by Sharon Booth
'I expect we will,' Jed said. 'But there's nothing stopping me from coming back to watch, is there? Is it just you taking part, or does your sister ride, too?'
'Libby's very good,' Ophelia admitted, 'but she looks a bit daft on Flora now. She's too big for her really.' She eyed Eden hopefully. 'We need another pony. A bigger one.'
Eden patted her on the head. 'Yes, we've talked about this, haven't we? As soon as we can afford it, we'll do what we can. Give us the chance to get this business up and running, eh?'
'I did think,' Ophelia said, 'that Dad would have used some of the proceeds from Gideon to buy a pony.' She turned to Jed. 'Gideon was our prize tup. We sold him for a fortune t'other year.'
'Tup?' Jed queried, frowning at Eden.
'Ram,' she explained. 'He was the overall champion at the Skimmerdale Show, the summer before last. Eliot did do quite well with him at the sale. Nevertheless,' she said, giving Ophelia a stern look, 'we made it very clear that every penny of that was needed to put into this new venture. What did we say?'
'All right, all right.' Ophelia sighed. 'It's nothing to me, is it? It's Libby I feel sorry for. She loves riding, but her feet proper dangle now. Reckon it's a bit harsh, that's all.'
Eden bit her lip and turned away before Ophelia noticed her smile. Ophelia was a very forthright and opinionated person, and Eden could see her point about Libby, but she was perfectly aware that the timing wasn't right yet and was playing to an audience. Did she really think appealing to her in front of Jed and Emerald would make a difference? Little monkey.
'Heavens, don't give up now, Ophelia. You may be getting somewhere.'
Eden spun round as Emerald addressed the little girl. 'Please don't encourage her,' she said, trying to keep a lid on her temper. The last thing she needed was anyone giving Ophelia more ammunition.
'But it would be a missed opportunity if she didn't persist,' Emerald said, staring unblinkingly at Eden, while affectionately stroking Bella who was, as usual, sitting on her lap. 'I mean, she has a captive audience here. My father obviously takes a personal interest in you and your family, and I'm sure it wouldn't take much to persuade him to stick his hand in his pocket for a new pony. How many ponies did Honey have, Daddy dear?'
Cain looked a bit dumbfounded as Eden seethed.
'After all,' Emerald continued, addressing Ophelia, 'nothing means more to him than your soon-to-be-stepmother's happiness, and I'm sure he'd want to remove yet another burden to that happiness by fulfilling your dreams.'
Eden glared at her. 'We wouldn't dream of asking Cain to buy the children a pony,' she snapped.
Ophelia looked thoughtful. 'I don't know so much, Mum. It would solve everything, wouldn't it?'
Emerald giggled. 'I do like you, Ophelia. As children go, you're quite entertaining.'
'Can it, Emerald,' Cain growled.
'Stop stirring up trouble,' Eden said. 'We've told the girls already, when the time's right we'll get them a pony.'
Emerald rolled her eyes and leaned towards Ophelia. 'Prepare for a long wait, kid,' she said in a stage whisper. 'In my experience of parents, there's always something more important than you. Children wait in a very long queue.'
Ophelia looked pretty fed up and Eden was trembling with anger. If Ophelia and George hadn't been in the room she'd have told Emerald exactly what she thought of her.
Dimly, she heard Jed telling Ophelia to take no notice, that Emerald was winding her up, then Cain grasped her arm and said, 'Can I have a word with you, Eden? Outside.'
Shooting Emerald a filthy look, she followed him into the garden and closed the door behind them. Before she could even open her mouth, Cain threw up his hands.
'I know, I know. She's a pain in the arse. You don't have to tell me.'
'Why have you landed her on me? Seriously, don't you think we have enough to cope with, without her giving us grief every day?'
'I know, Eden, but the truth is I don't know what else to do with her.' Cain leaned against the wall and gave a heavy sigh. 'I feel sorry for her and —'
'Sorry for her! You're as bad as Eliot. He said the same thing. What is it about her that she can be a total bitch and still twist men around her little finger?'
'She ain't had a great life, and that's my fault. I didn't realise how crap it had been until recently. I left her to the cruel fates, also known as her mother, and she had a proper weird childhood. Bin dragged from pillar to post and Cassandra was too self-absorbed to pay her much attention. Thing is, I feel like I should make it up to her.'
'Then you spend time with her,' Eden suggested.
'Bleeding hell, no way. What would I have to say to her? Thing is, you worked miracles with Honey. Now, come on, was there anyone worse than that little git when you first came to stay with us? But look at her now. A happily married woman. Down to you, that is.'
Eden shook her head. 'Flattery will get you nowhere. You know as well as I do that it was down to Teddy. Honey fell in love and he brought out the best in her. It had nothing to do with me. Nice try, though.'
Cain sighed. 'But you could cope with her, Eden. I never could. I was always out of me depth with me kids, and I'm sodding drowning with Emerald. All I want is for her to spend some time living with a nice, normal family, so maybe she can start to think like a nice, normal woman.'
Eden tutted. 'Good luck with that.'
'She needs some good influences, that's all, and let's face it, I'm hardly that, am I?' He pursed his lips and considered. 'She seems to think a lot of Jed. He's the only one of her siblings she cares about. And she also seems to like Eliot. Between the two of them, they might be able to bring out the best in her. I mean, they're both ordinary, decent blokes. I'd like her to be around them. She's bin brought up by a single mother who, well quite honestly, lived in cloud cuckoo land.'
'She's a nightmare, Cain, and I've had enough of ungrateful little madams. I had years with Honey. I thought all that was behind me.'
'I know, Eden, I know.' He gave her an apologetic look. 'Just, can you try? For me? She's drifted along for too long now. She needs a purpose. This retreat thing — personally, I think it's codswallop, but it means a lot to her. Must do if she's willing to stay here and plan your wedding for you. I want her to give it her best shot, but she's going to need help to do that. She needs to learn some responsibility, and I need to know I can trust her. I'm asking you, as a favour to me, just let her do this, eh? I know she's a moody mare, but you'll get a cracking wedding out of it, and I'll be forever grateful.'
Eden felt like kicking the garden wall but managed to stop herself. A broken foot wouldn't help anything, would it? She should tell Cain to stick the money, then she'd owe him nothing. She'd always said she'd be happy with a registry office wedding and she'd meant it. It was the marriage that mattered. Then she thought of Eliot, and his stubborn insistence that they have a church wedding and a proper reception afterwards. She slumped, defeated.
'You'll give her a chance?'
'Doesn't seem like I have much choice, does it?' Eden gave a big sigh. 'I suppose so. But she'd better stop with the bitchy comments. I don't want the girls picking up on it, thank you very much.'
'Good girl,' Cain said, beaming at her. 'It's all gunna work out a treat. I can feel it in me water.'
****
'I guess you're really up against it, ha?'
Eden swung round, paint roller in hand, as Jed strolled up behind her. 'You could say that, yes.' She gave him a rueful smile. 'It wasn't planned, but then, you never can plan these things exactly. There are so many variables. Planning permission, unexpected structural problems, how many cups of tea the builders require per hour.'
She'd be glad when they'd finished. Right now, they were fixing a rotting loft floor in one of the barns and replacing some slates on the roof of the old stables. Once that was done, they'd be gone at last. She felt as if they'd practically moved in to Fleetsthorpe.
He laughed. 'Per hour?'
'You've been in America too
long. The British are awash with tea. It's what keeps us going.'
'Fair enough. So, you want this place up and running by early May, right?'
Eden pulled a face. 'That was the dream, but whether or not it will happen is debatable. We've only got a matter of weeks now and there's this place to paint and furnish.'
'Well, if it's any consolation, the flooring's all done in the smaller barn's dining room and kitchen, and it looks great.'
Eden gave him a grateful smile. 'Thank you so much, Jed! That's saved Eliot a job. Oh, and thank you, by the way, for sorting out the website and Facebook page for me. I wouldn't have had a clue.'
'Every business needs an online presence, and it's not that hard when you know how. I learned a lot when we started the band. I see the picnic tables are already in place beside the beck. Are you going to start serving drinks and cake before the bunk barns are done?'
'We thought we may as well start at Easter. At least it will be a bit of income at last. If we can make this work, it will be a weight off our minds. A wish come true.'
'Well, if anywhere can make wishes come true it's Fleetsthorpe. Look how Emerald got her wish at last.'
Eden raised an eyebrow. 'Does Emerald ever not get her wish?'
'You'd be surprised.' He folded his arms, thinking. 'Emerald came off worst out of all us kids, I reckon. Me and Scarlet, we got whisked off to the States, which seemed like the end of the world for a time but worked out pretty well. Marcus —' he laughed, 'well, Marcus is the most normal person ever. He's real happy with Janette and his little life at the bank, and good for him.' As Eden watched, a shadow fell across his face. 'Did Dad tell you Janette had a baby girl? Three days after the wedding. Six pounds twelve ounces. Mom and baby doing great.'
'Yes, he did. He's planning to visit them soon. Isn't it lovely?' Eden smiled, wondering why she had an odd feeling that the news had affected Jed more than it should. 'Justin is such a nice kid. It will be great for him to have a little sister.'
'Yeah. It will.' He shrugged. 'Anyway, as I was saying, Honey got all Dad's time and attention and pretty much ran rings around both her parents, from what I've heard. Emerald, meanwhile, got shipped off with her mom, who is, shall we be kind and say eccentric? She's stayed in the worst places and never got to settle anywhere for long. I think she's more vulnerable than she lets on.'
'Emerald! Vulnerable?' Eden spluttered with laughter. 'If you say so.'
'I know, I know. She hides it well. I think she just wants her dad, at the end of the day.' Jed held out his hand. 'So, pass me the roller and I'll get to work.'
'You're sure a superstar singer is up for this?'
He gave her a wry look. 'Sure I am. This place needs fixing up and I figure Eliot's far too busy to help much, so who else you gonna call? I'm at your service ma'am.' He gave a mock salute and she laughed.
'That's very kind of you, Jed, I'm sure.'
'Aye, right kind.'
Eden's heart leapt as Eliot walked into the room. 'Hello, you! What are you doing here?' She glanced at her watch and gave a yelp. 'Blimey, is that the time already? I'll fix you some elevenses. Jed, would you like a sandwich or something? Keep you going until lunchtime.'
'That would be great, thanks.' Jed smiled at Eliot. 'I've finished the kitchen and dining room floors in the next-door barn, and it's looking good, if you want to take a look. I'm giving Eden a hand painting here now. It's all coming together. I reckon you'll do a roaring trade.'
'That's the plan.' Eliot's voice was strangely flat.
Eden peered at him. 'Are you okay?'
'Me? I'm grand. Just hungry is all. Could murder a cup of tea.'
'Coming right up.' She squeezed his arm as she hurried past him, calling to Jed that she'd bring his elevenses over in a few minutes. At least, she thought with some relief, there was help at hand at last. She could hardly expect Eliot to paint when he worked so hard on the farm, and she couldn't for the life of her imagine Emerald rolling up her sleeves. Thank goodness for Jed.
****
Eliot was beginning to wish he hadn't come back to the house for food. Firstly, finding Eden in the barn with Jed had made him feel uncomfortable, although he didn't like to dwell on the reasons for that. He knew he was being pathetic, but the way they'd been laughing together made him uneasy. Jed was a rock star, for God's sake, with an American accent and plenty of money. More than that, he had a way with him, an ease about him. He could talk to anyone. Eliot couldn't help but feel resentful and he was annoyed with himself for it.
As if that wasn't bad enough, he'd followed Eden back to the farmhouse, only to be pounced on by Emerald, who was taking her wedding planner duties deadly serious.
'I've been into Kirkby Skimmer this morning, and look what I've bought,' she trilled, waving a pink leather Filofax in his face. 'I'm already filling it up with my to-do list, and I've ticked something off already. I've made an appointment for you to speak to Mr Edwards.' She beamed at them both as Eliot and Eden exchanged nervous glances. 'He's the vicar at St Mary's in Camacker.'
'Yes, we know who he is,' Eden muttered.
'What do we need to speak to him about?' Eliot said, feeling nervous.
'Well, what do you think?' Emerald giggled and tapped him on the arm. 'For goodness sake, Eliot, you wanted a church wedding! You can't reserve a slot online, you know. It's not like booking an optician's appointment. You have to speak to the vicar in person, and you'd better be on your best behaviour.'
'Why? Is it like an audition or summat?' Eliot was already grumpy, and this wasn't helping. Like he didn't have enough to do already. When was he supposed to find time to visit a bloody vicar, for God's sake?
Emerald tilted her head, watching him curiously. 'I'm guessing you didn't have a church wedding first time around?'
He saw Eden glance over at him and give him a sympathetic smile. She knew how much he hated talking about his first marriage.
'No,' he said. 'Registry office. Straight in and out.'
'Not very romantic,' Emerald observed.
'No. It weren't.' And look how it had turned out, he thought bleakly. Which was why he wanted it to be different this time around. He wasn't bothered about all the stuff that went with it—the clothes and the party and all that malarkey. He could happily have done without it if it wasn't for the fact that Eden deserved her special day. But the actual wedding mattered.
This one was forever, after all. It couldn't be anything else.
'So, this time you have to make an effort,' Emerald said, making huge assumptions about his previous wedding. He opened his mouth to contradict her, but seeing her bright smile and shining eyes, he couldn't bring himself to tell her off. She meant well, after all.
'Aye, you're right, I suppose, and it'll be worth it. So, when do we see the vicar?' He was aware that Eden was staring at him in amazement and tried not to look at her.
'Thursday morning. Ten o'clock. Hopefully you can get the date pinned down and then we can crack on with this wedding.'
'Great.' He risked a glance at Eden who was now rummaging, quite noisily, in the bread bin. 'Isn't it, my love? Good news that we can pin down a date.'
'Oh, wonderful.' Eden reached for some plates and gave Emerald an exaggerated smile. 'Cheese or ham, Emerald?'
Emerald pulled a face. 'I don't suppose you have any smoked salmon?'
Eliot rolled his eyes. The girl really knew how to push it. She was her own worst enemy.
Chapter Thirteen
The vicarage was an attractive stone house overlooking the River Skimmer. Beside it, basking in unexpected late March sunshine, St Mary's stood in a pretty churchyard, bright with the first of the daffodils.
'Like something from a children's book,' Eden mused, gazing up at the spire which reached into clear skies. 'I mean, seriously.' She shook her head. 'Look at this place. It's perfect.'
Eliot smiled at her. 'Right place for us to get wed, then.' He nodded towards the front door of the vicarage. 'You ready for this?'
&n
bsp; 'It'll be all right,' she assured him. 'Mr Edwards is a lovely man. Very kind. I'm sure he'll be all right with us.'
'Not him I'm worried about,' Eliot replied. 'You remember his wife, I take it?'
Eden giggled. 'How could I forget? The champion of the Dales.'
Mrs Edwards was a keen baker. She entered her cakes and pies at every local competition, and always, without fail, won. It was generally believed that no one dared to downgrade her, even to second place. Mrs Edwards could be a very fearsome woman when she chose.
'It will be all right,' she assured him. 'If you're absolutely sure you want this? The whole church wedding thing, I mean?'
'No doubts whatsoever.'
'Come on then. Let's get it over with.'
They both took a deep breath and headed up the path towards the door.
It turned out that Mrs Edwards, when not in competition mode, was a rather charming woman. Eliot and Eden exchanged astonished glances as she ushered them into her husband's study — a large, square room with long windows overlooking a neat little garden. A faded, rather thin carpet covered the floor, and the furniture was dark and badly scuffed. There was a strong smell of furniture polish, and Eden could see that someone — probably Mrs Edwards herself — was very house proud, despite the shabby appearance of the room.
The vicar's wife fussed around them, congratulating them and plying them with tea and cake, while her husband rifled through his diary and tried to find a suitable date.
Eden could feel Eliot's discomfort as the vicar expressed his condolences on the loss of Jemima. 'How wonderful that you've been given a second chance at love, and how marvellous that you've chosen to seal that love in our little church.'
She squeezed Eliot's hand as she felt him squirming with embarrassment. She knew how much of a hypocrite it made him feel when people showed sympathy towards the widower, although, personally, she thought he'd earned that sympathy. He was far too hard on himself, she reflected, never thinking he deserved any compassion.