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Wedding Bells at the Dog & Duck Page 2
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Page 2
The man standing on the threshold took a step forward, coming into focus. Tall, brown hair, forty-ish, with snowflakes peppering his head and shoulders.
‘Sorry to interrupt, but I saw the light on. I just wondered if you had a room available. My car is well and truly stuck in the back lane into the village.’
‘But it’s Christmas Day,’ I said, rather unnecessarily, just in case the stranger had overlooked this vital fact. ‘Where are you heading?’
‘Just driving through, but in these conditions I won’t be going anywhere. My car won’t budge. And the way it’s looking, nothing will be getting in or out of the village. Not for the next twenty-four hours at least.’
‘Ellie!’ Max called from the back door. ‘Are you coming?’
‘Oh sorry,’ said the man. ‘I can see you’re busy. I’ll leave you to it. Do you know of any bed and breakfasts in the village that might have room tonight?’
‘Look, come in for a moment,’ I said, eager to get the door shut before we all perished from the cold.
The man rubbed his gloveless hands together and shivered as the warmth of the pub engulfed him. His gaze met mine for a moment, dark brown eyes that looked familiar somehow. I wondered if he was from around here, or if I’d gone to school with him perhaps, but the spark of recognition was lost when a dull and insistent pain spread around my hips, taking my breath away. I winced and rubbed at the small of my back, rocking from one foot to the other to try and make myself more comfortable. Niggling pains had started early this morning and were slowly getting worse, or perhaps that was just my imagination. If I could just get through Christmas dinner, then I could make my excuses and slip away to the manor, back to a comfy sofa, some must-watch TV and a turkey sandwich. Although the man might be right, just from looking out of the window it seemed that even the short trip back to the manor might be too hazardous to consider. Snow covered the ground in a thick white blanket up to knee-level at least.
‘Ellie?’
Eric’s voice brought me back to the moment and made me focus on my unexpected visitor, who was leaving a puddle from his damp boots over the stone floor. Eric raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders at me, and I knew what he was thinking. I could hardly turn my back on this man in his moment of need, especially in the season of goodwill.
‘We don’t usually let out our rooms, but there’s a spare room upstairs, and I’m sure if I have a word with Dan, our manager, he’d be happy to help you out.’
‘Well, that would be great, but only if you’re sure. I would hate to intrude.’
‘No, you’re not intruding at all. You’ve come at the right time. We’re just going to have our lunch. You’re very welcome to join us, there’s plenty of food.’
The man’s face lit up with relief. ‘Thanks.’ He shrugged off his coat. ‘I really appreciate your help.’
Two
‘And a partridge in a pear tree!’
My gaze drifted around the long table in the barn, littered now with the colourful debris from the used Christmas crackers and party poppers, smiling at the sight of our friends and family enjoying the festivities. Max had organised a rousing rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas, with each part of the table taking different lines of the song, with the intention of us all coming together at the end in vocal harmony. Only, with the wine flowing non-stop, the little ones growing restless – and the not so little ones getting raucous – and Digby doing his best to filch the remaining turkey from the table, the effect wasn’t quite as harmonious as it might have been. We all warbled to a wobbly and out-of-key crescendo, before dissolving into fits of giggles. Even our visitor joined in, looking slightly bemused. He was sitting at the other end of the table so I hadn't had chance to get to know him any better or find out where he’d been heading, but wondered what he must be thinking having ended up here amongst this drunken rabble. He was probably planning when he might easily escape.
‘Friends, can I have your attention please.’ George stood up, his cheeks slightly reddened and with a big wide smile on his face. Funny to think that when he first arrived in the village, less than a year ago, he’d been a quiet and reclusive figure, who very much wanted to keep himself to himself. What I didn’t know then was that he’d holed himself up in our family home because he was working on a deadline to complete the latest book in his bestselling series. He’d come to the village for work purposes only, to a place where no one knew who he was, so that he could avoid any distractions, but in a short space of time, Little Leyton had worked its charms upon him. Soon he was a regular visitor at The Dog & Duck, had become a friend to Katy, and had become romantically entangled with Polly, at a time when she was just recovering from the heartbreak of her split with Johnny Tay. When his stay in Little Leyton was coming to an end, George extended the tenancy on Ivy Lane cottage, my family home, for a further six months, which suited me as it'd meant I hadn’t needed to find any new tenants. With mum and dad away in Dubai, I’d lived in the cottage for a short while when I first returned to the village, but after taking over the pub, working late nights and early mornings, it had made much more sense to move in there. Finding George, a reliable and trustworthy tenant, had been a godsend and he was now so firmly ensconced in the village that I couldn’t imagine a time when he wouldn’t be around. Especially as he’d made such a difference to the happiness of my friend.
‘Are you going to tell us a story?’ heckled Eric cheekily.
‘No, don’t worry, nothing like that. I’m going to keep this short. But I just wanted to say a very big thank you to our hosts Max and Ellie who, I’m sure you will agree, have put on an absolutely brilliant Christmas lunch for us all.’ A spontaneous cheer of approval spread around the table and Max and I shared a glance before George continued. ‘Delicious food, splendid wine and great company. I can’t think of any better way of spending Christmas Day, and as a newcomer to Little Leyton, I would like to thank every single one of you sat around this table for making me so welcome in your village.’
Unexpectedly, a huge swirl of emotion caught in my throat, and my cheeks were flushed with gratitude at being amongst my friends, with the man I loved at my side, swept along by the goodwill in the room. Christmas had to be my favourite time of the year and with the birth of our baby expected in a few weeks’ time, this year had an extra poignancy to it.
‘Well said,’ called Eric. ‘Three cheers for Max and Ellie.’
When the cheers had subsided, George remained standing at his end of the table.
‘Just one other thing I would like to share with you,’ he said, looking hesitant for a moment. ‘What I could never have imagined when I moved into this village was that I would find not only a ready group of friends who I enjoy spending time with, but also the woman I want to share the rest of my life with, Polly Samson. I am delighted to tell you all that Polly has agreed, this morning, to be my wife.’
Polly jumped to her feet and flashed the sparkliest diamond I’d ever seen.
‘WHAT?!’ I think my open-mouthed, wide-eyed expression must have said it all because she came running around the table to waggle her hand under my nose. ‘How on earth did you hide that?’
‘Oh, Ellie, I wanted to tell you just as soon as I walked through the door, but George wanted to make the grand announcement. His proposal came out of the blue. I had no idea, but when he asked me, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. I’m so happy, Ellie. I honestly never thought this would happen to me.’
For a moment I saw tears mist in her eyes, before she shook her head, ridding herself of the emotion just bubbling beneath the surface, her blonde bob swinging defiantly. She showed off her huge rock to everyone who gathered round to have a look.
‘Well, I think this calls for another toast,’ said Max, standing and raising a glass to George and Polly, the rest of the room joining in with the congratulations. Goosebumps ran along my legs and arms seeing Polly’s radiance fill the room. If anyone deserved a happy ending, after the rough
time she'd been through, then it was my friend Polly.
It was around this time last year that she’d had her heart broken when Johnny Tay, our old friend from school who Polly had been enjoying a whirlwind romance with, had decided on a whim that he needed to find himself and headed off to travel the world with only a rucksack on his back. To say Polly was devastated was the understatement of the century. Seeing her on a daily basis when she popped into the pub for a drink and a chat, I witnessed her heartache at first hand, saw her confusion at Johnny’s behaviour, her questioning of her own behaviour – had she done something wrong to send Johnny away? – and her struggle to come to terms with what had happened. She was just getting back on her feet when George arrived in the village and he helped Polly to forget about Johnny for a short while. Their friendship slowly developed into something more serious, until Johnny arrived back in the village, just as suddenly as he’d left. Johnny being Johnny, he thought he could swan back into Little Leyton and pick up where he’d left off, but things had changed in his absence and Polly had moved on. There was a part of me that felt sorry for Johnny, I’d once had a brief romance with him myself, and I wanted to see him happy, but I’d seen how his actions had impacted on Polly and now she’d found happiness with someone else. Honestly, sometimes living in Little Leyton was like being at the centre of a soap opera.
There was a lull in the proceedings as Josie and Gemma collected the dirty crockery from our places, as the excitement of Polly and George’s engagement spread around the room. I shifted in my chair, my bottom uncomfortable against the hard wooden seat, my bump keeping me a distance from the table. I held my hands to my stomach trying to soothe the aching and twinging. I’d promised myself I’d take it easy on the food front, but how could I when it was all so tempting and delicious, and we still had Christmas pudding and mince pies to go yet. I could hardly refuse when Betty Masters from the tea shop on the High Street had made them specially for me for today. Maybe just a small portion with a dollop of cream. After all, it was Christmas and I was as huge as a barrage balloon as it was, a small wodge of Christmas pudding wasn’t going to make that much difference.
‘You see, it’s as simple as that.’ Max shuffled his chair up closer to mine and rested his arm around my shoulder. The citrusy and woody notes of his aftershave, one of the presents I’d given him this morning, wafted beneath my nose.
‘What’s that?’ I asked.
‘Polly and George getting married. It’s great news, isn’t it?’
‘Yes. And so unexpected. I’m thrilled for them both. They’re so good together and Polly deserves some happiness at last.’
Max’s gaze held mine, and I noticed the almost imperceptible shake of his head. Was that exasperation I saw in his eyes? I cringed, knowing what was coming next.
‘Ah, so you’re not against marriage as an institution then? It’s just marriage to me that you don’t like the idea of?’
‘Please Max, don’t be like that?’ His red paper hat was perched on his head at a jaunty angle, there was a smile on his lips and a glint in his eye, but beneath his cheery exterior, I detected a sharp edge to his questions.
‘Like what? I’ve asked you three times to marry me now and you’ve knocked me back on every occasion. I still don’t understand why. We love each other. We’re having a baby together. Why wouldn’t we get married?’
It was a simple enough question when he put it like that, but the answer wasn’t so straightforward. Well, not to me it wasn’t.
‘Polly and George don’t seem to have had any hesitation in deciding they want to spend the rest of their lives together,’ he went on, raising an eyebrow at me, making me feel like the worst girlfriend ever. ‘They’ve been together less time than we have. Maybe you’re not certain I’m the right man for you, after all.’ There was that smile again, to soften the accusation in his words.
‘Stop it.’ I grabbed his arm and shook it playfully. ‘You know how much you mean to me. And we can’t compare ourselves with Polly and George. It’s different and… Ow!’ My thoughts and words were interrupted by a gripping pain in my lower back, my stomach tightening into a firm hard ball. I looked down at my bump accusingly.
‘Are you all right?’ Max’s voice lowered.
‘It’s fine. Just a twinge, I think.’
‘Hmmm, are you sure? You’ve had quite a few twinges today, haven’t you?’ His brow furrowed, a look of concern on his features. ‘Mind you, you know you can’t have this baby today.’ He took hold of my hand. ‘We’d never get you to the hospital in this weather. We wouldn’t even get back to the manor. The lanes are impassable. We’ll have to stay here tonight.’
‘Do you think?’ I said, relieved that the pain had subsided a little and even more relieved that we’d moved off the thorny topic of weddings.
‘Yes, it’s not worth chancing it. Certainly not in your condition. Hopefully by tomorrow the thaw will have begun. Hey, it’s not that bad, is it?’ he asked, seeing my face drop.
‘No, it’s just that I’ve offered the spare room to our visitor. I didn’t think.’ I gestured in the direction of the stranger who’d turned up on our doorstep and who was now deep in conversation with Eric and Ethan, seemingly having made himself very much at home.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll sort something out.’
That was Max all over. For every problem there was a solution. Nothing to worry about. I liked that about him. His magnanimity, his generosity of spirt. The way he cared and looked out for people. Me especially. It was a surprise even to me that I hadn’t bitten his hand off at his offer of marriage, but there was a small part of me that held back, as if guarding my heart from the damage I knew he could inflict.
‘Ryan’s here!’ said Katy, coming up from behind us and poking her head between us. ‘It’s okay, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, of course,’ I said smiling, noticing Max’s twist of his mouth, stopping himself from saying something that he might later regret, I suspected.
Ever since Katy had arrived from Spain underneath a big black and brooding cloud, relations between the two siblings had been strained to say the least. In the early days there’d been lots of tears, rows and misunderstandings, but once we found out the reason for Katy’s mood swings – she’d discovered that the man she thought was her father wasn’t after all – and she’d confided in us, things between Katy and Max had slowly begun to improve. It hadn’t been easy, Katy was only seventeen then and she and Max hadn’t really grown up together as Max was considerably older than her, so this had been the first opportunity they’d had to get to know one another. Katy was devastated when she found out she and Max didn’t share a father and had been worried Max wouldn’t think of her in the same way, but it hadn’t made the slightest difference to him. She was still his little sister, even if she was a major pain in the neck at times.
Max agreed to her staying with him at the manor and now she was doing a course at the local college in business administration and working shifts at the pub too. In a short space of time, we’d formed a very close bond as well. She was the little sister I’d always wished for, but had never had, up until now.
‘Hi Ellie,’ Ryan said, greeting me with a hug and nodding in deference to Max, handing us a tin of shortbread biscuits. With close cropped black hair, deep brown eyes and a rakish swagger, it wasn’t hard to see why Katy had fallen so easily for Ryan’s charms. The fact that he was several years older than her and rode a monster of a motorbike didn’t do anything to endear him to Max, but I knew beneath his bad boy exterior, he was an absolute sweetheart. And he made Katy happy. Wasn’t that the most important thing?
When Ryan came in, I noticed he wasn’t alone. Behind him was the distinctive tall figure of Johnny, his eyes immediately searching out Polly. My heart squeezed knowing how her good news was likely to affect him. I was so pleased that she’d found happiness with George, but I couldn’t help worrying how my old friend Johnny would react to the discovery.
‘Hey Johnny, Ha
ppy Christmas!’ I stood up to greet him, hugging him tight, wanting to protect him from the bad news to come. ‘What’s the weather like out there now?’ I asked.
‘Crazy! I’ve never seen anything like it. I fell over twice on the way, and I’d only had a couple of beers at home.’ Johnny grinned, climbed out of his wellies and placed them on the doormat. ‘I’m not sure how many of this lot will get home tonight.’
I smiled, trying to ignore the knot of anxiety growing ever bigger in my stomach. So much for my quiet night in at the manor with Max and Digby then.
Of course it was only a matter of time before Johnny heard the news of Polly’s engagement and it was only because I knew him so well that I recognised the hurt and disappointment flicker in his eyes. In fairness to him, he went straight across to congratulate the happy couple, shaking hands with George, his face not betraying any emotions he might have been struggling with. If he’d needed any closure on his relationship with Polly, then this must surely be it. Not the best Christmas present for Johnny, I suspected.
After digestifs for those who wanted one, I was able to sit back and reflect that it had definitely been the right decision to have Christmas Day here, amongst our friends. Who knew what we might be doing next year? Our baby would have arrived and… Aargh! There it was again, another pain, much more than a twinge now though. I clutched onto the table and breathed through the pain. This baby couldn’t be coming today. It wasn’t time! I still had at least two weeks to go. It wasn’t convenient. I had a pub full of visitors. It was Christmas Day. And outside there was a blizzard the likes of which hadn’t been seen in Little Leyton before. It wasn’t just inconvenient, it was bloody disastrous. Probably just a false alarm, I told myself, as the pain disappeared again. I needed to relax and not get myself into a panic, it was just my imagination running away from me.
Thankfully Johnny came over at that moment and sat down beside us, providing a welcome distraction from what was going on inside my body.