New Beginnings At Glendale Hall

by Victoria Walters

  Chapter Six

  When I woke, the sun was dipping in the sky and I sat up suddenly, wondering where I was for a moment. My phone vibrated with a message. I glanced at it and smiled; it was Beth telling me to hurry up. I checked the time; it was past seven. I couldn’t remember the last time I had napped like that. Climbing off the bed, I went into the en suite and splashed my face with water. Glancing in the mirror, I saw that I still looked exhausted but I knew I couldn’t hide up here all night, when everyone was downstairs ready to welcome me.

  Sucking in a deep breath, I left the bathroom and changed quickly into one of my maxi summer dresses, pulling on flip-flops, and letting down my hair loose over my shoulders. I was about to grab my phone but then I decided it was better left in the room. Greg would be home soon from work and would discover I was gone, and I really didn’t want to have to deal with him quite yet.

  I hurried downstairs and walked into the kitchen. The doors had been flung open to the garden and a delicious smell was coming from a gas barbeque just outside; the patio area full of people. Laughter and voices greeted me as I stepped outside. The evening was warm although there was a welcoming cool breeze, reminding me I was a long way from the city.

  ‘There you are,’ Beth said, coming over to me. She handed me a tall glass. ‘We made Pimm’s and lemonade,’ she said, passing it to me.

  ‘Emily!’ My aunt Sally hurried away from the group to come up to me, wrapping her arms around me. I stiffened, trying to swallow down the lump that quickly rose up in my throat at the sight of her. ‘I’m so happy you decided to come up early and stay with us,’ she said. Sally was older than my mother, her hair greying but her eyes still twinkling. She looked me over as Beth had. ‘Is everything okay?’ she said, more quietly.

  I nodded, taking a long gulp of my drink. ‘I just thought it was better to make the cake here, and I was owed holiday anyway…’ I mumbled, unconvincing even to my own ears. ‘So, this is quite a party,’ I said, walking towards everyone, hoping I could shift their focus away from me. I said hello to the rest of party guests. As well as Drew and Beth, their twelve-year-old daughter Izzy was there, with her pretty, long red hair and freckles. Her cat, Ginny, sat happily on her lap so I had to give her a one-armed hug. The rest of the group were Caroline, Beth’s mother, and the Hall’s gardener, John, along with Drew’s brother Rory, and his girlfriend and Beth’s oldest friend, Heather, who was cradling their five-month-old baby, Harry. I swallowed another lump in my throat when I saw him.

  ‘It’s lovely to see you again,’ Caroline Williams said, giving me a kiss on each cheek. Beth’s mother was elegant and polished and I’d always been a little nervous of her, particularly because when Beth had run away to come and live with me in London, she had deprived Caroline of being with her granddaughter while I had seen them almost every day. I worried Caroline resented me for that but her welcoming smile was genuine, and I was relieved that she seemed okay with me being here.

  ‘Right, food’s up, folks,’ Drew called then, waving a spatula in the air.

  The long, wooden table was already piled with food and he added all the cooked meat to it, everyone forming a line, carrying plates over to it. I was surprisingly hungry and I filled my plate with salad – much of it grown in the gardens of the Hall – new potatoes, cold pasta and rice, and the tasty looking kebabs from the barbecue. Beth refilled my glass with Pimm’s and I sat down next to Izzy, who had shifted her cat off her lap so she could eat.

  ‘Are you excited for the wedding?’ I asked Izzy as we tucked in. Everything tasted amazing. My aunt had always been a great cook and with all the fresh, home-grown produce, it really put the packaged supermarket food we had at home to shame.

  ‘I can’t wait,’ Izzy replied, her red hair bouncing as she talked. ‘My bridesmaid dress is so pretty!’

  ‘I’m looking forward to seeing it,’ I told her. I was Izzy’s godmother in anything but name as Beth had never had her christened, and had known her all her life. She had blossomed since moving to Scotland. She had always been shy, awkward even, her head stuck in a book all the time, but she seemed so much more confident and happier now.

  ‘Mum said you’re going to bake the cake here. Can I help, do you think?’ she asked me, hopefully.

  ‘I would love your help,’ I said. ‘I still need to come up with the perfect idea. I’m hoping once I see what you have for the wedding already, I can make sure that the cake complements everything.’

  ‘I’ll show you the gazebo after dinner,’ Izzy said. ‘That will help you.’ She leant in closer. ‘My dress is pale yellow,’ she whispered, glancing at her dad to make sure he couldn’t hear her. ‘I told Mum she should have Harry Potter colours for the wedding, yellow and maroon, so that’s what we’ve done. Well, kind of. The yellow is lighter than it should be because Mum said it’s a summer wedding so everything needs to look summery.’ She shrugged, as if she didn’t really understand that reasoning.

  I laughed at the idea of a Harry Potter themed wedding. I knew it was Izzy’s favourite book series and could well believe she had worn down her mother to choose that colour scheme. ‘Well, we need to make sure the cake matches that, then,’ I said.

  After dinner, Sally brought out strawberries and cream for dessert, followed by coffee. The sun started to set. I gazed out at the grounds, watching as the clear sky turned burnt orange above us. I hadn’t sat and watch the sun set for a long time. It really was beautiful in Glendale. I glanced at Beth and Drew watching the sky together, Beth leaning her head on his shoulder. They looked so content, it made my heart ache. But they deserved to be.

  When Beth had come to stay with me, pregnant at sixteen, Drew had gone to America to study to be a doctor, not knowing he had a daughter. Beth hadn’t wanted him to give up his dreams so she had raised Izzy alone. When her grandmother got sick, she and Izzy had finally come home to Glendale and Drew had come back to stay with his brother for Christmas, discovering he had a ten-year-old daughter. Beth and Drew had fallen back in love, and they had all decided to return to Glendale for good, and were now a happy family.

  Theirs was a story that could make even the coldest heart believe in true love but I had to look away from the happiness that radiated from them then. Greg interrupted my thoughts once again. Had he seen my note yet? Was he sad? Or relieved that I had gone?

  ‘Come on, let’s go and see where the wedding is going to be,’ Izzy said, bored of watching the sunset. She grabbed my hand to pull me out of my chair, and Beth gave me a little wave as I followed her, chuckling at her eagerness, grateful that she was saving me from my painful thoughts.

  The grounds of Glendale Hall stretched out for acres. We walked across the grass towards the stream, which glittered under the setting sun. Just by the stream was the area ear-marked for the wedding. The gazebo had already been constructed of painted white wood, there were steps leading up to it and an archway stretched across it. The view behind it was stunning. ‘We’re going to wrap flowers all over the arch but Mum said it’s too early to put them up in the heat,’ she said. I could just imagine how pretty it would look covered in coloured blooms. Beth really had an excellent eye for flowers.

  Izzy pointed to where white chairs would be laid out for the guests to watch the ceremony. They had created a path down the middle and she explained there would be flowers lining that too, to match the archway. ‘Dad was worried about it raining but I don’t think it will, do you?’

  ‘I really hope not,’ I replied. It would be such a stunning wedding ceremony. ‘And then the meal will be nearer the house?’

  ‘Yes. We’ve hired a big tent. It’s called something fancy but I can’t remember what. We’ve got picnic tables coming and Mum’s making flower centrepieces for each one, and we’re going to have jars with fairy lights in and lanterns as well.’

  ‘Sounds like it will be magical,’ I said as we started to stroll back towards the house. My mind was already whirring with cake ideas. It sounded like Beth was really goin
g for a summery outdoors wedding with lots of wild flowers and craft touches; a ‘rustic wedding’ I supposed people in London would say, to complement the stunning location. I just had to make sure the cake would come up scratch.

  ‘Right, you,’ Beth said when we went back to the group. ‘It’s time to get ready for bed,’ she told Izzy who groaned. Rory and Heather had already taken Harry home and everyone was clearing away the dinner things. The sun had set properly then, and candles had been lit along the table, casting a pretty glow to the garden.

  ‘I think I’m ready for my bed too, to be honest,’ I said, feeling exhausted suddenly.

  ‘How about tomorrow we walk into Glendale together?’ Beth suggested. ‘I really want to show you what we’ve done to the High Street and what we’d still like to do. Plus, I need to pop into the church to speak to our minister.’

  I nodded. ‘Sounds good.’ I knew she was looking for an opportunity to talk to me alone and I needed to decide how honest to be with her. I couldn’t lie outright to Beth but the thought of admitting what Greg had done filled me with horror. I knew how upset and angry she’d be for me… plus, it was embarrassing. Humiliating, even. Especially when I could see how happy she and Drew were. Could I bear her inevitable pity right now? But we’d been through so much over the years, and I knew she’d always have my back like I had hers, and I needed a good friend right now, that was for sure. She had left a hole when she moved back to Scotland, and I really missed our friendship. She was the only one, beside my mum and Molly, who knew how much I longed for a baby, and how hard it had been to keep failing to get pregnant.

  I said goodnight to everyone and walked slowly up to my room. Closing the door, I stepped out of my flip-flops and walked to the bed, reaching for my phone, my heart floating up to my throat as I prepared myself to face it. There was a voicemail from Greg. I took a deep breath as I pressed play.

  Em, I’ve just come home and seen your note. I can’t believe you’ve just gone off like this. I really think we need to talk about what happened last night, don’t you? Please call me back. I… I hope this is just a holiday. You are coming back, aren’t you? Call me, babe. I love you.

  I played the message twice, not knowing how I felt about it or how I wanted to respond. I couldn’t face speaking to him. Not yet. I put my phone down and got undressed slowly. Greg’s voice had sobered me up, and my lovely evening had come crashing back down to reality. I had run from him but I couldn’t hide, even this far away. I knew I would have to face it all in the morning. I hoped a new day would bring with it the knowledge of what I wanted to say to him… but what could I say? He had cheated on me, he had broken my trust and the future we had planned together. He said he loved me, and I knew my heart still belonged to him – as much as I wished right now it didn’t – but was love enough now?

  I’d always thought that I’d never accept cheating from anyone. I remembered telling friends in the past who had been cheated on that they should leave, that if their partner had done it once then they would just do it all over again, but now it had happened to me. Now it was my Greg who had done it. I had pretended for too long that things were still okay between us. I couldn’t do that any longer. I had to face the fact that my relationship had not turned out the way I hoped it would.

  But what I should do about that fact, I still hadn’t got a clue.

  You are coming back, aren’t you?

  Greg’s question repeated itself on a loop as I climbed into bed, wishing I had an answer, both for him and for myself.

  Chapter Seven

  I went down to the kitchen early the next day still wearing the shorts and vest I had slept in. I found Aunt Sally laying the table for breakfast, Beth and Caroline already there drinking coffee. Izzy rushed past me in her school uniform telling her mum she had lost her PE kit. Drew was making tea in the kitchen and attempting to keep Izzy’s cat away from the milk as he poured it out.

  ‘Yes, it’s always like this,’ Beth said, smiling at me as she got up. ‘I know where it is, Iz. You have something to eat and I’ll find it, okay? And get Emily some coffee, please. She’s like me – not human until she has a cup.’ She dropped me a wink as she left to find the missing PE kit.

  I chuckled, remembering how Beth was annoyed when I’d told her she needed to limit her coffee when she was pregnant. I took a mug of strong coffee gratefully from Izzy.

  ‘Did you sleep well?’ Aunt Sally asked me as she laid the table with warm pastries and muffins, a stack of toast and homemade jams and marmalade. There was a basket of fruit and several containers of cereal and milk on there as well.

  ‘I did. The bed is super comfortable,’ I replied, taking a long sip of coffee. I had thought I would lay awake until the early hours thinking of Greg but I had slipped into a deep sleep, and felt so much better for it. I winced, staring at the coffee. It tasted too bitter. I liked my coffee strong usually but this felt just too strong. I put it down, disappointed. I kept quiet about that though, not wanting to seem ungrateful. My stomach rumbled loudly, and I reached for a croissant.

  ‘Here we go,’ Beth said, returning with the kit as Drew came to the table and grabbed a slice of toast. ‘You off in a minute?’

  He nodded, his mouth full. ‘I’ll be back in two days,’ he said, eating quickly. When he had to put in long shifts at the hospital, he stayed over in Inverness as it was too far to go back and forth to the Hall. He glanced at me as he sipped his tea. ‘I hope you like the new and improved Glendale.’ He gave Beth a kiss and Izzy a hug. ‘Right, guys, see you soon!’ We all chorused goodbye to him. I reached for another pastry and poured myself an orange juice, which was wonderfully refreshing.

  ‘Are you still okay to go to the garden centre?’ Beth asked her mother who nodded. She turned to me. ‘We want to buy some ceramic pots to decorate and sell in the shop. Ready-made for people’s gardens.’ Beth had always wanted to be a gardener, and since returning to Glendale had gone back to college to study, and now worked closely with John to look after the grounds, and supply their shop with produce.

  ‘Sounds like a great idea,’ I replied. ‘I hope the Glendale shop is doing well, then?’

  ‘It is,’ Caroline answered. ‘You’ll see; we’ve themed the shop all around the wedding at the moment,’ she added, pushing her chair back. ‘Izzy, I’ll drive you to school on the way. Let’s go and drag John out of his cottage. See you all later,’ she said, hurrying Izzy along.

  ‘My mother has finally accepted that she and John are courting now,’ Beth said with a smile when they had gone. ‘They are so sweet together.’ Her parents had recently divorced, but her mother was only just admitting how close she had become to their gardener through the years.

  ‘I still hold out hope that my aunt might find someone,’ I said in a low voice as Sally cleared away Caroline and Izzy’s plates. My uncle had passed away a long time ago and she had remained resolutely single.

  ‘I guess once you find The One it’s hard to ever imagine being with anyone else,’ Beth said, clearly thinking of Drew. She smiled at me. ‘And how is your One?’

  ‘Oh, fine, you know,’ I replied, stuffing my mouth with a muffin. ‘He couldn’t get out of work to come to the wedding in the end, though. He’s really sorry about it,’ I said, when I’d swallowed the muffin down.

  Beth frowned. She had been in London still when I had met Greg, and had witnessed just how quickly and deeply I had fallen for him. I still remember her warning me to take things slowly. I had been a little annoyed with her at the time, but now she could well have the right to say, ‘I told you so’. Not that Beth ever would, of course.

  ‘That’s a shame, I know how much you were looking forward to showing him Glendale,’ she said. She paused and then tilted her head. ‘Are things okay at home, Em? I mean, you sounded kind of frantic on the phone, and rushing up here like this… I’m not trying to pry, I’m just saying if you want to talk about anything, or tell me anything, then you know you can, right?’

  I took
a long gulp of juice as I thought about how to respond. I had been right about how hard it would be to hide my troubles from her. We had known each other for too long. ‘I was upset that he couldn’t come to the wedding,’ I admitted. ‘Things haven’t been that great between us lately. I think this break will do us good.’

  ‘That’s a shame. I’m sorry, Em.’ She touched my hand gently. ‘I know how much you love him, I’m sure things will work out. And he does have an important job. Like Drew. They can’t help but put that first sometimes, can they?’

  I nodded, not able to bring myself to tell her about the cheating. Not yet anyway. I didn’t want to bring the mood down any more. She was looking forward to her wedding, I didn’t want my problems to get in the way of that. ‘Gives me more time to work on your cake, though,’ I said, trying to smile, and turn the conversation.

  ‘I’m so excited about it. I still miss your cake. And popping in to Molly’s. How is everything at the bakery?’

  I tried not to think about Steph. ‘Still the same. Molly is an institution,’ I replied. I didn’t want what Steph had done to sully the place for me but I had no idea how I could ever bear to work side-by-side with her again.

  ‘Well,’ Beth said, brightly. ‘I’m glad you came up early; it’s been too long since we spent proper time together.’

  ‘I’ve missed it too,’ I said with a smile.

  ‘My God,’ she cried then, staring down at my mug. ‘You’ve left coffee! Are you really feeling all right?’ She laughed as she got up, carrying her plate over to the kitchen.

  I stared at the full mug of coffee. It was weird that I didn’t even want to attempt to finish it. I shrugged. Must just be too used to my own coffee. ‘I’m fine,’ I called after her, hoping that I would be. ‘I’d better jump in the shower,’ I added, standing up.