Page 45 of Tessa Cavendish Is Getting Married
“I’m fine, why?” I picked up my drink and took a huge gulp.
“You’re not sick, are you?”
I smiled. “Not at all.” I drank another mouthful of coffee. “I just didn’t sleep very well.”
“Even so, it’s not like you to decline breakfast.” Leo narrowed his eyes. “This sudden lack of appetite isn’t because of what Patricia said the other day, is it? About us eating too much cake.”
“Honestly,” I replied. “I’m just not hungry.” As Leo’s concern continued, I could see he didn’t quite believe me. Then again, after the dream I’d had, I wasn’t sure if I one hundred per cent did either.
“Tell you what.” Leo sat next to me. “Why don’t I take the morning off?”
“There’s no need. I’m not poorly.” I smiled. “But thank you for the offer.”
“In that case…” Leo slid the plate of food back towards me and picking up a knife and fork, held them out for me to take. “Prove it.”
I rolled my eyes. But the last thing I wanted was Leo worrying about me. I cut into my breakfast and shoved a piece of waffle into my mouth.
“That’s my girl.” Leo got up from his seat and kissed my cheek, before gathering up his lunch box and keys. “Time to go, Otis.”
I waited until I heard Leo’s van drive off before rising to my feet and happy that the coast was clear, I headed straight for the bin. Scraping my breakfast plate clean, I then dropped both it and my cutlery into the sink. I felt tempted to go back to bed, but decided against it.
With thoughts of my supervillain mum and the wedding swirling around my head, I didn’t want to risk another bad dream. Rather, I glanced around the room, insisting I should do something productive. However, too tired to even try to make sense of the sewing machine or scroll page after page on the computer to try to resolve my dress issue once and for all, I instead chose to head to the one place that always brought me calm – my workshop.
Chapter 27
Satisfied with a job well done, I smiled as I took in the lines of pots that adorned the wall-to-wall shelves. I’d spent hours cleaning bisque-fired mugs and bowls with a damp sponge, getting rid of any dust before, tongs in hand, dipping each piece into a bucket of newly mixed glaze.
Using a ladle-like motion, this part of the ceramics process had always felt therapeutic and with something other than Mum, bad dreams, and the wedding to think about, all thoughts of the outside world had vanished.
Such was my concentration, even the painstaking task of blending leftover drip or tong marks with a cotton bud had managed to quieten my tired yet overactive brain. All that was left to do was put them in the kiln ready for their final firing.
My stomach rumbled and suddenly hungry, it seemed my appetite was back. I headed out into the garden and breathed in the warm fresh air. Summer had arrived and as I made my way to the house, I decided to enjoy my late lunch sandwich al fresco.
Just as I got to the kitchen door, the sound of a vehicle pulling up caught my attention. I turned, and wondering who it could be, was surprised to see Leo and Otis jump out of the van. Having told Leo I’d be fine without him, the last thing I wanted was him worrying about me. “Why aren’t you at work?” I asked.
Leo smiled as he approached, while Otis set off wandering, nose down, around the garden. “I’ve arranged a few of days off,” Leo said.
“Why?” I frowned. “In case you’ve forgotten, we do have a wedding to pay for.”
“Some things are more important than money. And don’t worry, Hugo and Marianne are fine with it. To be honest, it’s a heavy-going project and although he’d never admit it, I think Hugo’s looking forward to the rest.”
I envisaged all the tonne bags I’d seen when I’d gone to drop Leo’s lunch off that day. “So why not letyouget on with it?” I asked. “Isn’t that what he’s paying you for?”
“Because it’s important to him. That garden’s been a few years in the planning, and he wants to be involved.”
Putting all thoughts of Hugo to one side, I got back to the matter at hand. “This sudden need for a break isn’t because of earlier, is it?” I pictured Leo’s concern when I pushed my plate away at breakfast. “It was one meal, Leo.”
“I know. But it’s not like you to skip food. And whether you admit it or not, all this stuff with your mum and your dress and whatever other hiccups we have going on, deep down, they’re bound to have an impact.”
Recalling the previous night’s tossing and turning, I knew I’d be lying if I denied that.
“I just think we need to step back. To forget about the wedding for a short while. Then we can reassess and start again. With clear heads.”
I scoffed. “Everyone else thinks we should be speeding things up.”
“We’re not everyone else. Which brings me to the question of…”
“Go on,” I said, wondering what was coming.
