As lunch time approached, I ducked out of the kitchen to see what was happening in the garden. The long picnic table was covered in a pretty floral tablecloth, with glasses, plates and napkins all ready on it. Across the lawn were coloured deckchairs for people to sit on. Balloons had been draped around the trees and fairy lights strung between them, ready for sunset. Everyone was bustling around getting everything ready.
‘I understand now why you never came back to London,’ I said to Beth as she carried over two watering cans full of flowers to use as centre pieces on the table. ‘This is pretty spectacular.’
‘The only thing we missed there was you,’ she replied, touching my shoulder as she straightened the flowers up. ‘I didn’t want to come here when my grandmother was sick, as you know, but once I did, it just felt like it was time to come home again. The community here just refused to let me go. And, of course, there was my family and Drew… Honestly, it was the best decision I ever made.’
I didn’t begrudge Beth one second of her happiness but it was hard not to feel a little bit envious, I was only human after all. I yawned then and found myself sagging against the table. It had been a busy morning.
She noticed. ‘Why don’t you go and get some rest? We’re almost done anyway, and we all need to get changed. Everyone will be turning up at three so you have time for a nap.’
‘God, when did I get old enough to need a nap?’ I said with a laugh, but I couldn’t pretend that the prospect wasn’t appealing. I checked Aunt Sally didn’t need me and then I retreated to my room.
As I lay down on the bed, I saw my phone light up. It was a message from Greg.
I just got off my shift – what are you up to?
I typed out a brief response.
The Hall is throwing a charity garden party later so we’ve been getting ready for that.
I wish I was there with you, babe.
Sighing, I let my phone fall on to the bed. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to say. Did I wish he was here? I missed what we had had, that was certain, but what we had been for the past few months I didn’t miss. I closed my eyes, exhausted by my thoughts and the busy morning, lulled by the gentle breeze floating though the open window and the sun streaming on my face, and soon I was fast asleep.
* * *
‘Feeling better?’ Beth found me when I walked into the kitchen that afternoon.
‘Much, thank you.’ I had had a long, cool shower after my nap, and felt refreshed, and ready for the party. I had put on a midi floral pleated skirt with sandals and a blouse, my hair loose over my shoulders, sunglasses and lip gloss completing the look. Glancing in the mirror before I came out, I had to admit I had a glow that had definitely been missing in London.
Beth and I stepped outside and I broke into a smile. Guests had already started to stream into the garden. Local teenagers had been hired to serve the drinks and help put out the buffet, and they weaved around the guests, in black trousers and white shirts. A local band was playing soft guitar music at one end of the garden.
‘There you two are,’ Drew said, appearing by our side. He held out two glasses of punch. ‘I need to borrow Beth, please. My boss and his wife are here.’
‘I’ll be fine,’ I replied, waving them off. I took my glass from him, and walked out onto the lawn, looking around to see if there was anyone I knew in sight.
‘I must warn you,’ a deep voice with a strong Scottish lilt to it said suddenly by my side. ‘I’m a minister who drinks, as well as being young with a cracking sense of humour.’
I turned to see Brodie, smiling as he raised a glass of punch up for me to see. I laughed. ‘Thank you for warning me. I have readjusted my views on ministers since we met so I will no longer be shocked by anything you do,’ I told him.
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh, really? I feel like you might regret saying that.’
I shook my head. ‘Just don’t drink too many of those and I’m sure we’ll be fine.’
‘Deal. I’m not a big drinker anyway but someone thrust this at me when I came in.’ He shrugged and looked around.
‘You’d better put it down then, I made the punch, and I have to confess I added more alcohol than the recipe said to.’
‘Well, now I’m the one who’s shocked.’ We looked at one another and smiled. Brodie walked over to the nearby table and put the glass down. ‘Fancy a stroll around, Emily?’
‘Sure.’ I put my glass down too, feeling like I wasn’t too keen on drinking today either. First coffee, then booze, what was Scotland doing to me? We set off towards where the band were playing.
‘So, where do you live in London?’ Brodie asked me.
‘Clapham.’
‘I’m afraid I don’t know London well, I’ve only been there a couple of times.’
‘I grew up in Glendale, and it’s a very different way of life. We don’t have anything like this,’ I said, gesturing around me. ‘But you’re not from here, are you?’ I felt sure I would have remembered Brodie growing up, there was no one as good-looking as him at my school, that’s for sure.
He shook his head. ‘No. I actually grew up in Inverness so more of a city boy but I really love it here. The community has been wonderful, they made me feel at home even though I was very different to the last minister, and now I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.’
‘Did you always want to be a minister?’ I couldn’t quite get over how unlike a minister he seemed to me.
‘Well, I grew up in a very religious family. I went to church, Sunday school, all of it but as I moved into my teens, I became… disillusioned, you could say.’ We walked further down the lawn, side-by-side, Brodie nodding at a family who passed us. He, like Beth, seemed to know everyone here. He glanced at me with a wry smile. ‘I rebelled, refused to go to church, turned from God, made some new friends, what you’d call a “bad crowd” I suppose.’ He sighed. ‘I wasn’t happy but I told myself that I was cool so that was okay.’
‘Sounds like most teenagers,’ I said. ‘It’s not easy at that age.’
‘No, it’s not. I did some things that I’m not particularly proud of but I can’t change it. All I can do is try to be better now.’
‘How did you find your way back?’ I asked, finding his story fascinating. I wasn’t used to a man being this open and honest with me when we’d only just met.
‘My sister,’ Brodie said. ‘She was in a car accident. She almost died. She was in a coma and I sat by her bedside gripped by this fear I’d never had before. And I prayed. I told God I’d do anything if He would just save her.’ He smiled. ‘I didn’t expect for this conversation to become so heavy on such a lovely day. Needless to say, my sister pulled through, and I made good on my promise. I studied theology at university and then began training to be a minster. As soon as she opened her eyes, I just knew.’
‘Wow.’ Goosebumps travelled down my bare arms despite the sun beating down on us. ‘That’s amazing, Brodie. Your family must be really proud of you.’
‘They are. My sister is in Edinburgh, she stayed on after university, and my parents still live in Inverness. We try to see each other as often as we can. What about your family?’ He lifted his hand to wave to a child running in front of us.
‘I’m close with my parents; it’s just us three. They don’t live too far from me in London. We moved down when I was a teenager. I think they always plan to retire back up here. I think we all miss Glendale sometimes.’
He nodded. ‘I can well imagine that.’ We turned then and walked towards where the band were playing. Some people were dancing on the grass in front of them, making it feel like we were at a music festival. ‘When I moved here, I was nervous that I wouldn’t make friends but it’s such a strong community. I have to turn down invitations or I’d never be at the vicarage.’
I smiled to myself. I bet he was the talk of the village when he arrived. Surely every eligible woman in the surrounding areas had their eye on him? He saw me smile. ‘It must be that sense of humour of yours,�
� I said.
He chuckled. ‘Indeed. You’re staying at the Hall by yourself then?’ He gave me a quick look before turning to wave at another family passing us.
‘That’s right. I’m staying until the wedding,’ I replied, not quite meeting his eyes and hoping he wouldn’t notice. I didn’t want to sully our nice chat by bringing up Greg and having to explain why he wasn’t with me.
‘London’s loss is our gain then,’ he said.
I wished I could blame the warm sun on my face for its sudden flush but I knew that wasn’t the case at all.
Chapter Twelve
It slowly came to our notice that the lawn had emptied around us and when we turned around, we realised everyone had moved up closer to the house where the food was being served. With sheepish smiles at how long we had walked and talked, we made our way back up the garden to the massive buffet laid out on the tables. I was surprised by how much we had lost track of both the time, and other people. Brodie really was easy to talk to.
As we reached everyone, Brodie was intercepted by some of his parishioners so I left him to it, and piled up my plate with the gorgeous food, making my way over to where Beth’s friend, and maid-of-honour, Heather and her partner Rory, Drew’s brother, were sitting with Izzy, their baby asleep in the pram beside them. ‘Can I join you?’ I asked them.
‘Of course, Emily,’ Heather said, smiling at me warmly.
‘This looks amazing,’ I said, sinking into a deckchair next to them. I was definitely going to put on weight staying at the Hall. I tucked into my plateful with relish. ‘This pasta salad is so good. I’d better ask my aunt for her recipe.’
‘I helped make that,’ Izzy said, waving her fork excitedly.
‘You did a great job,’ I told her.
‘So, I see you’re already acquainted with our minister,’ Heather said, leaning across Rory to speak to me. ‘Be careful, you’ll have all the single ladies here after you with their pitchforks. He’s the most eligible bachelor I think Glendale has ever had,’ she added with a laugh.
‘Hey!’ Rory protested. ‘I was an eligible bachelor, I’ll have you know.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Yes, of course you were, love, but I snapped you up. Brodie, however, is very much still available.’
I shook my head but I couldn’t forget the spark I had felt between us when he had smiled at me, and how much I had enjoyed talking to him. Should I be feeling guilty about that? I looked at him stood talking to two ladies, one of whom was touching his arm every time she said anything. ‘He’s certainly very popular for a minister,’ I commented. And good-looking too, I added silently to myself. I wondered if he’d be able to escape to get any food, poor bloke.
‘I can’t say I blame them,’ Heather replied with a sigh as she followed my gaze to him.
‘Seriously, I’m right here!’ Rory said, waving his hands to get her attention.
‘What’s got Rory’s knickers in a twist again?’ Drew asked, approaching us then, hand-in-hand with Beth.
‘He’s annoyed that we’ve been lusting over Reverend Stewart,’ Heather told them with a grin.
‘That sounds so wrong when you call him that,’ I said with a shake of my head.
‘No one would blame you,’ Beth said. ‘I think every woman in the village is lusting after him. We’re only human.’ She shrugged.
‘Now I feel like I should be upset too,’ Drew complained.
Beth gazed up at him. ‘Hey, you know that you’re the only one for me but it doesn’t hurt to look, does it?’
‘Why can’t you reassure me like that?’ Rory demanded, glaring at Heather.
‘I’m not sure you’re The One yet,’ she replied but she was grinning.
Rory leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. ‘Well, maybe I’m not sure either,’ he said, sulking.
‘We both know that’s not true,’ Heather replied. Everyone laughed at them. I joined in but I did feel a pang in my heart. It was obvious that both Beth and Drew, and Heather and Rory, had found their perfect partners. Their relationships were stable in a way that mine just wasn’t.
‘Speaking of…’ Beth muttered under her breath, and we turned to see Brodie coming towards us, hands in his pockets. I tried not to watch but it was hard not to. I could well understand why the ladies of Glendale were taken with him.
‘I was starting to think I’d never make it to the food table,’ he said, running a hand through his hair and looking a little shell-shocked by all the attention. He glanced at my plate. ‘Want to refill?’
I looked down in surprise at my empty plate. I couldn’t get enough of the food at Glendale Hall, it seemed. I got up and followed him to the food table, trying to ignore the feeling of eyes on my back from the others. ‘You must be the most popular minister Glendale has had,’ I found myself blurting out as we reached the buffet. I seemed to be unable to filter my thoughts around him.
Brodie chuckled, his laugh deep and rumbling. ‘I must admit I was pleasantly surprised myself at how well church services were attended here until I had my first dinner invitation, and then my housekeeper clued me in on why suddenly so many single women seemed to have found faith.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m not complaining, though. If anyone wants to help out the church, I’m not going to turn them away.’
I shook my head. ‘I can’t believe you’re actually admitting to knowing the real reason why women are suddenly becoming believers around here, and using it to your own advantage. Is that really Christian of you?’
‘Of course I’m hoping that they come for me and stay for Him,’ he replied, pausing in putting potato salad on his plate to point a fork to the sky. ‘And it wouldn’t be Christian to turn them away now, would it?’
I chuckled then. ‘Shameless. Completely shameless. But what will they all do when they realise they have no chance of becoming Mrs Stewart?’ I wondered, adding a sausage roll to my plate and putting one on his too.
‘I didn’t say they have no chance. I’m a single man, after all.’ He grinned, looking boyish and most un-minister-like. Then he looked a little more serious. ‘I hope to get married one day.’
‘So, you’re just waiting for Miss Right then?’ I asked, genuinely interested. It was clear he could have the pick of the village; I was surprised that he didn’t seem to be dating anyone.
‘I don’t exactly believe in right or wrong… marriage takes hard work and compromise as well as compatibility. I know that when I do get married it will be forever so I want to make sure that I don’t rush into anything. When you feel you need to set an example to your parish, you don’t want to make any mistakes.’
‘I understand that,’ I replied. He definitely took marriage more seriously than I had seen any man do, apart from Drew, maybe. ‘I think it’s admirable actually.’
He looked surprised then. ‘Really?’
‘Sure. I don’t like rushing into anything, either. In fact, my Aunt Sally always tells me that I could do with being more impulsive but to be honest, when I have been, it hasn’t really worked out.’ I thought of how hard and fast I fell for Greg. It had been out of character for me. In hindsight, maybe that was my warning sign.
‘You have to do what feels right for you,’ Brodie said. ‘I’m always being asked by my family when I’m going to settle down but I’ll know when the time is right, I’m sure of that.’
‘I wish I had the same conviction,’ I replied, thinking that I could do with some sort of sign about what to do about my relationship with Greg.
‘You just need a little faith, Emily,’ he said, passing me the bread basket.
I smiled. ‘Maybe I do.’
‘There you are, Brodie,’ a small, grey-haired lady suddenly appeared by his side, looking cross. ‘I wanted to speak to you about the bake sale tomorrow. We still don’t have a Victoria sponge, and you can’t have a bake sale without one!’ She looked aghast at the thought.
‘Oh, well, no. Of course not,’ Brodie replied, looking taken aback. ‘Um…’
; ‘I could bake one,’ I found myself offering. I glanced at him. ‘I work at a bakery.’
‘Thank you, dear,’ the woman said with a brisk nod, leaving as quickly as she had appeared.
Brodie turned to me. ‘Are you sure? You’re on holiday, I wouldn’t want to force you to work.’
‘It’s fine. It won’t take long. I could bake one in my sleep I think.’
He broke into a warm smile. ‘Well, that’s very kind of you. It starts at two o’clock in the church hall tomorrow.’
‘I’ll bring it by before then,’ I promised. I looked at my plate, piled high again. ‘I’m going to be huge if I keep this up.’
‘Don’t be silly, you have the perfect figure.’ Then he realised what he had said, spluttered a little, and turned bright red.
‘And I thought it was just me that said inappropriate things to you,’ I said, bursting out laughing.
‘It seems to be catching,’ he replied dryly but he joined in with my laughter, and I felt another burst of warmth in the air between us.
Chapter Thirteen
I got up before the rest of the household the following morning and pulled on jeans and a t-shirt. Sunday had dawned grey and cooler so it wasn’t a hardship to be in the kitchen baking. I put on the radio and made myself a cup of tea, humming along to the music as I started to cream the butter and sugar.
It had been a lovely garden party yesterday with people staying long into the evening – it had been well past midnight when all the guests had finally left the Hall. I had fallen asleep as soon as my head had touched the pillow and had woken up with lots of energy, ready to get baking. I was also going to be helping Aunt Sally in the Glendale Hall shop so I was looking forward to a busy day ahead.
My phone rang in my pocket as I sifted the flour. I looked down at it and saw Greg’s picture lighting up the screen. I knew I couldn’t keep dodging his calls. ‘Hey,’ I said as I put it on speaker and kept on stirring the mixture, nerves flooding through me at talking to him.
New Beginnings At Glendale Hall Page 7