Page 64 of Christmas at the Little Bookshop by the Sea

Ed sat back in his seat and released a long sigh. ‘And there’s more.’

‘More?’

Ed nodded. ‘It’s the real reason my father flew halfway around the world to speak to me. Somehow – my dad wouldn’tsay how, didn’t want to cause ructions for his contact who’d told him in confidence – he found out about Jack’s proposed autobiography, and that’s what’s sent him into such a tailspin.’

‘Okay.’ Florrie took a moment to process Ed’s words. She wasn’t sure how word of Jack’s autobiography could have spread so quickly. From her understanding the author was only in early talks with his agent and publishers. But then again, she reasoned, things did have a habit of sneaking out, in no small way thanks to social media.

‘He’s worried my grandparents’ involvement with Jack’s illegal adoption is going to cause a “worldwide scandal”. He and my mother aren’t just annoyed about it, they’re deeply embarrassed about it, too. They’re worried the Harte name will be “irreparably tarnished”, as he said, and that they’re going to be tarred with the same brush, be vilified and chased out of their village. It’s why he called, full of hell, in the early hours – he’d just found out.’

‘Wow! I’d never have guessed that as the reason in a million years.’

‘Me neither.’

‘I can imagine it would generate a lot of interest in the UK, particularly Yorkshire, but a “worldwide scandal” seems a little dramatic.’ She felt the prod of a memory. ‘Ah, explains why I heard your father mention Jean Davenport’s name in the call.’

Ed nodded. ‘Yeah, he was being unkind about her which is the reason I didn’t want to continue the conversation with him. I have no time for nastiness like that.’

Florrie smiled. It warmed her heart that Ed was a thoroughly decent person and refused to get dragged into spiteful gossip.

‘Anyway, the upshot is that my parents want me to speak to Jack, ask if he’d consider not identifying my grandparents as the people who set up his adoption. They’re okay with the bookshop being mentioned as some sort of link, though.’ He scrunched uphis nose. ‘Said he’d sue if his request was ignored, but I’m going to keep quiet about that when I first broach the matter with Jack.’

‘Yikes! Can’t say I blame you. But knowing Jack, I can’t see that being a problem.’

Ed nodded. ‘That’s what I thought.’ He tapped his hands against the table, making Gerty jump. ‘Anyroad, this tea’s gone cold. How about I make a fresh pot? Then I can tell you the rest of the stuff we spoke about.’

‘Oh, blimey, there’s more?’

‘There is, but nothing quite as shocking.’ He flashed her a smile.

With fresh tea poured, Ed continued sharing the details of the meeting with his father.

After Peter had got his grievances and concerns off his chest, Ed had told him about Jean and Jack’s business proposal. ‘I actually told a white lie, said we’d already accepted it and that the wheels were in motion, just in case he tried to talk me out of it.’

‘Really? You told him? What did he say?’ Florrie braced herself to hear that normal hostilities had been resumed.

‘Well, this is what surprised me the most. He didn’t put up a fight, just seemed to accept it. Said if that’s what we thought was best, then that’s what we should do, especially if it got Dodgy Dick off our backs. He seemed genuinely wary of the bloke.’

Florrie was finding it difficult to absorb this latest revelation. Had she heard right? ‘I wonder what his reason could be for such a dramatic about-turn?’

‘I think I know the answer to that.’ His face took on a serious expression. ‘He had a health scare. Seems he has a problem with his heart – I couldn’t get any further details. I got the impression he didn’t like to talk about it.’

Sounds familiar!‘I’m sorry to hear he’s been unwell.’ Learning of his father’s illness couldn’t have been easy for Ed, especially on top of everything else.

‘From what I could gather from the little information he gave me, him getting himself so worked up the way he does hasn’t been helping his blood pressure nor his heart condition. It’s been quite the wakeup call by all accounts.’

‘I can imagine.’ Peter’s irate phone calls sprang to mind, his voice screaming down the phone. It was a relief to think Ed wouldn’t be on the receiving end of those anymore.

He reached across the table and took Florrie’s hands in his. ‘I want you to know, I’m really sorry about leaving the way I did. It was thoughtless of me, I just acted in the heat of the moment. I panicked when I’d heard my dad hadn’t been well and booked the next available train to York then London. I’d intended to explain everything when I got there.’

‘I can understand that, because I’d be exactly the same, but maybe if you’d given Leah a few more details, it would’ve stopped me worrying about why you’d hared off the way you had.’ She wasn’t going to give him a hard time about that; she’d down everything if she’d had such news about either of her parents, too. Wild horses wouldn’t keep her from going to them.

‘Message understood.’ The smile he gave was all it took to extinguish any lingering anger she had. ‘Am I forgiven?’

‘Forgiven.’ She smiled, the look in his eyes making her soften further. ‘But you’ve got to promise me you won’t go rushing off like that without a proper explanation, leaving me thinking all sorts.’

‘I promise.’

He leant towards her, cupping her head in his hand, and kissed her, sending any residual doubts scattering. ‘I love you, Florrie Appleton.’

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