‘Yeah, I don’t think Alex and Marion are going to sleep together, Tom. She’s happily married.’
‘That’s not what I ’eard.’
How the hell had Tom heard anything? He didn’t even leave the farm apart from emergencies like this. She bet it was Julie. Honestly, the WI here, all very modern, beautifully entwining proper Cornish old dears who’d been milking since they could toddle with trendy yoga-loving kefir-drinking yummy-mummies getting together for a weekly stitch and bitch. The stitching taking a very firm secondary position.
‘That WI your Julie is part of is something else. Honestly, there’s nothing they don’t gossip about.’
‘There is something.’
‘What’s that then? Are you getting married?’
‘Course I’m getting married. I can’t expect a woman like Julie to wait now you’ve gone. But that’s not what I meant.’
‘Are you going to tell me?’
‘I’m trying. You don’t make it easy. You haven’t had a smooth time of it these last few years. You didn’t have an easy time of it as a child, truth be told. When your father died, well that was awful for all of us but my heart went out to you. You were the apple of his eye. Your mum was in bits you know, couldn’t go near that slurry pit for years after. And then you were sent up to London, I know you wanted to go but it seemed harsh. But then you did so well, and you know how proud your mum was ofyour dancing. So proud. But there’s something else. I knew your mum inside out and I knew your dad pretty well and I want you to know that they would be so proud ofyou. For how you are as a person. For how you deal with things when they’re not good, like today with your boy, for your determination to do the right thing. You’re a fighter – you don’t give up and you put others first. Your mum and dad would be so proud of the woman you’ve grown into and I am too. I think you’re a credit to your parents and I know that they would be swelled up with pride for the person you’ve become. No, don’t say another word. Get out of my car, remember what I’ve said and bleedy go get that man!’
Sylvie took a deep breath in as she processed the longest speech her uncle had ever made, gave him the sloppiest kiss on his cheek, ruffled his hair just as he had hers the other day, and tried not to get too choked up as she opened the Land Rover door and slid out. She took another deep breath as she stood at the kerb and then wove her way to Alex’s front door where she could face the surprise they had planned and finally find the courage to speak out about the family she wanted, her heart gladdened by Tom’s words about the family she had been born into.
Chapter Forty-six
As she approached the front door she tentatively pushed it to see if it would open. It did, although the house was in darkness.
‘Hello?’
Three little torchlights bobbed out from the kitchen and across the dining room to welcome her. Torchlight, it was revealed, held by Marion’s boys bobbing their mobile phones in the darkness. OK, this was weird.
‘Hello, Miss Williams. If you would follow us. Rufus, you lead the way, me and Rafe can walk next to her. Be careful not to trip, miss, it’s still quite dark.’ Rupert spoke from the darkness.
She could smell something beautifully sweet baking but that in itself provided no real clue.
They led the way around the corner into the kitchen which was all lit up one side and had a table groaning with what looked to be North African food, couscous and tagines, stuffed vine leaves and a gigantic bowl of hummus, triangular flatbreads next to it and bowls of salads peppered with the ruby-red of pomegranates.
‘Wow, this is amazing. This huge feast, what’s all this about?’
‘You’ll see, miss. You just have to wait.’
‘If you’d come this way, miss.’
Rupert, who was leading their little posse and making a pretty good butler, fell into a huge sweeping bow as he reached the back door of the kitchen. His brother ran forward to open it and did so with a flourish.
Sylvie’s mouth dropped open.
This sure as shit had taken a lot longer than five minutes to set up! There was still no sign of Alex or the children, or even Marion – but there in the middle of Alex’s garden, to the side of the tree they had picnicked under so many times, was a marquee, draped with all manner of gauzy fabrics in reds and purples and blues, and lit up with big bamboo torches outside and fairy lights strewn through the tree and across the top. That was obviously where Marion came in – it was no secret that fairy lights taken to the next level was very much her domain. Oh my goodness, that must have been how Sam had fallen; it had been whilst trying to set this surprise up for her. Her tummy flipped a little bit. Surely she was the luckiest mum in the world?
Where on earth were they? As she stood there taking it all in, and there was a lot to take in, her curiosity was piqued even more than it had been seconds ago.
‘Go on, go in!’
Rufus nudged her with his elbow and as he did so she heard Ellie’s nervous titter. Not that that girl was ever really nervous! So, they must all be close and watching her.
She entered the tent and could see they had managed to drag out Alex’s Turkish rug from his living room and on it had placed some kind of wooden banquette covered in cushions.
‘My mum got her friend to make that,’ Rufus whispered, still close to her and pointing at the seating. For all of the horrendous things about Marion, this boy’s pride in his mum made Sylvie’s heart swell again. Much more of this and it was likely to burst out of her chest and this beautiful moment would be ruined as she was carted right back to the hospital.
‘That was very kind of her,’ Sylvie whispered back.
‘You need to sit on it,’ Rufus stage-whispered back again.
