Chapter 3
THREE
‘She what?’ said Jasmine, once she’d recovered from the shock and was able to speak. ‘Talk about dropping a bombshell.’
‘She told us – quite forcefully, I might add – that she’s here to “do her bit” for her son and “help” with our wedding plans.
’ In fact, the way Dawn had spoken, it had sounded more like a threat.
Florrie had only met her future mother-in-law a handful of times which, if she was being honest, was enough since any contact with Ed’s parents had invariably resulted in trouble and stress.
And it wasn’t just that; they hadn’t kept their dislike of Florrie a secret, which was why she was suspicious of Dawn’s motives for wanting to be involved with their wedding plans.
‘After everything she’s done, I’m not sure you should trust her, Florrie,’ Stella said in a warning tone.
‘Aye, same here,’ Jasmine said firmly, her face flushing in the way it usually did when she was worked up about something.
‘I have to agree,’ said Maggie. ‘I mean, her presence in Ed’s life has been pretty sparse and any offer to help is so wildly out of character.’
‘I know, which is why I’ve been struggling to make any sense of it, or work out what the real motive could be,’ said Florrie. ‘It’s the same for Ed.’
‘I’m with the lasses; I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Florrie,’ added Lark, whose highly tuned intuition meant she was sensitive to bad vibes. Florrie knew that if Lark sensed something untoward about a person or place, it was worth taking notice of.
‘And hasn’t she left it a bit late in the day to want to help?’ asked Stella. ‘Your wedding’s three weeks away, and you’ve got everything sorted. There’s nothing left for her to help with.’
Florrie’s mind drifted to their wedding plans.
Stella had a point. Florrie was known amongst her family and friends for being organised; she left nothing to the last minute if she could help it.
As soon as she and Ed had set the date for their wedding, she’d created a spreadsheet of everything that needed to be bought, the orders to be placed and venues to be booked.
Every detail was included, no matter how small.
Jasmine, being a celebration-cake maker, hadn’t wasted a moment in offering her services to create their wedding cake.
She’d invited Florrie and Ed to the home she shared with Max where the couple had spent a delightful couple of hours chomping on cake samples – ranging from traditional fruit, to lemon, to Victoria sponge, to gooey chocolate – as they’d pored over images of the designs Jasmine had created for other couples in order to choose their own.
And while Florrie and Ed had agreed wholeheartedly on the gooey chocolate cake option, they’d been too spoilt for choice to be able to settle on a design, so they’d given Jasmine free rein to do what she thought best, much to her delight.
The couple had decided early on they’d like a book theme for the wedding, and had great fun sourcing items. Adding a personal touch, Ed had put his artistic skills to good use and designed their wedding invitations in the style of vintage library cards.
And he’d gone one step further, making place settings that resembled the spines of old books.
Both of which had delighted Florrie no end and added to her building excitement for their big day.
As for her wedding dress, Florrie had been feeling disillusioned by a recent unsuccessful shopping trip to York when she’d received a phone call from Lark, who owned Lark’s Vintage Bazaar which sat across the road from the bookshop in the town’s Victoria Square.
She sold vintage clothing and accessories – as well as crystals and her own blend of aromatherapy products.
Lark had been beside herself with excitement, telling Florrie she’d just taken delivery of the most exquisite vintage wedding gown and asking if she’d pop in to the shop to take a look.
‘I put it to one side straight away, it’s so you!
And I know you’re just going to love it! ’
Such was Lark’s excitement, Florrie had rushed over to the store, desperate to see the dress for herself.
And as soon as she’d set eyes on it, she’d fallen in love with its simple lines and exquisite lace that were very much her style.
She’d hoped with all her heart it would fit as she’d disappeared into the changing room and slipped the delicate gown over her head.
Florrie was thrilled to find that the only thing that needed altering was the hem which, with her being so petite, was a little too long.
Lark had assured her it was something she could easily take care of, especially since she was no stranger to altering clothes for her shop.
‘I have a bad feeling, too.’ Jasmine’s voice pulled Florrie out of her thoughts.
‘The old cowpat’s up to summat, without a doubt.
There’s no way, after everything her and her toxic husband have done to you and Ed, that she’s come to “help”.
And besides, she has no business marching in bold as brass and telling you what she’s going to do – especially when she’s barely given her son a second glance for the whole of his life.
’ Jasmine’s cheeks were now blazing. ‘I don’t believe it for a second.
I reckon she’s got an ulterior motive. I don’t know why she thinks she has the right to turn up unannounced and start with all her toxic flippin’ meddling.
And don’t get me on to the way she’s treated you.
’ She set her mouth into a hard line, fury flashing in her green eyes.
Only the very brave or the very foolish got on the wrong side of Jasmine.
A vision raced through Florrie’s mind of Jasmine stomping over to someone she’d recently spotted sneaking a book into their pocket at The Happy Hartes Bookshop.
The verbal savaging that had ensued meant the shoplifter had hastily replaced the pilfered item and hurried out of the shop, face burning.
Florrie’s lips twitched at the memory. Jasmine may be petite, but she could be a tornado of devastating proportions when she was angry, particularly when she was protecting or sticking up for those she loved.
It didn’t take much for her to adopt full-on mamma bear mode.
‘Ey up, calm your jets, missus,’ said Maggie, giving Jasmine a friendly nudge. ‘Whatever it is Dawn Harte’s up to, we’ll do all we can to make sure the woman doesn’t take over or interfere with Florrie and Ed’s wedding plans.’
‘You’re not kidding. We’ve all got your back, flower,’ said Stella, to which all of the friends agreed.
Florrie’s heart squeezed at their show of loyalty.
‘Thanks, lasses. Mind, I haven’t told you everything.
’ Her eyes momentarily shifted to the server Immy who was negotiating her way to a nearby table, two plates piled high with steaming food in her hands, the delicious aroma wafting their way.
Usually such a sight – and smell – would make Florrie’s stomach rumble hungrily, but tonight, she appeared to have lost her appetite.
‘Uh-oh, there’s more?’ said Jasmine, following Florrie’s line of sight, her eyes widening as the plates were set down. ‘I’ll order our fish and chips soon.’
‘About an hour after she’d left the bookshop to check in at her guesthouse, Dawn returned saying that she’d been misled by the B didn’t give a name.’ In typical Dawn style she’d avoided giving any information she wasn’t willing to share which only served to heighten Florrie’s concerns.
Lark scrunched her nose up. ‘I thought all the guesthouses down there were okay.’
‘Apparently not. And worse, she started hinting heavily about moving in with us for the duration of her stay.’ In fact, the hints had been so heavy, anyone would be forgiven for thinking they were made of lead! The prospect of Dawn staying with them at Samphire Cottage didn’t bear thinking about.
‘If I were you, I wouldn’t let her over your doorstep.’ The warning tone in Stella’s voice sent a chill running through Florrie.
‘That’s going to be easier said than done,’ she replied.
Before Dawn had left the bookshop for the second time, she’d announced she intended to call in on Ed that evening, no doubt because she knew she’d find him alone at the cottage; it was common knowledge that Florrie joined her friends at the Jolly every Friday night.
She only hoped he’d be firm and not let his mother browbeat him into agreeing to anything, or at least that he’d run any of Dawn’s ‘suggestions’ by her beforehand.
Florrie had enough experience of Dawn and her husband to know they were masters of wearing people down.
‘I’m sure Ed’ll be firm with her,’ Maggie said, giving Florrie a reassuring smile.
‘Aye, me too,’ Jasmine said, her tone softening, though the look in her eyes told Florrie her friend wasn’t totally convinced.
Lark reached over and rubbed Florrie’s arm, her bracelets chiming as she did so. ‘What a day you’ve had. I think now we’ve got that out of the way, it’d be a good time to go back to our hen party plans for you,’ she said in her familiar gentle way.
‘Good thinking,’ Jasmine agreed, her cheeks still flushed.
‘We’ll let you do the honours, Stells, since it’s you who suggested we do it,’ said Maggie.
‘Righto.’ Stella fixed her gaze on Florrie, affection shining in her pale-blue eyes.
‘So, we had a get-together to discuss what we should do to celebrate your upcoming marriage. And, since we all had lots of suggestions and struggled to settle on just one of them, we decided it would be a rather fine idea to go with each of our favourites.’
A crease appeared between Florrie’s dark eyebrows. ‘But—’