Page 115 of The Little Flower Shop By the Sea
‘But you couldn’t take Lou’s picture of a sweet pea off the wall there and then, could you? No, Lou would have immediately noticed it was gone and been suspicious. So you waited, and your chance finally came when Lou was decorating and removed the picture herself. Then you suggested that the Women’s Guild hold their next committee meeting at her house, and hey presto! the picture of a sweet pea is suddenly yours.’
‘Caroline, is this true?’ Johnny asks, shocked.
Ah, he must have known about the wine, but not the pictures.
Caroline looks guiltily up at him and nods.
‘Shall I continue?’ I enquire.
‘There’s more?’ Johnny asks in astonishment.
‘Only a few more loose ends to tie up,’ I tell him. ‘The jumble was the next thing, wasn’t it, Caroline? You must have gone out and bought several lottery tickets the day the picture of a pink carnation, the third in the set, found its way into your house accidentally in a box of jumble!’
‘And thenyou,’ Caroline hisses, spinning on her heel to face me properly, ‘you, Poppy Carmichael, had to come along and ruin it for me. I should have known it would be a Carmichael that would spoil everything. You always do! Tattletales, aren’t you? It’s in the blood.’
Jake and Johnny both look mystified now as they listen to us.
‘Trecarlan Castle and those embroideries would have been mine anyway if it wasn’t for the Carmichaels sticking their noses in where they’re not wanted. I wouldn’t ever have needed to go looking for four stupid pictures if I’d inherited what was rightfully mine in the first place.’
‘What is she talking about?’ Jake asks me.
‘Tell you later,’ I whisper. I don’t want to stop Caroline when she’s in full recriminatory flow.
‘Stanley Marrack,’ Caroline says scornfully, ‘didn’t deserve to be living in a wonderful house like Trecarlan. He was using it to host a debauched gambling ring – did you know that about your precious Stan, hmm?’ she asks me. ‘It was about time the Marracks got their comeuppance. So when the authorities happened to find out what was going on, he had to leave the castle in disgrace, just like my ancestors did. And the sweetest part about that was, he had to come to me, a Harrington, and ask if the Parish Council would look after the castle. It was the ultimate revenge.’
‘It was you!’ I exclaim. I hadn’t worked that part out. Actually, a lot of what I’d said over the last few minutes had been complete guesswork, but it appeared I had got it spot on if Caroline’s reaction was anything to go by. ‘You were behind the anonymous tip-off! And,’ I cry as something else occurs to me, ‘you were the person that locked me in the cellar, weren’t you?’ I shake my head. ‘I can’t believe you did all this because of some piece of ancient history, some feud between our families that’s centuries old.’
‘Some people never forget, Poppy,’ Caroline says, quite slowly and deliberately this time. ‘Somepeople take their families very seriously. Unlike you, it would seem, neglecting yours for years on end.’
‘You see, that’s where you’re wrong, Caroline,’ I respond in an equally determined voice. ‘I take my family very seriously. What you’ve forgotten is that Stan is my family, every bit as much as Rose was. And no one messes with my family. No one, do you hear. Especially not a Harrington!’
‘I can’t believe you did that,’ Jake says as we walk back into St Felix under a gorgeous salmon pink sky. He’s holding Miley and I’m clutching my bag, which has three small embroidered pictures of a pink carnation, a sweet pea and a forget-me-not, along with a faded letter from Queen Victoria zipped safely inside. ‘You were amazing back there.’
‘Perhaps,’ I say, trying to sound calm, even though I can still feel myself shaking.
‘I thought you went incredibly easy on the Harringtons, considering it was Stan’s home they were plundering. You’re usually so protective of him. I think I would have just called the police.’
‘If they don’t come through on their promises, I definitely will. I bet Woody would be in his element getting to the bottom of all this.’
‘Ha, he would that,’ Jake says.
‘But what’s the point in causing more problems? I don’t want this ridiculous feud carrying on down the generations. Especially now we know Stan does have a family to pass things on to – he has grandchildren!’
Jake nods. ‘Yes, it would seem so. We’ll have to go and see him though, and talk to him about all this before I tell the children.’
‘Of course, I’ll need to go and tell him about the pictures too. He’s going to be overjoyed to see them. Best of all, if our plan comes together, he won’t have to sell them!’
Jake grins. ‘That was crafty, Poppy. When will you tell him about that?’
‘When the time is right.’ I wink. ‘I’m just so happy for him. A family is all Stan’s ever wanted, and now he has one.’ I sigh. ‘Life is good, Jake. Very good.’
‘You know I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy?’ Jake says, stopping and turning to face me as we reach the harbour. Miley jumps from his arms and scampers over to investigate an empty coffee cup blowing along the path. ‘When I first met you, you were so down about life, so sad. You tried to cover it up, but I could see past all that. You see, I’ve been there and worn theI’m fineT-shirt too.’
I smile at Jake. How did he know me so well?
‘You were one feisty lady, Poppy, and you’d bite at the tiniest of things. But you’ve changed since you’ve been here, changed for the good. I really think St Felix has healed you, just like we said it could.’
‘Do you really think I’ve changed that much?’
