Petra let out a long breath and it whistled through her teeth. ‘Perhaps one day I will explain, my friend, but today is for love and happiness …’
Beth got the message and needed to lighten the mood. ‘And nits! How long do we have to stay like this?’ she asked.
‘We don’t, we can put on the shower caps but it does leak a little. Either way the nits die within a few hours.’
‘Hours? We don’t have hours!’ Beth felt panic rapidly rising.
‘Calm down. We have a metal comb and we can comb out most of the lice and next week we do it again because the eggs will have hatched by then,’ explained Petra in a matter-of-fact tone.
‘This is totally gross,’ said Beth. ‘Who wants a nitty bridesmaid?’
Petra sat up and coiled her hair into one of the shower caps that were usually left with the shampoo and shower gel for guests who stayed at the pub. ‘Come on, let’s delouse you first, nitty bridesmaid,’ she said with a giggle.
After having her hair methodically combed and the comb contents thoroughly scrutinized Beth came to the conclusion that she might actually have escaped the nits, but it was better to be safe than sorry. She had done the same for Petra and showered and washed her hair three times until it felt vaguely normal again. That said, Beth had to admit that her hair did now feel silky smooth; perhaps the olive-oil trick might become a regular part of her beauty regime, not that she had one of those any more. Ever since she’d left London she had stopped having herself groomed because there was nowhere local and she no longer had the money for expensive treatments, but she felt better for it and more like her old self, which was definitely a good thing.
They left the boys, who were quite happy in their shower caps because they looked as daft as each other, and the longer they kept the oil on the more likely they were to have suffocated all the lice. It was all arranged that Jack would collect Leo and Denis from the pub and take them to the church with Fergus and Budgie so Beth could focus on getting the bride ready.
Leaving the pub, an amazing sight greeted Beth. The sun was now higher in the sky; most of the cloud from earlier had burned away to leave pretty wisps like cobwebs across the sky. The village green was picture-perfect with swathes of vibrant green grass and the last few blossoming trees, and even the horse chestnut was putting on a display with its cone-shaped blooms. But the most exciting thing was that the tent company had arrived. Its large vans were parked on the road, and the first tent was going up. It was nothing like Beth had imagined; her mind had conjured up the ancient green canvas tents that had been the pleasure of many a Brownie camp in her youth, but these were far different. The tent being erected, the colour of wet plaster and the shape of a giant tepee, even had wooden struts sticking out of the top. Within a few minutes it was up and the next one was being rolled out on the grass.
She spotted Jack helping to unload chairs. As she watched him he turned and looked straight at her, giving her goose bumps. She gave a brief wave and because his hands were full he nodded an acknowledgement. Beth walked back to the cottage with her heart a little lighter for having seen Jack and she had a firm word with herself that once she had left Dumbleford she really would have to get over whatever this silly crush on Jack was. But for the time being it was harmless so she was going to enjoy it, but from a safe distance of course.
Beth smiled when she spotted Danny the hairdresser’s car parked outside Willow Cottage but her smile faded as she saw the For Sale sign in her front garden, which reminded her that she would soon be leaving, assuming of course that someone wanted to buy it. She already had two people coming to see it on Monday, which was an encouraging start – well, that was what the estate agent had called it.
Inside the cottage was a hive of activity and she was greeted by Danny like long-lost treasure. ‘Beth! Lovely to see you again,’ he said, instantly taking a clump of her hair in his hand. She froze. Had he spotted a stray louse? ‘This has got long. Tut, tut, split ends and goodness, is this your natural colour?’ Beth nodded and for some strange reason tried to have a look for herself although she knew what colour her hair was. ‘Why did we ever colour this? It’s gorgeous. Not bad condition either seeing as you’ve been fending for yourself in this wilderness.’ He swept his other arm out dramatically.
Beth let out a slow sigh of relief. She had passed the nit-master test.
Chapter Forty-Three
The next couple of hours flew by with Beth making copious amounts of tea for everyone including Carly’s very nervous uncle who was giving her away and was now pacing the hallway like a caged animal. Carly had felt queasy when she woke up but Shirley’s vinegar remedy seemed to be keeping it at bay and all in all everyone was doing okay.
Carly coughed as she appeared on the stairs looking completely stunning. Her wedding dress was exactly what Beth had expected. It was a simple lace-covered ivory dress, knee-length at the front, and it descended elegantly into a full-length gown at the back, with a puddle train. Danny had done an amazing job on Carly’s hair; it was all encased in a very neat bun style, her dark hair shining healthily.
Carly had done her own make-up and had gone for an au naturel look, which suited her and enhanced her natural beauty. Her uncle wiped away a tear, Beth handed him a tissue and he blew his nose loudly.
‘You look amazing,’ said Beth as Carly reached the bottom of the stairs. Carly was glowing but her expression changed to one of contemplation.
‘Actually, I think I need to pee again, will you give me a hand?’ she asked, turning round and heading back up the stairs.
When everyone was back downstairs Beth picked up her flowers and straightened her own dress. She was pleased with her bridesmaid’s dress; it was a simple strapless floor-length gown in the palest blue and it couldn’t have fitted her better if it had been made for her.
There was the beep of an old-fashioned car horn outside and Beth leaped into action.
‘Right, remember to lock up and bring the key. The car will be back for you in about five minutes. Okay?’ she said, fussing around Carly’s dress for no apparent reason.
‘I’m fine, really. I don’t feel sick and I’m about to marry the loveliest man in the world,’ said Carly as her voice started to crack.
‘No, don’t cry, you’ll ruin your make-up.’
‘Bloody hormones!’ said Carly with a snort. ‘Go!’ and she waved Beth away.
Beth went to the door. ‘Promise no peeking at the car until it comes back?’
‘I promise,’ said Carly, picking up her posy of flowers. ‘Now go or you’ll make me more than fashionably late!’
Beth gave her a thumbs-up and slunk out of the door just as Chloe’s boyfriend was arriving with the video camera, so she ushered him inside. At least now she would get to see Carly’s reaction to Shirley’s car and she hoped to God that she liked it but if she didn’t it was only a short walk to the church.
Shirley’s little car looked marvellous. Simon had polished it and attached wide ivory ribbons across its bonnet and Julia from the WI had hung a flower garland around the inside, which was visible through its many windows. It was the perfect little wedding car, a little quirky perhaps but very cute. And best of all it no longer stank of the vinegar Shirley used to clean it with because Simon had thoroughly wiped the upholstery with a far more modern cleaner. Actually, when Beth got inside she noticed there was still a faint hint of vinegar but the freesias were doing a good job at masking it.
As they drove past the green Beth was amazed at the finished spectacle of the assembled tents. Now a crescent shape of large tepees cascaded from the largest central one and they were festooned with pretty bunting. Half the village green was cordoned off with the colourful garlands that were flapping idly in the light warm breeze.
There were a few cars parked near the church and far more people milling about. Half the village had turned out and pretty much all of the WI, along with lots of people Beth didn’t know, who she suspected were Fergus’s folks. She knew the village
store had sold out of confetti yesterday and had enterprisingly started to sell small bags of rice, no doubt out of date, instead.
Leo ran over clutching the ring cushion as Simon opened the door and let Beth out of the car. ‘I saw the For Sale sign. I don’t want to move. When do I get the rings?’ he asked his mother as he bobbed up and down on the spot fuelled by his excitement but with a melancholy look in his eyes.
She kissed him and decided to focus on the wedding-related question for now. ‘You can have the rings at the last possible moment,’ said Beth, still fearful that they would be lost between the church doors and the altar steps.
An unexpected ripple of applause broke out when Beth stepped fully out of the car and she felt herself blush at the compliment.
‘You’d better get this lot inside, I’ll be back in a mo,’ said Simon with a tip of his cap. Beth was pleased she’d gone with the slightly more expensive version of the chauffeur hat; it suited Simon, he really looked the part.
Beth and Leo walked away from the car and Fergus strolled over with Budgie, who was munching his way through a packet of Hula Hoops but politely shoved them in his pocket and brushed his hands together to dismiss the crumbs before he greeted her.
‘You ready for the rings now, big man?’ said Fergus to Leo, holding out a fist to bump, but Leo was still clutching his cushion.
‘Yeah!’ shouted Leo. Budgie took him to one side and they began to attach the rings to the ribbons on the cushion while Fergus introduced Beth to a ridiculous number of his relatives, none of whose names she would remember in twenty seconds’ time. ‘… and this is my da, Cormac.’
‘Now, aren’t you a sight?’ said Cormac, taking Beth’s hand and kissing it. Beth assumed it was a compliment.
A loud bark drew Beth’s attention and she saw Doris, resplendent with flower collar, trotting along with Ernie until something caught Doris’s eye and she bounded off with poor Ernie jogging behind her like he was the one being controlled by the lead.
‘… you’ve done all the organizing, Fergus tells me. Now, is there plenty of Guinness?’ said Cormac with a smile although his eyes conveyed the underlying importance of the question.
‘Yes,’ said Beth, trying to keep the bounding Doris in her sights. ‘There’s plenty of the black stuff. The pub landlady stocked up especially.’ But she was distracted by a commotion near the church and Budgie heading her way while signing frantically. Jack was close behind.
She hadn’t seen Jack since this morning when he’d been setting up the tents and here he was looking remarkably different. He was wearing a dark suit, one she hadn’t seen him in before, and coupled with his perfect dark hair and the merest hint of a smile she found herself staring – she didn’t want to but she knew she was. She had a sudden urge to mess up his perfect hair and felt her heart start to quicken.
Beth blinked, quickly realizing Budgie was trying to tell her something, although filtering out all the signed swear words made it tricky. She handed her posy to Jack and started to sign with Budgie as best she could and even her rusty effort was enough to make him calmer, which thankfully made it easier to understand his signing.
‘Rings, you’ve lost the rings,’ said Beth out loud, pleased to have deciphered the message. ‘Shit! You’ve lost the rings?’
It appeared that Doris in her urgency to get to a small rabbit on the far side of the churchyard had bumped into Budgie and Leo, sending the rings up in the air to land somewhere in the long grass.
She turned to Jack standing there holding the posy, looking a little confused. ‘Call Simon, tell him to stall. He can take Carly round the green and people can wave at her a few times, anything but stop her getting here until we’ve found the rings!’
‘Got it,’ said Jack, thrusting back the posy as if he’d just remembered he was still holding it. He got out his phone and started dialling.
‘Can I go and play with Denis? And those other kids?’ asked Leo, still clutching the empty cushion.
‘Er, no, you need to help find the rings!’
Unfortunately, Beth quickly discovered the more people you had trampling around the same small space the harder it was to find something. With Jack’s help she ushered the guests into the church and she and Jack had one last search for the rings while the organ music wafted out of the church. He was crouched down next to her and she could smell his spicy aftershave, which was making it surprisingly hard to concentrate fully on the search.
‘Bloody hell, how could they vanish like this?’ said Beth, parting great clumps of grass at high speed. ‘Ah, ha!’ she said as she and Jack both lurched for the same shiny piece of metal at the same time, his hand getting there a fraction after Beth’s and landing on top. They both froze. Beth could feel the smooth ring in her fingers but she could also feel the heat of Jack’s hand covering hers and he wasn’t moving it away. She moved her head slowly to look at Jack and he was licking his lips as if about to say something monumental. The moment seemed to hang between them.
‘Beep, beep!’ came the horn of the Morris Minor and Simon pulled up at the lych gate. Jack slowly took back his hand and gave Beth a faint smile.
‘At least we’ve found one of the rings.’
‘I’ll keep looking for another minute or two,’ said Jack.
Beth stood up, clutching the ring, her heart pounding a drum solo in her chest as she walked down to meet Carly and her uncle. Beth did her duties of sorting out Carly’s dress and when she glanced over her shoulder she saw Jack tie Doris up at the side of the church, where she flopped down miserably. Beth watched him sneak inside the church ahead of the wedding party. Carly was beaming and Beth was so pleased for her but she was a little distracted by the encounter with Jack and the ring she was still clutching.
As Carly took her uncle’s arm Beth tried to relax and her errant heart began beating a more stable rhythm. It was going to be all right. They walked down the aisle in time to the traditional music and when they reached the front Beth placed the solitary ring on the cushion that Leo was still dutifully holding. He grinned up at his mother and Beth felt the love and pride she had for her son swell inside. Beth looked at Jack and back at the cushion and Jack gave a brief shake of his head. Oh well, thought Beth, one ring was still better than no rings; there was nothing they could do now and she very much hoped that it would be a story they could laugh about later. She took a deep breath and began to actively listen to the vicar and enjoy the service.
But part way through that became difficult to do because Doris had started to woof outside, which quickly became an unrelenting bark. Beth glared at Jack, who twitched the piece of paper in his hand reminding her that he was about to introduce a reading so he couldn’t pop out to the dog. Doris continued to bark outside the church and could be heard even through the closed heavy doors, so Beth scanned the pews for someone to step in and help. Her eyes met Ernie’s and she twitched her head in the direction of the church door. Ernie gave her a brief wave, excused himself from his pew and walked out very tall as he went to undertake his allocated task. Beth smiled to herself as the doors clicked shut and Doris stopped barking.
The vicar announced that the next hymn was ‘Amazing Grace’ and Beth and Budgie turned to face the congregation and sign the words for the deaf guests. Everyone was smiling, some were even laughing, but everyone was happy and that was what today was all about, thought Beth.
Chapter Forty-Four
Outside, Doris was assaulting Ernie in the friendliest of ways as she greeted her new companion. ‘Daft dog,’ said Ernie, ruffling the velvety fur around her ears. When Ernie stood up he sensed there was someone watching him and he twisted to look down the steep path. A tall dark-haired man was striding towards the church. Behind him Ernie could hear the vicar speaking and as the man reached Ernie and the church doors the vicar asked ‘… if anyone knows cause, or just impediment, why these two persons should not be joined together in holy matrimony …’
Ernie stood up straight and stared at the man, wh
o tried to push him out of the way. He stood his ground. Ernie recognized the stranger; he’d met him once before and that hadn’t ended well.
‘No!’ said Ernie firmly, holding up the palm of his hand near the man’s face. Doris resumed her barking, this time at a more frantic pitch than her usual attention-seeking woof.
‘Get out of the way!’
Ernie went to speak but nothing came out. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. ‘M-make me,’ he said, resolute.
‘I’ve no time for this,’ said the arrogant stranger, taking hold of Ernie by the shoulder and roughly trying to move him to one side. But Ernie didn’t budge, he stood solid, and while the man was looking puzzled Ernie drew back his arm and struck him on the chin with all his strength.
Doris’s continued barking had been too much for Jack and he appeared through the church doors just in time to see the punch land. He quickly shut the doors behind him.
‘What the hell?’ said Jack, seeing Ernie nursing his right fist. Jack turned towards the stranger and instantly recognized him. ‘Nick?’
Nick looked taken aback but quickly composed himself and he inspected the blood now pouring from his split lip. ‘This imbecile should be locked up!’ he said, trying to get past Jack.
Ernie stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Jack. ‘Not stop wedding,’ said Ernie, his jaw tight.
‘Don’t be bloody ridiculous, I’m a friend, I’m here to—’
‘No, you’re not,’ said Jack. ‘They no longer consider you a friend. I think you should leave.’ Nick stood there for a moment rolling his eyes and dabbing at his lip with a handkerchief. Ernie pulled back his shoulders and lifted his fist, making Nick take a couple of backward paces, still inspecting his lip as he went.
The congregation inside the church burst into spontaneous applause and Ernie heaved a huge sigh of relief. Jack slapped him affectionately on the back. ‘You did good, Ernie,’ he said and Ernie puffed up with pride.
Escape to Willow Cottage Page 39
