by Sharon Booth
'I — I thought I were over it, but I keep remembering stuff. Stuff from when we were first wed.' He tutted. 'Stuff I'd forgotten, buried along with her. But it weren't always bad. Truth is, you're right. Whatever I've said in the past, I loved her.' He drew a great, shuddering breath. 'I loved her so much, and then it all went wrong, and she — she died, Eden.'
Suddenly, Eden found herself crying, as great, wracking sobs shook his body and vibrated through hers. 'I know,' she soothed through her tears, 'I know. It's okay. It's all right.'
'I don't know why,' he kept repeating, clearly bewildered by his own emotions.
'I think, maybe this wedding has brought it all back. Stirred it up.' Eden stroked his hair. 'You've not been yourself ever since we booked it, let's face it. I thought it was because of the stress of this fancy wedding you've set your heart on, but clearly there's been more to it than that.'
'I'm worried about Georgie — whether I'm doing what Jemima wants. She loved Fuller. Mebbe she'd want him to have the lad?'
'You can't really think that?'
'I don't know! That's the trouble. She were taking him away from me. She wanted Fuller's name on the birth certificate. What if she can't rest, knowing I'm bringing their son up?'
'Eliot, this is ridiculous. The one thing I know about Jemima is that she loved her children. Really loved them. The last thing she'd want is for George to be brought up by someone who couldn't be bothered with him when he was a helpless baby. And she'd want her children to be together, I'm sure of that. Whatever happened between you, you're a good father, and Jemima knew that. I'll bet she'd be so grateful to you for all you've done the children. Really.'
'I keep trying to tell meself that. Truth is, I feel guilty that I can move on,' he confessed. 'Here I am, with you at my side. You've made me so happy, and I love you so much. But Jemima's in the ground. No second chances for her are there? She were so young, and so beautiful. It isn't fair. Whatever she did, however she behaved, that's not fair is it?'
'No,' Eden agreed softly. 'It isn't. Life isn't fair sometimes, and we can't change that. All we can do is try to make the best of the good times while we can.' She paused. 'But if you feel so guilty about Jemima, why were you insistent that we had a big, formal wedding?'
Eliot wiped his eyes. 'I know it sounds daft, but I kept remembering my first wedding. Just the two of us, there were, and a couple of people she knew as witnesses. I wouldn't call them friends, since they never bothered to visit afterwards. We nipped into registry office and had a quick drink in the pub, then it were back to farm. That were it.' He gave a mirthless laugh. 'We thought it were romantic at the time. Whole world seemed against us, but we had each other. Well, look how that turned out.
'I thought — I thought it had to be different this time. Maybe, if we could have a beginning that were completely the opposite, we'd have an ending that were different an' all. I wanted us to be happy ever after, Eden, and I thought, maybe having the works would give us that. I wanted a church wedding, with God's blessing on us.' He shrugged. 'Not even sure I believe in God, but if He is up there, I want Him on our side from the off. And a church full of all the people we know and love, wishing us well. And no quick nipping in to get wed then going home. I wanted us to have it all — a right big party with all the stuff me and Jemima should have had but didn't. Mebbe,' he tutted, 'and I know how daft it sounds, but mebbe if we'd had all that stuff, things might have worked out different.'
Eden narrowed her eyes. 'You really believe that?'
He hesitated for a moment. 'I suppose not, not when I think about it logically. But I didn't want to challenge fate, so to speak. Do you understand?'
'I think I do, yes.'
'Jemima gave up everything to be with me,' he murmured, looking out across the meadows. 'She didn't realise it, of course. She thought her family would come round, that her dad would cave in and come and visit her, but he never did.' His tone hardened. 'How could he cut her off like that? Broke her heart. She did some bad things, made some big mistakes, but at heart, she just wanted her dad, truth be told.'
Eden stepped back and stared up at him, aghast. 'Like Emerald!'
She saw the sheepish expression on his face and gasped. 'That's it, isn't it? That's why you kept taking Emerald's side, gave her chance after chance, felt so sorry for her! To you, she's another Jemima.'
'I thought I could help her in a way I couldn't help Jemima,' he confessed. 'Jemima had no one to turn to, no one on her side. I let her down badly. I didn't realise how much it got to her, how much she gave up for me, for us. Emerald loves Cain, and all she wants is for him to love her back. I wanted her to know that, whatever her dad did or didn't do, she had friends. People who cared about her no matter what. Jemima didn't.' He tutted. 'Except for Fuller, who sensed her vulnerability and moved in on her.' Hesitantly, he placed his hand on Eden's shoulder. 'Do you understand what I'm saying, my love? Have I made things between us even worse?'
'Of course you haven't. I understand completely.' Eden felt a bubbling surge of relief and joy. 'I knew there was something between us, I just couldn't figure out what. Then I started to put two and two together, but I knew you had to work it out for yourself first. I'm so glad Ophelia mentioned the lockets, because it finally made you crack. I was beginning to think you never would.'
Eliot sighed and pulled her to him, and they stood for a few moments, worn out and battered, but united at last.
'This wedding,' Eden said eventually, 'it's not what you want at all, is it?'
'I want what you want,' he said. 'Truth is, you deserve the best, like Cain says.'
'But what if what I want isn't what you think?' she said. 'I told you, months ago, that I'd be happy with a registry office wedding and straight home again. All that matters to me is that we're married.'
'But you said you were looking forward to a big do,' he protested. 'You let Cain put Emerald in charge and everything.'
'Because I thought it was what you wanted, and I can see now that we've been at cross purposes.'
Eliot frowned. 'What did you really think to Emerald's mood board?'
Eden burst out laughing. 'Appalling! Everything I don't want! How about you?'
'Same,' he admitted. 'I were gutted, but I thought you liked it.'
'I thought you liked it.'
They pressed their foreheads together, wide grins on their faces. 'We've proper messed this up,' Eliot said.
'It's not too late, though,' Eden said slowly. 'I don't want this wedding, you don't want this wedding.'
'What are you saying, my love?'
'Eliot, I think we should scrap the whole bloody thing.' She reached up and planted a kiss on his lips. 'Shall we visit Mr Edwards?'
He paused for a moment, then nodded. 'Aye, we will. But first, there's summat I've got to do, and now I know you'll understand why.'
As his gaze fell on the last of the wildflowers, Eden smiled. 'I think that's a lovely idea,' she said softly. 'Let's go and say goodbye to Jemima properly.'
****
Eden opened the oven door and peered in, nodding in satisfaction at the sight of the well-risen, golden scones. 'They'll do,' she pronounced, reaching for her oven gloves and carefully lifting the baking trays out. It would be all she needed if she dropped them after all that effort!
With great attention, she placed them all on wire racks to cool, then shoved the baking trays on the draining board, yawning as she did so. She'd tackle the washing up in a minute, she thought.
Outside, she heard the protesting bleats from the sheep, as Lug and Jake herded them through the farmyard where Eliot and Jed shut them into pens, ready for Mickey to begin the shearing. Eliot would be clipping them, too, but he readily admitted he wasn't as fast as Mickey and, frankly, he hated the job. Maybe, she thought, it would have appealed more if he made any money from the fleeces. Those days seemed to be long gone, though.
She knew the men would be hot and bothered by now. The sheep hated being penned in, and they strugg
led ferociously when they were handled. They seemed unable to grasp that it was for their own good. They needed rid of those thick fleeces now that summer was well and truly here.
She filled the kettle with water, knowing all too well that the men would be desperate for a cup of tea.
There was a knock on the door and she hurried through to the hallway, scooping down to collect a bundle of letters from the floor before opening the door.
'Sorry to bother you.' A middle-aged couple with rucksacks on their backs smiled at her uncertainly. 'There's a sign by the gate saying cream teas, and that chap over there,' the man added, nodding over at Jed, who was currently struggling with a rather lively and thoroughly stubborn gimmer, 'said to knock here. Is that all right?'
She smiled. 'Yes, of course. Scone, jam and cream and a cup of tea?'
'Lovely,' they said, enthusiastically.
'If you go and sit at one of the picnic tables by the beck, I'll bring it out to you,' she promised.
She hurried back into the kitchen, flicking through the letters as she did so. Her heart stopped as she saw the lettering on the back of a particularly thick, expensive looking envelope. Hebblewhite and Wilson, Solicitors, Richmond. Eden's stomach churned in dread. What did they want now?
She pushed the letters to one side and concentrated on the job in hand. She made tea for everyone, using cups for the hikers and mugs for the workers, then she reached into the cupboard and brought out the large cake tin which contained an earlier batch of scones.
Quickly, she placed two of them on plates, added dishes of clotted cream and jam and put them all on a tray, along with the cups of tea and cutlery.
She carried the tray over to the picnic table, where the hikers greeted her with great eagerness and much appreciation, along with their payment.
Assuring them that they were welcome, she headed back to the farmhouse, deep in thought. She would have to tell Eliot, of course, but was it best to wait until the evening, when the kids were in bed and shearing was over for the day? Would he be able to concentrate if the letter was yet more bad news?
In the event, she had no need to decide. As she re-entered the kitchen, Eliot was leaning back against the sink, his brows knitted together in a frown as he perused the letter in question.
He looked up as she approached and waved the piece of paper at her. 'You have to see this!'
Nervously she stretched out a hand. 'Bad news?'
He looked dazed. 'I dunno what to make of it. It dun't make no sense, my love. What do you think?'
Eden quickly read through it, her eyes widening the further down she got. 'But — but — why?'
'I have no idea.' He sounded bewildered, as well he might. Deborah Fuller's solicitor was more-or-less apologising for his previous letters and had assured them there would be no further action taken, regarding seeking custody of George Harland, nor even in seeking to finally determine his true parentage. In other words, case closed. 'All I can think,' Eliot murmured, 'is that Beth leaving Fuller's had summat do with it.'
'Maybe Jed would know,' she suggested, still reeling from the recent revelation that Beth and Jed were a couple.
When Jed had told them that morning, she'd been so excited for them. Jed had eyed Eliot doubtfully, aware that he and Beth went back a long way. It must've come as a big relief to him when Eliot clasped his hand and told him he couldn't be happier for them. Personally, Eden hadn't expected any other reaction.
'Happen. I'll ask him.' He shook his head. 'I dunno, I only came in to see if there were any chance of a brew, and what do I find? Mugs of tea all ready and waiting for us, and this! What a day.'
'We must find out if he knows anything,' Eden said, a part of her afraid that this was some trick. She couldn't believe the nightmare could be over so easily. 'I'll carry mine and Mickey's mugs over, you take Jed's.'
Jed was watching Mickey in awe. 'This guy's incredible,' he said, nodding his thanks as Eliot handed him his tea. 'Ninety seconds! Ninety seconds to shear a whole sheep. How is that even possible?'
'No idea,' Eliot admitted. 'Takes me that bloody long to switch yon clippers on.'
'Jed, we've had a letter,' Eden said, failing to keep the anxiety from her voice. 'We wonder if you had any idea what brought it on? It's from Deborah Fuller's solicitor.'
Mickey pushed the sheared gimmer out from between his legs and switched off the clippers. Wiping the sweat from his eyes, he reached for the mug of tea in Eden's hand and sipped gratefully, his eyes shrewd as Jed scoured the letter.
'I was expecting this,' Jed admitted at last. 'I didn't think it would be this quick. I guess Deborah's a woman of her word.'
'You knew?' Eliot said.
'Yeah, but I didn't want to get your hopes up, just in case. Thing is, Deborah kind of threatened her husband and son. She had some interesting information about David Fuller that he wouldn't want made public, and since it seems it was him pulling the strings, not James, when he backed off, the whole thing crumbled.'
'Threatened them with what?' Eden said, curious.
Jed shook his head. 'Not my business,' he said. 'What I can tell you is, James never wanted George at all. He was doing what his father ordered. And the truth is, for David Fuller, it was all about money, and spite. James's grandfather tied up Thwaite Park and some other properties, so that they had to remain in the possession of direct family. If James dies without an heir, it all passes to his cousin and his kids, and apparently, David loathes them. He was adamant that James needed a child, and when he found out about George — well, it kinda solved the problem. Except, he didn't want George to grow up a sheep farmer who had no clue about business or money. They planned to bring him up a Fuller through and through, so he'd inherit Thwaite Park and be worthy of it — in their eyes, at least.'
Eliot slumped against the wall. 'They never really wanted him,' he muttered, as if he couldn't believe it. 'They never wanted Georgie at all. He were just part of their business plan.'
Eden rubbed his arm sympathetically. 'It's over now,' she told him. 'They lost, remember? And George is ours, for good.'
'Eden's right,' Jed said earnestly. 'You don't have to worry about losing him ever again. This is great news all round, right?'
Eliot nodded. 'Aye. You're right.'
'And it means you can enjoy the wedding, without even worrying about all of this. No dark clouds hanging over you. It's gonna be a great day.'
Eliot and Eden looked at each other. Eden cleared her throat. 'Ah yes, Jed. The wedding. About that ...'
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Cain felt as if his head was about to explode. 'This is a bleeding catastrophe,' he yelled. 'Disaster! I should have known. Fancy leaving you two alone here. I must need me head read.'
'Calm down, Dad,' Jed soothed. 'Things are never as bad as they seem.'
'Never as bad as they seem!' Cain's face was purple. 'I've got me son shacked up with someone else's missus, and now he tells me there's a sprog on the way, me daughter's bin playing fast and loose with Eden's fiancé, spending the sodding night with him no less, and now this! All that money! All that time! All that planning! And now the wedding's off. Well!' He waved a handful of papers in Emerald's face. 'I hope you're happy with yourself, 'cos this wedding-that-is-no-more has cost me a small fortune, and that money's coming off the cash I was gunna lend you for your business. So, see how you like that!'
Emerald hung her head, as well she might. Little git. Cain couldn't believe how badly things had deteriorated since his last visit. He should never have trusted his children. Jed was Lowri's son, after all, and everyone knew what a conniving, scheming bitch she was. As for Emerald. Well. Cassandra. 'Nuff said.
'I wouldn't be so quick to fling accusations around,' Jed said quietly. 'And I'll thank you not to refer to my unborn child as a sprog.'
'Let's hope it is your unborn child,' Cain snapped. 'You might spend the next twenty years raising another bloke's kid. See how you like that.'
He stepped back, suddenly alar
med at the expression on Jed's face.
'The baby is mine, no question,' Jed blasted. 'And maybe you ought to stop with the insults, considering you've been having an affair with Beth's mother-in-law.'
Cain felt the blood drain from his face. 'Who told you that?'
'Beth and I have no secrets, and Deborah seemed happy to tell Beth all about it. She knows Beth won't spread it around. I might not be so courteous if you don't stop hurling insults at me and my family.'
'Yeah, well, fair point.' Cain had to concede Jed was right. People in glass houses and all that. He glanced over at Emerald. 'You're very quiet. Not gunna have a pop at me?'
When she merely shook her head, he frowned. Well, what was up with her? He'd been expecting a mouthful of abuse, especially when she found out about him and Debs, but there was nothing. She looked shrunken, defeated. He felt a sudden alarm. 'You ain't ill, are you?'
She shook her head, listless. Cain dropped onto the bed beside her, feeling worried. 'So, the wedding's definitely off? No going back?'
She didn't respond, so he cast an appealing look at Jed.
'Seems like it,' his son confirmed. 'Eden told me yesterday when I went over to help with the shearing. Said they'd been to see the vicar and had cancelled the service, and could I ask Emerald to cancel everything else.'
Cain sighed. 'I need to go see them, straighten all this out. They can't throw away a good relationship because Eliot spent the night with Emerald. Unless —' He glared at his daughter suspiciously, 'you are telling me the truth, ain't you? Nuffink happened, right?'
'Nothing happened,' she mumbled. 'He was a perfect gentleman.'
'Then I don't get it,' Cain said. 'I thought those two were rock solid.'
'It's all my fault,' Emerald said. Cain watched, aghast, as a tear rolled down her cheek.
'Yeah, well.' He shifted uncomfortably, not sure how to handle this contrite version of his daughter. 'I don't doubt it. Point is, what do we do about it?'