Chapter 6
Slipping back through the glass door and into the kitchen, Ellie grinned as Laura stood up hurriedly from the table they’d been sitting at half an hour earlier.
‘Sorry, I was going to come straight out to find you as soon as we were done with the carpenter, but I spotted you sitting beneath the willow with your notebook and didn’t know if you needed a bit of time to yourself to think about the wedding.
’ She picked up a fresh cafetière of coffee. ‘Would you like another coffee?’
‘No, I’m fine thanks.’ Ellie held her hand up, dismissing the offer. ‘And yes, it was nice to have a moment to reflect on the gardens and the inn.’
Smiling, Laura placed the cafetière back down. ‘So, what do you think? Will you take on the task of planning mine and Jackson’s wedding?’
‘I’d love to.’ Ellie smiled. That wander in the inn’s garden had been just what she’d needed.
Between the fresh air, the peace and the birdsong, she felt more refreshed than she had since this horrid business with Melissa had begun last week.
‘Would you mind if I take your sketchbooks home with me to have a proper look through and then perhaps we can schedule another meeting for tomorrow? I know it’s soon, but given our three-month time frame, I think I’d like to be able to make a start on booking what we need to.
And if you and Jackson have a spare few minutes today to discuss the idea of holding the ceremony here at the inn, then perhaps we can talk about your decision tomorrow too? ’
‘Yes, okay. Tomorrow will be good. Thank you. I’ve been so worried about it all, and we’ve both been tempted to push the date back until next year, but we just want to get married as soon as possible and get on with the rest of our lives together. It sounds daft, doesn’t it?’
‘Not at all. It’s completely understandable.
’ Ellie moved the sketchbooks into a pile on the table, ready to pick them up.
She’d never felt like that with Rick. She’d never wanted to rush things and marry quickly.
Heck, they’d never even got to the engagement part.
But it looked as though Laura and Jackson had found the unicorn in relationships.
They seemed to be truly in love. ‘And I’ll do all I can to make this a special day for you. ’
‘Thank you.’ Laura beamed as she led the way through to the hallway.
‘See you tomorrow. And thank you for these.’ Ellie nodded towards the sketchbooks in her arms. ‘I love it when a couple does their homework.’
‘Haha, I can’t promise it’s all good!’ Laura laughed as she turned to answer the phone at the reception desk as it started ringing.
Pulling open the front door, Ellie stepped through and closed it behind her.
She’d always thought Pennycress had a special feel to it, cosy and homely, but she hadn’t been inside for a few years since she’d had the time to attend Meadowfield’s craft group and Vivienne, the previous innkeeper, had plied the crafters with tea and cakes during each meeting.
Yes, Laura and Jackson had definitely kept that specialness alive.
Shifting the sketchbooks higher up, she opened the wrought-iron gate. There was no sign of Jill now; she must have finished her gardening or else was taking a break. Stepping out onto the street again, Ellie frowned as the piercing noise from her mobile filled the warm summer air.
She pulled it from her pocket and sighed audibly. Great. Just what she needed to ruin the feeling of positivity. It was Rick.
She stared at the screen. Should she answer it or just let it ring out?
Part of her just wanted to prolong the moment of peace she felt, but she knew if she didn’t answer, then he’d likely not answer her when she rang him back.
He hadn’t answered her billion calls or text messages she’d sent since last night.
Taking a deep breath, she pressed the green button on the screen and held it to her ear. ‘Rick?’
‘Ellie. I’m not sure why you sound so surprised to hear me after the number of times you’ve called and messaged me over the last few hours.’ Rick’s voice sounded distant, much the same as how he’d spoken to her this past year.
‘Can you blame me? You’ve taken everything.’ She could feel the now-familiar rush of anger flood in as she answered him. She sounded surprised? Of course she was surprised. She was shocked at the fact that he’d all but cleared out the cottage! ‘I want my things back.’
‘Your things?’
‘Yes, my things. You know, the TV, the blender, the bed. The contents of the cottage. You’ve taken it all.’ She paused as she tightened her grasp on the sketchbooks. Why was she even explaining herself? Rick knew what he’d done.
‘They’re my things, Ellie.’
‘Uh, no, they’re not. We’ve been living in that cottage together for years.
We bought most of the things together. In fact, I lived there before you and I bought most of it before you and I were even an item.
’ She glanced behind her, suddenly wanting to make sure she was out of earshot of the inn, of Jill if she was still in the garden.
Hearing this conversation wasn’t exactly the best advertisement for love and romance.
She couldn’t imagine that hearing your wedding planner fighting with her ex over the phone would be particularly reassuring.
And if she wanted to grow her business, then she needed this wedding of Laura and Jackson’s to go without a hitch.
She needed it to fly, she needed to make the best impression she possibly could.
At least some people from Meadowfield would be invited, and that’s how she’d make her connections, that’s how she’d gain more business, more clients. Word of mouth.
‘Ellie, you’ve got the cottage. I’ve given you the cottage. You’re the one who’s landed on your feet. I’ve had to find somewhere else to live.’
Crossing the road, Ellie waited as a car pulled into the driveway in front of her before continuing. ‘The cottage is rented. You’re talking as though we’ve divorced, and you’ve given me the house. We rent the cottage. It’s always been rented, and I’ve always put as much money into it as you have.’
‘You’re still living in it though. You’re the one who has the new tenancy agreement. Not me.’
What was he even talking about? How could he possibly rationalise clearing out their belongings because she was continuing to live in the cottage that had been her home before he’d even come into her life?
‘You cannot be using that to justify what you’ve done to me.
You’ve taken everything. You’ve left me with the sofa and a set of crockery and cutlery for one.
Surely you’ve got to be able to see that that’s wrong. That it’s not normal.’
‘Me and Lisa need those things too. We need to be able to furnish our new place.’
Pulling the mobile away from her ear, she glared at the screen, Rick’s name and photo illuminated against the dark background.
Swallowing, she tried to suppress the exasperation threatening to engulf her.
It wouldn’t do any good to shout down the phone at him.
Or to cry, for that matter. No, crying would only show him how much his actions had affected her, and she wasn’t about to do that.
‘Surely Lisa has furniture, crockery and home stuff? Why did you take all of ours?’
Rick cleared his throat, the confidence in his voice audibly wavering. ‘She had to leave it all at her old place.’
‘How come? You took everything from the cottage, why couldn’t she have taken something from her swanky apartment?
’ He’d already told her that he and Lisa had rented a place together, but it didn’t explain why Lisa hadn’t brought any of her furniture, kitchen stuff or even towels with her.
Why had Rick had to provide it all at Ellie’s expense and discomfort?
Besides, most of what he’d taken had been things she’d brought from Ikea or found at various car boots and flea markets.
She couldn’t imagine Lisa being particularly thrilled about eating at their small dining table with the felt-tip pen marks from when they’d babysat Rick’s niece, not after moving from the posh apartment she’d shared with Alex.
‘Why leave me with nothing and her ex with everything?’
Her question hung in the air for so long that she’d wondered if he’d hung up. ‘Her ex refused to let her take anything.’
‘Huh.’ Ellie let his words sink in. So she’d just been the easier of the two wronged parties to thieve from. ‘Well, I would have refused too if I’d been given the opportunity.’
‘Look, he chucked her out, okay? Just chucked her out on the street without any warning. What else could she have done?’ His tone had changed, the guarded distance having been replaced with defensiveness.
‘So, Alex only found out about your affair yesterday then too. And by the sounds of it, he hadn’t known their relationship was over.
How long have you been seeing her?’ As soon as she’d asked the question, Ellie knew she’d wasted her breath.
He’d been having a relationship behind her back, had been planning moving in with his mistress for goodness knows how long, he must have weaved more lies than she could imagine, so why did she think he’d suddenly begin telling her the truth now?
‘We really didn’t have a choice. We had to take what we did.’ His voice was cold, matter-of-fact, which only confirmed to Ellie that he hadn’t been thinking of her one tiny bit.
Ellie raised her eyebrows. They hadn’t had a choice? Was that really the line of defence he was choosing to take? Of course there had been a choice. Heck, for starters he could have chosen not to have a damn affair in the first place. ‘You’ve not answered me.’
‘Answered what?’
‘I asked how long you’ve been seeing her.’ Looking down, she stubbed the toe of her shoes against the path, instantly regretting her actions as a scuff appeared.
‘It doesn’t really matter how long I’ve been seeing her, does it? You and I are over.’
He was right. They were, and nothing was going to change that.
She didn’t want that to change. It wasn’t because she wanted him back, nothing of the sort, but still, she needed to know how long he’d been cheating on her.
She needed to know if he’d been seeing Lisa all these months, this past year.
Or before. Had his affair with Lisa been the reason their relationship had failed in the first place? ‘How long?’
‘Jeez, Ellie. That’s irrelevant.’ She could hear the exasperation in his voice. And it was irrelevant to them as a couple, but not to her.
‘Tell me.’
‘I thought you’d been trying to call me to have a go at me about the stuff I took, not this.’
Gripping the phone tightly to her ear, Ellie knew she had the answer.
He’d been cheating on her well before their relationship had been officially over.
Lisa had been the reason he’d grown distant, the reason their relationship had failed.
It hadn’t been the seven-year itch, as she’d assumed.
Or maybe it had, maybe that’s what had driven him to have the affair in the first place.
Why hadn’t she noticed? How could Ellie have been so stupid? How could she not have noticed?
‘Are you still there?’ Rick’s voice was quiet, guarded.
Ellie ended the call, shoving her mobile into her bag.
What was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to answer the revelation that Rick had been having an affair with his boss, that he’d now moved in with her, that he’d been sneaking about behind Ellie’s back for the last umpteen months to continue the relationship which had ended their own?
He and Lisa must have been together for a year, or more. She didn’t even know.
Lifting her hand, she pulled her hair from its high ponytail, suddenly feeling claustrophobic and trapped.
Shaking her head, she took a deep breath in, trying to make sense of the feelings inside.
Yes, Rick had been having an affair, but it wasn’t as though their relationship had been perfect or had even had a future.
Not that that was any excuse. Nothing could excuse his behaviour.
It didn’t make it right, but it did suggest the outcome would have been the same whether he’d been seeing Lisa or not.
She needed to get home. Back to her cottage.
Off the streets of Meadowfield, where she suddenly felt as though she needed to be on show.
If she’d still been working at All Things Love in Chipping Norton, then it wouldn’t cross her mind to be careful of what she said, how she acted, but now she was trying to start her own business here, she realised she needed to make a good impression and yelling down the phone or bursting into tears on the street wasn’t the impression she wanted to give any future clients or contacts of future clients.
As she heard an engine slowing beside her, she dipped her head, letting her hair fall in front of her face and pretending to be engrossed in the beautiful gardens to her left.
The last thing she needed right now was for someone to pull up and ask for directions or, even worse, for Laura or Jackson to be driving past and want to mention some detail of their wedding plans they’d forgotten to tell her about earlier and see her like this.
The engine purred beside her as it slowed to a stop. Great.