Chapter 15
I knew the second I tried to prise my eyes open that it was going to be one of those rare Sundays where I would vow that I would never, ever touch another drop of alcohol again, only this time I thought, given the way my brain was thumping in time with every heartbeat, I probably had a fair crack at seeing the resolution through. I had never been much of a drinker and now I was being reminded why.
I lay crossways on the bed beneath the sheets and buried my head in the pillows to shut out the light whilst trying to remember the finer details (beyond passing round the cider jug) of what had happened and been said at the party. Yet another disagreement with Will, a trio of hens and something about Mags’s van, more specifically me buying Mags’s van, swam around my head in a sickening whirl.
On the good side, however, I also remembered that, for the most part, I’d had a great time and made lots of new friends who hadn’t treated me like the newest novelty in town or the cuckoo in the cottage nest, but it would have been nice if I could have remembered a little more of what I’d talked to them about.
Gingerly I rolled over and contemplated the possibility of sitting up without falling back down when I heard someone coming up the stairs.
‘I had a feeling you’d be awake,’ Matt grinned around the door frame. ‘And I thought you might be in need of this.’
On the tray he carried in front of him was a mug of tea, a pint glass of water and a couple of painkillers. He carefully set it down on the end of the bed and handed me the tablets and water.
‘Back in a sec,’ he said, disappearing again. ‘I’m just buttering you some toast.’
Without thinking, I swallowed the tablets, set down the glass, reached for the tea and sank back against the pillows again. I could feel my legs were bare under the sheet and I was wearing the tiny T-shirt I had taken to sleeping in because the nights were so hot, but I had no idea how I had got into this state of undress. Surely I would have remembered if . . .
‘Where’s Minnie?’ I croaked, amazed that my voice could still function, as Matt reappeared with some hot, but not too buttered, toast.
‘In the greenhouse, of course,’ he shrugged, passing me the plate. ‘Not really,’ he laughed, when he saw my stricken expression. ‘I’m only winding you up. You put her in the dining room when we got back last night. Don’t you remember?’
‘No,’ I said, wracking my brains despite the pain. ‘I don’t.’
‘Well, I’m not surprised,’ he smirked as I took a tentative bite of the toast. ‘You were pretty tipsy.’
I sat and chewed in quiet contemplation, desperate to ask what had happened after I had banished Minnie to the dining room, but not sure I could really cope with the details in my delicate condition.
‘I’m just pleased you made it up to bed all right,’ Matt sighed. ‘And you even managed to get into your PJs,’ he added, pointing at my skimpy T-shirt. ‘Ten out of ten for effort.’
‘You didn’t help me into my PJs then?’ I asked tentatively.
‘Nope,’ Matt grinned, clearly enjoying watching me squirm as he realised I had absolutely no recollection as to what had happened. ‘You must have managed that all by yourself.’
‘So we didn’t . . . ’
Matt began to laugh and I gently massaged the side of my skull which objected most.
‘Absolutely not,’ he tutted. ‘Lottie Foster, what do you take me for? I would never have taken advantage of you in that state.’
‘Of course not,’ I said, clearing my throat. ‘I didn’t mean . . . ’
‘I know you didn’t,’ he teased. ‘I’m only winding you up.’
I finished the tea and toast and my stomach began to feel slightly more forgiving.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone get so tiddly on just a couple of pints,’ Matt smiled. ‘Although in your defence that Skylark Scrumpy is a pretty potent brew. I’m sure the stuff Jake keeps at the farm is stronger than they stock in The Mermaid. I’ll have to take you out one night, Lottie, and you can see for yourself.’
‘Oh don’t,’ I groaned. ‘I think I’ll be sticking to apple juice in the future. I hardly drink at all and now I don’t think I’ll ever be drinking again!’
‘Well, to be fair, cider is apple juice, isn’t it?’
‘I suppose,’ I agreed with a small smile. ‘Of sorts.’
‘So,’ sighed Matt. ‘You don’t actually remember getting home, then?’
‘No,’ I whispered, feeling embarrassed as well as ashamed. ‘I don’t.’
‘Well, Harriet and Rachel gave us a lift back here. They waited in their car while I saw you safely inside and then they gave me a lift home. I used the spare set of keys from the dish on the hall table to lock up, and let myself back in this morning,’ he explained, holding aloft the bunch David had given me the day I moved in. ‘And Harriet and Rachel are waiting again now to run me back to the farm so I can collect my van.’ He beamed. ‘And here you are, fighting fit and just raring to go.’
‘Crikey,’ I said, rolling my eyes and feeling relieved that I hadn’t made a complete fool of myself as far as falling into bed with him was concerned. ‘I don’t think I’d go quite that far.’
‘Well, you need to get going in a minute,’ he said, patting my leg. ‘Isn’t it about time for you to take delivery of those hens you picked out last night?’
‘Oh God,’ I said, sinking further back into the pillows. ‘I’d forgotten I’d said I’d take them today.’
‘Not to worry,’ grinned Matt. ‘They’ll be a welcome distraction. Anyway, I’d better get off. I have to be in town for lunch in a bit and I don’t want to keep the girls waiting.’
‘Of course not,’ I said, my voice still a little husky. ‘Thanks, Matt. Thanks for looking after me.’
‘And thank you,’ he said back. ‘I’m really pleased you’ve decided to let me push ahead with the work. I’ll be seeing Simon later so I’ll ask him when he can come and install your shower and replace the fuse box.’
I looked at him open-mouthed.
‘That is, presuming you haven’t changed your mind,’ he frowned.
‘No,’ I squeaked. ‘Of course not.’
‘Last night,’ he said, when it became obvious that I had no idea what I was agreeing I hadn’t changed my mind about, ‘last night before I left, you said you were happy for me to get cracking with the work on the cottage.’
‘Did I?’
‘Yes,’ he said, looking worried. ‘You said if Gwen was happy to employ me then you were too. You said you were going to order a new shower this week and that you wanted me to push on with getting everything underway before the weather turned.’
‘Of course,’ I said, doing my best to convince him that I could remember.
Truth was, I had absolutely no recollection of saying any such thing, but then, looking at the puddle of clothes on the floor, I couldn’t remember getting undressed either. If all I’d promised Matt was a bit of DIY work then perhaps, all things considered, I’d got off rather lightly.
‘So I’m OK to go ahead then,’ Matt frowned. ‘You want me to carry on getting things sorted?’
‘Of course,’ I smiled. ‘You’ll just have to bear with me. My brain isn’t awake yet.’
‘Well, you want to give it a prod,’ he said, as he trotted down the stairs. ‘Because I reckon you’ve got about five minutes before Minnie eats her way through the dining-room door.’
An hour later, wearing the biggest pair of sunglasses I could find and with Minnie somewhat mollified, having been bribed with the choicest morsels of meat I could lay my hands on, I heard a vehicle pull up outside the cottage door. It was quickly followed by another and I painted on my best smile and braced myself to bravely face whatever I had let myself in for.
It wasn’t until I heard Mags and Ed talking about heading over to Liam’s later in the day that I remembered the embarrassing gaffe I had made and wondered if perhaps I could get away with not answering the door at all. However, listening to Ed’s excited chatter as he helped Jake begin to unload the truck, I knew I was going to have to just get on with it. I would face my friend stone-cold sober, apologise yet again and, hopefully, move on.
‘Morning,’ grinned Mags, the second I opened the door. ‘And how are we feeling this morning?’
I bent to grab Minnie’s collar, thinking it would be better to keep her out of the way until the hens were settled, but she was far too quick for me and darted between my legs and out into the far brighter than usual, to my mind, sunshine.
‘Hungover,’ I admitted, grateful for the protection the sunglasses afforded, ‘and a bit embarrassed, to be honest.’
‘Nice glasses,’ winked Jake, as he unloaded a straw bale and some bags of feed.
I stuck out my tongue and he laughed, looking ridiculously bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
‘What are you embarrassed about?’ frowned Mags as she handed me the basket I had used to transport my bread rolls to the party.
‘Putting my foot in it with you and Liam, of course,’ I said, dumping the basket in the hall and slamming the door behind me.
The noise made my head thump again and I thought I’d perhaps better take a couple more painkillers when I offered everyone tea.
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake,’ tutted Mags, linking arms, ‘I wouldn’t worry about that. People are always doing it, and how were you to know we aren’t together? We’ve never talked about it, have we?’
‘Well no,’ I shrugged, wondering again that if it was so very obvious to the rest of the world that they were made for each other, then why couldn’t they see it. ‘I suppose not. I just felt a bit silly, that’s all.’
‘You wouldn’t be saying that if you’d seen the state Henry was in when he left,’ Jake chipped in, having only caught the end of our exchange.
‘Oh really?’
‘Really,’ Jake laughed. ‘Jessica was furious with him. They’re supposed to be heading to her parents’ for some big fancy family get-together today, but Henry can’t even open his eyes yet. The poor bugger.’
‘I blame you and that cider jug,’ tutted Mags. ‘You were far too generous with it last night.’
‘I think you might be right,’ mused Jake. ‘Jess told Amber on the phone this morning that she had to stop twice on the journey home.’
‘Too much information, thanks,’ I said, waving my hand. ‘Now, come on, Ed. Tell me what I have to do with these chickens.’
The little coop and run was quickly checked over, thanks to Ed’s expert attention, and it was soon time to release the hens from their box. They had been patiently waiting in the shade where I could hear them clucking quietly and no doubt wondering what on earth was going on, as was I, to be honest. How had I even ended up with three hens so soon after moving in? Minnie sat close by, overseeing proceedings, but not with any intention of getting in the way. She was calm and poised and seemed to be taking everything in her stride and I resolved to try and follow her lead.
‘I thought you were going to be bringing them in pet carriers,’ I said to Jake, a sudden flashback of the conversation we’d had the night before popping into my head.
‘We were,’ he said, ‘but then Amber found this box in the barn and we thought it would probably be a bit roomier for them.’
‘Right,’ I said, my mind still grappling with what else might have been said.
‘OK,’ he said, pointing at me, ‘you go in the run with Ed and I’ll pass you the box.’
I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do, but the sooner I got stuck in, the better, I guessed.
‘Don’t we have to shut them up for a bit?’ I asked.
I could remember once seeing something on TV about letting chickens get used to their bearings before setting them free.
‘No,’ said Ed, ‘it isn’t like you’re keeping them completely free-range. They’ll soon work out where things are for themselves, and besides, it would be a bit hot to keep them cooped up today.’
‘Of course,’ I agreed, deferring to his words of wisdom.
He gently opened the lid on the box and out jumped the little dark hen. With much clucking and feather-shaking she began to explore her new home, but the other two sat tight, huddled together in a corner.
‘Come on,’ said Ed, reaching inside and indicating that I should do the same.
He gently picked out the little grey and I tentatively put my hands around the lavender. She was as light as a feather and zipped off after her friends the second I set her down. I stood back up, a sudden thud reminding me that I still wasn’t out of the woods on the headache front, and admired my latest additions to Cuckoo Cottage. They looked rather pretty strutting about and I liked the sounds they made as they began to scratch and explore.
‘Ed has made you a “what-to-do-with-them” sheet,’ said Mags, from her viewpoint outside the run. ‘I’ll get it out of the van.’
‘Thanks, Ed,’ I said. ‘I think I’m going to need it.’
‘You’ll be fine,’ he said, with the certainty of someone far older than eleven. ‘They’re really easy.’
‘You must tell me how much you want for them,’ I said to Jake as I followed Ed out of the run and locked it behind me.
‘A cup of tea and a bacon sandwich will probably cover it,’ he winked.
‘Seriously?’
‘Seriously.’
With a plate of more of my wonky rolls filled with the delicious Skylark Farm bacon Jake just happened to have brought with him, and a pot of tea, the three of us sat under the cherry tree while Ed headed off with Minnie to inspect the field.
‘So you had a good time last night, then?’ Jake asked.
‘I had a brilliant time,’ I confirmed. ‘Thank you so much for inviting me and thank you for the lift there, Mags.’
‘And you haven’t forgotten about our deal over the minivan, have you?’ she said, eyebrows raised.
‘No,’ I sighed, looking at the little custard yellow contraption and thinking it was far bigger than I remembered. ‘I haven’t forgotten.’
I wondered if Will would still be willing to give me driving lessons now we had crossed swords, yet again.
‘Excellent,’ said Mags, clapping her hands together and reaching for another roll. ‘Because we’d like to have everything sorted as soon as possible, wouldn’t we, Jake?’
‘Ideally by the end of next week if we can manage it,’ Jake confirmed.
‘The end of next week,’ I spluttered, ‘but that’s just five days away, and we haven’t even talked about how much you want for it yet, Mags.’
‘Don’t worry about that,’ she said, shaking her dark head. ‘We can come to some arrangement.’
‘And I can give you a hand sorting out insurance and everything,’ said Jake kindly.
I hadn’t even thought about the added cost of insurance on top of everything else. I’d been too worried about the thought of daring to drive.
‘Right,’ I said, thinking back to the promise I’d just made to myself to take everything in my stride. ‘End of the week, then. I suppose I’d better tell Chris to call off the search, hadn’t I?’
‘If I know how things work around here,’ said Jake, ‘and I think I can safely say that I do, I dare say he knows by now.’
‘Um,’ I said thoughtfully. ‘You’re probably right.’
I wondered if he was still on the hunt for a potential husband and hoped that having found myself four wheels so soon didn’t mean that he would pour all his efforts into seeking out two legs.
‘Yes,’ agreed Mags, ‘and if he doesn’t, I’m sure Matt will soon fill him in.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well,’ she expanded, ‘I saw him at the farm collecting his van a minute ago and he couldn’t wait to tell me how he’d helped sort you out when you got back here after the party last night.’
‘He didn’t stay,’ I said, my face flushing at the thought of him going around telling everyone a different version of events to the one he had told me. ‘He came back this morning,’
Mags held up her hand to stop me.
‘Don’t panic,’ she quickly added. ‘I don’t think he was trying to suggest that anything had happened, not that it would have been anyone else’s business if it had.’
‘But it didn’t,’ I said firmly.
‘I’m just mentioning what he said to make you aware that nothing, absolutely nothing, stays private around here, Lottie, OK?’
‘OK,’ I said, ‘thanks.’
‘And that some people would be more than willing to put their own spin on things.’
It was a timely reminder that even though everyone at the party had been lovely, there were still those folk in Wynbridge who weren’t happy about my arrival at Cuckoo Cottage and that they would no doubt love a dollop of juicy gossip to fire their suspicions about me further.
‘Right,’ said Jake. ‘I’d better get home. Amber’s having a lie-in this morning. She’s pretty tired at the moment.’
‘But she’s all right, isn’t she?’ quizzed Mags, gathering together the empty mugs and plates. ‘She isn’t coming down with anything?’
‘No, I don’t think so,’ said Jake, turning as red as I had been just moments before. ‘She’s just been busy, that’s all.’
Evidently they had somehow managed to keep the fact that she was having another baby a secret, in spite of the well-established Wynbridge bush telegraph, but if Jake carried on turning cherry red every time someone asked after his other half, they wouldn’t for much longer.