Love ad Lib - Extended Epilogue
One year later
L ibby tucked the skirts of her dress into her underwear. This was it. Third degree burns or good luck for the next year.
‘You really don’t have to do this, you know,’ Henry said, his brow furrowed.
She jumped up and down on the spot, adrenaline shooting through every nerve. The short meadow grass had been baked soft by the summer sun and felt silky and warm under her bare feet, even at half eleven at night.
‘It’s all good,’ she replied, rolling her shoulders and cracking her neck. ‘I’m not wearing any artificial fibres, and I’ve been practising with hay bales.’
‘Libby! Libby! Libby!’ Henry’s family were chanting her name by the bonfire, his father blowing a ram’s horn.
‘And besides,’ she continued. ‘You’ve just done it.’
‘I’ve got over seven inches on you.’
She grinned. ‘I love your seven inches. Can I have a play with it later?’
The worry lines on his face dissolved as he laughed. ‘Absolutely.’
She stared at him, her heart overflowing. The past year with Henry in Somerset had been the happiest of her life.
‘Libby! Libby! Libby!’ A drum joined in the chanting.
‘Okay!’ she yelled. ‘I’m almost ready.’ She glanced at the bucket of river water that Henry was carrying. ‘Don’t even think about it.’
He nodded. ‘I promise I won’t use it unless you catch alight.’
She pointed two fingers between her eyes and his.
‘You’d better not, Henry, or that seven inches of yours is going to be shortened with immediate effect.’
He gave her a salute. ‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘Count me down!’ she called out to his family.
‘Five! Four! Three! Two! One!’
‘Incoming!’ she yelled, sprinting towards the fire. The flames had died down since it was lit earlier that evening, but she could still feel the heat as she approached.
She leapt into the light, surrounded by the sound of whistles, whoops and musical instruments created from various animal parts. In her peripheral vision she could see Henry hovering with the bucket of water.
She landed, safe and exhilarated, on the other side. Henry abandoned his bucket, dropped to his knees and ran his hands up and down her legs.
‘Get a room!’ Estelle cried.
‘I’m checking for sparks,’ he replied.
‘No shortage of sparks between those two,’ guffawed their father.
Libby giggled and pulled Henry to his feet. ‘I’m fine! And now we’ve got good luck for another year.’
He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly to his chest. She could feel the fast thudding of his heart.
‘I’m fine,’ she repeated, stroking his back. ‘Happy Midsummer’s Eve.’
His shoulders relaxed and he pulled back and gazed at her.
‘It’s nearly midnight. Fancy coming with me to look for a magic fern flower?’
‘The lucky charm for lovers?’
He nodded.
‘Has anyone, ever, in the history of the world found one?’
‘ I did.’
Her eyes widened. ‘When?’
‘Last year. When you were sleeping under the oak tree, I crept into the woods and found one. It gave me the luck I needed to win your heart.’
‘Uh huh, so why didn’t I get to see it then?’
‘The magic only works if it’s kept secret.’
‘Okay…’ She glanced around. She’d been getting used to the countryside at night, but outside the bright glow of the fire, everything seemed very, very dark.
‘Can I sit this one out?’
His face fell.
This was odd. Henry was one of the most straight-down-the-line people she knew and the last person she could ever imagine wanting to look for a mythical plant.
‘Is it important to you?’ she asked.
He nodded, his face serious. ‘I won’t leave your side, and we don’t have to go far.’
She squared her shoulders. If it was important to him, she was all in. ‘Okay, let me grab my shoes and we can go and look.’
At the edge of the meadow, by the Foxbrooke river, was an ancient wood. Libby held Henry’s hand tightly as they approached the ink-black trees.
Connor and Leo strolled towards them.
‘Have you been looking for the magic fern, too?’ she asked.
‘Nah,’ Leo replied. ‘We needed a leak.’
‘Fairies are abroad tonight,’ Connor said. ‘I needed to make sure Puck didn’t change Leo from a metaphorical ass into an actual one.’
‘Oi!’ his brother retorted. ‘I went with you because you’re scared of the dark.’
Connor shrugged. ‘That’s true, but you’re still the biggest ass in Foxbrooke.’
‘Bollocks. I have the finest ass in Foxbrooke. There’s a key semantic difference.’
‘If the cap fits…’
Libby snorted with laughter. ‘Well, we’re looking for a magical fern flower.’
Connor patted Henry’s shoulder. ‘Good luck.’
As Connor and Leo ambled away, she turned to Henry.
‘Weird…’
‘What is?’ he replied, leading her through the trees.
‘They didn’t take the piss that we’re on a wild goose chase.’
‘Hmm. They obviously have faith in our quest.’
She grinned at him, making out his smile in the darkness. ‘Okay then, Sir Henry Fernfinder, lead on.’
He paused and looked around, as if trying to get his bearings. ‘Erm… This way.’
She held his hand tightly as they went deeper into the wood. Apart from an owl hooting in the distance, all she could hear was their breathing, the swoosh of her skirts and the odd snap of a twig beneath her feet.
Up ahead, a tiny light was suspended about six feet off the ground.
She stopped dead. ‘Henry!’ she hissed. ‘What’s that?’
He shrugged. ‘Firefly?’
‘Do they have them here?’
‘Dad’s trying to breed them, so, maybe?’
He led her towards it.
‘Henry! It’s a fairy light! Up in the tree!’
He didn’t seem fazed. ‘Maybe Titania and Oberon are up to something?’
She pointed. ‘Look! There’s another one. Over there.’
Now her eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness, she could see a trail of fairy lights.
‘Henry, did you do this?’
He shook his head.
‘Do you know what’s going on?’
‘Do you want to follow them?’
Her heart beat faster in her chest. He hadn’t answered her last question. Did he know what this was about? Is this what Connor and Leo were really doing here?
Excitement propelled her forward on the trail, dragging Henry with her. She slowed as they reached a cluster of lights close to the ground.
On the forest floor was a large fern, surrounded by fairy lights, and in the middle of the foliage was a bouquet of tiny white flowers on long stalks.
‘Henry! It’s the magic fern flower!’
He smiled. ‘They’re Libertia grandiflora, also known as Liberty flowers.’
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, her heart stuttering with happiness.
‘Henry, you’re the sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful man in the world. This is such a wonderful surprise. I love it!’
The lights lit up his smile. ‘Go pick your flowers. It’s almost midnight.’
She pressed another quick kiss to his lips, then disengaged and reached down. The bouquet was tied together with a silk ribbon and the white petals seemed to glow in the darkness.
‘Oh, Henry, they’re so—’
She stopped abruptly. He was on one knee before her, holding out a ring.
‘Liberty Fletcher. You’re my magical fern flower, my lucky charm and the love of my life. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world, and I want to be with you, always. Please, would you consider marrying me?’
Every cell in her body was stunned into silence, then burst with joy.
‘Oh my god! Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!’ She dragged him to his feet, clutching the sides of his face and covering it with kisses. ‘I love you, Henry. I love you so much.’
‘I love you too, Libby,’ he grinned. ‘Do you want to see the ring?’
‘Do owls hoot in the woods?’
On cue, there was a hoot in the distance and they both laughed.
She looked at the ring as he held it up in the half light.
‘The stones have been in the family for generations,’ he said. ‘I got the jeweller in the village to reset them. It’s gold, because you’re the sunshine in my life, with a ruby in the centre to match your hair. And it’s surrounded by diamonds because, apparently, they’re a girl’s best friend.’
Her words and her breath stuck in her throat.
‘Is it okay? Do you like it?’
‘I- I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so b-beautiful,’ she stammered. ‘Oh my god, Henry. It’s just so…’
He gently pushed it onto her ring finger. ‘Perfect.’
The owl hooted again, as if to confirm his words, and she blinked away her happy tears.
‘So now we’ve found the magical fern flower, is the quest over?’
He reached down and lifted her into his arms.
‘Lovely Libby,’ he said, resting his forehead against hers. ‘It’s only just beginning.’