a rock concert or anything.’
‘You don’t have to put on a rock concert, but you could host a craft fair or flower show and advertise in local towns.’
Cath sighed. ‘It all sounds rather exhausting to me.’
‘It doesn’t have to be. I doubt it would be more trouble than the wedding open days you’re going to be doing already.’
‘Could you organise a flower show?’ Liz asked.
I blinked in surprise. ‘Me?’
‘Well, yes, you’re a florist, aren’t you? You could do it.’
‘Oh, I don’t think so. How about a craft fair? They’d be pretty simple. Exhibitors could pay to have a stall and you could perhaps charge people a small entrance fee. You can make cakes and sell them. You probably wouldn’t make a huge amount but it would bring in a little bit of money and possibly get people talking about Willow Hall.’
‘It’s a good idea,’ Liz said thoughtfully. ‘I think we should organise one soon.’
Cath nodded vaguely. ‘Yes, that does sound more reasonable than a rock concert. I was a bit worried when Anthony was talking about it.’ She sighed and took a sip of her tea.
Liz laughed. ‘We’ll put it to the boys when they come in. It sounds good, though.’ She sighed. ‘Of course, a wedding would be even better. Do you think your friends will move their wedding to here?’
‘I don’t know.’ I shrugged. ‘It all depends on what Daniel thinks, but he sounded positive when he arrived.’
‘It’s hard changing your plans when everything is already organised,’ Cath said doubtfully. ‘I’m not sure I’d want to.’
‘We’ll have to see. I think it could work, though.’
There was a lull in the conversation as both women stared worriedly into their tea. Part of me wished I was engaged so I could have my wedding here and give them a bit of a push.
‘So…’ I said, after a moment of silence. ‘It must be lovely having all your family living here again, Cath! I bet you can’t believe it, can you?’
Cath brightened. ‘I know. It’s just been me and Arthur on our own for years and suddenly we have two sons and two, soon-to-be-three, grandchildren living with us. It’s wonderful, really.’
Liz laughed. ‘I don’t think poor Arthur knew what had hit him when we first moved in. He didn’t know what to do with himself, bless him.’
I smiled. ‘I suppose the house is big enough for everyone, isn’t it? It’s not like you’re living on top of each other.’
‘No, of course not. Julian and Liz are renovating one of the cottages on the estate so it’s not for ever anyway. I’ll miss them when they’re gone, though. It won’t be the same without them!’
‘We’ll only be a short walk away. It’s not like you’ll never see us. Then, if the wedding business takes off, we’ll have more bedrooms to convert into guestrooms.’
‘That’s true. Always a silver lining.’
‘I can’t believe Anthony isn’t living here with you all,’ I said. ‘I mean, the house is huge. Surely he could live here and still have his own space.’
Liz glanced across at her mother-in-law. ‘After the accident he withdrew, didn’t he, Cath?’
‘Hmm, yes. He was really quite hard to live with. Very angry and uncommunicative. But recently he seems happier and has been spending more time up here with us. I don’t know if it’s since he returned to work, or perhaps it’s because the wedding business looks like it’s finally going to take off, or maybe just spending time around the children makes him happy. He’s good with them, isn’t he, Liz?’
‘He is. They love him.’
‘I suppose you weren’t living here when he first came out of hospital. It was probably a bit boring for him living here with me and Arthur.’ She looked across at me. ‘I don’t suppose you know about me and Arthur, do you, Rachel? He’s my partner, but he used to be our gardener. Anthony was a bit sniffy about it when he found out, but he’s come round to the idea now. They get on rather well, in fact. Hopefully you’ll get to meet him before you go.’
We sat chatting for a while longer, while the cakes baked and the sun streamed in through the window. Despite the house being so huge and imposing, the kitchen felt homely and warm and I felt comfortable with Cath and Liz. After a while, when the tea had been drunk and Cath had taken the last of the cakes from the Aga, the back door opened and Julian came in with Elena and Daniel. I could tell by their flushed, excited faces that it had gone well. Julian introduced them to Cath and Liz and then told them to sit at the table while he made another cup of tea.
‘We’re going to do it,’ Elena said eagerly as she sat down across the table from me. ‘We’re getting married here!’
‘Really? Oh, that’s amazing! Have you been down to the church and asked about availability?’
>
‘Yes, that’s why we’ve been so long. We’ve just been talking to the vicar now. He says he’d be happy to marry us, but he’d like us to attend Sunday services before the wedding.’
‘That shouldn’t be a problem, should it?’
‘Not at all. And he seemed like a really lovely man.’
Cath laughed. ‘You’ll be the only ones there! The congregation’s been dwindling in recent years.’
‘I said we’d go too.’ Julian gave Liz an apologetic look. ‘I think we should go really, especially if he’s willing to let people from other parishes marry in his church because they’ve booked their wedding with us.’
‘Of course. Makes sense. Where are the kids?’
‘Anthony took them to the park while we talked to the vicar. I thought he’d be back by now.’ Julian peered out of the kitchen window then shrugged. ‘I’m sure he’s okay.’
Liz frowned slightly. ‘Do you mean Anthony or Charlie?’
‘Anthony.’ Julian laughed and sat down at the table. ‘The kids will be fine.’
‘Julian!’ Liz rose from her chair and crossed to the window to look outside. ‘Did you see him in the park when you left the church?’
‘No. They’ve probably gone for a walk to see the lambs. Grace was asking about them before. Anyway,’ he said, turning to Elena and Daniel, ‘shall we fill in some forms? I’m quite excited. You’re our first guests!’
‘Okay! I’m excited too!’ Elena said.
‘Liz, do you know where our forms are?’
‘In the study, I expect.’
‘Well, can you get them then? There’s no need to fret about the children. They’re with their uncle.’
‘I know, but what if they run off?’
‘He can run after them.’
‘But he still gets so tired.’
Julian rolled his eyes and got up from his seat. ‘Excuse me,’ he said to Elena and Daniel. ‘I’ll just get the forms.’
He came back a moment later while Liz was still watching anxiously from the window for her children. I wondered why she was so worried about them when they were with Anthony. Had he lost them in the past? And what did she mean about him still being so tired? I thought he’d made a full recovery.
Meet Me at Willow Hall Page 8
