Page 6 of All Wrapped Up
Lizzie looked taken aback by my outburst.
‘I’m sorry,’ I apologised, quickly modifying my tone. ‘I didn’t mean to snap, but this is really important to me, Lizzie. You might not think word would spread if you just tell Jemma, but it so easily could. She might know another follower and let it slip to them on the promise of not telling anyone and so it goes on until… well, the whole world knows.’
I knew my voice was getting louder again and Lizzie looked puzzled.
‘And that would be a bad thing?’ she asked.
‘Yes, it would! Absolutely the worst. You have to promise me,’ I forcefully, but more calmly said, ‘that you won’t say anything to anyone about me being the face behind the account.’
My parents knew about it, but that was different. They loved the account and seeing how many followers interacted with it served the handy purpose of making them believe that I had wholeheartedly immersed myself in my new life in the Fens. They had latched on to the idea that some of the people whocommented on my posts were real life friends and I had no intention of disabusing them of that assumption. I had shared with them some of the difficulties I had faced last time around, but not the full extent because I knew they would spend time worrying that something similar could happen again.
‘I honestly didn’t mean to upset you,’ Lizzie said, sounding less sure of herself in the face of my determination to make her promise to keep quiet. ‘I was just excited to have worked out that Rowan Cottage is the setting of AutumnEverything.’
‘And I really didn’t mean to raise my voice,’ I apologised again. ‘but I can tell you that I have very good and very private reasons for not revealing my identity and I am begging you not to out me to a single person, so I can keep it that way.’
I couldn’t put it more plainly than that.
‘In that case,’ she said, eyeing me with interest, ‘of course I’ll promise not to say a word.’
‘Thank you.’
‘It clearly means a lot to you.’
‘It really does.’ I nodded. ‘It means everything to me.’
‘Okay,’ she said, thankfully not asking me why I kept the account anonymous. I wasn’t sure how I would have fielded her enquiry had she been so direct. ‘And I also promise that I won’t try to further cajole you into taking the festival on,’ she nudged, some of her previously breezy manner returning.
‘Good,’ I reminded her. ‘Because there’s genuinely no time to get it up and running now.’
Even though I hadn’t known him, I felt sad that Moses Talbot’s vision of an autumn festival of some sort wasn’t going to be realised, but I definitely wasn’t the person who could make it happen on his behalf.
‘I know you’re right really,’ Lizzie sighed. ‘And I suppose I’d better go.’
‘I’ll see you out.’
I quickly opened the door before the visit went further awry. There were dark clouds gathering on the horizon which felt entirely appropriate given what had just occurred.
‘Thank you for showing me around and for the lovely cordial.’
‘My pleasure.’ I smiled, because until she’d recognised the cottage as being the main setting for AutumnEverything and then tried to pressgang me into organising the festival, it had been lovely. ‘It’s been great to meet you.’
‘Come to the café,’ she insisted as she stepped outside. ‘Let me show you around my domain.’
‘I’d like that.’ I nodded.
‘And if you leave it a few days,’ she mischievously grinned, ‘Jemma will be ready to launch her Autumn Delights menu.’
‘I think we should give autumn a wide berth from now on,’ I called after her as she walked back along the path.
‘Whatever you say!’ she called back as she climbed into her car and then quickly drove off, one hand waving out of the window.
I closed the door and leant against it wondering if all efforts to immerse myself in life in and around Wynbridge were going to be so complicated.
Chapter 2
My head was still buzzing long after Lizzie had left and as I thought over everything that had occurred in the brief time she had been with me. Not only had I decided it was time I rejoined the human race that day, I had also invited a stranger across the cottage threshold, been outed as the person behind AutumnEverythingandbeen offered an unexpected opportunity. No wonder I was reeling!
Surprisingly, it didn’t take me long to find Lizzie among my list of AutumnEverything followers because she turned out to be one of the people who commented the most consistently. Her declaration that shereallyloved the account was no exaggeration and having met the woman behind the many words she had posted, I could now read what she had typed with her voice in my head.
