Eight
Grace couldn’t blame Russell. Hanna had said she was too busy to talk and had closed her front door before he’d had a chance to say much at all. He couldn’t exactly kick it down and demand an answer, could he? No matter how much Grace wanted to know whether the gossip was true or not.
But Grace had a strange feeling that Russell hadn’t told her and Griff everything, and he seemed a little more irritable than he had before he had gone out for a walk.
He hadn’t even told them he was going to visit Hanna, and all he said when he returned was that he’d knocked on her door as he’d been passing, but that she was busy, and had closed the door before he’d had a chance to talk to her, adding that he’d call back another time.
‘So what’s the plan now then?’ Hope asked, after Grace had explained the current situation to her, and the rest of the Eversley family the following day.
They were seated around the large, circular, pine table in the kitchen of The White House, the heart of the Eversley home,holding one of their usual morning meetings to discuss the family business, Eversley Events.
The biggest and most important event scheduled in the business diary was, of course, Grace’s wedding, which was now just a little over two weeks away, on Saturday the 24th of August. Every member of the family was extremely excited about that.
Even Granny Joy, Pat Eversley’s mum, although she was currently snoring in her armchair and had been since before Grace and Hope had arrived at just after nine a.m. making enough noise between them to wake the dead, although not, apparently, Granny Joy.
Alongside her was Lady Elizabeth, the family’s French Bulldog, who was curled up fast asleep in her basket beside the large green Aga, next to her water bowl. Her stubby nose and her big ‘bat ears’ were twitching as she slept; she was no doubt dreaming of juicy bones, or special, doggy treats, and probably not of Grace’s wedding.
Grace, Hope, Pat, and Simon Eversley were drinking coffee and eating freshly baked croissants that Hope had brought with her from a bakery in Folkestone which was close to the house her boyfriend Tom was currently renting where Hope had spent the night, as she so often did these days.
‘I have no idea,’ said Grace, as she pulled her croissant into tiny pieces. ‘Griff and Russell both think we should all carry on as if nothing has changed. And annoyingly, so does Tabby.’
‘What does Archie think?’ Simon asked.
‘Their dad thinks the same. Just as I know you and Mum do, Dad. But it’s not as simple as that. Hanna is my friend. Or she’s supposed to be. She should be coming out with us on my hen night, but now I don’t know what to do. It’s only ten days away, and what if it’s true that she’s in love with Griff? Won’t that be awkward?’
‘To say the least,’ said Hope. ‘I still say you should ask her if it’s true. If it’s not, then you have nothing to worry about and you can stop fretting over it. If it is, well, then you can politely suggest she doesn’t attend the hen night. Or, more importantly, the wedding. The last thing you want is for the vicar to ask if anyone has any reason why you and Griff shouldn’t be married, and for Hanna to stand on a pew in St Gabriel’s church and shout, ‘It should be me!’ or something equally dramatic.’
Grace gulped in a breath. ‘Do you think she might do that?’
Hope shrugged. ‘Who knows? People do all sorts of silly things when they’re in love.’
Pat tutted. ‘Of course she won’t. Hanna isn’t that sort of person. She’s not a drama Queen. If this gossip is true – which I seriously doubt – I think Hanna is more likely to have a quiet word with Griff before the wedding.’
‘Have a quiet word with Griff!’ Grace repeated in a shrill voice. ‘What does that mean?’
Hope snorted derisively. ‘That she’ll ask him if he wants to change his mind, and marry her instead.’
‘That’s not what I meant at all,’ said Pat, throwing Hope a quelling look. ‘I meant, she might tell Griff how she feels and explain that she needs to keep her distance. And I was going to add that she would probably also have a word with me, and say that she would rather not be a guest at the wedding.’
‘Surely it’s me she should be talking to?’ Grace moaned.
‘She’s probably feeling embarrassed,’ said Pat. ‘If it’s true. Which it’s not. And if it’s not true, she’s probably mortified that the entire village seems to think it is. Apart from all of us, of course. And Griff and his family, too. I’ve told everyone who’s mentioned it to me that I’m sure it’s all just silly nonsense and that they should ignore it and stop gossiping about it.’
Hope grinned. ‘And how’s that working out for you, Mum? Even Tom’s sister has heard it, and she and her fiancée, Aliceboth live in Folkestone. They came over to Tom’s for dinner last night and Della asked me if I knew about it, and whether it was true. Obviously, I said it wasn’t and that we were treating it with the contempt it deserved.’
‘Thank you,’ said Grace. ‘The thing I don’t understand though is, if it isn’t true, why didn’t Hanna come and talk to me the moment the gossip started spreading? Surely, if there’s a simple explanation, as Griff and all of you keep telling me there is, she would’ve come and explained it to me, wouldn’t she?’
‘Why?’ Granny Joy piped up, making everyone at the table jump. ‘Friendship goes both ways, you know, Grace. Perhaps it didn’t occur to Hanna that you might believe it. Maybe she assumed you and Griff would dismiss it as nonsense. She might’ve thought that mentioning it to you might, in some strange way, give the gossip some sort of credence. Or maybe it is true and she thinks the best thing to do is to stay out of the way and not say a word about it. The Royal Family doesn’t pay any attention to gossip, Grace, and neither should you. Carrying on like some sort of petulant child will only give the gossips fuel for their fire. And that’s the last thing you should do.’
‘Petulant child! I’m doing no such thing. But I think I have a right to know if a friend of mine is in love with my fiancé!’
‘Why? Will it make him love you any less? Are you worried he might run off with Hanna and leave you at the altar?’
‘Of course not!’
‘Then I really don’t see why you have a problem. If Hanna loves Griff, she’s the one with the problem, not you. And she can still be your friend even if she does love Griff. Russell loved Hope but did it make him some sort of monster? Did we bar him from the door? No. We all let him be, and remained friendly, and now he’s over her. Perhaps what Hanna needs is your understanding and, possibly, a bit of compassion. Love can take us all by surprise. Forget about the gossip, and make me a nice cup ofcoffee. Are those croissants you’re eating? I hope you’ve left one for me.’
