Chapter 39
39
F leur walked out of the cottage along the path at the rear of the house, opened the back gate and closed it behind her with a click. There was a lovely breeze in the air as she walked over crisp leaves lining the lane at the back of the house. The leaves gave a satisfying crunch underfoot and she nudged a pile of them with her foot making a few of them flutter up into the air. Margaret, one of the neighbours, chugged along in her little Mini and waved out of the window as she drove past. Fleur shrugged her jacket on because of the nip in the air. Although the sky was a pure, Lovely blue with not a cloud in sight, it was definitely getting chilly, and there was a crispness to the breeze coming in from the sea. Fleur nodded; before they knew it, the cold weather would be in, fires would be lit, smoke would rise in little plumes from chimneys all over Lovely Bay, the flannelette sheets would come out, Christmas would loom and the last of the nice days would be but a distant memory.
With that in mind, Fleur was trying to make the most of the weather before she went off to Maui. She and Patrick were going to an afternoon tea event at Lovely Manor or at least she hoped Patrick would be attending. He’d been delayed because he’d been called into work to sort out a problem where a flood had affected the electrics in a skyscraper his company managed. With his chief electrician away on holiday in Cyprus, he’d had little choice but to jump in his van and go and see what was what.
Fleur, in her wisdom, had decided to walk to Lovely Manor anyway, and if he didn’t make it, she would enjoy the afternoon tea on her own. As she strolled with her basket over her shoulder, little cobbles on the narrow pavement nudged the bottoms of her shoes. A cool wind nipped at her neck as she walked past a beautiful house with a deep elevated deck where rosemary bushes spilled over onto the pathway. Looking ahead she could see one of Lovely Bay’s prettiest churches in front of her, its steep spire with a cross on top poking up into the deep blue sky. Getting closer, she took in the arched windows underneath the top of the shell-tiled roof and looked at what appeared to her to be dragons on each of the four corners. As she got to the gate and peered in, it quickly flitted through her mind as she stared at the church’s blue nave door that she could have had her wedding in Lovely. It would have been a nice enough occasion. Something, though, had told her that she didn’t want a traditional English wedding in an old church on a summer’s day, something of the like that she’d seen in Essex. She’d had enough of that the first time around.
Nope, she was going for all-singing, all-dancing tropical and was looking forward to the deep reds of hibiscus flowers, the tropical feel, lush mountains in the distance, thick, sticky air, and a wedding that was something else. For Fleur Champion’s second stab at tying the knot she wasn’t going with just run-of-the-mill, nope, she was casting her net much further afield. As she strolled and pondered, she also thought about the fact that if the wedding took place in England, it would’ve been a whole different ball game where the guestlist was concerned. There would have been extended family, this one, that one, and all sorts involved and our Fleur wasn’t up for that. Going to Maui meant that it would be short, sweet, and the guest list was very contained. Just as she wanted.
As she walked past the main part of the church, she looked at a line of huge arched stained-glass windows with double doors underneath and six small windows going across the top, and wondered who had built the place and all the things it might have seen in its long life in the third smallest town in the country.
As the walk, the fresh air and, it had to be said, the stunning view of her surroundings, made Fleur decompress from this, that and the other, her mind wandered. It moved from thinking about the guest list and how short it was to her mum and Wendy. Wendy had been brilliant about the wedding news and not a problem at all—in fact, she’d been more than excited. She’d quickly booked a flight from Sydney to Hawaii and had not made much fuss about it whatsoever. She’d bought a beautiful floral dress and had been in touch with the hotel, booking herself and Lucy into a suite without any mention of money, budget, or anything like that at all. Wendy, it seemed, was very happy about the event and not only that was putting her money where her mouth was and was determined to have a good time.
Valerie, however, had been a different ball game altogether. As Fleur got to a pedestrian crossing and pushed the button, she sighed to herself as she thought about the various conversations with Valerie and how they had gone. Valerie had made the whole wedding in Maui all about herself at any given opportunity. She’d complained about the length of the flights, the size of the hotel rooms, the fact that the hotel wasn’t near any major tourist attractions and the cost of just about everything.
After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, Valerie and Marvin had come to the conclusion that the best thing for them would be to fly from Istanbul. Wendy had gone online and found a place where they would be able to leave the van for a few weeks and had even paid for it. Still, though, Valerie had complained whenever she’d been able to. So much for the globetrotting bohemian. Valerie had appeared to have forgotten about that.
In the conversations between Valerie and Fleur, there had been quite a few tangents that had been a bit of an eye-opener to Fleur; there were rumblings that Marvellous Marvin was perhaps not quite as marvellous at all. It had all started when Valerie and Fleur had been discussing the cost of flights to LA from Istanbul. Valerie had baulked at the cost because Marvin had insisted that they travel business class. Valerie had tutted and said that she would have been fine in premium economy. She’d been irritated and said that the trouble with Marvin was that he had champagne taste and beer money. In fact, Valerie had gone further and said that Marvin didn’t have any money so who was he to talk about champagne in the first place?
To Fleur's complete and utter shock, Valerie had gone on to insinuate that the Marvin and Valerie love affair of the century had faded a tad. The reason being one very simple thing often referred to as “the root of all evil” by some; money. Valerie had relayed that after the discussion about the cost of business class flights that she and Marvin had had a conversation about money where Marvin hadn’t ended up being happy. After a long heated discussion, it had turned out that Marvin had wanted to merge all their bank accounts. He wanted to be included in all of Valerie’s financial decisions and to be able to get his hands on her money if and when he needed to. Marvellous Marvin wanted to be put as an “executor", as he had called it, on the money that Valerie had invested into ETF funds when she’d sold her house. According to Valerie, Marvin had insisted that the reason for this was in case something “happened to Valerie” and he needed to access the money to keep her safe. He’d mentioned medical bills, funds, not knowing what was around the corner, making sure that Valerie didn’t get sick and all sorts. Valerie, it appeared, had seen red flags and had not been that impressed.
All of it had left a very funny taste in our Fleur’s mouth, but it seemed that Valerie was one step ahead of her. As Valerie had explained things to Fleur, it was clear that something had changed and Valerie had got wind of the fact that Marvin was perhaps digging for some gold. Marvellous Marvin’s shovel, however, didn’t seem to be getting very deep.
Fleur had felt really uncomfortable about what Valerie had told her for quite a few reasons. First of all, she’d always wondered if, underneath it all, Marvin was only after a meal ticket and Valerie’s money. Secondly, right from the Big Announcement everything about it had made Fleur think that Marvin was weird, strange and not the sharpest tool in the box.
The other thing that had thrown Fleur was the fact that since the booking of the flights from Istanbul, Valerie’s full-on gushing and hero worshipping of Marvellous Marvin had soured. Valerie had been almost dismissive of him when she spoke about money. Maybe the honeymoon phase with Marvin had finally come to an end. Perhaps the rose-tinted glasses were just that little less rosy now real life had started to take hold. Now van life wasn’t quite as thrilling anymore and the bohemian experience wasn’t quite as novel.
Fleur couldn’t work it out. She did know that she didn’t want it all coming to a head just as she was going to Maui so she’d tried to placate Valerie. As she walked along in the direction of Lovely Manor, she ummed and ahhed over the whole conundrum and wondered what was really going on in Valerie’s head but tried to put it to the back of her mind. One thing she knew with her mother was that whatever happened, Valerie Champion would beat to the sound of her own drum and do whatever she wanted. There would be no one in the world who would be changing that.
A s Fleur got to the road that led up out of Lovely, where the manor sat on the hill in the distance, she stopped right where she was for a moment and looked up. Rolling hills, a beautiful old manor house, manicured gardens, and just pretty Lovely things as far as the eye could see. She’d got the tickets for the afternoon tea via Birdie and Cally at the chemist, and she wasn’t really sure what it was going to be like. Right now, as she saw the manor glistening in the distance, she knew she’d made a good call—whether or not Patrick would make it, she could feel in her bones because of the view looking back at her, that she would have a nice time.
Adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder, she took a breath, letting her gaze rest on Lovely Manor. The building sat on the rise ahead, glowing under the early afternoon sun, framed by hills and perfectly maintained gardens. The slate roof gleamed, its steep gables and a row of tall, white-framed windows reflected the deep blue of the sky. Following the instructions that came with the tickets, Fleur walked past the huge main entrance gates and along a gravel path that curved towards a side entrance. Freshly cut grass lingered in the air, there was the faintest trace of woodsmoke from somewhere and she smiled as a couple in a car slowed and passed her.
Fleur reached the side gate, a tall, black wrought-iron structure flanked by thick yew hedges that had been clipped into perfect symmetry. She pulled her phone from her pocket and double-checked the message Birdie had sent with the entry details. A discreet keypad was set into the stone wall beside the gate. She keyed in the code, and after a brief pause, there was a soft click as the lock disengaged. Stepping through, she let the gate swing gently shut behind her. The gardens opened up in front of her, a perfectly maintained space of rolling lawns and carefully arranged flower beds. The main gravel path stretched ahead, but a smaller, winding path led towards the back of the manor, through a neatly trimmed rose garden. Fleur hesitated only a second before taking it, and trailed her fingers over the nearest rose bush as she walked. The petals were soft, the scent heady, a mixture of deep reds and pale pinks, the kind of English garden charm that was hard to replicate.
Despite herself, her thoughts drifted back to Valerie and the conundrum of Marvin. It wasn’t just what her mum had said about Marvin; it was the way she’d said it. Valerie had always been someone who framed things in a way that suited her, who could make a decision sound like someone else’s problem, but something about the whole situation didn’t sit right with Fleur. The way Valerie had brushed off the issue when Fleur had asked a follow-up question. The way she had made it sound as if Marvin was now a bit of an inconvenience, rather than someone to be genuinely concerned about. The way Valerie had changed the subject so quickly after mentioning Marvin’s complaints about money.
Fleur had picked up on it immediately—there had been something dismissive, almost casual, in the way Valerie had moved on, as if acknowledging it too much would make it more real. Fleur knew Valerie all too well and it was clear that Valerie had already realised she had made a mistake with Marvin but would never admit it, least of all to either of her daughters.
Fleur sighed, her steps slowing as she passed under an arched trellis covered in pale yellow roses. The scent followed her, soft and delicate, but didn’t do a lot to settle the nagging unease about Valerie. Wendy had felt it too. That was the thing that stuck with her. Fleur had a tendency to second-guess herself, to overthink, but Wendy had been firm in her opinion that Valerie was pulling away from Marvin, not completely, but enough to make it obvious. Enough to suggest that something had shifted. The question was whether it was Marvin’s behaviour that had changed, or if Valerie had simply grown tired of him.
Fleur reached the end of the rose garden, where the path widened and curved towards the back of the manor. In the distance, beyond the manicured lawns, she could see the marquee set up for the afternoon tea. The white canvas glowed softly in the sunlight, its open sides revealing glimpses of tables dressed with white linens, delicate china, and tiered cake stands.
Trying to flick the thoughts of Valerie away, Fleur tutted and shook her head. She didn’t want to spend the afternoon stuck in her own head, going over the same thoughts about Valerie and Marvin again and again. There was nothing she could do about it. She was more interested in having a nice afternoon letting Lovely Manor work its magic. One thing she knew was that wherever Valerie went there would be drama. Not even a wedding in Maui was going to change that.