The day before the fete, Eleanor was busy in her workshop when her friends arrived.
‘You okay?’ asked Annie. ‘You look a little flushed. Mind you, it’s so warm in here.’
‘That’s nothing to do with the heatwave,’ Megan told her. ‘And everything to do with our singer.’
Eleanor broke into a sunny smile. ‘You mean Mick? I hardly think so.’
‘You seem very smiley today,’ said Megan.
‘I’m just happy that we’re all together again,’ declared Eleanor, grinning.
She couldn’t stop smiling, she found. Tom and his kisses had knocked her world off its axis and she had never felt better.
Megan shot her a look. ‘Did you open the gin already?’ But her warm smile belied her bitchy tone.
‘If there’s any alcohol to be had, I’ll be at the front of the queue,’ said Annie. ‘My to-do list is up to twelve pages long and the fete is tomorrow. You’re ready though, aren’t you?’
Eleanor looked around the workshop and nodded. ‘I think so.’
The whole place was bursting at the seams, full with so many products that she was also using the next stable along to store them.
One of her favourite things was her soaps, which she had thought of naming after the people of Willow Tree Hall.
So Rose’s soap had been decorated with edible gold dust for shimmer. Just like Rose. Annie’s soap had daisies dotted across the top. Megan’s was topped with a sprig of lavender. Arthur’s soap was for men and made with sandalwood oil that she had bought. There was even a soap named Bert, which was carrot-flavoured.
The only person she hadn’t been able to think of a soap flavour for was for Tom. To her, he was the river, the fields and the woods combined. Too many ingredients for to mix together.
So she had told herself that he would want to keep his privacy and probably wouldn’t want to have a soap named for him anyway.
‘So you’re all ready. Great,’ said Annie, ticking off something on her list. ‘You can help me with setting up some shade for all the families to sit under.’
‘Assuming the weather holds,’ whispered Megan.
Annie looked frantic. ‘Oh god! Do you think it will rain?’
Megan sighed. ‘I was joking. Take a chill pill, yeah? It’ll be fine.’
‘But we’ll need some chairs for some of the older visitors,’ carried on Annie, looking down her list.
‘Why don’t we put the word out for everyone to bring their own picnic rugs and chairs, if needed,’ said Megan. ‘Leave it to me.’
‘So umbrellas and rugs,’ said Annie, still reading from her list. ‘Portaloos and wet wipes. Do you see where I’m going?’
‘You mean, apart from insane?’ said Megan, rolling her eyes. ‘Quick, find her some lavender to sniff.’
Eleanor was still smiling as she grabbed her phone to read the text she’d just been sent. It was a photo of her mum standing in the changing room of a clothes shop, showing her a pair of shorts she wanted to buy.
They’re great, she replied. Definitely buy them!
It was lovely to watch her mum getting her confidence back after so many years. But better still, after a few weeks of him asking, June had agreed to go away for a week’s holiday with Ben, hence the last-minute clothes shop. They had both been beaming as they had told her all about their trip to Italy. They were so comfortable with each other after so many years of close friendship that their relationship was able to move along quite quickly now that there was romance involved.
Eleanor had already bought up all the cushions, tablecloths and pretty napkins that her mum had made out of material that she had found in the charity shops or been donated by friends.
If anything, it was Eleanor that was feeling the nerves about the fete. If the stall did well then her whole future could change. It could be a brand new start. A new business and career for her to try.
If anyone bought anything, that was. She still wasn’t sure.
But she hid her nerves in front of Annie who was still stressing out on the morning of the fete.
‘Brown grass wasn’t quite the look I was going for,’ said Annie, with a grimace as she stared out of her bedroom window.
‘Personally, I think it’s better that the ground is hard and dry,’ said Eleanor, who was standing next to her. ‘No mud.’
Annie nodded. ‘Maybe you’re right.’
‘Of course she is,’ said Megan. ‘Don’t fret.’
Annie turned away to glance at her scrawled notes. ‘So do you think we’re pretty much ready for everything?’
She gestured at the marquees and gazebos that had been erected to keep out any rain. Luckily the forecasters had pushed back the bad weather for another twenty-four hours or so and were predicting a warm and sunny day.
‘If I forget to say later, thank you for all your help with today,’ said Annie, drawing her friends into a group hug. ‘I couldn’t have done it without you both.’
‘You jump, we jump,’ said Megan.
‘Exactly. Let’s get this show on the road,’ said Eleanor.
‘Not so fast,’ said Rose, appearing at the doorway. ‘I have a little something to show you.’
As Rose led them into her bedroom, Annie glanced at her watch. ‘I really need to get going soon.’
Rose smiled at her. ‘This won’t take long. But it’s very important. It’s about your future.’ She walked over to the window seat and lifted the lid under the long cushion.
‘I didn’t know that was there,’ said Annie, walking across the room.
‘Another one of Alex’s secret cubbyholes,’ said Rose. ‘It’s just big enough if I need to hide a secret lover or two in there.’
They all giggled.
‘But, for now, it’s been keeping something else safe for me.’ Rose drew out a long, deep box whose pattern had faded over many years. ‘This is for you.’
As Annie took the box from her hands, she looked at Rose. ‘What is it?’
‘Something borrowed,’ said Rose, with an enigmatic smile.
Annie placed the box on the bed and lifted the lid. Beneath sheets of tissue paper, she finally drew out a long white delicate dress. It was dotted with pearls and subtle sequins that shone in the morning sun streaming through the window.
‘It’s beautiful,’ said Annie, looking at the dress in wonder. ‘It’s light but so beautiful.’
‘It was my mother’s wedding dress,’ said Rose, as Annie tried it on. ‘From the 1920s, would you believe? Beatrice borrowed it when she married Arthur. And I wondered if perhaps it was just different enough for you to wear at yours.’
Annie stood in the middle of the room, staring in wonder at her reflection. The dress fitted her perfectly and glittered in the sunshine. As a tear rolled down her cheek, she stepped forward to give Rose a hug. ‘I love it. Thank you. It’s precious.’
‘Just like you, darling.’
Annie looked across at her friends. ‘What do you think?’ she asked, beaming.
‘It’s beautiful. And I think that no dress you’ve ever tried on has made you look so happy,’ Eleanor told her.
‘You look absolutely stunning,’ said Megan.
‘And as a future countess, you’ll certainly look the part on your wedding day,’ added Rose. ‘She held Annie at arm’s length to look at her. ‘And just remember, my dear. Whatever happens today, you have the love of a great man whom you adore and cherish in return. Everything else is just bunting.’
Then they were all hugging and crying before Rose declared they all needed a fortifying sip of champagne to overcome any last-minute nerves.
As they drank, Eleanor took pleasure in her best friend’s wedding plans coming together. But she then felt a pang, wondering when her own love life would be as blissfully happy.