‘I guess so,’ Sarah said.
‘I feel just awful about what has happened. If there’s anything I can do—’
‘Oh, I’m fine,’ Mia said, flopping into the nearest chair and rolling up the left leg of her tracksuit bottoms.
Sarah gasped. ‘You’re bleeding!’ She rushed out of the room.
‘My sister loves a crisis,’ Mia said. ‘Oh, sit down, please!’
Alec sat on a chair beside her and shook his head. ‘I’ll never forgive myself for this.’
‘But it’s nothing. Really. It doesn’t hurt at all. You’re probably bleeding too. Have you checked?’
Alec cleared his throat and then dared to roll up the legs of his own tracksuit bottoms. Sure enough, a small graze greeted him.
Mia’s mouth dropped open. ‘See! You’re hurt too. Let me see.’ Without thinking, Mia was on the floor and kneeling beside him in a moment. ‘It’s not too bad, but it’s still bleeding.’
Sarah walked into the room with a bowl of warm water, cotton wool, and a box of plasters. Her eyes widened at the sight of her sister on the floor in front of a pair of bare legs.
‘See to him first, Sarah,’ Mia said, scrambling up from the floor.
‘I wouldn’t hear of it,’ Alec said, rolling his tracksuit legs down again. ‘I’ll take care of it at home.’
‘You’re not going, are you?’
‘I think I’ve probably done quite enough damage for one morning,’ he said, getting up from the chair.
‘Why not stay for breakfast? I’m sure Sarah’s made plenty,’ Mia said with what she hoped was a winning smile.
‘No, thank you,’ he said. ‘That’s very kind of you, but I should be getting back. But perhaps I can call again? Maybe tomorrow—to see how you are.’
Mia nodded and couldn’t help smiling once again.
The two women watched as he walked down the path toward the little wooden gate, from where he turned around and waved.
‘Isn’t he wonderful?’ Mia said. ‘Wasn’t it kind of him to see me home?’
‘I think it’s the very least he could do if he caused you to fall in the first place.’
‘But it was all my fault. You know what I’m like. I was running along not paying any attention to the world around me, and I ran right into him.’
‘Mia, you really should be more careful. You could have been seriously hurt.’
‘Oh, I’m fine.’
Sarah pushed her sister back into the house. ‘I want to get a proper look at that graze.’
Mia sighed, turning around to catch a last glimpse of Alec, who’d broken into a jog and was heading out of view.
‘It was he who called last night,’ Mia said. ‘He wanted to let us know that the car window was open.’
Sarah’s mouth dropped open. ‘I left it open—all night?’ She looked absolutely horrified. ‘I’d better check on it after I’ve seen to you.’
‘And then breakfast.’
Sarah nodded and then shook her head. ‘What a start to the morning!’
Mia thought it was a brilliant start to the morning. In fact, it was better than she could ever have imagined.
Chapter 13
The Country Fayre always attracted a good crowd, and the Guildhall was full of costumed customers eager to sample what was on offer. There were bookstalls and fabric stalls, stalls selling bonnets, ribbons, and dress patterns. A woman was reading palms, and a man was cutting out silhouettes.
Grand portraits looked down on the proceedings from the pale green walls, and golden columns soared up to an ornate ceiling from which hung the most splendid chandeliers.
Tables and chairs were set out in the middle of the room, and it was the perfect place for people to meet and chat and catch up on all the festival gossip. On a small stage, musicians played.
Shelley was loving it all, feeling as if she had stepped back in time and that Mrs Bennet and her daughters were bound to enter the room at any moment.
‘Isn’t this wonderful?’ she said, grabbing Mia’s arm. ‘Mia?’
‘What?’
‘What’s the matter? You’re all twitchy!’
‘No, I’m not.’
‘Yes, you are. You’ve been miles away, and you’re twitching like an anxious rabbit.’
Mia pulled away and went over to a stall and idly picked out an old hardback copy of Northanger Abbey with a torn dust jacket and mottled pages.
‘Mia?’
‘What?’
‘I wish you’d talk to me.’
‘I am talking to you.’
‘No, you’re not. You’re only half there.’
Mia returned the book to its shelf and turned to face Shelley. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I just feel strange being here.’
‘Without Sarah?’
Mia nodded. ‘It doesn’t feel right, you know?’
‘I know,’ Shelley said. ‘I miss her too. I always thought of her as an honorary sister.’
Mia sighed. ‘I still can’t get my head around it all. I’m sorry.’
‘There’s no need to apologize, silly.’
‘I promised myself that I wouldn’t spoil this trip to Bath, but I can’t help thinking of her. Every corner we walk around, I see her standing there or I remember one of our funny holiday moments together, like when she got a fit of sneezes in the middle of that really boring lecture about card games.’
‘There must be a way of you two making up.’
Mia shook her head. ‘I can’t see how.’
‘But you were so close. I always admired that. My mum has two sisters, and she can’t stand either of them, but you two were different. You were more like twins, and it pains me to see you like this now.’
For one awful moment, Shelley felt quite sure that Mia was about to cry, so she looked around the room in desperation until she found the perfect distraction. ‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Let’s get our silhouettes cut. I’ve always wanted mine done.’
A little smile lit up Mia’s face, and the two of them headed over toward the stall to be immortalized in card.
If it hadn’t been for Sarah’s enormous bonnet half hiding her face, Mia might have spotted her as she entered the Guildhall, but she didn’t, and Sarah was no longer on the lookout for Mia either. She was far too busy trying to spot Lloyd, which wasn’t hard, because she practically bumped into him at the palm-reading stall.
‘Hello,’ he said, putting his camera down and smiling at her.
‘Hello,’ she replied.
‘Come to have your palm read?’ he asked.
‘Oh, I don’t believe in such things,’ she said. ‘Anyway, I know about my past and present, and I’m not at all sure I want to know about my future.’
‘It would make a great photo, though,’ Lloyd said, taking some money out of his wallet and handing it over to the palm reader. ‘Go on,’ he said, ‘my treat.’
Before she could object, the palm reader grabbed hold of Sarah’s hand, and she was forced to take a seat.
‘What a beautiful hand you have,’ she began, her piercing blue eyes taking in the shape of Sarah’s hand. She nodded. ‘But it tells a sad story. You have been hurt—recently too. It’s a hurt that you’re still carrying with you, but you must learn to let it go. It’s time to move on.’
Sarah tutted at the words. She could have taken them personally if she’d wanted to, but they seemed vague and could have applied to any number of people in the room.
‘You’re a romantic, and life is often a disappointment to you.’
Sarah shook her head. Well, she’d got that wrong, hadn’t she? She wasn’t a romantic. It was Mia who was the romantic, not her—she was practical beyond belief.
‘You are,’ the palm reader said, as if reading her thoughts, ‘but you hide it well. I can see that you believe in happy endings, even though you haven’t found your own yet, but you’re going to meet somebody—somebody who won’t let you down this time. In fact, you might have already met him.’
Sarah
blinked in surprise. ‘Really?’ She bit her tongue. It was the standard procedure of palm readers, she believed. They took your money and gave you a little bit of hope for the future.
‘Oh, yes,’ the palm reader went on. ‘He’s tall and dark and very handsome.’
Sarah rolled her eyes at the declaration. It was a horrible cliché, even though Lloyd happened to be all three of those things.
‘And the two of you will be very happy together. You are alike; I can sense that. You’ve never met anyone like him before, but he is right for you.’
Sarah’s time was over, and she stood up.
‘What did she say?’ Lloyd asked as she joined him.
‘You mean you didn’t hear?’
‘I was taking photos.’
Sarah was glad that he’d been concentrating on something else. ‘It was just the usual rubbish.’
‘I thought you’d never had your palm read before.’
‘I haven’t, but I still know that it was all rubbish.’
‘My sister once had her palm read, and she was told she would be married and pregnant within a year.’
‘And what happened?’
‘By the following summer, I had a brother-in-law and nephew.’
Sarah shook her head. ‘Coincidence,’ she said.
Lloyd laughed and Sarah smiled. She liked the way his eyes twinkled when he laughed.
‘I just want to get a few shots of that person cutting the silhouettes. Have you seen them? They’re amazing.’
Sarah nodded. ‘They’re wonderful, aren’t they?’
‘Do you want to have yours done?’
‘Oh, no,’ Sarah said. ‘I think I’ll just browse the books on this stall.’
‘Okay,’ he said. ‘And then maybe we could get a cup of tea or something.’
Sarah paused for a moment, thinking back to what the palm reader had told her about her future partner. You might have already met him. Could it be Lloyd?
‘A cup of tea would be lovely,’ she told him with a smile, wondering if she was tempting fate, even though she didn’t really believe in it.
***
Mia and Shelley would have loved to have been photographed for Vive! magazine, but they’d already left the Guildhall by the time Lloyd walked across the room with his camera. They’d both been delighted with their silhouettes and placed them carefully in their purses.
‘What next?’ Mia asked.
‘I didn’t book anything else for today, but I thought we could do a bit of shopping whilst we’re in costume. Oh, and Lorna Warwick is doing a book signing. I thought we could go to that. I’m desperate to read her latest.’
‘His latest, don’t you mean? Lorna’s a man—didn’t you hear?’
Shelley frowned. ‘A man? You’re kidding.’
‘No,’ Mia said. ‘And a rather gorgeous man too. Wait until you see!’
‘Well, I’m always in the mood to meet gorgeous men,’ Shelley said with a grin. ‘Oh, my God!’ she suddenly cried. ‘Hide!’
‘Hide? From what?’
‘Him—him in the costume over there!’ Shelley nodded toward a short, stocky man who was wearing a Regency naval uniform.
‘But I thought you said you liked a man in costume.’
‘I do—I mean, I usually do.’
‘Who is he?’
‘Arthur something or other. I forget. I met him at last year’s festival. He just sort of latched on to me and wouldn’t let go. It was awful. I’d forgotten about him until just now. Oh, blimey! He’s seen us! Let’s just go—quickly!’
It was too late.
‘Shelley!’ the man called, his hand flapping madly in recognition. ‘How are you?’ He pushed his way through the crowd and grabbed hold of Shelley’s shoulders before leaning forwards and planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek. ‘You’re looking as gorgeous as ever,’ he enthused.
‘I’m fine,’ Shelley said in a small voice as she tried to extricate herself from his grasp.
‘You didn’t call me. I did give you my card, didn’t I?’
Shelley nodded. ‘One or two of them.’
‘That’s right, but it’s been a whole year. I thought we would have seen each other again. I was waiting for you to call me, you naughty girl!’
‘Oh, you know how it goes. Busy, busy!’
He nodded, but he couldn’t hide his disappointment. ‘Well, here we are again, and don’t you look a picture?’ He tweaked her bonnet. ‘Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?’
Mia, who’d been watching in amusement, suddenly wished she could shrink away.
‘This is Mia,’ Shelley said.
Arthur moved forward and leaned in for a second sloppy kiss in as many minutes. He reached into a pocket before thrusting a business card into Mia’s hand.
‘Now at least your friend can call me if she wants.’
Mia’s eyes widened at the suggestion.
‘Anyway,’ Shelley said, spying an opportunity to get away, ‘we really must go. We’ve booked an event.’
‘Oh, I didn’t think there was an event until three. Are you going to the Tea with Jane Austen? Maybe I’ll see you there—’
Shelley didn’t stop to answer him. She grabbed Mia’s hand and ran.
‘That was awfully rude, wasn’t it?’ Mia said a moment later, when they stopped.
‘You have to be rude with Arthur, believe me,’ Shelley said.
Mia giggled. ‘You do attract them, Shelley.’
‘Yes,’ she said, wiping her cheek with a tissue. ‘I don’t know what it is, but I seem to have the knack.’
‘You don’t think he’ll follow us, do you? I don’t think I could stand another of those wet kisses. The Navy really should know better.’
‘Yes, he’s no Captain Wentworth, is he? But I don’t think he’ll follow us. He’s probably attached himself onto some other unsuspecting girl by now,’ Shelley said. ‘Come on; let’s go shopping.’
Chapter 14
Barton Cottage
After the surprise meeting with Alec Burrows, Sarah and Mia had enjoyed a full English breakfast before taking a walk to the private beach on the estate. The May sunshine was gloriously warm, and Mia wore a white dress covered in scarlet poppies and a sunhat Sarah had forced onto her head before leaving. Ever-practical, Sarah was wearing a pair of light beige trousers and a sky-blue shirt with pockets full of tissues.
Mia led the way through the wood she’d jogged through earlier, pointing out the place where she had collided with Alec.
They soon found the track to the beach and ambled along together, taking in deep lungfuls of pure air.
‘I won’t want to go back to London,’ Mia said.
‘Yes, you will. You’ve got all those auditions lined up, haven’t you?’
‘I suppose,’ Mia said, and then she thought of another reason to look forward to going back to London—Alec. ‘What do you suppose he does?’ she asked.
‘Who?’
‘Alec!’
‘I thought we came here to escape men. I seem to remember that was the bargain.’
‘Really? I don’t remember that at all,’ Mia said, thinking of his bright gray eyes and the cute smile she’d drawn from him.
The rest of the day passed peacefully and with very little happening, which was just how Sarah had envisaged it when she booked Barton Cottage. If only Mia hadn’t run into that man. Trust her sister to be knocked over by the only man in Devon, and now she wouldn’t stop talking about him. There was only one thing for it in such situations, and that was Jane Austen, so that evening, after Mia cooked a light student-inspired supper of spaghetti, they settled down to watch the Emma Thompson version of Sense and Sensibility, screaming in delight every time they saw Barton Cottage.
Mia should have been out like a light that evening, but she wasn’t. Instead, she walked across to her window and drew back the curtains. The night was inky black, but as her eyes adjusted, they were soon dazzled by stars.
Being the kind of
person who always wanted to share her thoughts and feelings with the entire world, Mia knew that she’d have to wake up Sarah immediately, so leaving her bedroom, she crept across the landing to her sister’s bedroom and opened the door.
‘Sarah? Are you awake?’
A muffled noise came from the bed in the corner of the room.
‘Come on—wake up! You’ve got to see this!’
‘See what? It’s the middle of the night.’
‘Wow!’ Mia said. She was at the window and had drawn back the curtains. ‘Look out of the window. You can’t see anything. Come and see! Sarah—come and see.’
‘Why would I want to look out of a window if I can’t see anything?’
‘It’s so dark,’ Mia said. ‘I can’t see a single house. We’re the only people in the world,’ Mia said.
‘I’m afraid not.’
‘But you could believe it in a place like this. It’s just us and the stars. Look how bright they are! Come on, Sarah—look!’
Sarah obviously realized that she was going to get no peace until she joined her sister at the window. She pushed the duvet away from her, carefully placed her feet in her slippers so that they didn’t touch the floor, and bleary-eyed with sleep, shuffled in the direction she hoped was the window.
‘Can you see them?’ Mia asked.
‘Not yet,’ Sarah said.
‘Let your eyes adjust.’
Sarah kept looking. It was an odd experience and almost impossible to tell whether her eyes were really open, for she could see nothing.
But then…
‘Oh!’ she exclaimed.
‘Yes,’ Mia said. ‘So many stars. I wonder if Alec is looking at them too.’
Sarah sighed. ‘You mustn’t keep going on about him.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because we don’t know that much about him.’
‘We know enough to know that he’s wonderful.’
‘We don’t know that at all,’ Sarah said. ‘And I thought we agreed, Mia—no men this week.’
‘Yes, but that was before we met any men,’ Mia said with her usual warped logic.
‘You really are incorrigible. Goodness knows what he thinks of you. You were so forward!’
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