Hidden Cottage (51 page)

No hurry at all, he thought as he returned his gaze to the shimmering metallic surface of the lake. That was how it had been since November last year. Nothing had been rushed or forced. He had held himself in check, determined to give Mia the space she needed to come to terms with all that she had lost.

At the end of January she had transferred Mia’s Hats from the barn at Medlar House to a leasehold shop in Olney and moved into the flat above. With an excellent footfall of passing trade, the business had gone from strength to strength and Mia was busier than ever. Owen had offered her a cushion of money to ease things until her divorce settlement had been decided, but she had refused a penny from him; he’d known full well she wouldn’t accept any financial help, just as she’d known he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from making the offer. Instead she had allowed him to help, as much as he could with a hand that hadn’t quite healed, with the refurbishment of the property. Jensen had helped as well, along with Tattie, and even Eliza and Simon had mucked in one weekend.

The fun of getting the place ready for its grand opening day, and seeing how excited Mia was, had reminded Owen of when he and Bea had set up in business together. It didn’t make him hanker for those days, though; he was more than happy with teaching children – and a few adults – to learn to play the piano. It was the most rewarding thing he had ever undertaken and the number of students he taught continued to grow. He had applied to do a teaching diploma and was waiting to hear if he had been accepted. He had hoped to apply last December, but four broken fingers had put paid to that.

He bore Jeff no malice, could see no point in doing so, and was relieved that as far as the divorce and the financial settlement went, Jeff was playing it fair with Mia. Medlar House had sold quickly, faster than Mia had anticipated, and had been bought by a family who lived in nearby Yardley Hastings; they were expected to move in next month.

Jeff was now living in Dubai. He’d left Rieke Hirzel in December last year and had gone to work for a Dutch engineering firm, one that offered him a fresh start in the UAE. According to Jensen and Eliza, who had dinner with him only a few weeks ago when he was in London on business, he was in a better state of mind now. ‘Life in the sun suits him,’ Jensen had reported back to Mia. ‘It seems to have mellowed him.’

All things considered, a complete change of scene was probably the best thing Jeff could have opted for. And that wasn’t self-interest on Owen’s part, but a genuinely objective opinion. After all, having made a fresh start for himself here in Little Pelham, he knew what he was talking about.

Even Rich, who had been hugely dubious about the abrupt change in lifestyle, had grudgingly acknowledged that Owen was looking better than he’d seen him in a long while, though naturally he tempered his admission with the threat that nobody was fond of a smug git and Owen had better not let his sickening contentment as a member of the idle rich go to his head. His comment had caused Catherine to laugh and accuse Rich of needing to take a leaf out of Owen’s book. ‘A little balance in your life wouldn’t go amiss,’ she’d said. She and Rich had been staying the weekend with Owen over New Year before heading off to Austria for a skiing holiday. They had invited Owen and Mia to join them, but Owen had wimped out, reluctant to put his ribs to the test so soon.

It had been a great New Year, however, with he and Mia hosting a free-for-all open house party on New Year’s Eve culminating in fireworks provided by Rich. Plenty of people from the village came, including Muriel and Georgina and the twins, Beth and her parents, Joe, and Bob Parr (ironically Wendy had become the subject of much tongue-wagging, having left Bob before Christmas to go and run a bar in Cyprus with an ex-boyfriend she’d hooked up with on Facebook), and, of course, Mia’s family were there as well.

At the pub this evening, Jensen had spoken at length about the difficult relationship he’d had with his father while growing up and how he was attempting to build bridges. He’d admitted that it was proving tough, trying to undo years of bad habits – a need to put each other down – but he was set on doing it for Tattie and Madison’s sake. Which was why he had gone with Eliza to meet Jeff in London. Apparently, and with Mia’s approval, it had been Eliza’s idea to extend the olive branch, to show Jeff that no matter what, he was still their father and that he counted. ‘You should have seen his face when I invited him to the wedding,’ Jensen said. ‘His expression was priceless. Then once he’d recovered from the shock he asked how much it was going to cost him. In a way it was almost reassuring to see a flash of the old cynicism in him, to know he hadn’t changed too much.’

‘Will he come?’ Owen had asked.

‘He said he’d have to check his diary. Which I think we can take as a no. I expect he’s still embarrassed to face people here. And he probably wouldn’t be that comfortable seeing you and Mum together; too soon for that for him.’

Owen had said he’d bow out if it made things easier, but Jensen had shaken his head and said he didn’t think that was necessary. ‘Actually,’ he went on, ‘I reckon the real reason he won’t come is Daisy – too many reminders here for him. Whereas for Mum, it’s the opposite; she likes being surrounded by the memories. You know the kind of thing – this is where Daisy walked, this is where she sat on the green – it’s a comfort for her, as if she’s still here. I feel it myself at times.’

Owen had a lot of time for Jensen. He liked his frankness and the fact that he had accepted Owen into his mother’s life so readily. He and Tattie were getting married in St George’s next month and the reception was to be held here at The Hidden Cottage. Tattie’s parents were flying over and every time Owen saw Madison for a piano lesson, she brought him up to date on the wedding plans, including her bridesmaid’s dress. Since she had passed her Grade One piano exam with merit in December, Madison was a changed girl; her confidence and self-belief had grown enormously.

Owen often wondered what Gretchen and Lillian would make of their ten-year-old protégé, all grown up and encouraging others just as they had. He liked to think they would view it as a legacy and be proud and happy to take the credit for what they had inspired him to do.

Having done some research amongst the more elderly residents of the village, Owen had eventually tracked down a woman who had moved into a care home in Northampton some years ago and who could actually recall Gretchen and Lillian. She had apologized for her memory not being what it once was, but she was pretty sure that in the early eighties one of the two women had gone into hospital with pneumonia and had never recovered. Following her death, the remaining sister moved away; she didn’t know where.

It saddened Owen to think of the sisters being separated, and he hoped that it wasn’t Lillian who had been left alone. His memory of her was she had seemed the more fragile of the two and he didn’t like to think of her struggling on her own.

Mia ended the call with Eliza, happy to hear that she and Simon would be coming up next Saturday for the village fete. Like Tattie and Madison, Simon had become a part of the family and Mia always looked forward to seeing him. He’d been a good influence on Eliza and had achieved what no one else had ever managed, he’d taught her to laugh at herself more and to realize that she didn’t have to try so hard, that she had absolutely nothing to prove. But most of all, he had taught Eliza that she was loved because of who she was and not what she could do. As a mother, Mia regretted that she hadn’t been the one to convince her daughter of this, but then as Jensen had told her, there are some life lessons a parent can’t teach a child.

Leaving just the outside light on, Mia locked the back door and, breathing in the night air that was milky-sweet with the smell of freshly mown grass, she made her way down the garden. Facing away from her and illuminated by the flickering tea-lights on the jetty, Owen was deep in thought – she could tell from the stillness of his body. She called his name softly, not wanting to make him jump – not when he was standing so close to the water!

‘You were looking very serious,’ she said when he turned.

‘I was thinking of Gretchen and Lillian,’ he said. ‘And now,’ he added, pulling her into his arms, ‘I’m thinking of you and what you have in store for me.’

She smiled. ‘Wait and see.’

Droplets of water sparkled in the moonlight as she pulled on the oars and rowed towards the island. Holding a lantern aloft to help guide them, Owen sat in the prow of the boat.

Having never rowed in her life until Owen showed her how, Mia loved it – she found it to be wonderfully relaxing. It was what she did when she needed to think things through. The lake was also where she came to be alone and think about Daisy. She still cried when she thought of her youngest child’s life cut so brutally short, but she had accepted that the mourning process would continue for a long time yet, maybe for ever.

She felt the same about her marriage to Jeff; it could never be eradicated from her thoughts. How could it be? And why should it? It was a fundamental part of her, had shaped and defined her for the greater part of her life. She hoped Jeff would find happiness in his new life in Dubai; she had the feeling that he would. As Muriel liked to say, you couldn’t keep a man like Jeff Channing down for long.

It was when Mia had shown the new owners round Medlar House that she had realized something that had never crossed her mind before. The couple had asked her what the word ‘medlar’ meant and she had explained that it was a tree and that the fruit, which resembled a crab apple, was only edible when it had begun to decay. Afterwards she had thought of the poignant symbolism of this in relation to her own situation: that only when she had been forced to accept the truly rotten state of her marriage and had thrown aside her reasons to stand by Jeff had she allowed herself the chance to enjoy the sweetness of a new and better life.

When they reached the island and the prow of the boat nudged against the bank, Owen hopped out and while he secured the boat, she drew in the oars and then took his hand. In the softly glowing light from the lantern, he smiled when he saw what she’d laid on inside the summerhouse. ‘Are you planning to seduce me here?’ he asked.

‘I might be,’ she said, guiding him to a chair.

She took a box of matches from the table that was covered with a white linen cloth, onto which she’d placed plates, champagne flutes, napkins and a candelabra. She lit the candles first, then moved to the lanterns she had put in front of the summerhouse. Next she fetched the bottle of champagne from the bucket of ice and, wiping it dry, dispensed with the wire and foil and eased the cork out with a satisfying pop. She filled the flutes, put them to one side, then uncovered a chocolate fudge cake, which she knew was a favourite of Owen’s, having made one for his birthday in March.

He leant forward keenly. ‘Mmm . . . this gets better and better,’ he said.

‘And I’ve even laid on music for you,’ she said as a burst of Tony Hadley singing ‘Gold’ drifted across the fields.

The cake cut, she passed him his glass of champagne and sat in the chair beside him. ‘A toast to you and The Hidden Cottage,’ she said. ‘The two of you were destined to be together. May you always be truly happy here. And,’ she added, ‘to Gretchen and Lillian, because if it wasn’t for them you would never have returned and we wouldn’t have met.’

His eyes shining in the candlelight, his expression thoughtful, he chinked his glass against hers and raised it to his lips. ‘To Gretchen and Lillian,’ he echoed so quietly his words were almost inaudible.

They drank some more of their champagne and then moved on to the cake.

When he’d finished eating, she asked if he’d like his present now.

‘You have a present for me?’

She nodded excitedly. It was a surprise she had been working on for some time, although she couldn’t take the credit for it, not really. ‘Close your eyes,’ she said. He did and bending down, she reached under the tablecloth for the box she had hidden there. ‘
Ta-daar!
’ she said after she’d placed it on his lap.

He opened his eyes and looked with amusement at the hatbox. ‘A hat? Oh, you shouldn’t have.’

She smiled. ‘Go on, take the lid off.’

After he’d pushed aside the scrunched layers of tissue paper, he didn’t speak, just stared into the box and then at her, and then back to what lay inside. He slowly shook his head. ‘I don’t believe it. How? How did you know? And where? Mia, this is amazing. Where did you find it?’

‘It’s a long story, but basically I roped in Jensen and Simon, who are far better at this sort of thing than me. They scoured the internet and in the end it was Simon who discovered this copy in Germany.’

He shook his head again. ‘I . . . I don’t know what to say.’ As if the present was the most precious artefact in the world, he held it carefully in his hands and moved closer to the candlelight to see better.

‘Look inside the box again,’ she said. ‘There’s something else there for you.’

She watched him delve beneath another layer of tissue paper and once more his silence and awed expression betrayed just what this meant to him.

‘An original vinyl copy,’ she explained, ‘and a CD Simon made especially for you. It turns out that Simon is a hardcore audio purist and has a state-of-the-art turntable and collects vinyl LPs. Eliza calls it his dark side. As luck would have it, he’s so into it he has some sort of nifty software that removes all the scratches and hisses when he converts vinyl to disc, so with a bit of luck that CD should give you near-perfect sound quality.’

‘Mia, this isn’t
near
perfect, this
is
perfect. I can’t believe you’ve gone to this much trouble, and all without letting on. I didn’t have a clue what you were up to.’

She smiled. ‘It was hard keeping it from you. When Simon told me he’d tracked the record down to a dealer in Frankfurt who sells classical rarities on vinyl, I was so excited the first thing I wanted to do was tell you.’

He leant over and kissed her. ‘The fact that you’ve done this says you know what it means to me. Thank you. But I can’t even remember telling you that Gretchen and Lillian had made a record. Did I tell you?’