‘That’s what we thought. Alice, I’m so nervous now. What if no one turns up. All this work . . .’
‘Well, most of the tickets have gone according to Bob and Gill, so it’s a question of whether anyone actually gets off their bottom and turns up. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed. But look, it’s gone five now. Time we headed home and dolled ourselves up. Have a little sherry or something for Dutch courage, and I’ll see you back here at seven thirty.’
‘Okay, see you later,’ Serena replied, straightening one last piece of cutlery before turning out all the lights and vanishing along the lane towards the Vicarage. The cool air smelled of damp twigs, leaf litter and smoky bonfires. Serena inhaled it deeply: autumn was well and truly here.
The house had a feeling of anticipation to it, decided Serena, as she let herself in. From the hallway she could hear the sound of a bath running upstairs and jazz music drifting up from the kitchen. She bumped into Max, who was dashing through the hall with a small tray of drinks in his hands – two bottles of beer and a glass of wine.
‘Has the party started already?’ Serena asked with a smile.
‘Thought it would be rude not to,’ answered Max with a cheerful grin. ‘Ashna has ordered a glass of Chardonnay to drink in the bath – very decadent – and Pete and I are having a little drink and card game before we start getting ready. Will’s down in the kitchen. What time do we need to leave?’
‘Seven twenty-five,’ Serena told him precisely. ‘That’ll give us half an hour to hover around anxiously, wondering if anyone will turn up.’
‘That gives us loads of time,’ said Max. ‘It’s not even six yet,’ he said and Serena smiled. Typical man. She wasn’t one to spend hours getting ready, but even she knew it was about time she headed upstairs to wash her hair.
The hall was packed, every single seat taken, and a pleasant, light-hearted hum of chatter and laughter filled the room. Faces were red and cheerful, even Miss Dawson’s (the Colonel and Jake Hardy had drawn the short straw and were gallantly sitting on either side of her, the Colonel with a generous hand for Miss Dawson’s wine glass), and the carefully laid tables were now strewn with scraped-clean pudding bowls and dirty napkins, as well as half-filled glasses. The parishioners were taking full advantage of the food and drink on offer.
At half past ten, Will tapped on a glass and eventually, after a couple of false starts, he began a brief speech.
‘Ladies and gents . . . Firstly, may I thank you with all my heart for turning up tonight. It means the world to Serena and me. It’s been a funny old start to life in the village. I really mucked up by forgetting Fay Holland’s wedding and then there was the prang at the crem – understandably there’s been a bit of bad feeling from some quarters since then. Unfortunately, I am horribly human. But I want to tell you all that we love it here in Cattlebridge, and we don’t want to leave. All I ask is that you give us a chance . . . A chance to make it work,’ he said, a slight break in his voice.
‘If I may . . .’ said Bob the butcher, standing up. Will nodded. ‘I personally think you’re both a breath of fresh air and I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking this has been the best Harvest Supper we’ve known here in the village . . . And it’s not over yet. In my humble opinion, you’ve done a brilliant job.’
‘Hear, hear!’ shouted the Colonel, rising to his feet and starting to clap his one hand onto the table. The parishioners looked around and, one by one, they began to stand and clap and cheer – even the Huntingdon-Loxleys. Will and Serena smiled at each other. Relief. They had done it.
‘Thank you!’ Will said when the applause eventually died down. ‘And one more thing. We’ve started a Youth Club and we don’t yet have any members, so if you know any youngsters who may be interested, please just let me or Serena know . . .’
‘I’ll send an email round at the school!’ piped up a very pretty, lively-looking young woman, who Will recognised as the headmistress of the local secondary.
‘Perfect,’ grinned Will. ‘Now, without further ado, let’s really get this party started. Serena, what’s the opening number?’ he asked, turning to the piano.
‘“Jerusalem”!’ she shouted out, perched on the piano stool, and began to belt it out, the crowd soon joining in, Max and Pete banging on tables with gusto as they competed to sing the loudest.
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?
And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among those dark Satanic Mills?
Bring me my Bow of burning gold!
Bring me my Arrows of desire!
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!
I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England’s green and pleasant land.
The applause as Serena finished was deafening and all of a sudden people were shouting out requests. ‘ Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer’ seemed to be a hot favourite, so she struck up the introductory chords and another bellowing rendition began.
Then Will took over and soon the requests changed from hymns to pop classics and Serena found herself being swung around the room by Pete to Van Morrison’s ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ and an old favourite – ‘All Around My Hat’ from Steeleye Span. Everyone, even Miss Dawson, seemed to be up from the tables and jigging around the piano, crashing into each other and tripping over the hay bales to gales of laughter. Serena noticed that the Smythes seemed like rather good fun, which came as a surprise. Mrs Pipe had not painted a kind picture of them.
After several upbeat numbers, including a raucous sing-along to ‘Delilah’ and Squeeze’s ‘Cool for Cats’, the tempo changed and Will began to play Billy Joel’s ‘She’s Always a Woman to Me’. Although perhaps the lyrics were more suited to a person like Luna than Serena, somehow it had once become ‘their’ song and, as Will sang, Serena sat down next to him on the piano stool and together they played a duet. Max and Ashna swayed together, a stunning couple with their dark, striking looks. Rob, meanwhile, reached out tentatively for Alice’s hand. She took it.
Finally, it was midnight and time for the party to end.
‘One more tune!’ sang out Miss Dawson, and Serena and Alice exchanged amused glances.
‘Oh, go on then!’ said Will and he began to play John Denver’s old classic, ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ – appropriate, he thought, as a finale.
By the time they got home, it was one o’clock in the morning and everyone was in high spirits and not remotely tired. Serena noticed an unfamiliar car parked outside the house and, as she tried to peer inside, the passenger door suddenly opened.
‘Oh, thank goodness you’re back!’ said Stephanie, as she came towards Serena and embraced her in the sort of hug she’d rarely dished out in her life.
‘Mum?’ Serena said, taken aback. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I’ve brought you a present,’ she said, opening the rear passenger door and, after some fumbling, lifting out a little person, bundled up in an all-in-one. A teeny little person, with a thumb in their mouth, all warm and sleepy. Serena took the baby from her mother and the child clung to her like a little koala.
‘Your baby,’ smiled Stephanie, and Serena burst into tears.
34.
OCTOBER 2015
Serena was crying and smiling like a maniac, all at the same time. Will came to her side to look at the baby in the glow of the streetlight.
‘He’s a pretty little thing, isn’t he?’ he said in wonder.
‘Ah, well, that’s because he is actually a she. Luna lied about the sex. You’ve got a little girl!’ exclaimed Stephanie.
‘What?’ Will and Serena replied in unison, bu
t Stephanie decided at this point that it was no good trying to explain everything out in the dark, in the middle of the night.
‘Let’s not hang around out here any longer,’ she said.
‘No, of course not,’ said Will. ‘Did you come on your own?’
‘No, Sebastian’s in the car,’ she said. ‘And Brian.’
‘What, Seb? Luna’s old boyfriend?’ asked Serena. ‘And who’s Brian?’
‘Let’s all get inside,’ said Stephanie, ‘then I’ll explain everything.’
Car doors were opened and slammed again, Ashna unlocked the front door and they all piled into the hall.
‘Come into the study,’ said Will. ‘The log burner will still be lit, so it’ll be nice and warm. I’m Will,’ he said, shaking hands with Brian and everyone began politely introducing themselves while Serena just stood and beamed at the little bundle in her arms.
‘Why don’t I go and get us all some drinks?’ suggested Ashna and she, Max and Pete headed down to the kitchen while Will and Serena led everyone else through to the study. Stephanie had been for Sunday lunch a couple of times since they’d first moved in, but hadn’t been over in a while and she complimented them on how refreshed the house was looking.
‘Now,’ said Stephanie, sitting on one of the sofas and dusting down her skirt. ‘Let me start by explaining about Brian. He’s my boyfriend,’ she said, looking a little bashful, and she reached out a hand towards him, which he clasped. He was a benevolent-looking sort of chap. Short and round, with ruddy cheeks.
Serena was sitting on the sofa opposite Stephanie and Brian, Will beside her and the baby snuggling up, almost asleep now, while Seb stood with his back against the fireplace, eager to stretch out his legs after the long journey.
‘Your boyfriend?’
‘Yes, Serena. You mustn’t repeat everything I say or we’ll be here all night. With all the business that went on with you and Luna, I was feeling a bit out of sorts. You’d withdrawn into yourself and clearly didn’t want to see anyone, and Luna had disappeared. So I decided to take up a new hobby. Salsa dancing. I met Brian and, well, things have moved quite quickly. I’m happy with Brian,’ she admitted, her cheeks a little red. ‘I’ve stopped being quite so fixated about how things look. But anyway, that’s by the by. One evening, Brian and I had just got back from our dance class when I received a phone call from Seb.’
At this point Ashna, Max and Pete arrived in the room bearing two bottles of red wine and a number of glasses. Max started to pour and dish the glasses out.
‘So this is your baby?’ asked Ashna, astonished. ‘You never said . . .’
‘Yes,’ Serena told her. ‘We thought we’d lost her forever. Will and I didn’t tell anyone what had happened to us before we came here. We were trying to make a fresh start. Mum was just about to tell me how they managed to track this darling girl down, but it might be best if I explain, in a nutshell, what happened first.’
‘Oh, please do, if you can bear to wait,’ said Ashna.
‘I’ve waited this long,’ said Serena, and she began.
‘After years of trying for a baby with no luck, Luna – my twin – offered to be our surrogate. It was successful and we were so excited. Luna seemed totally on board with it all, although we should probably have been more cautious. I’ve always known she had a ruthless streak.
‘Anyway, we weren’t. One September day, Luna failed to turn up for brunch with us so we dropped round to her flat and found that she’d disappeared. Her suitcase and passport were missing and we found a note on the fridge. “I’m sorry,” it said, just like that. No explanations. Nothing.
‘We were devastated, but at first we were fairly confident we’d be able to track her down before the baby was born. She was six months pregnant so we had three months before the due date – Christmas Eve. We rushed to our local police station first of all. Explained everything to a sympathetic young WPC. She took statements from us both before explaining, as tactfully as she could, that there wasn’t an awful lot they could do. Legally, the baby was Luna’s. But she did say we could register Luna as a missing person. The police agreed to do what they could to assist in finding her, although the officer explained that, if they did find her, it would be up to Luna whether details of her whereabouts could be passed on. They searched her flat and asked me to provide a recent photo and details of friends and relatives. But it felt a little as though they were going through the motions to placate us and nothing came of any of it.
‘We rang our lawyer, but he just confirmed the same sad truth – legally, nothing could be done, even if Luna could be traced. In the end, we hired a private investigator. Our parish were wonderful – they had a whip-round so that we could afford him – and he worked pretty tirelessly. But Luna had left nothing to chance. She’d shut down her Facebook account a month before she left, her email had been deactivated, her mobile left behind. She’d paid the rent on her flat until the end of November and asked her landlord to put her belongings into storage at that point, providing the money for this, but no contact details.
‘I think one of the hardest things to come to terms with was that she’d planned it all. It hadn’t been a spur-of-the-moment decision about which she might suddenly see sense, but a premeditated act of utter selfishness. We only hoped she hadn’t planned it from the start.
‘By Christmas – the baby’s due date – it was clear Luna had completely disappeared. We couldn’t afford to keep the investigator on, so we thanked him for his efforts and spent a miserable Christmas conducting our own detective work to no avail. She could have been anywhere in the world. I gave up work, unable to carry on in the state I was in, and in the new year Will saw the job in Cattlebridge advertised – they needed a vicar to start in February – and the London parish agreed to allow Will to leave swiftly given the circumstances. We decided the only thing we could possibly do was try to start again. I never gave up hope, but it was unhealthy trying to carry on in our old parish. Too many questions from sympathetic friends and parishioners. It would have been impossible to move on. So we did it. Or, rather, Will did it. I was hopeless, but I went along with it all and we ended up here. And then, of course, Mrs Pipe told me about the curse.’
‘Oh, goodness, no wonder you were so worried,’ said Ashna, her eyes full of sympathy.
‘The curse?’ asked Stephanie.
‘That’s a whole other story,’ said Serena, looking at her mother. ‘And I don’t think I can wait any longer. Please,’ she said, ‘tell me what happened. Tell me how you found our baby.’
35.
OCTOBER 2015
‘It all began with a phone call to Sebastian,’ Stephanie said. ‘Actually, perhaps you’d better start,’ she continued, offering the conversational baton to Seb. He nodded and took a quick gulp of wine. Serena thought the poor chap looked wrung out, dark bags under his eyes and his hair a mess.
‘I hadn’t been in touch with Luna for years – not since I broke it off with her all those years ago. It was January. I’d split up with my girlfriend, Karen, just before Christmas and was feeling a bit sorry for myself. Then, out of the blue, I received a phone call from Luna. I have no idea how she’d found my number, but she had. She told me she’d been in a violent relationship and had run off when she was heavily pregnant. Said she hadn’t been able to stay in touch with anyone, even her family, and was feeling really lonely. It was one of those moments, when two worlds collide and the timing feels right.
‘ “Where are you? ” ’ I asked.
‘She said, “Do you promise you won’t tell anyone, even my family if they ask you? ” and I assumed she was terrified about this bloke finding her.
‘ “Of course”,’ I said. ‘ “Anyway, I’m not even in touch with your family.” So she said she was in Scotland, somewhere remote. She asked if I’d go and stay with her for a bit. So I booked a couple of weeks off work – I was feeling in need of a bit of adventure – and flew up to Inverness, then hired a car and drove up the A9 and off
the beaten track, eventually finding the little bothy she was renting.
‘When I got there, I could see why she wanted some company. Totally marooned in the middle of nowhere and with just the baby to chat to. She seemed to be coping alright though. It was all a bit messy and chaotic but, Serena, what I can assure you about is that she took care of the baby. She said she’d had a home birth, there in the bothy. Luna bottle-fed – she said she’d tried to breastfeed but found it too painful. And the baby looked well enough. A sweet little thing. She can only have been a few weeks old that first visit. It was all a bit of a funny situation but I suppose, inevitably, we got back together. It had to be long-distance though, so I would fly back and forth from Gatwick every couple of weeks. She refused to travel anywhere herself.
‘I suppose it would have carried on like that for some time, but last weekend Luna began to behave a bit strangely. She was overly clingy when it was time for me to go. Said she was feeling depressed. Begged me to stay. I couldn’t though. Had to get back to work. But I was worried about her so a couple of days later I flew back up. I hadn’t told her. I just thought it was important to get there. I let myself in the back door and went straight through to the bedroom. The baby was fast asleep in her cot, but there was no sign of Luna. So I looked in the bathroom. And there she was, self-harming – cutting herself with a razor blade.’
There was an audible intake of breath in the room, and Serena’s hand shot up to her mouth.
‘She was horrified I’d discovered her and I was horrified I hadn’t realised how seriously depressed she was. She implored me not to tell anyone. Said she didn’t want any agencies to get involved, in case it led the ex-boyfriend back to her. So I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone. Fortunately for you, I broke that promise.’
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