Catherine glared at her, hands on her slim hips. ‘I didn’t do it, Jessica Moon. Now do you want my help, or not, because unlike you I have a life and can be somewhere else today that’ll be far more interesting than helping you out.’
‘Then why don’t you just –’
‘Jess, that’s enough,’ Izzy hadn’t missed the concerned look Catherine had given Ed before remembering herself and making it vanish instantly. Izzy didn’t know what Ed had said to Catherine, or why, but she knew that getting everything perfect for Lacey’s day mattered to him and she was grateful.
‘We need all the help we can get, so yes please, Catherine.’
Catherine smiled, the first genuine one they’d seen. ‘I also found another five sets going through the cottages again, and I’ve washed them up ready for you.’
Izzy and Jess headed for the kitchens, astounded. They heard the caterers arriving and Marie telling them to take everything through to the kitchen. Izzy was very grateful for her enthusiasm.
‘Have you seen inside those portable loos?’ Marie asked, coming into the marquee with a tray of glasses and a large jug of elderflower juice for them all. Placing the tray on a clear area at the end of a table near to where Izzy was standing, she added. ‘They’re more luxurious than my mum’s bathroom in Devon.’
Izzy hadn’t, but she had seen others at events they had organised and she’d also been surprised at how smart they were.
‘I know,’ she laughed. ‘Jess and I thought the same when we first saw one of them at a party. We’d love it if our loo at the cottage was half as beautiful.’
‘Drink?’ Marie asked holding up a glass.
Izzy nodded and Jess came to join them. ‘I really need this,’ Jess said. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. ‘It’s so hot today. I pity poor Lacey in her wedding dress, don’t you?’
Izzy nodded. ‘Rather her than me.’
‘You don’t want to get married?’ Ed asked, picking up one of the glasses and downing the liquid quickly.
She looked over at him and couldn’t make out if he looked relieved or disappointed at her comment. Watching him standing there, patiently waiting for her to reply, she couldn’t help remembering his taut tanned torso beneath his grass-smeared T-shirt. ‘I’m not sure, but I know I wouldn’t want to have to go through it on a day as hot as this one.’
‘You’re sensible,’ Marie said. ‘When we got married I wore a little cotton summer dress, not too different to the one you’re wearing today, Izzy. It was perfect for the Parisian summer. Mind you, we didn’t have a church ceremony.’
Izzy watched her looking over at Ed and realized he hadn’t taken his eyes of her.
‘Did we, Ed?’ Marie asked, holding the half-filled jug in one hand and an empty glass in the other.
‘What? Oh, no. No, we didn’t. You wanted to keep things simple, I seem to recall.’
Izzy didn’t ask if that had been what he wanted. She didn’t really want to know anything much about their wedding at all. In fact, standing here with them both, aware that she and Ed had spent the previous evening making love, made her feel distinctly uncomfortable.
‘That juice looks delicious,’ she said, reminding Marie about the drink she’d offered to pour for her.
‘What?’ Marie said, looking surprised to still be holding the glass and jug. ‘Sorry,’ she poured a glassful and passed it to Izzy.
‘Thank you,’ Izzy said noticing for the first time that Ed was holding something very sparkly and pink. ‘Is that my mobile?’ she frowned wondering what he was doing with it.
He held it up and stared at it for a second. ‘Yes, it is,’ he said walking over towards her. ‘I heard it ringing when I was passing the cottage just now and thought I should bring it to. It might have been an urgent call.’
He handed her the phone. His finger grazed hers lightly and his warm touch sent shivers through her body. ‘Thank you.’
He didn’t take his eyes off her, but cleared his throat and said quietly. ‘Your bag is still back at the cottage. I can go and fetch it for you if you like.’
Unwilling to pass up an opportunity to return to his cottage, however briefly, she said, ‘No, that’s fine, I can collect it after the reception is over.’
‘No problem,’ he said, the hint of a smile on his perfect mouth.
She breathed in his musky scent and only just managed to stop herself reaching up and pulling his head down to hers, desperate for their lips to connect once again.
‘Er, hello?’ Jess interrupted the moment, ‘Izzy, when you’ve quite finished, I think we need to press on.’
Izzy checked the missed call on her mobile. ‘I’ll just make a quick call to Lacey, see what she wanted to speak to me about.’
She pressed ‘redial’ and hoped this wasn’t Lacey telling them she’d called off her wedding, or even worse that she’d discovered what had happened to her reception. Lacey’s mum answered her phone.
‘Hi, it’s Izzy,’ she said, listening as the mother of the bride passed on a message from Lacey.
‘Thank you,’ Izzy said, relieved beyond belief. ‘And please thank Lacey for asking you to let us know. I hope the wedding ceremony goes well. Please send her our best wishes and say we’re looking forward to seeing her at the manor soon.’
She disconnected the call and turned to Jess. ‘That was Lacey’s mum wanting us to know that two couples have had to cancel. Apparently chicken pox is going round the island and their kids have come down with it.’
Jess frowned. ‘She’s telling us this why?’
Izzy laughed. Jess was always easily baffled whenever she was stressed. ‘She doesn’t want us to have empty places set at the tables.’
Jess smiled, realization dawning on her. ‘And that we have too many settings rather than too few, is that what you’re getting at?’
Izzy clapped her hands. ‘It is.’
She sighed loudly. ‘Such a relief.’ Checking her watch she added, ‘We have one hour before they’ll be here and we’re not nearly ready. Come on, Jess. Let’s move our bums and get this place ready to rock.’
Three-quarters of an hour later, after checking each place setting, and straightening the pretty table decorations Lacey had chosen, Jess and Izzy stepped back to take in the scene in front of them.
‘We actually did it,’ Jess said, her face puce and hair standing up in all directions. She draped an arm over Izzy’s aching shoulders.
‘I have to admit that this morning I thought I’d never see this moment.’
‘You’re not the only one, babe.’ Jess waved her free arm out to encompass the vintage-themed room. ‘I actually think it looks better than anything we’ve ever pulled off before.’
Izzy thought so too. ‘Do you think it’s the added colour from Catherine’s saris?’ she asked, half-expecting a snappy retort.
She shrugged. ‘I do, actually. Much as I hate admitting it, it was a brilliant idea of hers to hang them over the torn lining.’ She turned to Izzy. ‘You know, I think that whoever tried to wreck everything for us today has probably done us a favour in the long run, don’t you?’
‘Yes,’ Izzy agreed. ‘And I think we need to speak to Catherine about buying the saris from her friend. Maybe incorporate them in a more colonial theme rather than this vintage one.’
Ed arrived behind them, freshly showered and carrying the elaborate, flower-covered wedding cake. ‘Where do you want me to place this?’
‘Over there, please.’ Izzy indicated the only round table in the room that they’d positioned underneath the central sari. ‘Lacey certainly loves her colours,’ she said, going over to inspect the bright creation. ‘This looks like a cottage garden to me.’
‘I think it’s supposed to,’ Ed said smiling at her and straightening the cake on the table. ‘There. Now everything is ready.’ He studied the room. ‘Impressive. You girls are very good at what you do. The caterers moved their van to the back of the manor house a short while ago and Marie informs m
e that everything is now ready.’
Izzy thought about this and mentally ticked off everything that they needed to do. She nodded. ‘Yes, I think that’s it.’ She checked her watch again. ‘And only just in time, too. Come on, Jess, we’d better freshen up and make ourselves respectable.’
‘Use my cottage,’ Ed suggested. ‘You won’t be disturbed in there and I’ll keep an eye on this place so that nothing can be touched while you’re gone.’
Several hours later, Izzy and Jess watched the photographer take his final photos of the wedding party.
‘We want a couple of you two next to the bride,’ he said waving Jess and Izzy over. ‘I’ll send you copies of the photos taken earlier that my boss said you wanted to use for your website,’ he said. ‘Don’t forget to accredit them to us.’
Jess assured him they wouldn’t and smiled sweetly.
Lacey, holding hands with Jack, came over to them and giggled. ‘This is proper amazing; we can’t thank you two enough.’
‘Yes, it was brilliant,’ Jack said.
‘And no sign of that horrible ex of his either,’ Lacey said.
Izzy heard Lacey’s mum calling them over. ‘You two had better go, or you’ll be late for your flight out.’
They watched them go.
‘I’m so tired I think I’m going to collapse,’ Jess said. ‘I could sleep right here on this grass if they’d only all bugger off.’
Izzy laughed. After her night at Ed’s and then the exhaustion of the day, she understood what Jess meant. ‘Me too.’
The girls waved goodbye to Lacey and Jack as they were driven away in her uncle’s vintage Mercedes. They then helped Lacey’s mum pack up what remained of the wedding cake. As soon as the last guest had driven around the bend at the top of the long driveway, Jess ran to their van to bring it round to the entrance of the marquee.
‘Marie did offer to help us wash this lot up,’ Jess said, ‘but I just want to get home and collapse. We can tackle it all in the morning before returning the sets to their rightful owners.’
‘It’s a good thing we’re used to doing this,’ Izzy said, scraping the remnants of the food from the plates into the small bin they always brought for this use. ‘Mind you, this lot didn’t leave too much.’ She kicked off her sandals and wriggled her toes to ease her aching feet. ‘I’m shattered,’ she said.
‘Probably because you didn’t get much sleep last night,’ Jess giggled, holding up a fork and winking at her. ‘It’s not like you to stay out all night.’
Izzy carried on scraping and piling plates. When she had a full crate, she carried it out to put it into the back of the van. She wasn’t surprised at Jess’s amusement. It was the first time her friend had ever known her to spend the night with someone since David’s death. She returned to the marquee.
‘You don’t mind me teasing you, do you?’ Jess asked.
Aware she hadn’t replied to her earlier comment, Izzy shook her head. ‘No, of course not, I was just thinking, that’s all.’
‘So, was it good?’ Jess asked.
‘What?’ It was her turn to make Jess feel uncomfortable now.
‘Izzy, you know exactly what I mean,’ Jess groaned. ‘Was Ed any good in bed?’
Izzy laughed, but before she could reply, she felt a change in the tension in the room and glanced at Jess to see her staring at the doorway, her cheeks reddening. She knew without looking that Ed must be standing there having heard every word.
‘Well, Izzy?’ he asked. ‘Was he?’
She turned to look at him, a wide smile on his face. ‘I refuse to kiss and tell,’ she said.
‘Do you need any help with clearing away?’ he asked, laughing.
‘No thanks, we’re used to doing this and have a system.’
‘I’ll get the guys to help clear away the tables and take down those saris for you,’ he said, locking eyes with her for several seconds. ‘I’ll leave you to it; I need to go and do something in the manor.’
‘Spoilsport,’ Jess whispered as Ed walked away.
They finished the clearing up and loaded the van.
‘Phew, that was a lot of work,’ Jess said. ‘I hope we get more bookings out of it.’
‘Yes,’ agreed Izzy, ‘I can’t wait to see the photos. He took loads, didn’t he?’
Jess yawned. ‘I just want to get home and chill in front of the telly with a glass of rosé.’
‘Me too, but I’ll just need to get my bag,’ Izzy said. ‘Turn the van round, I’ll only be a second.’
She hurried across the parking area to the cottage, grabbed her bag and was walking back to the van when she heard Ed’s voice. He sounded angry and sterner than she’d ever heard him before. She followed his voice and walking into the kitchen spotted Catherine and Marie glaring at each other. She stepped back, not wishing to let them see she was within earshot.
‘I think your time here is over, don’t you?’ she heard Catherine saying to one of them.
‘Why did you do it?’ Ed’s voice was quiet, but he sounded devastated.
Izzy strained to hear if he said anything more. She couldn’t imagine what was going on in the room but waited to hear more.
‘Because she’s jealous,’ Catherine snapped. ‘Aren’t you, Marie?’
‘Of her?’ Marie laughed. ‘He’s had other girlfriends since me and I’ve never been bothered about them. Why would I care about some cutesy little Jersey girl he’s been interested in for five minutes?’
Marie’s words stung. She moved slightly closer to the doorway.
‘Because he’s in love with her and if I can see it you certainly can.’ Catherine said. ‘So, Ed, are you going to tell her?’
Izzy stepped forward to make her presence known. ‘He doesn’t have to,’ she said taking in the picture of the two antagonistic women standing at either sides of the room with Ed scowling between them.
‘Here we are, Miss Perfection,’ Marie spat, narrowing her eyes and glaring venomously at Izzy.
The spite in her gaze stunned Izzy. She’d only ever known Marie to be friendly and accommodating before.
‘Are you still in love with him?’ she asked, aware it was a stupid question.
‘What do you think?’ Marie sneered.
‘Tell her,’ Ed said, glaring at Marie. ‘Or I will.’
‘Do what you like,’ Marie shouted, throwing a glass at him and narrowly missing his face when he leaned away. Catherine walked slowly up to Marie, her nose almost touching the other woman’s.
‘If you think that after this my father would have anything to do with you then you’re sorely mistaken.’
Marie threw back her head and laughed. ‘Oh, Miss Spoilt Brat, who are you to tell me what I can and can’t do? You’re only jealous because Ed married me.’
Izzy held her breath, suspecting this notion did have some truth in it.
‘I don’t deny that I was jealous.’ Catherine looked up at Ed. ‘You know how I feel about you. Felt,’ she corrected herself, probably, Izzy suspected, because she was now married to someone herself. She focused her attention back at Marie. ‘But that doesn’t give you the right to have your own way all the time. I’m going to tell my father what you’ve done.’ She smirked. ‘You’re welcome to come with me if you want. I can guarantee that however much I frustrate him with my behaviour at times, he will believe me over you and instead of moving in with him at the manor house, you’ll be packing your bags and leaving.’
Izzy could tell Marie believed everything Catherine was telling her. She did too.
‘You bitch,’ Marie shrieked, pointing in Catherine’s face.
Catherine smirked at her, looking very self-satisfied with Marie’s reaction. ‘Yes, and I think you’re about to discover quite how horrible I can be.’
Marie glared at her. ‘Do what you like, I’m leaving.’ She pushed past Ed and rushed out of the back door, slamming it as she left.
Izzy looked at Catherine. ‘So, it was Marie who trashed the marquee.’
Catherine nodded. ‘It was, although after my behaviour towards you and Jess before and during the French trip, I can understand you both suspecting me.’
‘Are you going to tell Izzy why you eloped?’
Catherine looked unsure and she and Ed stared at each other thoughtfully for a few seconds, before she addressed Izzy. ‘I overheard Ed and my father discussing finances and discovered that Dad has problems. I couldn’t bear for him to have to pay for my wedding, so thought the best thing I could do would be elope.’
Izzy’s mouth fell open. ‘I never thought …’
Ed walked over to Izzy and took her by the shoulders. ‘She just didn’t think of the consequences of running away and how it would affect Lapins de Lune.’
‘No,’ Catherine said. ‘And I really am sorry about that. When Jess went on about it, I was so humiliated to think that my father could end up losing all this that I reacted nastily and turned on you both.’ She hesitated. ‘I’m sorry, truly.’
Izzy could only imagine the fear of losing everything when you had only known this sort of luxury. ‘It’s fine, I understand.’
‘Ed has been trying to persuade my father to hold more weddings here. Large, lavish ones that will make him some money and maybe help clear a few of his debts.’
‘I thought you were doing this for us,’ she said quietly to Ed, unable to help feeling hurt that his motives hadn’t been about her and Jess after all.
He tilted his head to one side. ‘I thought you holding Lacey’s reception here was perfect timing to show him that it didn’t need to be invasive having a wedding in the manor grounds, while at the same time helping you two out of a tight spot.’
She couldn’t blame him. It had helped save them after all. ‘It was a good idea,’ she said. She heard a car starting up outside and remembered Marie’s part in everything. ‘I can’t believe Marie could be so vindictive though. After everything she’s said.’
Catherine groaned. ‘So you thought she was being friendly when she kept reminding you that she and Ed were married, where they were married, and what she was bloody wearing, did you?’
Now that Catherine mentioned it, Marie’s constant reminders had been a bit much. She thought back to seeing Catherine and Ed in the cabin and decided that while all this was coming out, now was the time to ask Catherine about it.
The Jersey Scene series box set Page 88