Page 13 of Finding Love at Roseford Blooms
‘Thank you,’ she said, after another pause. ‘I’d like that.’
They began walking towards the chapel again, Lizzie falling into step easily beside Simon. She was long-legged, and their strides matched well.
‘So, are you enjoying being back in Roseford?’ Simon asked as they neared the chapel.
Lizzie’s heart gave a little lurch. ‘So far so good,’ she said, after a beat. ‘It’s changed a bit since I was here last.’
‘Did you ever come to the hall when you stayed before?’ Simon asked. ‘It looked a bit different back then!’
Lizzie, shook her head. ‘No,’ she said quickly. ‘Georgina and I didn’t really do much while we were here. Mainly just spent time at Bee’s place.’ The lie, while it felt essential, didn’t sit well with her. But it was too late now.
Simon looked quizzically at her, as if he was trying to work something out. But, obviously thinking better of saying anything, he just shook his head. ‘Well, I hope you enjoy your stay. The hall’s worth a visit if you get a free afternoon.’
‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ Lizzie replied. Eager to move the conversation on, she paused at the entrance to the chapel. ‘Are you sure it’s all right for me to go in?’
‘Be my guest,’ Simon replied. ‘I’ve got to do a few checks anyway.’ He pushed open the heavy oak door of the chapel, holding it as she moved through.
As Lizzie stepped inside the cool, quiet building, she swore she could feel Simon’s eyes following her. She wondered if and when he’d work out where exactly they’d met before. And she didn’t have a clue what to say to him when he did.
Before she could dwell on this any longer, though, a piercing, rather patrician voice called out across the chapel. ‘Excuse me!’ it said, echoing around the empty space. ‘The chapel isn’t open to tourists. I’m afraid you’ll have to leave.’
For the second time that day, Lizzie froze, jolted back twenty years at the sound of that voice. It had changed slightly over the decades, but there was no mistaking it. She reached out and grabbed the back of the nearest pew for support with her good hand.
‘It’s all right, sis, she’s with me.’ Simon’s voice, close behind her, made Lizzie jump.
No, no, no!screamed the voice in Lizzie’s head, although she was frozen to the spot. This was all too much. As if coming back here weren’t hard enough, she now had come face to face with Sarah bloody Treloar.
13
As Sarah Treloar walked up the aisle of the chapel towards her, Lizzie felt a burst of adrenaline that nearly made her knees give way. Twenty years rolled back immediately, when she found herself being approached by one of the girls who’d made her life such a misery at school. In that moment, she kicked herself for thinking that she could come back to Roseford and not see Sarah. What the hell had she been thinking? Painkillers had a lot to answer for, as did the smack in the face from the airbag when she’d crashed the car.
‘Sarah, this is Lizzie, Bee Clatworthy’s niece.’ Simon, seemingly oblivious to Lizzie’s sudden change in demeanour, approached them both.
Sarah regarded Lizzie with the same quizzical look that Simon had, before she smiled. ‘Oh, yes. We were at school together, weren’t we? How are you?’
‘Fine, thanks,’ Lizzie stammered. She tried to pull herself together. She was an adult now, not the shy teenager she’d once been, although telling herself that didn’t seem to be helping.
‘So what brings you to Roseford?’ Sarah, oblivious to the effect that she was having on Lizzie, ploughed on. ‘Are you staying long?’
‘I, er, don’t know yet,’ Lizzie replied. She tried to still her breathing. Sarah obviously didn’t remember Lizzie as well as Lizzie remembered her.
‘Well, give Bee my best,’ Sarah replied. ‘She’s been a miracle worker with the flowers for the wedding.’
‘I will.’
Lizzie, not knowing whether to excuse herself or not, made do with walking away a little to peruse, with great concentration, the stained-glass window at the back of the chapel. It gave her a few precious moments to collect her thoughts. She could hear Simon and Sarah checking in with each other about the latest wedding plans, and as she mooched around the chapel, taking in the sights and scents of the beautifully restored building, her heartbeat began to return to normal. Much like Simon, Sarah clearly had no memory of her. It was funny, she thought, how an event could have such a huge impact on one person, but barely register in the lives of others.
Just as she was sidling towards the chapel door, suddenly feeling in need of some fresh air, Sarah’s voice broke her carefully constructed bubble.
‘Oh, I remember now! Georgina’s your sister, isn’t she?’
Lizzie spun around, feeling the weight of Sarah’s seemingly casual words.
‘Yes,’ she said calmly. ‘She is.’
Something about the tone of Lizzie’s voice stopped Sarah in her tracks, and the polite enquiry about Georgina seemed to die in the air between the two women.
Lizzie turned back to Simon. ‘I should go,’ she said. ‘Thank you for letting me take a look around.’
