Page 65 of The Little Island Flower Stall
‘I don’t see why it has to be. You like him, and he appears to like you too.’
Bella flopped onto the sofa and closed her eyes. There was some irony in the fact that her much older aunt, from a generation who often put the success of a marriage above all else, was telling her she was overthinking this. But then, perhaps it didn’t have to be such a surprise, considering that Celestine had clearly been unhappy for most of her own marriage, despite sticking it out until the bitter end. Perhaps that made her the most qualified person that Bella knew to comment.
‘You’re probably right,’ she said finally. ‘I don’t know why I’m getting so stressed. It’s a bit of fun, a holiday fling. I don’t know why I can’t just relax and enjoy it. Sean never has to know.’
‘I’d tell him,’ Celestine said, and when Bella opened her eyes to look, she could see a wicked glint in her aunt’s. ‘I’d be certain to tell him all about it. As they say, what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Rub his nose in it good and proper.’
Bella couldn’t help a wry smile. ‘Remind me never to cross you.’
‘You could never do that.’
‘Anyway, how was your evening? Did you have a nice time at the pub?’
‘Yes, it was very nice…’ Celestine held her breath in a long pause. And then she let it go and her shoulders slumped. She seemed suddenly weary. Bella sensed there was something on her mind, something she wanted to talk about that had nothing to do with the celebrations or what had gone on at the pub.
‘Hmm…’ Bella wondered whether she was meant to ask more, whether her great-aunt might want to talk about what had happened, but then Celestine began to cry.
‘What…?’ Bella leaped up from the sofa and kneeled down next to Celestine’s armchair. ‘Don’t cry…Tell me what I can do to help. What do you need?’
‘A time machine,’ Celestine said. ‘That’s about the only thing that will help now.’
‘I don’t understand…’
‘Oh, it’s just today. It all came flooding back – I don’t know why. I suppose because that man has been asking about Violette and the baby, and?—’
‘What happened?’ Bella demanded. She couldn’t help it; she needed to know. ‘What happened after the war? What made you and Violette fall out? What could have been so bad that it’s still going on all these years later?’
Celestine sniffed and pulled a handkerchief from her cardigan pocket. ‘I was a stupid, foolish girl. I caused so much trouble. I never meant to, but I did. He died because of me.’
‘Who died?’
Celestine rubbed at her eyes with the hanky and took a steadying breath. ‘I’ve kept this secret for so long it’s hard to let go. Your uncle Roland knew some of it, but not all. The only people who knew the whole truth were Violette, her sister and me.’
‘Was it something to do with Great-Uncle Roland and Violette being?—’
Bella checked herself as Celestine looked up sharply. ‘Roland and Violette? What do you know about that?’
‘Only…’ Bella couldn’t lie now. She’d already been caught out, so there was nothing to do but tell the truth. She only hoped her aunt wouldn’t be too hard on Dolly when she found out who’d been gossiping. ‘Only that he liked her and wanted to go out with her, but she didn’t want to go out with him.’
‘Who told you that?’
Bella chewed on her lip, not wanting to say the name, but Celestine worked it out quickly enough.
‘Oh,’ she said wryly. ‘I might have known. Dolly Bailey can’t keep her mouth shut for toffee.’
‘Sorry. It might have been my fault. I was asking her about when you used to hang around together as teenagers.’
‘Yes, well, she needn’t have been quite so free with it. I’d have words, but what’s the use? You know it now. Yes, he always did have a soft spot for Violette.’
‘If you don’t mind me asking, how come he ended up with you instead?’
‘I’ve often asked myself the same question. Of course, when Violette went away to Cornwall to have her baby, he didn’t see her for months. He didn’t know she’d gone to have a baby, of course. When she came back, I think he hoped he might be in with another chance, but she didn’t want anything to do with him. She didn’t want anything to do with any of us. She was never the same after…Anyway, I suppose if he couldn’t have her, I was the next best thing. I liked him ever such a lot, and I was glad to have the attention. And after the business with Violette, I almost felt nobody would ever like me again. It made me happy when Roland started to call round.’
‘You must have been in love at first?’ Bella asked, realising there was no point in pretending that she didn’t see they weren’t in love at the end. In fact, it had been plain as soon as she was old enough to notice that there was no love in their marriage.
‘I loved him. I don’t know if he loved me. He wanted to marry me, so I suppose he must have done.’
Bella wanted to pull Celestine into a fierce hug and never let her go. She hated to think of her amazing, clever, feisty great-aunt being starved of the affection she so clearly deserved.
