‘Yes,’ she laughed. ‘Didn’t Ed tell you? We used to be married.’
Chapter Thirteen
Izzy barely registered that Jess was saying something. Her mind whirled with this startling information. Marie and Ed were once married? She hadn’t seen that coming.
‘It was good to meet you,’ Marie said, shaking hands with Lacey. ‘I’m almost as excited as you lot,’ she said winking at Izzy. ‘We haven’t had a wedding here for years, not since the Seigneur broke up with his wife.’
‘Well,’ Lacey said, her wide blue eyes shining emotionally. ‘When we planned our big day, Jack and I never envisioned it being this posh. We never would have tried to book anywhere this special, even if we had thought we could afford it.’
Marie laughed. ‘The only posh one here is the Seigneur, and he’s really friendly when you get to know him. Mind you, he can seem a bit imperious at times.’
Izzy watched Marie’s mouth move but couldn’t hear any more of what she was saying. Marie was very beautiful, down to earth, and friendly, and she could see what Ed would have seen in her, but it was like a physical slap in the face to discover he’d been married. What was wrong with her, she mused. And she’d been stupid enough to worry about his feelings for Catherine. This was another level entirely.
It wasn’t as if she knew him that well, so why did it shock her so much to discover he had a past? Because she loved him, that was why. And there was no doubt about it, she was bloody jealous.
‘You OK?’ Jess was asking.
Izzy glanced from her friend and realized the other two were also waiting for her to answer.
‘Everything all right?’ Marie asked. ‘You’re really pale.’ She took Izzy’s arm. ‘Come on, let’s get out of this heat and go inside for a cool drink.
She let Marie lead her back to the kitchen. They had just sat down when Ed walked in.
He stopped abruptly when he spotted them. ‘I didn’t expect to see you all in here.’
‘Come in, Ed,’ Marie said waving him in to the room. ‘This is Lacey, Saturday’s bride.’
‘Lacey, pleased to meet you.’
Lacey beamed up at him. ‘Jack and I are so excited. He’s taken time off work to come with me today.’ Izzy could feel the excitement emanating from the pretty girl. ‘We really are massively grateful to you all.’
‘It should be a good day, if the weather holds,’ Ed said.
‘Weather?’ Lacey asked. ‘I thought the forecast was good.’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t think we’ve seen the last of this heat, but there is a threat of fog.’ He looked over at Lacey. ‘I hope you don’t have any last-minute guests flying into the island, they might have a problem getting here if the fog does come down.’
Lacey laughed. ‘The only reason I wouldn’t want fog is because we wouldn’t be able to have our photos taken with these brilliant views of the garden.’ She giggled. ‘The only person who could miss our wedding would be Jack’s nasty auntie. She’s caused all sorts of problems with his family, so no one would miss her if she didn’t get here.’
Izzy glanced at Ed when the others laughed. He was watching her intently. ‘I thought you’d left,’ he said moving to stand next to her.
‘They came back to show Lacey around,’ Marie said. ‘Then Izzy had a bit of a turn so we all came in here where it’s cooler.’
Concern washed across his face. ‘You’re OK though?’ he asked.
Izzy, comforted by his obvious concern, smiled at him. ‘We’ve been racing around trying to do too much, probably,’ she said, hoping to lighten the mood.
‘You know I’m around if you need me, don’t you?’
She nodded. ‘Yes, we do.’
Marie took five glasses from a shelf and held up a jug. ‘I can offer you all fresh orange juice, or there’s tea if you’d prefer.’
‘Orange juice,’ they replied in unison.
‘My mum is going to be so full of herself at work after Saturday,’ Lacey said taking the glass of juice from Marie. ‘Dad’s always saying she’s never satisfied, but this will please her no end. She’ll be boasting about my wedding day for ever now.’ She giggled. ‘Imagine if I told her I’d changed my mind and didn’t want it here.’
Jess choked on her drink, and Lacey shook her head frantically. ‘Sorry, I was joking., I’d never let you lot down.’ She put her glass down on the table. ‘This is more than I could ever have wished for.’
‘Phew,’ Marie said. ‘That’s a relief. I think you nearly gave these two girls a heart attack at the thought of pulling out, especially after all the planning they’ve done for your wedding and cutting their holiday short to hold it for you.’
‘You were on holiday?’ Lacey asked, frowning.
‘We were,’ Jess said, still furious at the unfunny joke. ‘But we were happy to cut short our trip to come back and do this for you.’
Izzy, could tell Jess was doing her best not to react badly to Lacey’s teasing. She was desperate to calm the situation down before matters got out of hand. ‘Yes, we were,’ she turned to Lacey who was now looking a little unsure of herself, ‘we were happy to. This wedding will be the biggest one we’ve done to date, so we’re as excited as you for Saturday.’
Lacey took hold of Jack’s hand. ‘Phew, that’s a relief. I would have hated for you to have missed out on your holiday just because of us.’
‘We’re not. So, don’t worry about it.’
‘I don’t mean to sound grumpy,’ Jess said, taking another sip. ‘but we’ve put a lot of emotion, time, and effort into making your wedding perfect,’ she looked at Ed. ‘We all have. So, please, keep the jokes about something less serious.’
Lacey smiled. ‘Will do. Sorry. Jack’s always telling me off for saying the wrong thing.’
‘I know someone else a bit like that,’ Izzy teased, widening her eyes pointedly at Jess.
‘Who? Oh you mean me, thanks.’
‘Don’t forget, though, that Dad works for The Jersey Scene and they’ll be doing a piece on my reception.’
‘Yes,’ said Jess sounding, Izzy thought, far friendlier at this reminder. ‘We’re very excited to be featured.’
‘About the food,’ Lacey said. ‘Francesca said you’d be able to make suggestions about what we should serve everyone.’
Izzy nodded. ‘We’ll have caterers to make the food and we thought you could have the usual afternoon tea served with extras such as elderflower and prosecco jellies, and leafy salads with pumpkin, sunflower, and poppy seeds, topped with nasturtiums picked in the manor grounds.’ She was relieved to see Lacey’s smile widen.
‘Yes,’ Jess added. ‘and of course there’ll be Jersey new potatoes and plates of sandwiches like egg and cress, cucumber, fresh Jersey chancre crab. There’ll be tiny fancies, scones with jam and cream, and strawberry tartlets on our cake stands placed on each of the tables.’
Lacey clasped her hands together. ‘It sounds perfect.’
‘Yes,’ Izzy said, enjoying Lacey’s delighted smile. ‘It’s not your typical wedding feast, it’s based on a tea party theme, but these seem to go down very well, we’re pleased to say.’
Ed, who’d been leaning against the wooden work surface by the sink in silence, put down his empty glass and stood up. ‘Right, I’d better get on.’ He walked to the back door. ‘I’ll see you around.’ He waved to Jess, Izzy, and Lacey. ‘I hope your day goes well.’
‘I’m sure it will with these two in charge,’ Lacey said, giving him a cheeky wink.
Ed laughed, which made Izzy’s insides contract. Why did she want him so much, especially now?
‘I’m sure it will too,’ he said. He smiled at Jess and Izzy and then left.
‘Hey, hang on a minute,’ Marie shouted.
Ed popped his head around the doorframe seconds later. ‘What time do you need me to come back for you?’ he asked Marie.
‘No later than seven,’ she said. ‘Now bugger off.’
He walked away, raising his
hand to wave.
‘He’s so dreamy,’ Lacey sighed. ‘Not as gorgeous as my Jack, of course.’ She gave him a peck on the lips. ‘but if I was single I’d have to make a play for him.’
‘He’s a great guy,’ Marie said, collecting their empty glasses and carrying them over to the sink.
Izzy stood up. ‘Come along, you two,’ she said forcing a smile at Jess and Lacey, who was still staring out towards the empty doorway after Ed. ‘We’ve got a lot to do.’
‘Yes and I can’t wait to get home and call Mum,’ Lacey said, ‘she’s going to be beside herself when I tell her about this. Thanks, Marie, that juice was delicious.’
Jess and Izzy thanked her too and left the house with Lacey. Izzy was struggling to understand why Marie and Ed had divorced. Had she sensed a frisson of attraction between them? She hoped not. They seemed perfectly friendly and obviously still got along well and she couldn’t help wondering what had made them split up?
She pushed away the pangs of jealousy she couldn’t help feeling. She needed all her focus to be kept on the matter in hand and this wedding was, if nothing else, the occasion they’d been waiting for to secure their business’s finances, at least for a month or so.
The following day, making coffee, Izzy was feeling much better. She slowly pressed down on the handle of the cafetière. ‘Coffee’s nearly ready.’
‘I’ve done a recount and we’re definitely down two sets of crockery,’ Jess shouted from the living room. ‘But the new stuff is gorgeous,’ she added.
They rarely turned down the offer of vintage crockery and it had been quite a surprise when Cherry offered them her favourite fifties set earlier that morning.
Happy to be busy preparing for work, Izzy had begun to recover from the shock of her discovery the previous day. He was obviously still involved with Marie to some level. She would be a fool not to take this knowledge seriously. Since Marie had let her know about her history with Ed, Izzy was determined to keep any connection with him purely business-like from now on.
‘I can’t believe she’s given this to us, can you?’ Jess asked, holding a red and green patterned cup in one hand and a small matching milk jug in the other. ‘It’s to die for.’
Izzy agreed as she carried through the tray of coffee. ‘My gran gave her that set,’ Izzy said looking up once she’d placed the tray down on the old Cunard trunk that served as their coffee table. ‘I never imagined she’d part with it.’
‘Glad she has though, aren’t you?’
Izzy wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like Cherry to be sentimental about belongings, so it was even more surprising that she’d made a point of passing one of her few treasures away, even if it was to them. ‘It makes me a little sad for some reason.’
‘Izzy, shut up and sort out those linens, will you?’ Jess said. ‘You’ve been in an odd mood since yesterday and I’ve no idea what’s happened to make you so quiet. I thought you’d be happy now that Saturday looks like it’s going to be a success.’
‘We don’t know that yet,’ Izzy said, folding the last of the tablecloths and putting them away. ‘But it should be.’
Jess went out to the tiny kitchen and Izzy could hear her wrapping Cherry’s cup and jug. ‘I’m trying to work out why you’re acting so oddly.’
‘I’m not,’ Izzy lied, making a promise to herself to buck up and put on a more convincing happy face. Jess knew her too well to be fobbed off with her insistence that everything was fine.
Jess came back into the room empty-handed and sat on the arm of her grandmother’s chintz armchair. ‘Well? Spill. I’m not doing any more packing until you tell me what’s wrong with you. Go on, I’ll bet it’s got something to do with Marie. She said something to you about Ed and Catherine, didn’t she?’
‘No, she didn’t actually.’
Jess tucked a stray strand of her hair behind one ear and narrowed her eyes. ‘Well, something bloody well happened between you. You seemed very pally and I wouldn’t put it past you to have hidden something from me so that I didn’t kick off. Am I right?’
Uncanny, Izzy thought. ‘No, you’re not, so shut up.’ She poured coffee into one of the mugs for Jess and handed it to her. ‘Drink this and please stop going on. I’m tired, that’s all,’ she hesitated. ‘And not a little stressed about Lacey’s wedding. Let’s stop chatting and get organised.’
Jess pulled a face and carried on packing.
Later, Izzy had just finished sorting out the linens and bunting, when the phone rang, disturbing her counting process.
‘Bugger,’ she groaned, picking up their landline. ‘Hello, Lapins de Lune, Izzy speaking.’
Jess came back into the room and pointed at the laptop and mouthed, ‘Booking?’
Izzy shrugged and waved her away.
‘Izzy, is that you?’ someone sounding very much like Lacey asked.
‘Yes. Lacey? Is everything all right?’
Lacey laughed. ‘Yes, of course. I was phoning to ask if you and Jess wanted to come along to our barbeque on Bonne Nuit beach tonight? We’re having a pre-wedding get-together for the family and close friends and I’d love you and Jess to join us and get to know everyone before Saturday.’
Relieved, Izzy said, ‘Yes, we’d love to.’
Chapter Fourteen
Izzy and Jess stepped off the bus. Despite the warm evening Izzy was glad she’d thought to tie her denim jacket around her waist. The sun would soon go down and it would be cold on the beach.
‘I wonder how many people they’ve invited,’ Jess asked, her sandals slapping against the cobbled slipway as they walked.
‘No idea. This really is such a pretty beach,’ Izzy said dreamily.
They reached the sand and could hear the laughter and chatter before they saw Lacey and Jack.
‘We’re over here,’ Lacey waved, stepping around the granite wall.
Jess and Izzy waved back and hurried to join them.
‘Thanks so much for inviting us,’ Jess said.
‘No problem. Come and meet everyone,’ Lacey linked arms with both girls and led them to the noisy group.
‘Mum, Dad, this is Jess and Izzy, the girls from the hire business I told you about earlier.’
They smiled at Lacey’s friendly parents and said hello. Izzy was pleased to notice that Lacey’s dad was busy with the barbeque; in fact, he had two going and was already cooking meat on both. ‘That looks delicious,’ she said.
‘I thought I’d get you all fed before you consume too much of the good stuff,’ he joked. He nodded in Lacey’s direction. ‘I think she’s had a couple already and I don’t want her exhausting herself before Saturday comes. She’s got a lot going on this week.’
Izzy sensed he was looking forward to Sunday when the entire wedding was over and done with. Most of the fathers she’d come in contact with since they’d started Lapins de Lune seemed to find it all a bit much, especially when their daughters were as excitable as Lacey.
‘This time next week, you’ll be able to relax and wait for the wedding photos to arrive,’ she teased.
‘Don’t remind me,’ he laughed. ‘Her mother is already fretting about how many we should order and then there are the ones that will need framing.’ He began turning the chicken over. ‘I don’t recall our wedding being so much effort. It lasted one day and then we went on honeymoon.’
Izzy nodded a took a glass of rosé Jack had brought over and was holding out in her direction. She suspected that Lacey’s dad had probably only had to worry about his stag party and turning up on time at the church with the best man and the rings.
‘And you know Jess and Izzy,’ she heard Lacey saying to someone. Intrigued to see which member of Lacey’s party she already knew, Izzy turned around with a smile on her face and was stunned to see Ed staring back at her, a beer in his hand.
He looked as surprised to see her. ‘Izzy? I didn’t realize you’d be here too.’
‘Lacey wanted us to meet her family; you?’
‘I’m here a
s a thank you for sorting out the manor for the reception.’
‘And I’m here,’ Marie said from over his shoulder. ‘As a thank you for arranging cool drinks earlier.’ She came towards Izzy and leaned forward to give her a hug. ‘I think they’re just very grateful the wedding is still going ahead. It’s good to see you again. How’s everything going for Saturday?’
So this was why Ed had to be ready to collect Marie no later than seven o’clock, Izzy thought. She smiled, not wishing to appear rude. ‘We always make sure everything is spotlessly laundered, ironed, and packed away in tissue paper after each event, so it never takes too long to get our stock ready. The main thing we have to check is that all the crockery is still perfect and that we have enough with a hint of the colour the host has requested.’
Izzy couldn’t help staring at Marie. As envious as she felt about her connection with Ed, she couldn’t help but like the woman; she’d been so helpful at the manor.
‘Izzy?’
She realized Marie was saying something. ‘Sorry, I was miles away.’
‘It’s OK, you’ve got a lot on your mind. I was only saying not to hesitate to call me if you need anything. Lacey is so sweet. I’d love to help make sure her day is as perfect as possible.’
‘That’s very kind of you, thanks.’
‘That goes for me too,’ Ed added, looking, Izzy thought, a little uncomfortable.
‘Thank you.’ Unsure what to say next, Izzy changed the subject. ‘Have you heard from any of the others how the trip is going on the yacht?’
Ed shook his head. ‘No. I should think they’re having far too much fun to worry about any of us.’ He took a sip from his can. ‘It must be a relief to have more room now the three of us have left.’
‘True. It was a bit of a squash for ten people.’
Marie sighed. ‘What a shame you had to cut your trip short. Ed was relieved though that you were able to take on this other wedding to make up for Catherine’s. It was typical of her to cancel without a thought to anyone else.’
‘Yes,’ agreed Izzy. ‘She caused us quite a lot of worry over that. But Lacey’s wedding will go some way to covering the costs we would have otherwise lost.’
The Jersey Scene series box set Page 78