Page 23 of The Mended Hearts Bookshop

“Oh, come on, let me finish my tea at least,” Pen said. “Have another brownie.”

“It’s not good to eat chocolate so close to bedtime,” Ash said, taking a square anyway.

“Says who?”

“Says anyone. Eating sweets before bedtime seems like a crazy idea.”

“So seven o’clock is your bedtime, is it? Good to know.” Pen breathed in the steam of her tea, looking at Ash in the fading kitchen light. She was older than she’d supposed, maybe close to forty. And though she sounded prickly, she didn’t look like she was especially uncomfortable.

“It’s my walk time, actually.”

“Noted,” said Pen, sipping her tea. “So, you’re an accountant then?”

With a sigh, Ash nodded and picked up her mug.

“Interesting?” asked Pen.

“Mmm.”

Pen put her mug down. “How are you finding Tetherington?”

“It’s fine.”

Pen sighed. “You could try a bit harder, you know? It’s just small talk. It’s not rocket science. It’s a politeness, something to make people feel at ease.”

“I don’t need to make people feel at ease,” Ash said. “Especially people that barge into my shop uninvited and make themselves cups of tea.”

“There’s no need to be mean.”

“And in real answer to your question, the town seems fine but very full of people that seem to think my business is their business.”

Pen grinned. “That’s small towns for you. You’ll learn soon enough that there’s no keeping secrets around here. Why, do you have a few skeletons in your closet?”

“I have not a single bone in a single cupboard, thank you very much,” Ash huffed. “I just happen to like being alone, that’s all.”

Pen sipped quietly at her tea. Ash took a bite of brownie and almost, almost smiled as she chewed on it. Okay, she could see George’s point. Ash was a bit… spiky. But that was what you got from living in London. Being surrounded by anonymity all the time, maybe that made you lonely, and being lonely made you grumpy. Ash just needed to practice her manners, that was all.

“Tell me what you know about Mary,” Ash said, breaking the silence and nearly making Pen drop her cup.

“Mary was lovely.”

“So says everyone. Or at least George. Anything a little more helpful than that?”

Pen wrapped her hands around her cup thinking of all the evenings she’d spent in this kitchen with her friend.

“She came to town yonks ago, bought the shop immediately, and said she’d always wanted a romance bookshop.” Pen smiled. “A lot of people thought she was batty, but Mary just said that romance was dreams and she wanted to sell dreams. She liked making people happy. Not in a people-pleaser kind of way, but in a genuine way. She had a big heart but she also had a sharp tongue. Never afraid of telling people what she thought.” She gave Ash a look.

“What?”

“Nothing, just thinking that might run in the family.”

“What about her personal life?” Ash asked, ignoring this.

“She was everyone’s friend. Never had a quiet night. Between the WI and crochet, bookclubs and dinner parties, Mary was a social butterfly.” Pen considered this. “Maybe that part doesn’t run in the family so much.”

Ash sipped her tea. “Alright, but what about more… personal stuff. Did she have, I don’t know, a dead husband or a boyfriend or something?”

Pen shrugged. “Not that I knew of. She always seemed happy though, so I’m not sure that’s what she was looking for.”

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