Page 23 of Finding Love at Roseford Blooms
Lizzie squeezed his hand gently. ‘I enjoyed it, too.’
The walk took them past Roseford Blooms, and Lizzie glanced back at the shop fondly as they passed. She couldn’t deny that she was beginning to feel really at home here, and spending time with Simon was a part of that. They reached the gates of Roseford Hall, which were still open to allow the barn-dance guests to leave, and Simon led her up the driveway. They were heading towards the rear of the hall, and Lizzie’s pulse began to race a little more. She’d tried to avoid the main house since she’d been here, and now she was hand in hand with Simon, walking straight towards it.
But, she reasoned, she’d wanted to come back here with Simon. The present was what mattered, not the past. All the same, as they reached the family’s private entrance at the rear of the hall, the churning feeling in her stomach intensified. It was silly, she thought. And it was definitely the moment to put such thoughts to one side. What had happened to her twenty years ago in this house had no bearing on why she was here tonight. She was a different person now. And she was here with Simon, who was being so wonderfully charming and considerate. She could handle it.
Following Simon through the door, Lizzie found herself in a cosy kitchen. Simon grabbed a bottle of white wine and then two glasses from a nearby cupboard.
‘Shall we drink this on the terrace?’ he asked as he turned back to face her. ‘It’s private enough and we won’t be disturbed, unless that bloody dog’s escaped again!’
Lizzie smiled nervously. ‘That sounds great.’
They ambled out onto the small terrace that overlooked the front of the house. There wasn’t a breath of wind in the air and they could still hear the raucous sounds of the barn dance emanating from the marquee some two hundred yards away. A cheer went up as the latest dance finished. Simon placed the wine bottle and the glasses down with a clunk on the cast-iron patio table and swiftly poured out two decent measures. ‘Here you go,’ he said, passing Lizzie her glass.
She felt the warmth of his fingertips, which was a welcome contrast to the cool of the glass in his hand. She was in great need of the first sip, and, without realising it, the sip became a gulp and she coughed.
In an instant Simon was by her side, a gentle hand on her upper back, clearly intended to reassure her. She leaned into his touch, trying to steady herself. The gulp of wine had unsettled her, and she wiped her eyes quickly.
‘Are you all right?’ Simon asked gently. And there was something about the tone of his voice that took Lizzie back twenty years. She realised that, if she was going to get closer to him, she’d have to tell him why she was feeling so nervous about being here, in his home.
‘Can we talk?’ Lizzie asked as Simon led her to one of the chairs.
‘Of course.’ Simon looked surprised. ‘Have I, er, have I messed things up already?’ He gave a self-deprecating grin.
Shaking her head, Lizzie tried to smile, but it felt thin and forced. ‘No. You haven’t done anything wrong, Simon. It’s just…’ She paused, trying to find the words that would explain her nervous reaction.
Simon put his glass carefully down on the table, and then knelt in front of her. He took her good hand in his, and looked up at her, his eyes filled with concern. ‘It’s all right,’ he said softly. ‘I’m listening.’
Lizzie’s eyes filled with tears again, and this time it wasn’t because of the wine. She drew a breath to steady herself and tell him. He’d been a part of that night, after all, even if he didn’t seem to remember, all these years later.
21
‘Talk to me, Lizzie. I’m here.’
The calm in Simon’s tone worked wonders to ground Lizzie as she sat on the terrace. Concern and kindness were written all over his face. She gently squeezed his hand.
‘You’d better pull up a seat,’ she said softly. ‘This might take a while.’
Simon looked quizzically at her, but did as she suggested. When he was settled in front of her, his knees touching hers and his hand once again clasped in her own, she began.
‘I guess I owe you an explanation about why I’m so jumpy.’
Simon shook his head. ‘You don’t owe me anything. But if you want to tell me, then I’m here for you.’
Lizzie gave a watery smile. ‘Just like you were twenty years ago.’
Simon stiffened. ‘Was I?’
Lizzie nodded. ‘I don’t expect you to remember. It was a bigger deal for me than it was for you. And I look quite different now from how I looked then. But something happened to me in this house. It was a long time ago, but I haven’t actually been back through the doors since then.’ She gave a shaky laugh. ‘I guess it all just got a bit overwhelming.’
‘Tell me what happened,’ Simon said gently. He was still holding her hand. To Lizzie, it felt like an anchor.
‘When I was sixteen, Sarah invited me and my sister, Georgina, to her birthday party. Georgina was the one Sarah and her friends wanted to hang out with. I was just an added extra, someone they could boss around or torment when they got fed up with me tagging along. Georgina was pretty, clever but not a geek, and everyone wanted to be near her. I, on the other hand, was the classic ugly duckling. Socially, boarding school was… not an easy experience. With students coming from all over the country to board, you’d think there would have been a kind of solidarity, but, unfortunately, for me, it didn’t really work that way.’
Simon’s eyes registered with something that looked like empathy. ‘I can identify with that. But go on.’
‘Sarah was part of the “In Crowd”. They didn’t take kindly to people who didn’t fit their idea of what was cool, or in fashion.’ Lizzie glanced down at herself, remembering what it was like to be part of the outsiders. ‘I didn’t fit. Therefore, I was fair game.’
From the look on his face, Lizzie could see that Simon was struggling with the notion of his sister being part of such a gang of girls, but he didn’t come right out and say it.
