Christmas on Lily Pond Lane: A fabulously festive, heartwarming romance (a standalone in the Lily Pond Lane series)

by Emily Harvale

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  By the time the carollers and everyone else in the procession piled into The Frog and Lily, there was definitely no room to move and although the buffet had been laid out in the function room, that was small, and also getting full. Mia and Jet had only planned to pop in for one quick drink because they didn't want to leave the reindeer standing outside in the snow and Little M was getting more excitable than usual.

  'Make room for Father Christmas and his wife,' someone shouted when Hettie and Fred arrived, and despite the number of people, the crowds parted like the Red Sea, letting Hettie, Fred, Mia, Jet and Little M get to the bar.

  'I've never seen it this busy in here, deary,' Hettie said, as Toby served them.

  'It's crazy,' he replied. 'Especially as we're one down. I know I shouldn't mention her, but my sister was a brilliant worker.'

  'She was, deary. I agree. It's just a pity she was also a bit of a bad lot. At least Freda and Alec haven't gone away.'

  'Not yet. But they're hoping to get a last-minute flight, or at least Mum is, and Dad won't let her go alone. God knows what I'll do then.'

  'Can't you get some staff?' Mia asked.

  Toby shrugged. 'I think they've tried. Good staff are hard to come by. I'll see you later. Who's next?'

  'May I have three glasses of mulled wine, two glasses of orange juice, and a pint of your best bitter, please?' Leo was standing beside Mia, and she turned around to face him.

  'Hello,' she said, moving over slightly as Ella and Gill and Lori and Franklin came to join them.

  'Hello,' he replied, before the smile drained from his face.

  Mia turned and saw that Hettie was staring at him yet again.

  'I believe you know my mother,' Leo said, to everyone's surprise.

  'I do, deary,' Hettie replied, above the din of jovial voices, some of whom were still singing carols. 'I knew your father, too.'

  'And you think I look like someone else? Someone called Hector?'

  'You do, deary. Very much in fact.'

  'And he is, whom, exactly?'

  'He was my husband, but he's dead now, deary.'

  'I'm sorry for your loss.' Leo paid for the drinks that Toby had put on a tray for him and was about to walk away, when Hettie's words stopped him in his tracks.

  'I'm sorry for your loss too, deary.'

  'My loss? I don't know what you mean. I haven't lost anyone.'

  'Is that what your mother tells you, deary? Because that's not the truth.'

  'Oh? And what exactly is the truth?'

  'Perhaps you should ask your mother.'

  'I'm asking you. You appear to be the one who seems to have something to say.'

  'I've got a lot to say, deary, but I'm not sure if you'd want to hear it.'

  Leo seemed to hesitate for just a second before he smiled and tipped his head in her direction.

  'I don't think I do. And we're leaving first thing in the morning.'

  'You're leaving?' This was the first Mia had heard of it.

  'You're leaving?' Cathy repeated Mia's question, and she looked equally as surprised and concerned.

  Leo put the tray back on the bar and turned to Cathy. 'I was going to tell you later. I'm sorry.' He glanced at Mia. 'And you, Mia. I apologise, and naturally, we're not looking for a refund. This simply isn't the right place for us to spend our holiday. I'll return the keys tomorrow.'

  'Okay,' Mia said. 'If you're sure that's what you want.'

  He glanced again at Cathy, who was still standing, staring at him. 'It's not what I want. But I'm outnumbered. And this is a family holiday, after all.'

  'So she's running away, is she, deary?' Hettie said. 'Just like she did forty years ago.'

  'Excuse me?' Leo glared at Hettie. 'If you're referring to my mother, she's not running away. She simply doesn't like it here. She's a city girl at heart.'

  'Is she now? She wasn't forty years ago.'

  He hesitated again, but as Cathy suddenly turned away, he hurried after her.

  'Your drinks,' Toby called after him, but he had disappeared into the crowd.

  'Okay, Hettie,' Mia said. 'What was all that about?'

  Hettie stared into the crowd and shook her head. 'It was about a woman telling lies. He needs to know the truth, but I don't know if I have the heart to tell him.'

  'Who?' Jet asked. 'Leo?'

  Hettie nodded.

  'What truth?' Mia said.

  'The truth Elizabeth has obviously kept from him for forty years. The truth of who he really is.'

  'What?' Mia darted a look at Jet, who was shaking his head and frowning. 'Who is he then?'

  Hettie seemed to awake as if from a trance. 'Well, isn't it obvious? He's the spitting image of his father.'

  'No he's not. I've seen his father.'

  'No you haven't, deary. Hector's been dead for years.'

  'I told you so,' said Lori.

  'Are you saying that your husband Hector was Leo Hardman's dad?' Mia asked.

  'Yes, deary. That's exactly what I'm saying.'

  'Don't look at me,' Fred said. 'The first I heard of it was when we were in the sleigh, after Hettie spotted him. She told me all about it just a while ago. And I'm with Hettie. That young man has a right to know.'

  'That Hector Burnstall was his dad?' Mia still couldn't get her head around this revelation. 'But how?'

  Hettie tutted. 'Now deary, you of all people should know how these things happen. But I'm not sure that a crowded pub is the best place to discuss it.'

  It was a bit late for that, but Mia merely nodded.

  'You'll tell us later?'

  'Yes, deary. I'll tell you later. But now I think I need a very stiff drink. A very stiff drink indeed.'

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  'Cathy! Cathy, please let me explain.' Leo caught up with Cathy just before she reached the table where Jenny, Christy and the children were waiting for their drinks. He reached out to her and grabbed her wrist.

  She twisted round and glowered at him, yanking her arm free and virtually snarling when she spoke. 'Don't touch me. I thought you were different. But you're not. You're just like him. You pretend to be nice and then you do this.'

  She held her arm up and Leo gasped when he saw the impressions his fingers had left on her skin.

  'Oh my God, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to grab you that hard. I wouldn't dream of hurting you.'

  'I've heard that before. And I've been lied to before. It's not going to happen again. Goodbye.'

  'But Cathy?'

  'Stay away from me. And stay away from Daisy.'

  She turned her back on him and he didn't know what to say or do to make things right. He wished he could turn back the clock. Just by a few minutes. To before he went to the bar. Before he saw that woman. Before he said he was leaving. Before Cathy looked at him with fear in her eyes and loathing in her voice.

  This was turning into a disaster. How could a Christmas holiday in a cosy, country cottage in a tiny village by the sea, turn into such a nightmare?

  He watched Cathy talk to Christy. He saw the look she gave him. He waited while they scooped the children up and cradled them protectively as if they were scared he might hurt them. Then he saw the look that Jenny gave him. A look of contempt. A look of loathing. What had he done to deserve this? He wasn't a guy to be terrified of. To be feared. To be despised. And yet that was the way all three women had looked at him. And now they had all walked out in disgust.

  His blood boiled, and his temper grew. He turned and marched back to the bar, and stood before the woman who had ruined his evening.

  'I think you owe me an explanation.'

  'Oh!' Hettie said, in surprise. 'I thought you'd gone.'

  'I haven't.'

  'So I see, deary. Are you sure you want to hear this from me, and not your mother?'

  'I want to hear your version. And then I'll hear my mother's.'

  'Version, deary? I'll tell you the truth.'

  Mia int
errupted: 'Leo, I think you're understandably cross, but I don't think you should have this conversation here. Apart from the fact that we're almost having to shout over the noise, do you really want details of your private life blurted out in a pub?'

  'Mia's right,' Jet said. 'This is neither the time nor the place.'

  'I want to hear it! I want to hear what you have to say.' Leo's voice was slightly calmer, although he still felt furious inside. 'No one knows me here. And frankly, I couldn't care less what anyone here thinks.'

  Glen suddenly appeared. 'What's going on? I've just seen Cathy outside and she's terribly upset, not to mention Jenny. I offered to walk home with them and they glared at me as if I were the devil himself.'

  Leo felt as if he had been punched in the stomach and stabbed in the heart all at once. Cathy was terribly upset. That was the last thing he wanted her to be.

  'Could we use the church, Glen?' Mia asked. 'Just for a moment. Hettie has something she needs to tell Leo, and we don't think it should be here in the pub.'

  'Of course. I'll open the church up now. Come with me.'

  'Come on, Hettie,' Mia said. 'Leo. Come with us. Let's get this over.'

  Leo followed Hettie and Fred and Mia, Jet and Glen, with Little M trotting along beside them.

  'We won't come in, Leo,' Mia said. 'If you promise us that you won't get cross, or do anything you may regret.'

  'Good God. What does everyone take me for? I'm not a violent man. I would never hit a woman, or strike her, or hurt her in any way. All I want is the answer to a simple question. And you can come with us. I don't care.'

  They all trundled into the church and sat in the pews at the back.

  'Well, deary,' Hettie said. 'There's no point in beating around the bush, so I'll come straight out with it. Your mother, Elizabeth was staying in this village with the daughter of the vicar at the time. Hector and I had been married for fifteen years, and despite wanting a child, it wasn't to be. I reacted badly when I was told it would never happen, and God forgive me, I turned away from Hector. Elizabeth was young and very, very beautiful. And even though Hector was twenty years her senior, he was an extremely handsome man in those days. Just like you are, deary. I won't say your mother was to blame, but Hector strayed. Elizabeth told him she was with child a few weeks later, and in a state of utter shame and guilt and desperation, Hector told me about the baby. Together, we agreed that if Elizabeth were willing, we would adopt the child. She had no parents, and no one to help her, and it seemed the best solution for us all. And then your father, or the man you call your father, was walking on Frog Hill and fell and hurt his ankle. One of the villagers, Mrs Dunlop, took him in, and that very day, Elizabeth met him. She had skills with healing herbs and potions and she dressed Alistair's ankle. A few weeks later, they were both gone, and we never heard from Elizabeth again. We would've tried to trace her, and your father, but he hadn't told anyone where he came from and no one had thought to ask. We didn't even know his surname. As for your mother, I think it best if she tells you exactly what her background is, but suffice to say, she hadn't given the vicar or his daughter her real surname. She was an orphan, that's all we knew, and she had come to the village with a fortune-teller, for the Summer Fête. She got friendly with the vicar's daughter and stayed on for the summer. That's it, deary. That's the truth. My dear, departed husband Hector was your father.'

  Leo hadn't said a word, and even now, he didn't. He merely looked at Hettie's face as if he were in some kind of trance.

  'Leo?' Jet asked. 'Are you okay?'

  He glanced at Jet and nodded. 'So my dad is not my dad, and my brother is only my half-brother, and my mum was an orphan, and a traveller, I think they're called. So basically, everything in my life is a lie. And I'm not as surprised as I should be. It's as if, somehow, I've always known that things weren't what they seemed.'

  'Yes, deary, Hettie said. 'And your real dad is dead and has just passed on to his new life. It's such a shame you weren't here sooner, or you could have met him. In spirit, of course.'

  'Hettie,' Jet interrupted. 'I don't think Leo needs to hear about that. He's got quite enough to think about.'

  'What was he like?' Leo asked.

  Hettie smiled. 'He was a lovely man. Kind, considerate and caring. He never forgave himself for what he did and he always hoped that one day, he would meet you, but to tell you the truth, deary, I never thought we ever would. I was certain Elizabeth would never come back here.'

  Leo let out a little laugh. 'She wouldn't have, if it hadn't been for me. I arranged this as an anniversary surprise. Little did I know that I would be the one getting the surprise. The surprise of my life. More than one in fact. I meet a woman and fall in love. And I find out I'm not the man I thought I was.' He got to his feet and walked towards the door, turning as he opened it. 'Thank you, Hettie,' he said. 'I don't think this has really sunk in just yet. May I come and see you, sometime in the future? I think I'd like to hear more about Hector, and possibly see some photos, if you have them?'

  'You're welcome anytime, deary. Isn't he, Fred?'

  Fred nodded. 'Anytime at all.'

  Leo nodded and smiled wanly. 'And thank you for not saying anything awful about my mother. I wish I could say that she paid you the same courtesy, but unfortunately she didn't. Good night. Oh, and Merry Christmas everyone.'

  'Are you okay?' Jet asked again. 'Do you want me to walk with you?'

  Leo let out a snort of laughter. 'Thank you, Jet, but no. I think I can manage from here.'

  'Did you say you'd fallen in love?' Mia called after him. 'With Cathy, I assume?'

  Leo turned and gave her another wane smile. 'For all the good it'll do me.' And he closed the door behind him and trudged through the snow to Sunbeam Cottage.

  This was going to be unpleasant, but it had to be done. He had to ask his mum. He had to see if, after all these years, she would finally tell him the truth. A truth that explained so much. About why, although he knew his mum and dad loved him, they never loved him quite as much as they loved Hal.

  He realised now, that he had spent his entire life trying to please his mum. He was almost forty and he was still doing it. This trip to Little Pondale had been an attempt to please her, and his dad. Or the man he had believed to be his dad. Well, this had blown up in his face. But perhaps it was for the best. Now that he knew for certain. And he did know. He believed every word that Hettie had said.

  'There you are, darling,' Elizabeth said as he opened the door of Sunbeam Cottage and walked into the living room. She paled visibly as her eyes met his. 'You've spoken to that evil woman, haven't you? Even though I begged you not to.'

  'What's going on?' Hal asked. 'Leo, what's up with you? You look as if you've seen a ghost.'

  'No,' Leo said. 'But I do want to hear the truth.'

  'What truth?' Elizabeth turned away and busied herself filling everyone's glasses. 'That woman is a liar.'

  Alistair sighed and got to his feet. 'He knows, darling, and I've known since before he was born. Perhaps it's for the best. It's time to stop lying to ourselves and to everyone else.'

  Elizabeth cast horror-stricken eyes to her husband's face. 'You knew? For all these years, you knew?'

  Alistair nodded. 'Apart from the fact that he looks nothing like me and, over the years, we've never had any interests or hobbies in common, I'm pretty good at maths. You led me to believe he was premature, and yet the midwife made it clear from things she said, that he wasn't. It was obvious you fell pregnant weeks before I had my fall on Frog Hill.'

  'I can explain,' Elizabeth said, her voice cracking, her eyes desperate.

  'There's no need to explain anything to me,' Alistair said. 'I loved you then. I love you now.' He looked at Leo and smiled. 'And I love you too, Leo, although perhaps I haven't been the best father to you that I could have been.'

  Leo shrugged. 'There's no need to explain anything to me either. I think I've heard all I need to hear.'

  'Well, I sure as hell haven'
t,' Hal said, his confused gaze darting from Leo, to Elizabeth to Alistair and back to Leo. 'Perhaps someone would like to explain to me what in God's name is going on.'

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Cathy couldn't believe it. Why was she so annoyed? Why had she stormed out like that?

  It wasn't as if Leo owed her anything. It wasn't as if they had been dating. All he was – or what she had thought he was – was a nice man who had spent some time with her and her daughter. Just because he was leaving far sooner than she expected and because there seemed to be some drama going on in his life, it shouldn't have affected her. And yet it had. And when he had grabbed her wrist, she had instinctively reacted. That wasn't his fault, that was her natural instinct kicking in. She had sworn to herself that no man was ever going to hurt or try to control her again.

  And she knew Leo hadn't hurt her intentionally. He hadn't meant to grab her wrist so hard. Somehow she knew, deep down inside that Leo wasn't the sort of man to harm a woman, and certainly not in a fit of anger. He wasn't like Keith. He was probably the complete opposite, in fact. Everything he'd done so far had been.

  But it was too late now, and anyway, the man was leaving in the morning. And she'd known him for precisely one day. Not even a day.

  So why was she experiencing such strange emotions? Why did her stomach feel as if it had turned into a washing machine, tumbling back and forth and spinning her insides around? Why did it feel as if her heart had, yet again, been broken?

  It was ludicrous. Completely ridiculous.

  But the look of hurt and pain and sadness she'd seen in Leo's incredibly intense green eyes, had been very real. And there had been something else in his eyes. Something she had seen in a man's eyes before. Something she had seen in her husband's eyes, just before he died.

  It was the look of loss, of promise, of love – a love that could no longer be.

  And that look had been in Leo's eyes as she had turned and walked away.

  Now her head was telling her it couldn't possibly be the case.