Willow Cottage, Part 4

by Bella Osborne

  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 door 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 door 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, who 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.

  ‘Junior boxing champ nineteen fifty-eight,’ said Ernie, holding up his fists in a boxing stance.

  A few minutes later the large doors opened. Jack watched from behind the lych gate, where he had managed to convince Nick to stand so that at least he wasn’t the first thing the wedding party would see when they left the church. Ernie sat on a nearby wall with Doris and she was lapping up the attention.

  The bride and groom came out first closely followed by the young cameraman and Tollek snapping away while the newlyweds spontaneously kissed on the church steps. The rest of the congregation swarmed out of the church behind them and eventually Jack could see Beth. Nick had spotted her too and he was inching forward.

  ‘Hold on, they’ve got photos to do, I don’t want …’ But as he spoke he saw Beth searching the churchyard for someone and her face lit up when they made long-distance eye contact but the light immediately faded as she registered who was standing next to him. ‘Bugger,’ mumbled Jack.

  Beth lifted up handfuls of her dress and strode over, her expression now more than furious.

  ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ she said, stopping abruptly as she reached them. ‘What happened to your face?’ she asked Nick while aiming accusatorial daggers at Jack. Jack stepped back and held up his hands in mock surrender.

  ‘Nothing to do with me.’

  ‘Some half-wit attacked me,’ said Nick, looking doleful.

  Beth turned to Jack for an explanation. ‘Still not me,’ he said with a cheeky smile, which did not change Beth’s expression. ‘Ernie,’ said Jack, becoming more serious. ‘He means Ernie.’

  ‘Is Ernie okay?’ she asked and Jack pointed to where Ernie was sitting with Doris and on cue Ernie grinned and waved happily. Beth slowly turned back to Nick. ‘Ernie is not a half-wit, he’s a friend of mine.’

  Nick was pulling mocking faces but they faded as he watched Beth’s reaction. ‘Why are you even here?’ she asked.

  ‘I had to speak to you, Elizabeth. I miss you so much. This is all a misunderstanding. I love you, what more do you need to know?’ said Nick, sounding very rehearsed.

  Beth snorted. ‘You are bloody unbelievable.’ Nick looked genuinely surprised by her reaction. ‘This is Carly’s wedding and you’ – she jabbed a finger at him – ‘are not going to spoil it!’

  ‘No, of course not! We need to sort things out between us. Let’s talk. That’s all I ask. Please?’ said Nick, bowing his head slightly.

  Beth bit her bottom lip and Jack noticed a twitch of Nick’s cheek – even the guy’s facial tics were arrogant. ‘Okay. When we’ve done the photos I’ll come down to the green ahead of everybody else. And I’ll give you precisely five minutes. Then I’m expecting you to leave, Nick. Got it?’ said Beth.

  Nick nodded but his expression was slightly smug and Jack was momentarily tempted to split his other lip for him, but the feeling quickly passed.

  ‘Can you take Nick to the green and keep him away from the wedding party?’ she asked Jack.

  ‘Sure,’ said Jack, slapping him manfully on the shoulder. Nick shrugged him off and the two of them walked away.

  Tollek was nothing if not thorough and Beth kept asking Budgie what the time was. Each time he simply added on another minute to the time that he’d told her previously though of course that could have been accurate, she wasn’t sure. She felt like she was having some sort of mild panic attack; her breathing was fast and her stomach was churning and all she could think about was getting Nick to leave before Leo saw him.

  ‘What’s up?’ said Carly through a fixed grin while Tollek adjusted his camera.

  ‘Oh, it’s nothing,’ said Beth, slapping back on her best smile. ‘Look at you, Mrs Dooley!’

  ‘I know!’ said Carly, waggling her ring hand, which was adorned with a Hula Hoop. Budgie’s last-minute ring stand-in had caused a lot of amusement. She waved her hand at Beth and almost up Fergus’s nose.

  ‘Steady on there, Carls. Is it time for Guinness and cake yet?’ asked Fergus.

  ‘No, we need lots more photos of my gorgeous husband!’ said Carly, almost jumping up to kiss Fergus.

  ‘Nice signing, by the way,’ chuckled Fergus as he signed something to Budgie and they both collapsed into belly laughs.

  ‘Ignore them. I’ll tell you later,’ said Carly, grabbing Fergus’s arm and pulling him close to her.

  Leo and Denis were standing in front of Beth and still intermittently scratching their heads. Beth leaned forward a
little and had a surreptitious scan for anything bug-like. ‘Boys, they’ve all gone. Keep your hands in your pockets.’ She smoothed down a tuft of Leo’s unsettled hair while quelling the urge to scratch her own head.

  ‘Leo, I need to go in a second and check on everything for the reception. You make sure you stay with Denis and Fergus. Okay, promise me?’

  ‘O-kay Muuum,’ he said without turning round.

  ‘Right, everybody smile,’ said Tollek and everyone did their best pose as he clicked away. When he paused to check the shots Beth slunk over to him.

  ‘Tollek, are you done with me? There’s something I need to sort out.’

  ‘Er, yes of course, Carly tells me you have been a wonder—’

  ‘Great, thanks,’ said Beth, striding off towards the lych gate feeling a bit bad for cutting off poor Tollek. But she had to get rid of Nick. She quickened her pace and was glad she was wearing flat shoes – they made all the difference when you were speed-walking. While she walked along she marvelled how she had changed from the last time she had seen Nick. She was no longer afraid of him. Still angry, but not afraid. She was back in control of her life and it felt good.

  Beth walked past the side of the tearooms and the village green with the wonderful display of interconnected tents as they came into full view. The sun was casting a warm glow across the scene. The only shadow was Nick sitting on one of the benches in front of the tents where Jack appeared to be stalking around him. Beth hoisted up her dress so it didn’t drag on the grass and marched towards them. They both looked over as she approached.

  ‘He won’t let me touch him,’ said Jack, waving about a lump of cotton wool and a bottle of TCP. Nick’s lip was now a mess – swollen, purple and crusted with blood.

  ‘Right, give it here.’ Beth crouched in front of Nick and Jack handed her the cotton wool and TCP.

  ‘You’re beautiful,’ said Nick softly, reaching out a hand to touch Beth’s cheek. She dodged the contact and glared at him. He slowly lowered his hand.

  ‘You’ve got five minutes,’ said Beth and she glanced at Jack, who was still standing behind him. ‘Time him would you? Please.’

  ‘Happily,’ said Jack, rolling back his jacket sleeve and making a big display of scrutinizing his watch.

  Nick started again. ‘It’s all a misund—’

  ‘Let me stop you right there. You were about to hit Leo and you did hit me. There is no question about that. But that was simply one moment in time. The final straw if you like. You have spent the last couple of years isolating us and controlling us. And that has made me miserable and, worse than that, it turned me into someone I didn’t want to be.’

  Nick met her gaze and his cheek twitched again ever-so slightly. ‘I am truly sorry, Elizabeth. I didn’t mean any of it. I love you so much. Come back with me now and things will be different I promise you.’

  Beth dabbed at Nick’s split lip and he flinched as the antiseptic made contact. ‘Nick, you need help. You have a problem. People don’t control and abuse people without there being something deeply wrong somewhere. You need to get help.’

  Nick looked like he was going to laugh. Beth paused the dabbing and raised her eyebrows in anticipation of his inappropriate response but instead he tightened his jaw and nodded briefly. ‘Okay. I will investigate that. Will you come back with me now?’

  Beth shook her head. ‘No, Nick, I won’t. It’s still over between us and there is nothing you could do that would make me want to be in a relationship with you.’

  Nick’s expression changed; he leaned into Beth’s ear and growled his response. ‘I could make life deeply unpleasant for you and Leo.’

  Beth inwardly shuddered. This was the moment when she needed to hold on tight to her emotions. She was now literally facing her fears. She blinked slowly, took a deep breath and looked Nick straight in the eye.

  ‘Yep, I guess you can but it won’t change a thing. You see, you’ve lost your hold over me, I’m not scared of you any more.’ Beth tilted her head to one side. ‘There was a time when I’d have done anything to please you but I don’t want that now. So, do your worst.’ Neither of them blinked. She could feel the anger emanating from Nick. ‘I’m done here,’ she said, balling the bloodstained cotton wool in her fist and standing up. Nick stood up too and towered over her.

  ‘Four minutes gone,’ said Jack, but his voice was overshadowed by a sound nearby.

  They all turned when the smash and chink of breaking glass pulled their attention. Petra stood a few feet away on the pavement outside the pub, her hands in front of her as if she was still holding the tray of glasses that now lay shattered at her feet. Her face was ashen and her eyes wide with shock. Beth looked from Petra to Nick. Nick was staring at Petra but there appeared to be no recognition in his eyes, unlike Petra’s terrified stare.

  ‘What’s going on?’ asked Beth as Jack strode towards Petra.

  ‘Beats me,’ said Nick with a shrug, turning back to face Beth.

  ‘Nicholas,’ said Petra in a shaky voice, pointing at him, her hand hanging in the air despite its tremor. ‘Nicholas!’ she repeated but this time slightly louder. Jack reached her and put his arm around her waist to support her.

  Nick slowly turned back to glare at Petra and this time his expression quickly changed from a frown to one of startled recognition. Jack was still supporting Petra but his eyes were focused on Nick.

  ‘Is it him?’ he asked softly. Petra swallowed hard and nodded repeatedly.

  ‘Definitely,’ she said, her voice still shaky. Jack took his mobile out of his pocket and dialled a number.

  The jumbled sound of happy voices behind them indicated that the wedding party was approaching the village green. Nick’s head spun round when he registered all the faces now staring at him.

  ‘And again. What is going on?’ said Beth to Nick as Fergus jogged over to join them. Nick said nothing, pushed past Fergus and Beth and strode purposefully towards his car. Jack stepped away from Petra and walked a few strides nearer to Nick’s BMW. When he was a few feet away Nick pressed the button on the key fob and Beth noticed Jack was also aiming something at Nick’s car, something that looked like the remote control for a child’s toy.

  Nick pulled at the car’s door handle but it didn’t open. He squeezed the button on his key fob repeatedly but nothing happened. Beth watched Jack slip the small black remote control device into his pocket while he continued to speak into his mobile. What the hell was going on? Fergus was watching Jack intently and Beth realized he was lip-reading.

  She tapped Fergus’s arm so he would know she was about to speak. ‘Fergus, what’s he saying?’ She pointed at Jack.

  Fergus started to translate. ‘IC male circa six foot, dark hair, late twenties. Yes, that’s right … wanted in connection with a rape in Cheltenham … August two thousand and eight … victim’s name …’ Fergus stopped speaking and his eyes darted to Petra, who was now decidedly wobbly with Jack no longer holding her up.

  ‘Oh my God,’ said Beth as she ran to Petra’s side.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  When the police arrived Jack intercepted them and having made a citizen’s arrest he simply opened the back door of the police car and shoved Nick in. He had a short chat with the officers in the front of the car before they drove off. As dramas go it was handled very discreetly. Beth was stood outside the main tepee and she watched until the police car disappeared. By now the whole wedding party had trundled down from the church and were accepting glasses of champagne from a tray proffered by Chloe. Jack strode over, picked up two glasses and handed one to Beth.

  ‘Come on, now the celebrating can really start,’ he said.

  ‘Is Petra all right?’ asked Beth, taking the glass.

  ‘She’s not great, it’s been a huge shock but someone is with her and they’ll call if we’re needed. She’s a tough cookie. She’ll get through this,’ said Jack, offering Beth his arm. ‘Come on. You’ve got to dance with a budgie and I can’t wait to see
that!’

  ‘He keeps laughing at me,’ said Beth with a frown, linking arms with Jack.

  Inside, the joined-together tents made a huge space. At one end of the crescent was the bar and at the other was an area with patterned rugs and squishy cloth cubes to sit on and a swinging sign above indicated it was the chill-out zone. In a safe corner outside the chill-out zone was a pile of old crates painted and distressed in pastel colours that made the perfect cake stand to display what could only be described as a masterpiece. The cake was four tiers high with a cascade of pink and orange gerberas spiralling from top to bottom, and the bottom edge of each tier was surrounded by a halo of rosebuds. If Maureen had done half as good a job with the sponge underneath as Barbara had done with the flowers they were all in for a treat.

  The main area was taken up with a number of large round tables, surrounded by simple white fold-up chairs each decorated with an ivory organza bow. The centre of each table had a chalkboard and each table had the name of a famous film couple. Beth smirked as she read them: Scarlett and Rhett, Baby and Johnny, Han Solo and Princess Leia, Carrie and Mr Big were just a few.

  Above them were strung a multitude of fairy lights and yet more WI bunting with delicate posies of sweetly scented freesias dotted about – the whole thing was incredible. Beth was aware that Jack was watching her.

  ‘What do you think of the tents?’ he asked. Beth’s eyes drifted over to an excited Carly who was trying out the chill-out zone with a squiffy-looking Shirley.

  ‘I completely love them,’ said Beth, turning to him and clinking glasses.

  ‘Beth, can we talk? I’ve seen the For Sale sign outside Willow Cottage and before you make any hasty decisions I need you to …’