A Summer Wedding For the Cornish Midwife

by Jo Bartlett

  After the boys had eventually declared the contest a draw, they carried on along the beach. When they reached the point where Titan’s Head could be seen in the distance, where Dan and Brae had been rescued six months before, Ella stopped.

  ‘Let’s get a picture with Titan’s Head behind us. Then I can upload it to the lifeboat station campaign pages.’ Ushering them all into a line, she snapped a few photos.

  ‘You’re incredible.’ Anna looked at her friend, as she selected the photo she wanted to upload. ‘You’ve done so much with the campaign in such a short time and if anyone can stop them closing the lifeboat station, it’s you.’

  ‘Oh my God!’ Ella suddenly sprang into the air, shoving her phone towards the others as she landed. ‘Look at the number of signatures on the petition now!’

  ‘There’s over 150,000 there.’ Dan widened his eyes. ‘How on earth did that happen?’

  ‘Someone’s posted a link to an article that made them sign the petition. Hold on a sec.’ Ella tapped the screen. ‘It’s about the wedding, look.’

  Anna took the phone. The headline read:

  Port Agnes Rallies to Save Local Midwife’s Wedding.

  It was an online article from a national newspaper and they’d used pictures from the social media pages for the lifeboat station campaign, including photos uploaded by guests from the wedding itself.

  ‘That’s brilliant!’

  ‘You don’t mind about the wedding being online and everyone reading about it?’ Ella furrowed her brow. When they’d posted to let everyone know where the wedding was, the guests had just been told to meet at the harbour. Ella had told Anna she’d been terrified that random weirdos might just turn up at the wedding otherwise.

  ‘If it helps, I don’t mind what we do.’

  ‘I got quite used to being recognised for having a wedding that never was. But is there room for two celebrity midwives in Port Agnes?’ Ella grinned.

  ‘If you can have your fifteen minutes of fame, then so can I!’ Anna slipped an arm through hers. ‘And at least it makes me feel as if I’ve contributed to the campaign in some way. If that number of signatures doesn’t make them think again, then I don’t know what will.’

  ‘The JustGiving page has gone crazy too.’ Dan turned the screen of his phone towards them. ‘It looks like lots of people have donated as well as signing the petition.’

  ‘Never mind all of that. Look at this photo someone took of me at the wedding!’ Brae pointed to one of the uploads on Instagram. ‘It might be the best photo of me I’ve even seen, I almost look like I’ve got a jawline in this!’

  ‘You’re gorgeous.’ Dan grabbed hold of his friend’s cheeks and planted a kiss on his forehead.

  ‘Can we join the party?’ Anna swung around at the sound of the voice behind them. It was Luke and Tamara Scott, with Belle all wrapped up in a baby sling on her father’s chest.

  ‘Of course you can!’ Anna smiled. ‘We’re just celebrating Ella’s lifeboat station campaign getting so many signatures. She’s raised loads for the renovations too, if we can get the powers that be to agree to them. Thanks again for everything you did for the wedding. The canapés and desserts were amazing. I just hope you’re not going to be overwhelmed catching up as a result.’

  ‘That’s brilliant news about the campaign and it was an absolute pleasure to help out with the wedding. Belle’s such a good baby, so Tam and I have had plenty of time to get on with cooking together. There’ll be no problem getting everything ready for the other weddings we’re catering.’

  ‘How’s your first summer as a family of three going so far?’ Brae moved to get a closer look at the baby.

  ‘It’s been really lovely.’ Tamara smiled shyly. ‘But actually, she’s going to be part of a bigger family soon. I emailed my brother after you came over the other day, and asked him if he’d like to see Belle.’

  ‘I’m guessing he couldn’t wait to meet her?’ Anna already knew the answer from the smile on Luke’s face.

  ‘He was so happy to hear from me and we talked for ages about the way Mum and Dad handled things when we were kids and he wishes things were different just as much as I do.’ Tamara met Anna’s gaze. ‘What you said made me think. None of this was Rupert’s fault and Belle deserves to know her uncle. So we’re going over to see him and his fiancée tonight. I’m not ready to see my parents yet, but knowing that Rupert is on my side if I do might even make that easier eventually.’

  ‘That’s great.’ Anna smiled, as Brae squeezed her hand; an unspoken understanding passing them between them. Things had a way of working out in the end, if you let them.

  ‘This dessert is incredible, Jago.’ Dan looked across at Ella’s father, taking the words right out of Anna’s mouth. She was finally feeling a bit better and more than ready for dessert when they got back from the beach, but what Jago served up far exceeded her expectations.

  ‘It’s a rocky road cheesecake pudding, Ysella’s favourite.’ Ella’s dad was the only person Anna had ever heard call her friend by her full name. ‘But watch out, because there’s a silver sixpence in it somewhere and I’m not going on the hook for any dental bills.’

  ‘I thought that was a Christmas thing?’ Ella looked at her dad, who shook his head.

  ‘I’d planned to put one in Anna and Brae’s wedding cake, but I couldn’t risk one of the kids getting a slice and choking. But the old rhyme goes, something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoe. So I thought having it today was the next best thing.’

  ‘The way I eat, I could end up swallowing it whole without even noticing!’ Brae laughed. ‘Luckily Anna and Ella are both trained in the Heimlich if I need it.’

  ‘I think there’s something in mine,’ Ella chopped at the rocky road with her spoon. ‘It looks gold though.’

  Picking up the piece, Ella crumbled it between her fingers. The sound of the sixpence hitting her plate made Daisy bark and Jones followed suit. Except as Anna looked over, she realised it wasn’t a sixpence, and a second later Ella finally realised it too.

  ‘I don’t understand, it looks like a really tiny bar of gold.’ Ella stabbed it with her fork again.

  ‘It’s Cornish gold and there’s enough there to make a couple of wedding rings if you want them, or something else if you don’t.’ Dan smiled, as Ella looked at him. ‘I’ve been thinking about asking you to marry me for a while, but I want to make sure it’s what you want and not just because I asked you. If and when you’re ready, all you’ve got to do is get the gold made into rings. But if you never are, that’s fine too. I just wanted you to know I’m ready whenever you are.’

  ‘About bloody time!’ Ella threw her arms around Dan’s neck. ‘And when the jewellers open on Monday, I’m going straight down there to see what they can do. But I’m telling you now, if you leave me standing at the altar, I’ll hunt you down and kill you!’

  ‘You’ll have to get to him before I do!’ Jago patted his future son-in-law on the back, Dan’s response lost in a flurry of congratulations. If there was a better way of topping the weekend of their wedding, Anna couldn’t think of one. Except it wasn’t over yet.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Ella was waiting on the upstairs landing, as Anna came out of the bathroom. ‘You looked a bit peaky downstairs and you’ve been up here ages.’

  ‘I started feeling sick again after about two sips of the champagne your mum poured me.’ Anna forced a smile, despite the churning in her stomach. ‘How are you feeling about finding a gold bar in your dessert?’

  ‘I still can’t believe Dan and Dad cooked all this up. Dad had to make my dessert completely separately to make sure I got the gold. I’m going to have to watch those two together.’ Ella rolled her eyes. ‘Mum’s already announced on Facebook that we’re getting married. I’ve had so many messages, and Jess and Toni are offering their bridesmaid services again!’

  ‘It was so lovely that Dan and your dad planned it together. I was nearly as ex
cited as your mum.’ Anna wrinkled her nose. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately. All I seem to do is cry, but at least they’re tears of happiness.’

  ‘You know what all of this could be a symptom of, don’t you?’

  ‘I’m not pregnant.’

  ‘And you know that for sure?’ Ella raised her eyebrows, as Anna attempted a casual shrug.

  ‘No, but the doctor told me how low my chances are, even with the Clomid. He said I’ve got the fertility of a forty-four-year-old.’

  ‘But not impossible, right? We’ve both worked with women of that age who’ve got pregnant.’ Ella waited, until Anna nodded. ‘I’ve got some tests in my bag, why don’t you take one?’

  ‘It’ll just be a no.’

  ‘At least then you’ll be sure and, if your symptoms don’t clear up, you can go and see the on-call doctor before you go on honeymoon. Now am I getting this test, or what?’

  ‘Okay ,and when you go back down, can you send Brae up please?’ Anna swallowed. ‘Even though I know the chances are next to nothing, I can’t help having a tiny bit of hope and if I’m going to cry my eyes out on anyone, I suppose it should be my husband.’

  ‘Of course I will. Just wait here a sec and I’ll be back up with the test.’

  Ella was a good as her word, and she was back with a digital pregnancy test before Anna could convince herself to chicken out.

  ‘I brought your bag up too. Text me if you need me. Otherwise I’ll send Brae up in a few minutes.’

  ‘Okay, thank you.’ Anna didn’t ask Ella to wish her luck. She needed something far closer to a miracle and she’d had more than her fair share of those already. Despite the warmth of the bathroom, she couldn’t stop shaking. Three minutes later she was staring at the result through a blur of tears, jumping at the knock on the door.

  ‘Anna, are you okay, darling? Ella said you needed me to come up.’ Brae’s voice was gentle and somehow she knew he’d make it all right.

  ‘Come in.’ Her voice was shaking as much as the rest of her, and Brae crossed the room to where she was sitting on the edge of the bath in two strides, crouching down next to her.

  ‘What’s the matter?’

  Anna shook her head, unable to find the words, slowly unfurling her fist instead.

  ‘I don’t understand.’ Brae picked up the keyring from the palm of her hand; a pair of silver and white baby bootees hanging from a silver chain.

  ‘My parents gave it to me when I qualified as a midwife.’ Anna’s words came out in a rush. ‘But now I want you to have it.’

  ‘That’s lovely, but I still don’t understand. I know how much it means to you.’

  ‘I’m pregnant.’ Anna burst into tears the moment the words were out of her mouth.

  ‘Really, are you sure?’

  ‘Ella gave me a digital test. It’s definitely positive.’

  ‘But that’s brilliant.’ Brae scooped her into his arms as she continued to sob. ‘Why are you so upset?’

  ‘Because I’m scared.’ Anna looked up at him. ‘How can all these amazing things be happening to me? I can’t help thinking something’s going to go wrong and it’s such early days. I had a couple of glasses of champagne the night before the wedding and another glass with the toasts. If I’d have known, I’ve never had done it.’

  She’d thought about seeing the word ‘pregnant’ flash up on the testing stick a hundred times. It was going to come with a surge of pure unadulterated joy, she was sure of it. Only it hadn’t, because she’d never really believed it would happen, not since they’d seen the fertility specialist. Every time she swallowed one of the Clomid pills, she’d seen it as just a stepping stone, something she had to try before she moved on to the next stage, mentally and physically. She hadn’t truly thought it would work.

  What she actually felt seeing the word ‘pregnant’ appear, was so much more complicated. She was thrilled, of course she was, but she was terrified of giving in to that feeling in case it was over almost before it had begun. Most of all, she still couldn’t quite believe it was true; the same way she hadn’t been able to believe it when Gwen had been jumping up and down telling her that the syndicate had won the lottery. Things like that didn’t happen in real life.

  ‘I know, but it was only a tiny bit of champagne and you didn’t have a clue. You know better than anyone that thousands of healthy babies are born every year to parents who didn’t plan it all perfectly. Even the fact that we’ve come this far is amazing and I think we should focus on that. Whatever else happens, we’ve got each other. So why shouldn’t we get this miracle too, when I’m already the luckiest man in the world?’

  ‘I knew you’d make it okay,’ Anna sniffed, still clinging on to Brae. She had more to lose than ever, and she knew just how painful that could be. He was right again, though. She’d come to realise over the last few months that she was luckier than anyone she’d ever known for finding Brae. So it stood to reason that she’d surprised everyone, including herself, by beating the incredibly long odds the fertility specialist had offered up. The life she shared with Brae in Port Agnes had already given them more to celebrate than they could ever have hoped for, and, whatever happened next, no one could ask for more than that.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks as ever to all the readers who choose to spend their time reading my books and especially those who go to the effort of leaving a review, it means more than you will ever know and I feel so privileged to be doing the job I love.

  I hope you have enjoyed the second of The Cornish Midwives novels. Sadly, I am not a midwife, or a social worker, but I have done my best to ensure that the medical and fostering details are as accurate as possible. I am very lucky that one of my close friends, Beverley Hills, is a brilliant midwife and I will be dedicating one of the future books in this series to her. I have also worked with foster carers and social workers for many years and so I have been able to draw upon this experience and their expertise in beginning to tell Jess’ story. However, if you are one of the UK’s wonderful midwives, providing such fantastic support for new and expectant mums, or indeed one of our amazingly dedicated social workers, I hope you’ll forgive any details which draw on poetic licence to fit the plot.

  My thanks as always go to the team at Boldwood Books for their help, especially my amazing editor, Emily Ruston, for lending me her wisdom to get this book into the best possible shape and set the scene for the next two books in the series. Thanks too to my wonderful copy editor, Cari, and proofreader, Shirley, for all their hard work.

  As ever, I can’t sign off without thanking my writing tribe, The Write Romantics, and all the other authors who I am lucky enough to call friends.

  Finally, as they always will, my biggest thank you goes to my family – Lloyd, Anna and Harry – for their support, patience, love and belief.

  More from Jo Bartlett

  We hope you enjoyed reading A Summer Wedding for the Cornish Midwife. If you did, please leave a review.

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  About the Author

  Jo Bartlett is the bestselling author of nineteen women’s fiction titles. She fits her writing in between her two day jobs as an educational consultant and university lecturer and lives with her family and three dogs on the Kent coast.

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  About Boldwood Books

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  First published in Great Britain in 2021 by Boldwood Books Ltd.

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  Copyright © Jo Bartlett, 2021

  Cover Design by Debbie Clement Design

  Cover photography: Shutterstock

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  The moral right of Jo Bartlett to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologise for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Paperback ISBN 978-1-80048-951-6

  Large Print ISBN 978-1-80048-950-9

  Hardback ISBN 978-1-80048-949-3

  Ebook ISBN 978-1-80048-953-0

  Kindle ISBN 978-1-80048-952-3

  Audio CD ISBN 978-1-80048-944-8

  MP3 CD ISBN 978-1-80048-945-5