Spring Blossoms at Mill Grange by Jenny Kane (a court of thorns and roses ebook free txt) 📗

‘Well, yes.’ Thea felt the heat of the Aga against her back. ‘I gave you the chance to follow me, to talk to me, but you didn’t. You could have at least told me you believed I was being offered the job because I’m good at it rather than because of Julian’s alleged feelings for me – but you didn’t say that either. And every time we do talk, you ask me the same thing, I give you the same answer, but you won’t believe me. When Sophie fancied you in Cornwall, I hated it, but I listened. I gave you the chance to explain, and I helped you get out of the hole you’d blindly dug yourself into. I trusted you enough to give you the benefit of the doubt. If you don’t trust me, then it doesn’t matter how much I love you, does it?’

Shaun opened his mouth to protest, but his phone burst into life. ‘It’s the suit hire people.’

‘You’d better answer then.’ Thea turned back to the soup as Shaun walked out into the garden. Her appetite had completely gone.

Forty-three

Thursday April 9th

Sam woke up to find Tina sat at the little table in the corner of their bedroom. She was bent over her wedding planner notebook, concentration etched on her face.

Opening the bedroom window to its widest setting, Sam took his usual steadying lungful of fresh air on waking. While he saw off the panic that assailed him the second his conscious mind reminded him he was indoors, he asked, ‘What’s wrong?’

‘What makes you think anything’s wrong?’

‘Because you’re tugging on your pigtails as you write.’

Tina smiled. ‘Okay. Guilty as charged.’

Hopping back into bed, tapping the space next to him, Sam gestured to the notebook Tina held. ‘What have you been working on?’

‘You’ll laugh.’

‘Try me.’

‘I figuring out where, as we’re having an afternoon tea type buffet after the ceremony, we could ask Thea and Shaun to sit, so they look like they are still together, while at the same time not having them too close to each other, in case they have a row.’

‘Still together?’ Sam’s eyebrows rose. ‘Things aren’t that bad between them, are they?’

‘Are you kidding?’ Tina twisted round so she could see Sam’s face. ‘Hasn’t Shaun told you they’ve split?’

‘I knew they’d had a row, and something wasn’t right with the Cotswold dig. Are you sure?’

‘Don’t men ever talk to each other?’ Tina shook her head. ‘I’ve hardly slept worrying about them. And, if I’m honest, the impact on our wedding. I know that’s selfish, but we’ve already lost one bridesmaid. If the best man and chief bridesmaid can’t bear to look at one another, as well as the usher being broken hearted…’

Tucking her against his shoulder, Sam let out an exhalation of breath. ‘Look, I’m sure Shaun and Thea haven’t split. They’ve just had a major row. They survived when Thea thought Shaun was playing away in Cornwall. It was all a misunderstanding. This is probably the same.’

‘I wish it was.’

‘Even if they have decided to part, you know they would never let that ruin our day.’

‘Not on purpose they wouldn’t,’ Tina pulled a face, ‘but weddings are emotional occasions. What if someone says the wrong thing and sparks them off? What if they are stood side by side in the aisle while we exchange our vows and it gets too much and one of them runs off, what if—?’

‘What if I have a word with Shaun and find out what’s going on before we jump to conclusions?’

‘Would you? Thea hasn’t said much. Until she brings up the subject, I don’t like to ask.’ Tina sighed. ‘Honestly, we just get your parents onside, and now this. Do you think Tom would be best man if Shaun takes off?’

‘Why would Shaun take off?’

‘I don’t know! Why did Helen?’ Tina could feel herself becoming panicky. ‘I suppose Mabel and Bert could change roles. There’s no age limit on being best man and bridesmaid is there?’

Giving her a gentle kiss, Sam shook his head. ‘We can’t ask Bert to do any more than he’s doing, not while he’s recovering from pneumonia. And Mabel loves being mother of the bride. We can’t take that away from her.’

‘I know. But our wedding is any minute now and everyone is falling apart!’

*

Helen spent a long time staring at Tom’s bare back as he slept next to her. She wasn’t sure how many hours she’d been awake trying to work out how she’d managed to jump to so many incorrect conclusions.

What do I do now? I told the staff at the Roman Baths I’m back.

Tom gave a hedgehog like snuffle as he rolled over. The view of his naked chest and the memory of how she’d revisited it the night before clouded Helen’s judgement for a second.

I shouldn’t have slept with him.

She closed her eyes. An image of Dylan asleep in his little bed in Tom’s room at Mill Grange flashed through her mind. She’d only been gone a few hours in the grand scheme of things, yet she missed the little boy more than she’d imagined.

Tom grunted, flinging an arm over his head. Helen wondered what he was dreaming about.

The night before they’d gone for their long overdue curry. Helen had steered them to a restaurant she’d never been to before, not ready to go anywhere she’d be recognised. They’d talked for a long time, their meal largely cold before they got around to eating it. Awkward to start with, sticking to the safe ground by conversing about the fort, Tom had eventually got bored of skirting around the issue. He’d told her more about the phone calls he’d been fielding for Sam’s father, his attempts to get a tailor for Bert, and about the booking calls he’d taken for Tina while she was in wedding mode.

By the time Helen