Page 31 of The Little Island Flower Stall
Bella pondered this new piece of information. Celestine was loved by all in St Rosa – that much was obvious from the way she’d been greeted by everyone since Bella’s arrival. From what Dolly said, Violette had been popular as well, and the two had been good friends at some point. So what had happened? The more Bella learned, the more the mystery beguiled her.
‘Most round here were convinced she’d gone off to have a baby,’ Dolly added, breaking into Bella’s thoughts. ‘I’d say that sounds about right.’
‘How old was she at this point?’
‘Seventeen, perhaps. I forget.’
‘And Celestine was…?’
‘Ooh, must have been about…fifteen?’
‘Seems a bit harsh of Violette to have such a big spat with someone so much younger than her. Must have been awful for Celestine,’ Bella remarked, suddenly feeling desperately sorry for her great-aunt. She had no details, of course, but it didn’tseem right. Violette was practically an adult at this point, but Celestine would still have been a child.
‘As I said, Violette was never right after she came back from Cornwall. She’d been happy as a sandpiper for a while, even with the soldiers all over the place telling us what to do, but then…’ Dolly shook her head. ‘To this day I don’t know what happened, but she changed overnight. You’d have thought she’d be thrilled to see all the soldiers leave the island once we were liberated, but no. One day, sweetness and light, the next she didn’t want to talk to any of us. Even Anais couldn’t get through to her.’
‘Anais – that’s her sister? Did she know what was going on behind closed doors?’
‘I’m sure she did, but she wouldn’t say. I suppose she’d been sworn to secrecy.’
‘Hmm.’ Bella was quiet as she processed all she’d learned. Even if Dolly decided not to speak to Rory, she herself had quite a lot of new leads to give him. Unless, of course, he’d already managed to uncover some of this for himself.
‘Of course,’ Dolly continued, ‘Violette married a few years afterwards, and I don’t suppose it would have gone down very well with her husband if he knew there was another man’s baby out there somewhere.’
‘I think there was a baby,’ Bella said, and immediately realised she shouldn’t have done. Why did she keep doing that?
Dolly clapped her hands together and let out a cry of triumph. ‘I always said so! And your aunt called me a terrible gossip every time! Aha!’ she added. ‘So your friend…Is he the man who’s been asking about it? I told Celestine some mainlander was up and down the town talking to people!’
‘I couldn’t say,’ Bella replied carefully. ‘He might be.’
‘I’ll talk to him all right!’ Dolly exclaimed. ‘I might be able to get a few answers myself!’
‘I’ll phone him to see what he says.’ Bella was suddenly filled with doubt. Perhaps she shouldn’t have started this conversation, but it was too late to undo it now. ‘Perhaps we shouldn’t mention this to Celestine,’ she added. ‘Like you said, she doesn’t much like talking about it, and I don’t want to remind her of things she’d rather forget.’
‘I shan’t breathe a word, you can trust me. When shall I meet this friend of yours?’
‘I’ll speak to him and let you know. Can I have your phone number?’
Dolly laughed. ‘I can never remember that! Have my address…do you have a pen and paper?’
‘No, but I’ve got the Notes app…’ Bella balanced the box of cakes on her arm and reached into her bag for her phone.
‘Twenty-nine Rue de Bas,’ she said. ‘If you knock and I don’t answer, you’ll probably find me in the back garden. And if I’m not there, I suppose I’m out and you’ll have to come back.’
Bella smiled as she typed the address into her notes. ‘Got it.’
They emerged from the shelter of the streets into the full glare of the now sunlit promenade. The sea glittered, serene and blue, ahead of them, and most of the stalls were now open for business.
‘Don’t forget,’ Bella said, trying not to let her tone attach too much significance to the request but at the same time warn Dolly not to let the cat out of the bag, ‘For now at least, please don’t tell Celestine about Rory.’
‘Is that your friend?’
Bella nodded.
‘Mum’s the word,’ Dolly said with a sage nod. ‘I won’t say anything.’
Celestine was sitting on her scooter outside the stall, staring out to sea. She turned at their approach.
‘Look who I bumped into,’ Dolly said. ‘She’s treated me to a loaf of bread and everything.’
