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

Helen didn’t miss the slump of Thea’s shoulders as she stared at her cake, her fork playing with it rather than scooping it up. ‘What do you mean, especially now?’

*

Shaun stood in the doorway of the room he’d shared with Thea. It hadn’t taken long for her pile of clothes to disappear from their haphazard heap on the chair in the corner. Apart from a couple of novels and a hairbrush, there was no sign she’d ever been there. With a resigned groan he tugged his rucksack out from under the bed.

Feeling bad about upping and leaving so soon after Helen had gone, Shaun consoled himself with the fact he wasn’t doing a flit. He had to go. His job may depend on it.

Cramming all he could into his bag, Shaun left the suit he’d bought to be best man in, hanging in its plastic overcoat on the wardrobe door. A silent message to Thea, that he was coming back.

Forty-seven

Friday April 10th

Thea sat on a bench in the garden, a thick jumper shielding her arms against the early morning air.

Sam had delivered the message as soon as Thea and Tina had arrived back at the manor the previous evening. The smiles on their faces were immediately extinguished by the news that Shaun had been summoned to the Cotswolds.

‘He’s gone too.’ Tina had paled at the thought of another member of her wedding party disappearing.

‘He’ll be back for the wedding.’ Sam looked at a silent Thea. ‘I’m sorry.’

Breathing slowly, Thea had asked, ‘Did Shaun say why he was summoned?’

‘Just that he needed to speak to Julian.’

As she watched the sun rise, Thea wondered if Julian had really summoned Shaun, or if he’d simply decided to go and talk to the producer.

At least I slept. As the dawn mist floated across the garden, Thea muttered a word of thanks to Minerva for small mercies. Tucking her knees under her chin, her feet resting on the edge of the bench, Thea realised she hadn’t been surprised he’d gone. Part of her had even been relieved. If he wasn’t there, then she didn’t have to wonder what to say all the time, wonder how to act, wonder how to simply be.

‘Doesn’t stop me loving him though, does it?’

You’ve explained all you can. All you can do is wait now.

‘That’s so hard. Doing nothing is hard.’

Sometimes it’s the only thing you can do.

‘What will Julian say to him?’

The Goddess sent a shrug across the astral plain. Whatever is in Julian’s own best interests.

Hugging herself tighter, Thea thought over her conversation with Tina and Helen. It had been good to lay it all out, to share the confusion that had been running around her head.

She and Shaun hadn’t had the smoothest ride in their relationship. It had taken a while for her to allow herself to like him, let alone date him. Then, not so long ago, Shaun had been the romantic target of a student archaeologist in Cornwall, and Thea had wondered if she’d lose him to her. ‘I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I listened to him.’

And you don’t think he’s paid you the same courtesy.

‘I made a mistake and said sorry. That should be enough.’

Perhaps you need to find out why that isn’t enough.

Thea sat up straight. ‘Hurt pride? No, not Shaun – he’d admit to that. So why? Why won’t he talk to me?’

Fighting the urge to pick up her mobile and call him to ask that very question, as it wasn’t even six o’clock in the morning, and there was a good chance he wouldn’t answer the call even if he was awake, Thea stared into the woods before her.

‘What you’re saying, Minerva, is that I just have to wait.’

And while you wait, be there for your friends.

Thea got up and headed back to the house. In two days’ time the place would be overrun with Easter egg hunters and in just over a month her best friend was getting married. Somewhere there would be a whole heap of to-do lists.

*

Tom looked down at the figure asleep in his arms. Dylan had been a ball of sugar-fuelled energy when he’d got back to house the previous evening. Too shell-shocked to talk, he’d taken Dylan on a night time walk, hoping it would both excite and exhaust him.

Running a gentle hand over his son’s hair, not wanting to wake him, but at the same time, wanting to commit his touch to memory, Tom fought the urge to cry. He wondered if Dylan would develop an Australian accent.

Picking his phone up off the chair next to the bed, Tom re-read the text he’d received from Helen last night. He was glad she’d gone to Glastonbury to meet her friends. At least she could stop worrying about Tina and Sam being angry at her departure. He hadn’t told her about Sue’s bombshell yet, but he would today. This was too big for him to handle alone. He’d needed Helen’s help if he was going to cope without Dylan.

I suppose I could move to Bath now. We could be together there and not here.

Tom looked down as Dylan wriggled in his sleep, his robot pyjamas all twisted around his legs and arms.

But if I leave, Sam and Tina will have lost me, Helen and Shaun in one week. I can’t do that to them.

He smiled as he recalled Dylan stalking owls in the woods last night. He’d tried so hard to be quiet, but had still managed to sound like a herd of elephants.

Realising he hadn’t asked Sue when they were leaving, Tom closed his eyes. ‘Before that time comes, we are going to have lots of adventures Dylan, I promise.’

*

Tina found Thea, Mabel and Diane blitzing the drawing room. A tour de force of dusters and furniture polish; they were making short work of any spider’s web or dust that dared to have settled since the room was