A Winter Wedding at Primrose Hall (Primrose Woods #6)

Chapter 5

5

It was a bitterly cold November evening and the bonfire built by Jackson, Tom, Mateo and Frank, from a huge amount of kindling, wood, branches and twigs, all collected from the grounds of the hall, was now ablaze, its orange crackling flames reaching up into the dark night sky over Primrose Hall. The glow from the fire and the flickering and snapping of the flames was mesmerising and the scent of wood smoke mingled with the tempting aromas of hot dogs and candy floss from the food stalls. A big crowd of visitors had gathered to watch the fireworks and people stood in huddles with their friends and families, chatting and laughing, enjoying the sights and soaking up the atmosphere.

Last year Pia had been concerned about going ahead with the event. She’d been worried that the fireworks would scare the local wildlife, not to mention Little Star and Twinkle, and Bertie too, but Jackson had gone out of his way to reassure her and had managed to source some silent fireworks. Pia had been doubtful about how or if they would work, so she had made sure that the animals were safely housed, and arranged for someone to sit with them in case they were spooked, but she needn’t have worried. The display had turned out to be as spectacular as any fireworks she had ever seen but without the accompanying loud screeches and bangs. The feedback from their visitors had been just as positive and so it had meant that she’d been able to look forward to this year’s event with much more enthusiasm.

Now, as she snuggled up against Jackson, they watched the display above them, gasping at the sight of colourful flashes zigzagging across the sky and rainbow trails raining down over their heads. Children stood with sparklers, waving them in the air, their little faces filled with delight at seeing the twinkling lights tracing patterns in front of them. Earlier, Jackson had judged the guy competition and this year’s entries had far surpassed last year’s in quantity and in creativity. Pia suspected that many of the parents had given a helping hand to the creations, but it didn’t matter because they were all brilliant and had provided a great deal of conversation and laughter to the assembled visitors. All the money raised from the entry fees would go to a local charity that Jackson supported, a drop-in centre for disadvantaged and troubled teens, a cause close to his heart.

‘Hello, sweetheart.’ Rex came up on the other side and slipped an arm around her waist. ‘The pair of you have put on another great evening.’

‘It is, right? I’m really pleased with the turnout, which is even better than last year. You couldn’t persuade Ronnie to come over?’

‘No, she insists it’s because she wants to look after Bertie and Teddy back at the ranch, but she’s absolutely in her element, in the warm, with her glass of red wine, watching the fireworks through the windows.’

‘I think she’s probably got the right idea,’ said Pia, shivering. ‘It’s freezing out here!’

‘I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.’ Rex rubbed his gloveless hands together. ‘I bumped into some of my old mates earlier. I think a lot of them thought I’d popped my clogs,’ he said wryly.

‘Well, I’m glad you proved them wrong, and you’re still here to put them straight.’

Pia spotted Rhi and Luke standing in the crowd, their arms wrapped around each other, and gave them a wave.

‘Hey!’ Rhi waved through the crowds at Pia, who was standing between two of the Moody men, Rex and Jackson. Even at a distance, in the half-light, the familial resemblance was obvious.

‘They’re looking well,’ Rhi whispered to Luke, who nodded, his main focus taken by the fireworks currently lighting up the sky.

Rhi enjoyed coming up to the hall because there was always such an electric atmosphere, and invariably she would bump into people from the pub or some friends. Already they’d stopped to chat to Katy and Brad, and their children, and Lizzie and Bill too. She’d seen her friend Abbey as well with her husband Sam, and little Willow, who was wrapped up in a cute pink snowsuit, her wide eyes and little red nose just visible beneath all her layers.

‘We’re so lucky to have this on our doorstep. It always reminds me of that first Christmas when we came for the carols. Do you remember?’

Luke turned to look at her and his deep blue eyes were even more intensely blue, offset against the dark November sky.

‘I do. That was when we first properly started going out together, right?’

‘Yes! And I can remember being worried that you were moving away to start a new job and thinking I might lose you. I wanted to spend every single moment with you in case I never saw you again.’

Their attention was distracted by a fizzing whoosh of colour that exploded in the air, before Luke pulled Rhi into his arms and kissed her on the forehead.

‘I would never have let that happen. I was already completely smitten by that stage.’

Rhi could hardly believe so much had happened in such a short space of time. She’d met Luke at work but at the time she’d been romantically involved with Jason, one of the senior managers, not realising he was actually engaged to someone else. As she soon discovered, to her shock, he’d been intending to marry Abbey only a few weeks later. The revelation had caused both women, who were unknown to each other at the time, a great deal of heartbreak and upset, but out of that trauma and their shared anger towards Jason, an unlikely bond had been formed. It wasn’t long before they were congratulating themselves on having a lucky escape from their slimeball ‘ex’, and soon Jason was all but forgotten and the new friendship between Rhi and Abbey had continued to grow.

At the same time, Rhi had grown close to Luke, who had always been a funny, sometimes annoying presence at work. When she walked out on her job, not wanting to see Jason ever again, Luke had kept in touch and provided a sympathetic ear when she was at her lowest point. His blond-haired, blue-eyed charm, combined with a genuine kindness and decency, soon won Rhi over.

‘When was that, two years ago?’

‘Luke!’ She elbowed him in the ribs. ‘Yes! Two years ago. You can’t have forgotten?’

‘Nah, never,’ he said, fixing her with those deep blue eyes which held the power to make her forgive him anything. ‘It’s just… wow… two years, eh?’

‘I know. Sometimes it feels as though I’ve known you forever and then other times it’s like it all happened yesterday.’

‘Right, two years, though.’ Luke nodded, as though he could hardly believe it himself. ‘We should celebrate. Let’s go out to that nice Italian in town next weekend.’

‘How lovely,’ she said, looking forward to it already. Her gaze drifted up into the night sky, goosebumps from the cold chill in the air and the beauty of the surroundings, sending a ripple of anticipation down her spine. Luke pulled her firmly into his embrace and cupped her face in his gloved hands.

‘I love you, Rhi, you do know that?’

She would never tire of hearing those words from Luke, but standing here in a magical spot that held such special memories, they sounded even more enticing.

‘I love you too, Luke.’

Back in the warmth of the kitchen at Primrose Hall, the aromas of jacket potatoes, fried onions and hot dogs wafted in the air. Ronnie saw to drinks for everyone, insisting they all tried her special hot chocolate, which was made to order, the smooth silky chocolate concoction offered with a variety of scrummy extras including whipped cream, marshmallows with flaked chocolate on top and even a slug of Baileys for those who wanted it.

‘What a fantastic evening,’ Tom beamed.

‘I loved it,’ agreed Sophie. ‘I’d never heard of silent fireworks before, but what a great idea, and you would never know the difference just watching them.’

‘What I like is seeing all the kids having fun,’ Jackson said, going across to the drinks fridge to pull out a bottle of white wine, placing it on the table. ‘When I was a kid, fireworks night was a big thing. They used to have a bonfire over at the rec and me and my mates would make a guy, nothing like the ones we saw tonight, and we would drag them round the village hoping to cadge a few quid off the villagers. Trouble is, they were all a bit suspicious of us louts.’

‘That’s hardly surprising, you were a right little troublemaker then,’ said Ronnie, shaking her head indulgently.

‘Yeah, but look at him now. He’s not done too badly for himself, has he?’

Jackson gave a nonchalant shrug, the half-smile on his lips suggesting that he appreciated Pia’s support.

‘I really hope that our annual bonfire night celebrations might have a similar resonance to some of those kids that turned up tonight,’ said Jackson. ‘That it might give them something to look back on fondly and to look forward to next year, somewhere they can meet up with their mates and something they can get involved in, through the guy competition.’

‘I think you could be on to something there,’ said Rex. ‘Everyone seemed to have a whale of a time tonight, especially the youngsters.’

Ronnie placed the hot dishes from the oven onto the table and urged everyone to get stuck in. There was coleslaw, salads and chunks of fresh bread to accompany the sausages and burgers, and after being out in the cold night air they were all ravenous, so they quickly filled their plates with the delicious food.

‘Ah, you do realise what today is, don’t you?’ Ronnie asked, finally sitting down to join the others.

‘Err… is that a trick question, Ronnie?’

‘No, I mean obviously it’s bonfire night, but it was also this day last year that Tom came to the hall for the first time. Do you remember?’

‘Oh, God,’ said Pia, ‘how can I forget?’ She grimaced exaggeratedly, before breaking into laughter. Sophie looked between Tom, Jackson and Pia for clarification.

‘It was emotionally tense at the time. It was our first ever bonfire night event and, like tonight, it had been a real success. We came back to the house and Tom was here, unexpectedly, and I suppose it was the first time that we’d all come together as a family.’ Pia gestured to Rex, Ronnie and Jackson. ‘It should have been a wonderful time, but there was a bit of a misunderstanding and…’

‘What Pia is trying to say is that I threw my toys out of the pram and nearly decked my brother who I’d only just met, so we got off to a really good start, didn’t we, Tom?’ said Jackson.

Tom nodded and grinned, and in that moment, the family resemblance between the three Moody men had never been more apparent.

‘It was a baptism of fire, that’s for sure. Dad invited me along, but I have to admit I was taken aback, and I guess a little intimidated too, to discover that my little brother had his own country estate. Can you imagine? I thought, hell, I’m never going to be able to invite my family back to my little flat. Thank goodness for Pia and Ronnie, though,’ Tom explained to Sophie. ‘Somehow they managed to smooth things out between us and, well, look at us now.’

‘I know, it’s great, isn’t it,’ said Rex, looking around the table at his family. ‘Who would have thought it, eh? For years, I made the mistake of thinking that life was out there somewhere, that I had to chase after it, when all the time it was here with the people that I love.’ He cast a glance in Ronnie’s direction.

‘Rex Moody, you’re getting soft in your old age!’

‘Very likely,’ he said, chuckling.

Jackson went round and filled up the wine glasses.

‘So here’s to family and friends, and to us all being here for a bonfire feast next year and for years to come, too!’

Pia felt the hairs prickle on her arms as she joined in the toast. The events at the hall which had proven so popular with their visitors were family occasions too, invariably culminating in everyone sitting around the kitchen table after all the guests had gone home, swapping stories about the people they’d met and the conversations they had.

‘Now, Tom, you’ll be around tomorrow, won’t you?’

‘Yep, I was going to help with the big clear-up before getting started on the set-up for the workshops at the weekend.’

‘Good,’ said Jackson, ‘because there was something I wanted to talk to you about.’

‘Fine,’ said Tom, nodding keenly, aware of the slightest hint of trepidation inside. He supposed tomorrow would be a good as time as any. It would be the ideal opportunity, in fact, because there was some news he needed to share with Jackson too.