The Cottage on Lily Pond Lane_Part Two_Summer secrets

by Emily Harvale

  'No. Not yet. But I have the strangest feeling this isn't over. Don't ask me why, it's just there.' She looked him directly in the eye. 'How long did you bet I would stay? And who did you name as the 'next in line'?'

  He frowned. 'Now who's being charming? You're always so ready to think the worst of me, aren't you? I didn't bet. I don't believe in gambling in any shape or form. My dad used to bet on the horses. I saw what it can do to a man. It nearly ruined us. And that was before he ran off with another woman.' He gave a bitter laugh, shook his head and grinned. 'Sorry. I didn't mean to bore you with my family history. Although I expect you've heard it all anyway.'

  'You didn't bore me. I'd like to know more about you. You and your family, I mean. I'd like to know more about everyone in the village, not just you. I don't have a particular interest in you.' She was digging herself into a hole.

  'I know you don't,' he said, glancing out to sea.

  Mia petted Mattie again to fill the awkward silence.

  'If I were a betting man,' Jet said, looking at her once more. 'I would've bet you'll stay. And I really hope you do. Mattie wanted you to.'

  'That sounds definitive. As if you actually know that's what she wanted as opposed to merely assuming it.'

  'I do know that's what she wanted. She told me so herself.'

  'She did what?' Mia stood upright and glared at him. 'When? Why haven't you told me this before?'

  'I was going to. I intended to tell you everything I knew about her. That's why I came to the cottage and asked you to go for that walk that day. The day you told me to bugger off, only not in those exact words. Then afterwards, well, I just thought I'd let things take their natural course.'

  'So when did she tell you? And what exactly did she say? Did she tell you how she knew about me? And why you? Or did she tell other people too? Did she tell you about her will? Did she mention who is next in line?'

  'So many questions.' He let out a sigh. 'Okay. She told me the day I …' He hesitated. 'Well, you already know that Mattie lent me money, because you accused me of having sex with her in exchange, so there's no point in trying to keep it a secret. But it was, until you and Hettie made it public knowledge. Until then, everyone believed I'd borrowed the money from the bank. Anyway, she told me the day I repaid the final instalment of the loan she gave me. That was a year before she died.'

  'I really am so sorry for that, as I've told you. But why did it have to be a secret anyway? It was a straightforward loan, wasn't it? So there was no reason to hide it.'

  'Except that privacy was extremely important to Mattie. She didn't want people to know her business – or mine.'

  'Then why did she come to live in a village like this? Finding out each other's business seems to go with the territory.'

  'Really? What have you found out about Mattie so far then?'

  'That she …' Mia sighed. 'That she liked to keep secrets. Okay. I get your point. No one knew anything about her, it seems. And yet she seemed to know a lot about them. Everyone I've asked said that she had a way of getting into their soul. Only they didn't use those words. That she could extract every tiny detail of their lives. And yet at her wake, everyone realised just how little they knew about her. The only thing they did know was that she had a great-niece named Mia. Me. And that she had a nephew she loved dearly but who had died young. My dad. Except it also seems that they did know the details of her will and someone may know who inherits if I leave. So that's one secret she didn't manage to keep. Oh, and Garrick told me about the loan, so that wasn't a secret either. And it was Bear who told him, so you obviously must've told Bear.'

  He frowned. 'Bear told Garrick?'

  'Yes.'

  'When?'

  'I don't know. But Garrick told me the day you came to the cottage and I told you to …' She grinned, '… bugger off. He said that I was wrong about you and what Bear had told him. Why? Are you saying you didn't tell Bear?'

  'I don't recall doing so. But perhaps I did. There have been a couple of occasions where alcohol may have loosened my tongue, as they say.'

  Mia frowned. Jet must've told Bear, otherwise, how would he have known? Jet took a small rubber ball from inside one of his boots and threw it in the sea for Mattie to chase, staring after her as she bounced over the tiny waves rippling the shore.

  'So anyway,' Mia prompted. 'You paid Mattie back and she told you that she'd left me the cottage? That's a bit weird.'

  He took a second or two to respond and he smiled fondly as if he were reliving the conversation.

  'She told me that there was no need for me to make the final payment, but I insisted. That's when she said that she only had one person to leave her money to and a few thousand pounds here or there wouldn't make much difference. She said she'd put a condition in her will because she wanted you to come and live here, not just sell up without spending any time in Little Pondale. I don't know if she told anyone else, but she told me she hadn't and that she'd appreciate me keeping it to myself. Which I have.'

  'Unless you also blurted that out when you got drunk and told Bear about the loan. Don't look at me like that. You said it yourself. You can't recall telling him and yet he knows, so perhaps you told him everything. Maybe you should ask him.'

  'I intend to.'

  'Did she say anything else? The 'next in line' bit, for example?'

  'She didn't mention a 'next in line'. She said she was certain you'd stay so the condition wouldn't be an issue.'

  'So why put it there in the first place?'

  'I just told you why. Because she wanted you to live in Little Pondale.'

  'But why? That's what I don't get.'

  He shrugged. 'Don't ask me. She didn't say and I didn't question her decision. It was her money, after all. And her will. The only other thing she did say was that she wanted me to keep an eye on you. And I have. Since the day you arrived. Until I realised that Garrick could take better care of you than I ever could because he's living in the cottage. And that you'd prefer that anyway. But I'm still keeping an eye on you, Mia. For Mattie's sake.'

  She would have asked him to elaborate but Garrick called her name and marched towards them, wrapping his arm around Mia the second she was within his reach.

  'Hello Jet.' Garrick's greeting didn't sound that friendly.

  'Hi.' Neither did Jet's response. 'It was great to see you again, Mia. But I'd better get Mattie home and dry her off. I'll see you both soon, I hope.' Without another word, Jet walked off in the opposite direction, with Mattie leaping and bounding at his heels.

  'You were a bit off with Jet,' Mia said, looking up at Garrick.

  'Was I? I woke up and found you gone and I spotted the two of you from the window. I saw you deep in conversation and perhaps I was a little jealous.' He spun her round to face him and pulled her into his arms. 'Last night was incredible, Mia. I was hoping for a repeat performance. Let's go back to bed. It can't be more than six a.m. And it's Sunday. I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday, can you?'

  He kissed her, gently at first, before deepening the kiss until she couldn't think of anything better than spending the day in bed in Garrick's arms.

  They ran back to the cottage, laughing and excited, hand in hand, but as they burst into the kitchen, they came face to face with Freda, Alexia, Toby and Alec and everyone fell silent as if someone had just died.

  'Bloody Nora!' Mia said. Then realised she'd said that out loud.

  Ella, who was making coffee, yawned and turned to Mia giving her an apologetic smile.

  'Look who the early bird brought in.'

  'We're sorry to call so early,' Freda said, sitting upright like some matriarch while her family sat around her. 'But we feel we need to clear the air and we're all early risers so what better time than now?'

  Mia could think of several much better times but that, she thankfully managed to keep to herself. Garrick wrapped his arm protectively around Mia's waist and Mia saw the hostile glare Alexia gave her, though it was soon replaced by a simp
ering smile.

  'Clear the air about what, exactly?' Garrick asked, his voice cool but polite.

  'Alexia's behaviour, for one,' Freda said. 'I don't suppose you expect her to apologise but that was no way for a daughter of mine to behave, so she will.'

  'I'm sorry, Garrick,' Alexia said, her smile little more than a twisted line on her lips.

  'There's no need,' Garrick said. 'I'm sure I deserved it.'

  'That's as may be,' said Alec, glaring at him. 'But at least you were honest and hadn't taken advantage, so we'll leave it be and say no more about it. You're welcome back to our pub at any time.'

  'Which brings us on to the bit we really came here about,' Toby said. His smile was friendly and looked genuine. 'The bets. We didn't mean any harm by them and they were made before we met you. We were aware that Mattie thought the world of you but all we really knew was that you lived in London, worked at a big accountancy firm and that your dad was dead. We also knew you never came to visit Mattie so we thought that made you an unpleasant sort of person. No wait.' He held his hand up as Mia tried to interrupt him. 'Please let me get this out, Mia. Then you can have your say.'

  Mia nodded. 'Okay.'

  'Thanks. We believed Mattie visited you all the time instead. We didn't know you'd never met her, until you came here and told us. We thought you were possibly one of those yuppy types from London who would swan about in high heels and designer clothes, crying if you so much as chipped a false nail and who wouldn't be seen dead in the country unless it was to stay at a stately home and go shooting pheasants or something. If we'd known you were an ordinary, lovely, friendly girl, just like one of us, we wouldn't have done it. We're cancelling the bets today and repaying everyone their money. You're welcome to come and see it for yourselves and we're inviting you to lunch, on us. We want you to feel welcome in Little Pondale, Mia. We all want you to stay. Okay. Now you can have your say.'

  'Thanks, Toby. I appreciate that more than you can imagine. And I can understand why you felt the way you did. I do feel welcome here. We all do. Or did. But someone doesn't want us to stay, do they? The frog and flowers didn't get there by themselves.'

  The Bywater family looked at one another, shaking their heads and shrugging.

  'We don't know who would do something like that,' Freda said. 'But we'll keep our eyes open and if we ever find out, believe me, that person will wish they had never set foot in this village.'

  Ella passed around mugs of coffee and tea and handed mugs to Mia and Garrick.

  'We're all okay then, are we?' Ella said. 'Because I have to say that not feeling welcome in the only pub in the village has been a bit of a pain in the bum.'

  'We're all okay, if Mia says we are,' Freda said, raising her mug as if making a toast.

  'Aye,' Alec nodded. 'I'll go along with that.'

  Alexia sighed before smiling wryly. 'I can forgive and forget. It was obvious Garrick wanted to be with you all along. I'm sorry about the bets thing, Mia, and I'm sorry I threw a glass of beer at you, Garrick.'

  'Mia?' Toby queried. 'Garrick?'

  'We're all okay,' Mia said, smiling.

  Garrick nodded. 'Whatever Mia says is fine with me. We're all okay. And I'm sorry too, Alexia. I'm sure there's a man out there just waiting to meet you. You're gorgeous and–'

  'G-ar-rick,' Ella's voice held a note of warning. 'Shut up and drink your coffee or I'll throw something at your head.'

  Everyone burst out laughing, including Alexia.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Mia was relieved that things had settled down and that they could return to The Frog and Lily and feel welcome once again.

  Garrick said he was pleased too, but he just wished they had waited until Monday to come round, because they had scuppered his plans to spend the day in bed with Mia. When she suggested a very early night instead, his good mood was restored.

  Mia was glad that she and Ella could go to choir practice on Tuesday but was disappointed that Jet wasn't there. Bear still seemed a little cool towards her and when she walked over to him to ask if Jet had had a word with him, he was almost defensive.

  He glared at her. 'About what?'

  'About whether … never mind. It's not my place to bring it up. I'm sure he'll talk to you himself.' She turned away to return to Ella and Justin but he reached out and touched her arm.

  'Are you going to the top of Frog Hill to watch the sunrise on Thursday?' His tone had become warm and friendly, the way it used to be when they first met.

  'Why Thursday?'

  'It's the Summer Solstice. And the official start of summer. Most people go to the top of Frog Hill because you get a great view as the sun rises over the sea, don't you, Tom?'

  The vicar was handing out orange juice and stopped and smiled. 'Don't I what? I missed the first bit. Lovely to see you again Mia by the way. We missed you both last week.' He nodded towards Ella who was standing arm in arm with Justin a few feet away.

  'Get a great view of the sunrise from the top of Frog Hill? I was telling Mia about the Summer Solstice.'

  'Ah yes. You get a superb view from there. I often go to watch an early sunrise, but never on a Solstice.' He grinned. 'I can't be seen to be supporting a pagan ceremony, after all. Some of the locals here would stone me. If you're interested, Mia, people congregate at twilight, so it means being up and out around three-thirty. It's quite a climb because you can only drive about halfway but most people walk. The sunrise is around a quarter to five so that'll give you time to get there and settled.'

  'A lot of us go,' Bear said. 'Apart from Jet.'

  'Jet isn't interested in watching a sunrise?' Mia queried.

  'Oh, he's interested but he likes to do his own thing, doesn't he, Tom?

  Tom nodded. 'Yes. I believe he likes to watch it at ground level. He goes to Rainbow's End, or he has done every year as far as I'm aware. If you're not keen on the hike up the hill, you could always go there and watch it. I'm sure Jet wouldn't mind you sharing the experience with him. Excuse me, you two. I can see Alexia wants a refill.' He jiggled the jug of orange juice in his hand and hurried towards Alexia.

  'What's Rainbow's End?' Mia asked Bear.

  'It's a rocky outcrop, I suppose you'd call it. From your cottage, you simply walk along the sand and around the other side of where Frog Hill meets the beach. Just a bit further on is Rainbow's End. It's called that because the rocks are all different colours and tones, from pale yellow to a dark, almost black. It's the sediments and minerals in the rock or something. Geology was never my strong subject. It's worth a look just to see the colours change when the sun hits it. That's why Jet always goes there. He's very in tune with the earth. I suppose that's why he's a farmer. Oh. I think we're about to start the second half. Might see you at the Solstice, then?'

  'Yes. Maybe.'

  But Mia had no intention of climbing Frog Hill to watch the Summer Solstice, or at least the sunrise part of it. If she was going anywhere, it would be to Rainbow's End, and she spent the whole of Wednesday trying on dresses to find one she wanted to wear. It was just as well that Ella and Garrick had gone to London for the day. Their Uncle Bert was having an operation and although it was nothing serious and certainly not life-threatening, the family were all gathering to visit him.

  'Why don't you come with us?' Garrick asked in bed that morning.

  He had as good as moved in to Mia's room since Saturday night. Not that she was complaining. Each night she spent with him was better than the last and she'd had more sex over the last few days than she'd had in her entire previous relationship with 'the rat'.

  'No,' she said. 'Mum will be arriving on Thursday evening. She's driving from Southampton and I want to make sure everything's ready for her. You don't mind if I move your things from the other back bedroom to the spare room at the front, do you? I'd like Mum to see the gorgeous view each day, and you're spending every night in my room anyway.'

  'Of course I don't mind. I'll move my stuff before we leave today. Are you sure
you won't come with us?'

  Mia nodded. 'If I spend today in London, I'll be racing around all day on Thursday and I don't want that. Besides, a day apart will do us good. We'll be even more excited to see one another when you get back.

  'I don't think it's possible for me to get more excited than I am right now,' he'd replied, that devilish grin spreading across his mouth as his hands slid over her naked hips and he pulled her close.

  'I see what you mean,' she said, giving him her sexiest smile. 'I'm feeling pretty excited myself.'

  That meant Garrick left two hours later than he'd planned but the delay was not entirely down to his and Mia's sex-drive. Ella had spent Tuesday night at Justin's and it seemed the two of them had been similarly excited on Wednesday morning. Or possibly more so, because when Ella finally returned to Sunbeam Cottage she told Mia that Tuesday night had been the first time she and Justin had made love, and that it had been the best night of her entire life. All she told Garrick as they said goodbye to Mia and headed out the door, was that she'd need to sleep all the way to London and probably all the way back. Mia understood exactly how she felt, so in between trying on dresses, she'd taken an afternoon nap.

  It was the landline phone that woke her up and when she looked at the bedside clock before answering it, she was horrified to see that it was eight-thirty in the evening.

  'Hello, Mia?' It was Garrick's voice. But why was he calling on the landline and why did he sound so anxious?

  'Garrick? Is everything okay?'

  'No. Mum's had an accident. It's not serious so don't panic but we're stuck in A&E and have been for a couple of hours. I don't know what time we'll get back tonight but it's going to be way past midnight by the looks of things. We need to get Mum seen and then depending on what they say, either settled here in hospital or settled back at home.'

  'Oh my God, Garrick! Don't even think about coming back tonight. I don't want you racing around these country lanes in the dark, especially as there's no need. You and Ella stay at your parents' house. I'll be fine. Call me as soon as you have any news about your mum. What happened?'