Summer at the Star and Sixpence (7 page)

‘Nessie?’ Joss’s voice floated up the stairs from the floor below. ‘They’re here.’

With a final glance around to reassure herself everything was where it should be, Nessie went down to welcome the bride.

‘How lovely to see you, JoJo,’ Nessie said, enveloping the petite blonde-haired woman in a warm hug. ‘You look radiant.’

JoJo laughed and patted her cheeks. ‘That’s what a chemical peel and Botox does for you. Having friends who are beauty editors really pays off sometimes.’

Nessie grinned – she’d never seen JoJo looking anything other than perfect. But today she had an extra glow, the kind only brides seemed to have. If someone could bottle that,
they’d be an instant billionaire, Nessie thought.

JoJo looped her arm through her sister’s. ‘You already know Kate, of course, and these are my best friends, Brid and Amanda.’

‘Hi,’ Nessie said, smiling at the others. ‘Welcome to the Star and Sixpence.’

‘I’m so excited about staying here,’ JoJo went on. ‘When my parents told us you were opening the rooms upstairs to guests, I knew exactly where Jamie and I would spend
our wedding night.’

Nessie spread out her hands. ‘In that case, let me give you the tour. I can’t wait to hear what you think.’

Upstairs in the bridal suite, JoJo stood open-mouthed in admiration. ‘Wow,’ she said, gazing around in delight. ‘This is amazing. Really gorgeous, Nessie, well done!’

‘I’ve had more than one sleepless night worrying whether we’d get it all finished,’ Nessie admitted, feeling shaky but relieved at the journalist’s praise.
‘At one point I thought Sam might actually punch the plumber.’

Everyone laughed. ‘I doubt even Franny could have fixed it if she had,’ JoJo said. She crossed the room to stroke the curtains on the four-poster bed. ‘Just look at this
– Jamie’s going to have a hard job getting me out of it in the morning.’

‘I don’t suppose he’ll try too hard,’ Kate said with a wink. She glanced around. ‘No sign of the ghost, then?’

She meant Elijah Blackheart, Nessie realised, the ghost of an ill-fated highwayman who was said to roam the corridors of the sixteenth-century inn at night. Beside her, Amanda’s eyes
widened.

‘Not so far,’ Nessie said. ‘Although I’m not supposed to tell people that. Sam says ghosts are great for the B&B business.’

Brid shook her head. ‘The only spirits I like are the kind you drink.’

Nessie smiled. ‘Let me show you the room next door. The champagne is already on ice.’

‘Wow,’ Sam said when she stepped outside just after lunchtime and saw the plumed white horses and the flower-decked carriage in front of the Star and Sixpence.
‘This isn’t just the wedding of the year, it’s the wedding of the decade.’

The driver, dressed in a grey morning suit with an azure blue cravat, tipped his hat. ‘Good morning. Lovely day for it.’

Nessie smiled. ‘JoJo and her party will be down soon. Can I get you a drink while you wait?’

The driver shook his head. ‘I daren’t spill anything down this suit. More than my job’s worth.’

Sam grimaced in sympathy – the temperature was about to hit thirty degrees, too hot to go without liquids for long. She hoped he had a water bottle stashed somewhere to swig from once
he’d delivered the bride to St Mary’s. JoJo and Jamie planned to walk back through the village after the ceremony, greeting friends and neighbours who hadn’t been in the church as
they went, followed by their families and guests. It was a lovely tradition, Sam thought. She only hoped the ladies had thought to wear sensible shoes.

JoJo’s parents had arrived just before midday. While Mrs Smith had hurried upstairs to help her daughter dress, JoJo’s father had promptly ordered a large whiskey and had been joined
by a crowd of friends and well-wishers. Joss had been kept busy serving them until Tilly had arrived to take over, then he’d slipped over to the green to set up the beer and cider kegs
outside the marquee. Sam had watched him go, conscious that she still hadn’t found the time to talk to him about Will. It would have to keep now, everything would. She wasn’t about to
let anything jeopardise the smooth running of the wedding.

When JoJo appeared, both Sam and Nessie let out gasps of admiration. Her dress was brilliant white, fitted until it bloomed into a fishtail. A breathtakingly intricate lace bodice danced and
shimmered with sequins and tiny seed pearls, flowing up to cover her shoulders and arms. Her long blonde hair was swept up into an elegant arrangement of loosely pinned curls. She looked perfect,
as though she had stepped straight from the pages of a magazine.

Behind her, the bridesmaids wore the same azure blue as the carriage driver’s cravat. Mrs Smith came last, looking radiant in rose taffeta, carrying a hand-tied bouquet of peonies and
roses.

‘You look beautiful, JoJo,’ Mr Smith said, hurrying over to clasp his daughter’s hands. ‘You make an old man proud.’

‘Dad,’ JoJo said, smiling. ‘You’re not even sixty yet.’

Mr Smith took her hand and tucked it underneath the crook of his elbow. ‘I feel old today. It seems like only yesterday I was changing your nappy.’

JoJo laughed but Sam saw her exchange a misty-eyed look with her father. ‘The carriage is ready when you are,’ she said.

It took two trips – Mrs Smith and the bridesmaids in one, and JoJo and her father in the second. ‘You should get going, Ness,’ Sam said, as they waved the carriage off with the
bride and Mr Smith inside it.

Her sister nodded. ‘You’re sure you can manage?’

‘Of course,’ Sam said, giving her a little push. ‘Go and ogle Owen in a suit.’

Nessie’s smile faltered a little but she didn’t argue. ‘Okay. I’ll get back as soon as I can.’

Sam watched her make her way across the green: taking the direct route that would be quicker than the roads the carriage had to travel and she’d easily make it before the bride. Just as
Sam was about to go in search of Joss, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and smiled when she saw the name on the screen. ‘Nick Borrowdale, how are you?’

‘I’ve just taken a call from a tabloid journalist about you, Sam.’ Nick’s voice was urgent and grim. ‘He wanted to know how I felt about being two-timed with the
government’s married Morality Tsar.’

Sam’s smile vanished like the sun behind a rain cloud. ‘What? When?’

‘Around twenty minutes ago,’ Nick said. ‘What the fuck is going on, Sam? How do they know about you and Will?’

It was a good question, Sam thought numbly. Someone had obviously talked. But who – Marina Pargeter or Will himself?

‘Tell me everything,’ she demanded.

An hour later Sam greeted her sister at the door of the pub, feeling like she might throw up at any moment. ‘Nessie, I’m sorry to dump this on you but I’ve
got to go.’

Nessie’s mouth fell open. ‘What? Go where?’

‘To London. Nick called – my secret is out.
The Sunday Planet
is running it on the front page tomorrow.’

She watched the blood drain from her sister’s face. ‘How?’

Sam tightened her lips: she had a pretty good idea what had happened but she wasn’t ready to share it with Nessie yet, not without the facts. ‘His wife has known for a while. I
expect this is something to do with her.’

‘Sam!’ Nessie gasped. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘I don’t have time to explain,’ Sam said, feeling a stab of guilt at the hurt and bewilderment on her sister’s face. ‘You’ll be fine without me. I’ve
asked Tilly to take care of setting up the bridal suite later and the caterers will look after the drinks during the meal. All you need to do is keep an eye on the bar staff and remember to
smile.’

Nessie stared at her. ‘For God’s sake, Sam, how am I supposed to do that?’

Sam felt her eyes prickle with tears and blinked them away; she didn’t have time to feel sorry for herself now. She needed to get to London to confront Will and see if there was a way to
stop the story from going to print. And if there wasn’t, she’d need the services of a bloody good PR.

‘Just do your best,’ she told Nessie, squeezing her arms. ‘It’ll be fine.’

Her sister gave a reluctant nod. ‘Drive carefully.’

‘I will,’ Sam said, hurrying out of the door.

The village green was beginning to get crowded. Sam craned her head, searching for Joss, but there were too many people in the way. She couldn’t see him. Once again, she regretted not
having told him what was going on. He’d have to wait until she got back, she decided, heading towards her car. And she’d just have to hope he understood.

Nessie knew she needed to keep her mind on the job but it was hard, knowing that her sister was racing towards London, probably in no fit state to drive. How could this happen,
today of all days? She’d known Sam’s secret lover was someone explosive – it had to be for her to have lost her job – and her sister had always said it was someone the
newspapers would tear apart. But since they’d taken over the Star and Sixpence, Sam had started to relax a little. Maybe she’d even convinced herself that her ill-judged one-night stand
wasn’t coming back to bite her. Nessie had certainly almost forgotten about it. Now it had raised its head again and its mouth appeared to be full of sharp fangs. She hoped this last-minute
journey to London was worth it.

Most of the guests for the wedding reception and meal had arrived from the church now and were mingling on the village green. The catering staff wove through the crowd, offering perfectly
chilled glasses of Pimm’s and tall flutes of crisp champagne. Nessie spotted Joss doing a roaring trade with his kegs of Thirsty Bishop and Sycamore cider, not far from the Punch and Judy
stand. Elsewhere, there was a coconut shy and a giant game of Jenga and plenty of other village fête-type games to keep the guests happy while the newly wed Mr and Mrs Brady had their
photographs taken. There wasn’t much for Nessie to do but she found herself standing in the middle of the green feeling suddenly overwhelmed.

‘Are you all right, Nessie?’ Kathryn asked, as she passed by with Luke. ‘You look a bit lost.’

Nessie gave herself a mental shake. ‘It’s nothing really, just a slight hiccup.’

She explained Sam’s absence, although she kept the reason for her sister’s abrupt departure to herself.

‘What can I do to help?’ Kathryn said, as Luke scampered away to play with friends. Spotting her brother, she raised her voice. ‘Owen, come over here. Sam’s had to leave
and Nessie is a bit short-handed.’

‘I’m fine, honestly,’ Nessie said, striving to hide her embarrassment as Owen approached. ‘It’s mostly keeping an eye on the bar, making sure any drinks are being
run through correctly so that we can generate a bill at the end of the night, letting the bar staff take a break when they need to. But really, I can manage.’

Owen glanced towards the almost empty pub. ‘I don’t think there’s too much to worry about at the moment. Everyone is too busy enjoying the sunshine and fun on the
green.’

Nessie allowed herself to be momentarily distracted by how good he looked in his tailored black suit. More used to seeing him in work clothes, she wouldn’t have believed he owned such a
well-cut suit if she hadn’t seen him in it. She’d been at the back of the church – far enough away to be able to stare at him out of the corner of her eye without being noticed.
‘There’s nothing to worry about at all,’ she said to Kathryn and Owen. ‘Everything is going to be fine.’

The mood on the green was joyous. The sun beamed down and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky – JoJo had thoughtfully arranged for tubes of sun cream to be left in the luxury toilet
trailers, as well as flip-flops for aching feet. An ice-cream van served mini cornets and delicious fresh fruit ice lollies to anyone who wanted one and the queue was long. The air rang with the
sound of chatter and laughter and the sound of people enjoying themselves. After an hour or so, the guests began to drift into the marquee and Nessie assumed they were being seated for dinner.
After checking all was well behind the bar, she followed them in.

The marquee was a vision of loveliness. The grass had been covered with a hard floor and fully carpeted. Nessie counted more than thirty tables, each with beautiful cascades of peonies in the
centre and seats decked with azure blue ribbon that matched the bridesmaids’ dresses. Gradually, the guests made their way to the numbered tables. And at the head of the room, in pride of
place, was the top table.

Mr and Mrs Smith were sitting down already, with the groom’s parents, Mr and Mrs Brady. Best Man Jed was there too, shuffling through his notes and looking nervous. Thank goodness he
didn’t seem to have taken too much Dutch courage, the way Patrick’s Best Man had; he’d passed out just before the speeches and hadn’t woken up again until just after their
first dance.

Nessie hovered unobtrusively at the back of the tent and tried not to stare too much at Owen. Once it was clear everyone had found their table, Jed lifted a microphone to his lips. ‘Pray
be upstanding for the brand new Mr and Mrs Brady!’

The room erupted into thunderous applause as JoJo and Jamie entered the marquee. Nessie spotted Franny dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief and smiling at Henry Fitzsimmons in a way he seemed
oblivious to. Maybe that would be the next wedding of the year, Nessie thought, struggling to keep her face straight.

She slipped out midway through the speeches to check for messages from Sam. She wasn’t expecting anything yet – it was a good few hours’ drive to London and her sister
wouldn’t get in touch until she had news. But she checked all the same. After that, she headed back to the Star and Sixpence, looking resplendent at the top of the green in the glorious
late-afternoon sun. Apart from the fact that Sam should have been there, basking in the glory of a job well done, Nessie realised she wasn’t really missing her sister in a professional
capacity. The hard work had been done in the days and weeks preceding the wedding, and she’d have been lost without her then. Unless this was the calm before the storm, Nessie thought, biting
her lip. She hoped not: she wasn’t sure she could handle any more surprises today.