‘I’m afraid you have no choice,’ said Ed. ‘I’m done with your bad behaviour. You need to leave here and go back to London.’
Dawn’s mouth set in a hard line as she absorbed his words. ‘Don’t you dare speak to me in that way. Show me some respect,’ she said through bared teeth. Gerty inched forward, snarling. ‘And get that idiotic dog under control.’
Florrie’s anger finally bubbled over.
‘You’ve got a nerve showing up here after those despicable words you said to Ed last night. I’d ask how you can live with yourself for saying them, but I already know the answer: you’re cruel and you have no conscience. You seem to think it’s okay to bully your way through life, throw a tantrum, stomp over people to get what you want. But worst of all, you’ve bullied Ed, made him feel worthless and given him the most miserable childhood. You’reoblivious to the wonderful, kind-hearted and thoroughly decent person he is, which is in no way down to you.’ She paused. Her chest was heaving, her pulse galloping.
‘Aye, well said, lass,’ said Frank Jessop from two doors up who was passing as he took his terrier, Floss, for her evening walk.
Dawn spun round. ‘Howdareyou?’
‘Very easily, actually. It’s time someone stood up to you and that obnoxious husband of yours,’ he said, his voice fading as he continued down the street.
Florrie blinked.Frank Jessop knows about Ed’s parents?
‘You’ve been talking about me, spreading gossip and lies, turning people against me.’ Dawn’s accusatory voice pulled Florrie out of her thoughts. She moved her gaze back to Ed’s mother to see pure hatred in her eyes.
‘Florrie wouldn’t say a word. She’s not a gossip, she keeps things private,’ said Ed.
The whirr of cycle wheels caught Florrie’s attention as two teenage boys slowed up on the opposite side of the road, looking over, apparently intrigued by what was happening at Samphire Cottage. It crossed her mind that things weren’t exactly private now, there on the doorstep, but all the same, she was undeterred. She might never get another opportunity to stand up to Dawn like this. She made sure to keep her voice low.
‘I think you’ll find you’ve got yourself to thank for that. Word spreads quickly in this town and I daresay your display in the square last night has reached quite a few folk by now. Your performance attracted quite a lot of attention.’
Dawn looked ready to explode.
‘Well, I wouldn’t have had to go to such drastic measures if it wasn’t for you stealing the bookshop from under our noses, inveigling your way into Bernard’s affections, creeping around him calling yourself “the granddaughter he never had”.’ Dawn emphasised the words in a mocking voice. ‘You ought to be ashamed of yourself. I’m only surprised he left Edward any part of it, that you didn’t try to talk him out of that. I bet you were disappointedwhen he died before you had a chance to convince him to cut Edward right out of his will.’ The gleam in Dawn’s eyes left Florrie in no doubt that she got a huge thrill out of delivering her unpalatable opinion. It didn’t come as a surprise to Florrie – after all, she knew the woman thrived on this sort of thing – but hearing Mr H spoken of in such a way, their mutual fondness for one another mocked and called into question, felt like a knife to her heart. The accusation that she’d stolen the bookshop left her feeling physically sick.
‘Mr and Mrs H filled the gap of grandparents for me and I loved them as if they were my own.’ She felt her voice wobble as emotion squeezed in her chest. ‘And no one was more surprised than me when I heard I’d been mentioned in Mr H’s will; he’d never said a word about it to me beforehand. It was totally unexpected and I even tried to wriggle out of it.’
‘Shame you didn’t try harder then, isn’t it?’ Dawn said coldly. ‘You’re nothing but a scheming little gold digger.’
Ed stepped forward. ‘Stop right there, Mother. Don’t utter another word. A gold digger is the last thing Florrie is and nor is she scheming. She didn’t steal the bookshop; we all know the reason my grandfather didn’t include Dad and you in his will, despite how much you try to convince yourself otherwise.’
‘Where are your family loyalties?’ Dawn spat.
Florrie couldn’t help the laugh of disbelief that escaped her mouth. Pushing aside her hurt, she said, ‘Family loyalties? Who are you trying to kid? You have no loyalty to anyone but yourself. And you’re the one who ought to be ashamed of yourself, turning up here like this, no doubt coming to demand money.’
Dawn’s mouth fell open, her eyes glittering with rage.
‘Yes, we know all about the financial mess you’ve got yourself into, not helped by your gambling habit.’ Florrie felt a prickle of unease at that, wondering if she’d overstepped the mark by bringing up Dawn’s addiction. It wasn’t like her at all, but she could never forgive this woman for what she’d said to Ed.
‘If that’s what Peter’s told you, then he’s lying. He’s twisting everything to suit his own narrative, trying to make me look?—’
‘If you took ownership for what you do, people might have a little bit of respect for you. And what about your plan with Luella? Who are you going to blame for that?’ Lucifer, the nickname Jasmine had given Ed’s ex last night, shot through Florrie’s mind.
‘You foolish girl! It’s hardly my fault they still have feelings for each other. Anyone can see they’re meant to be together. You need to realise you’re in the way. Don’t think his father and I don’t know what you’re doing, forcing him into marriage so you’ll have an even bigger share of the bookshop. It’s clear as day.’
Her words whipped the breath from Florrie’s lungs.Forcing him into marriage?
‘That’s not true, Mother, and you know it.’ Ed shook his head, an expression of disgust on his face. ‘You’ve gone too far. Like I said, go back to London and leave us alone.’
‘Your father and I are here to get what’s rightfully ours while there’s still a chance, before it’s lost forever,’ Dawn hissed. ‘We’ve let you get away with playing at being shopkeepers for long enough. You’ve had your fun, now it’s time to do the decent thing.’ The malice in her eyes shook Florrie to her core.
‘You’ve done all you could to cause trouble between Ed and me but trying to ruin our wedding is a step too far, as is sneaking into our house and snooping through our stuff. I think all you’ve done gives me grounds to take legal action against you and make sure you keep away from me, the bookshop and this house.’ Florrie’s heart was pounding.
Dawn smirked. ‘You’re a fool to think Edward would stand for that. I’m his mother. Isn’t that right, son?’ She rolled her tongue over her top teeth, almost daring him to disagree with her.
‘The only reason I haven’t called the police before now is because Florrie talked me out of it. I’m so disgusted by your behaviour – trying to break Florrie and me up is despicable. Just go.’ Ed went to close the door.
