Face burning, Pierre gave in and let them push her to stand at the back of the group of giggling women.
A circle of people had gathered to watch; a few of the young men smirking and nudging one another. Where the bloody hell was Gabriel? Wasn’t he supposed to be here to capture this?
“Now, ladies. Find yerselves a comfortable place where you can lie down and look at the sky,” Michael called out. “Ye have an hour-and-a-half to try to catch a glimpse of the new moon before it sets. For those of ye joining us for the first time, hold up your silk kerchiefs and look through it. If you see the new crescent, it means you will be married!”
A cheer went up from the gathered men.
“Now mind this well.” Michael threw a reprimanding look at the men before turning back to the girls. “How many crescents show through the silk tells ye how many years it’ll be before yer wedding.”
Pierre had come to learn about this ritual, and she had the silk piece in her pocket. No point in wasting the experience because Gabriel had disappeared somewhere.
Michael faced the rest of the crowd. “Every girl looking for the moon must have one person guardin’ her. Just one, mind. This is a solemn tradition so no shenanigans. The rest of you boys…” He glared at the ones nudging one another at the back. “You have a task of tending the fire and clearing the dirty plates. When we leave this place, we leave it the way we found it, so, go to it. There’s to be no disrespect, ye hear me?”
Suddenly Gabriel was beside her, a cushion under his arm. “Did you manage to find a silk kerchief?”
Fighting an urge to grin as foolishly as Doris had done earlier and another to ask him where he’d been, she pulled it out of her pocket. “Of course. I’m well-prepared.”
“I brought a couple of cushions.” He pulled them from under his arm.
“Where’s Doris?” The words were out before she could stop them.
“She became dizzy. I was going to take her home but then her neighbour, the lady we saw earlier with the jug” — He glanced towards the drinks table — “She and her son took over and helped her.”
“I wondered when I couldn’t see you.”
“I took a bunch of pictures.” He nodded towards the crowd. “You and Lord M will be happy.” He was looking worried as he scanned the ground. “I’m not sure two cushions are going to be enough. I hadn’t realised you’d have to lie down.”
“I brought mats and blankets for both of us.”
She went to retrieve her satchel from her bike at the edge of the clearing. They found a comfortable spot, not too wet, and Gabriel did his best to clear the ground of pebbles before spreading the mats.
When she lay down, the deep purple sky above her was indeed clear. Not a single cloud remained. The stars made a glorious display, like the best kind of Christmas lights. She was dimly aware of Gabriel dropping down on the mat beside her before gently draping a blanket over her.
“What happens now?” he asked.
She held the silk strip above her and tried to look through it. Nothing. Not even the stars, just some defused light. “I’m not sure this works.” Deflated, she dropped her hands. She’d really hoped to have something to write about, but it was turning out to be nothing more than an old wives’ tale.
“Give it time,” he said quietly. “They said an hour and a half, didn’t they? Besides, the new moon is notoriously hard to see even without a fabric filter.”
Softly, the musicians began to play again, a haunting, quiet tune. Logs crackled in the fire; otherwise, everyone was quiet.
She waited, holding the silk up until her arms began to ache. For some reason, she couldn’t think of what to say next. Gabriel seemed deep in thought. She wondered if he’d noticed how Doris felt about him.
“I hope she’s all right.”
“Oh,” he said as if surprised out of his thoughts. “She’s fine; you worry too much. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about her.”
Pierre’s stomach flipped.
“I’m sorry about earlier today.” He turned to face Pierre. “You know, what she said to you about the hippie in outer space thing.” He grimaced saying the words. “She doesn’t really think that about you, or Lord M. I did speak to her about it this afternoon and she was sorry. But…” He paused as if deciding what to say next. “I think the pressure is getting to her a bit. I’ve never known her to act this way.”
Pierre’s mind was busy trying to understand why he felt the need to apologise for Nicole. And what else the woman may have discussed upstairs in the bedroom after the suspicious look she’d given them in the entrance hall.
“I was talking about Doris, actually,” she said to fill the silence, to move past the awkward moment. “Because she looked ill.”
He moved to settle himself more comfortably on his back. “Not ill, no, a bit too much cider. Nothing that a good night’s sleep won’t fix.”
“I think she might be carrying a bit of a torch for you.”
