Page 69 of A Recipe for Love
‘What are they fighting about now?’ Bella asked. Since the funeral diplomatic relations between Veronica and Darcy did seem to have calmed a little. Evidently whatever entente cordiale had been reached was no longer quite so cordiale.
Adam shook his head. ‘I don’t know. Look.’ He wrapped his fingers through hers. ‘I know you’re busy, but do you think you could have a go at brokering some sort of peace there?’
Bella’s mouth dropped open. ‘Me? Your grandma already hates me.’
‘She doesn’t hate you.’
She shot him a look.
‘Well I think she hates Darcy more. I’m too close to them. Grandmother still sees me as a little boy she can overrule and Darcy is refusing to be the first to give ground.’
She squeezed his hand. ‘For you, I’ll try.’
Another volley of screaming made its way down the hall.
‘I must love you an awful lot.’
‘Well it’s definitely mutual,’ he replied, leaning towards her for another long, soft kiss.
‘Ahem.’ Flinty was studiously staring at the door frame. ‘If you want to get to the train we need to get going, lad. The road to Strathcarron can be awful at this time of year.’
‘Yeah. Right.’ Adam pulled away. ‘I’ll be back at the weekend.’
‘I know.’ She wandered out to wave them off and then made her way back to the kitchen. The iPad beckoned to her, in competition with the yelling from the battling Ladies Lowbridge. She couldn’t face them right now. She needed a proper plan before she threw herself into that particular breach.
And a proper plan was not a one-woman endeavour. Bella could well remember coming home from school and finding the living room full of her nan’s friends – Tilly from next door, Ginny and Pete from downstairs, Bernie from the sheltered housing across the way, and whoever else had been pulled into Nan’s orbit that day – plotting and painting placards and generally readying themselves for the making of mischief. Nan had called the group her Council of War. And, after a flurry of texts and phone calls, Bella was assembling her very own.
Jill was the first to arrive, full of apologies for being late.
‘You’re not late.’
She checked the time on her phone. ‘Oh. I’m not. That’s strange. I wonder what I forgot to do.’
Bella eyed the back seat of Jill’s four-wheel drive. ‘Are those supposed to be somewhere?’
The back of the car was filled with an absolute mountain of pink, blue and purple balloons.
‘Oh goodness! The balloon arch for the donkey sanctuary in Locharron.’ Jill slapped her forehead with her hand.
‘Are they having a fete or something?’
Jill shook her head. ‘No. That’s the weird bit. The manager just thought the donkeys might like balloons.’
There were so many questions in Bella’s head. Why did Jill have a balloon arch to start with? How did the idea even come up in conversation? How did Jill come to be the go-to balloon arch person for the region? She picked just one. ‘Do donkeys like balloons?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘Right.’
‘Too late now anyway. I’ll tell them I forgot. Would you like a balloon arch?’
Bella shook her head.
‘No.’ Jill sighed. ‘It’s not really a thing you get for no reason is it?’
‘Unless you run a donkey sanctuary apparently.’
She saw the growing crowd of white woolly bodies as she turned back towards the courtyard. ‘No,’ she warned them.
