Page 72 of The Wedding Cake Wish
Mum nods. ‘It was a little cottage by the river. Just a ruinnow.’ She smiles sadly. ‘That night we were all down by the river together –you, me and the girls – I wandered along the river path and I saw the ruin ofthe cottage again, for the first time since that terrible night. I stood there,looking at it, remembering. So many memories came flooding back and I hatedmyself for losing touch with Rachel.’
I nod, recalling how lost Mum had seemed when I found her onthe riverbank that night. She couldn’t wait to leave the place with Dad...
‘So how did stealing pears lead to the fire being started?’I murmur.
She sighs. ‘Well, the pears thing seemed like a fairlyharmless thing to do, so we did it. But then things got scary. Mrs Bolam, whoowned the cottage, was a retired schoolteacher and a widow. She’d lived therealone for years after her husband died. And she had a reputation for being ahoarder. The postman had seen inside and apparently there were old newspapersfrom years back stacked in piles along every wall, so there was barely anyspace for a person to squeeze through. Stephanie started talking about all thatdry paper inside the house and laughing about how it would go up in flames inan instant if someone set fire to it. I remember Rachel and I watching her inhorror as she rolled up some old wallpaper she found in Mrs Bolam’s shed andset fire to it. We didn’t think she’d do it, but she did. She ran to the frontdoor and pushed the flaming paper through the letterbox. Then she ran away,screaming with laughter and hid behind the hedge to watch.
‘Rachel and I were frantic. We could see the flames leapingup in the frosted glass of the front door. Rachel started running up the pathto alert Mrs Bolam and I followed her.’ She shakes her head. ‘Rachel was sobrave. Much braver than me.
‘Stephanie shouted that if anyone ever found out it was shewho started the fire, she’d know exactly who snitched on her and she’d come forus in our sleep and snap our necks. We were terrified. We knew it wasn’t anempty threat and that she was quite capable of carrying it out. But we knew wehad to get Mrs Bolam out of there. So as the flames were swallowing the frontof the cottage, we went round the back and Rachel knocked hard on the window ofMrs Bolam’s bedroom to wake her up. Then we both fled, back to our own homes.As we ran, we looked back and Mrs Bolam was standing in her nightie in thegarden, staring after us, so we knew she was all right.’
‘But Stephanie had presumably already scarpered, without acare for what happened to the old lady?’
‘Exactly. I was sent to my room when I got home because Iwas late back for tea, and I confessed I’d been down by the river with Rachel.The fire was on the news later and my parents called me downstairs andquestioned me about it, and I must have looked guilty because they somehowguessed that I was involved. They must have been terrified it would get out toall their posh friends that they had a delinquent daughter because next day,they told me I was leaving the local school and going to boarding school inYorkshire.’ She shrugs. ‘So that was that.’
‘So you had no idea that the police had questioned Racheland she’d been charged?’
‘None whatsoever. Mrs Bolam must have seen Rachel when sheknocked on her bedroom window to warn her about the fire. So Rachel wasquestioned by the police and charged. If I’d known that, I’d have got back toSunnybrook somehow and gone to the police to tell them it was Stephanie whostarted the fire, not Rachel.’ She smiles sadly. ‘At least, that’s what I’dlike to think...that I’d have been brave enough to blow thewhistle on Stephanie.’
She sighs. ‘I only heard the truth years later. About Rachelhaving spent time in prison. And by then, it seemed too late to do anythingabout it.’
She stares into space, white as a ghost, stricken with guiltand the horror of it all. I scrape back my chair and go to put my arm aroundher. It feels awkward because we’ve never been very demonstrative, but shedoesn’t shrug me off.
I’m feeling overwhelmed with relief. Mum didn’t start thefire, after all. Stephanie was lying when she told Rory that. It was her allalong.
Mum reaches up and covers my hand with hers. ‘Stephaniemight have started the blaze, but I’m guilty, too. I deserved to have Roryconfront me like that.’
‘What do you mean?’
She shrugs. ‘I lost touch with Rachel. I should have beenthere for her. A true friend.’
‘But you didn’t know anything of what happened, Mum. Yourparents saw to that by sending you off to Yorkshire. You can’t blame yourselffor any of it.’
She squeezes my hand then reaches for a hanky to dab hereyes. ‘You know, I’ve been thinking about Rachel and our friendship ever sincethat night with you all down by the river. Rachel and I were inseparable inthose days – until my parents intervened after the fire. They used theircontacts to get me into boarding school immediately and I was packed off prettymuch the next day. Away from the drama of the fire. I knew nothing of theaftermath. I’d no idea Rachel was charged because mydear parentsmadesure I was kept completely in the dark. I wrote to Rachel a few times fromboarding school, but I never got a reply so I assumed she didn’t want to stayfriends.’ She frowns. ‘I suspect now that my parents might have intercepted myletters somehow. I don’t know that for sure, but if they could have used theirinfluence to do it, they probably would have. They were so desperate to uphold thefamily’s good name.’ She shakes her head wearily. ‘Having a daughter involvedin an arson attack was not to be borne.’
I sigh and give her shoulders a squeeze, then I sit backdown opposite her. ‘So you went round to see Rachel yesterday?’
‘Yes.’ She gives a bitter laugh. ‘I don’t know what I wasexpecting. I just felt it was the right thing to do. I tried to explain, to sayhow sorry I was for the way it turned out. I mentioned the café and how greatit would be if we could open it up again...turn things roundon her estate. I’d fund it and be a sort of sleeping partner, but she’d run thecafé. Once she’s completely better, of course.’
‘And...what did she say?’
‘Oh, she just laughed and shut the door in my face.’ Sheshakes her head, as if she’s amazed at her own cheek. ‘I deserved it, ofcourse.’
‘Did Rachel know you’d been packed off to boarding schoolstraight after the fire and that you knew nothing of what had happened untilyears later?’
‘I’m not sure. She said she’d written to me after the fire, knowingI’d been sent away but that I’d never replied. Maybe she sent the letters tothe manor and my parents just destroyed them. I told her I’d never received them,anyway.’
‘Well, maybe she’ll understand, then. In time,’ I murmur.
‘Maybe.’ She attempts a smile. ‘How about refreshing thatteapot, my love?’
‘Good idea.’ I stand up to put on the kettle and she says,‘About the wedding. I need to talk to the company providing the cars. There’ssome paperwork to sort out. Will you come with me?’
‘Of course.’ My heart sinks at the thought of postponingeverything, but it has to be done. And hopefully, in a few months’ time, wheneverything has settled down, we can have the wedding of our dreams.
*****
I wait in the car while Mum goes into the offices of thewedding car company to sort things out.
