Spring Blossoms at Mill Grange by Jenny Kane (fiction books to read .txt) 📕

heard Thea calling to her from other side of the closed dressing room door.

‘You okay in there, Helen? Can I come in?’

Quickly adding a smile to her appearance, Helen pulled back the curtain to the changing room. ‘What do you think? I rather like it – and believe me, I’d never thought I’d say that about any sort of posh frock.’

‘Oh my God! You look incredible. It’s that dress. It has to be that one.’ Tina came forward to hug Helen, but then stopped. ‘Actually, I’d better not rumple you!’

Thea was already backing out of the changing room. ‘I’ll fetch Mabel, she has to see how fab you look. Is there one like that in my size do you think? It would be great if we matched style as well as colour.’

*

Having pronounced Helen, ‘eye-wateringly beautiful’, Mabel had secured the shop assistant’s help, and within half an hour, Thea was wearing a dress of the same style and colour.

‘Is it okay? If I don’t look as good as Helen does, then I’ll go with a completely different style, but keep the colour.’

Tears welled up in Tina’s eyes as her bridesmaids stood side by side. ‘You both look incredible. Don’t you think so, Mabel?’

‘I think Shaun and Tom are going to have a great deal of difficulty keeping their hands to themselves!’

‘Mabel!’ Tina giggled as Thea burst out laughing. ‘I never thought I’d hear such innuendo from your lips.’

As Mabel winked, a single tear rolled down Helen’s cheek. She wiped it away hurriedly, hoping that if the others had noticed, they’d put it down to the emotion of the occasion.

Thirty-four

Tuesday April 7th

Thea and Helen stared at the pile of boxes before them. Brightly coloured, they were stacked almost floor to ceiling in the storeroom of Upwich’s village shop.

‘So that’s what two hundred Easter eggs looks like!’ Thea could hear the activity in the shop; as ever it was busy.

‘I should have asked Dylan to help us.’ Helen flapped open the first of the eight giant sized shopping bags she’d brought with her. ‘He’d be in heaven just looking at this lot.’

‘Poor lad would think the Easter Bunny had gone on strike, leaving his entire haul here.’

‘Thank goodness we came in the Land Rover rather than walked.’ Helen gestured to the chocolate hoard. ‘It’s going to take two, maybe three trips back and forth with this lot.’

Grabbing a pair of scissors from a desk in the corner of the room, Thea cut open the plastic wrapping that bundled the first fifty chocolate eggs together. ‘I was going to suggest we keep these in the scullery, but thinking about it, there’s no way I can be surrounded by this much chocolate and resist temptation until Sunday!’

Stacking the first half dozen into a bag, Helen knew she was supposed to laugh, but the sound wouldn’t come out. Instead she said, ‘We can’t put them in the store room in case the mice find them. Maybe the downstairs bedroom?’

‘I’m not sure Tina and Sam would be thrilled about that.’ Thea began to fill another bag.

‘The drawing room?’

‘Probably best. That way, at least everyone will have to be strong and not nibble the chocolate early, and not just me.’ Thea paused. ‘Unless you and Tom don’t want Dylan to see them.’

You and Tom. Thea’s already seeing us as being jointly responsible for Dylan. ‘It’s okay, Tom’s told him that this is extra. Not real Easter Bunny stuff. He’s excited about helping us hide them for the guests.’

‘I hope we get enough visitors, or we’ll all be eating Easter egg chocolate until Christmas.’ Thea patted her hips. ‘Which, frankly, would suit me under normal circumstances, but know we’ve found dresses we like for the wedding, I’m not sure Tina would be overly thrilled if we didn’t fit in them. Nor do I want to have to go dress shopping again.’

Helen pushed one more Easter egg box into her bag and flapped open a new one. ‘Didn’t you enjoy yesterday? You looked like you did.’

‘I was pretending at first, for Tina’s sake. She’s always liked clothes shopping. Before Sam came along, she was very particular about her appearance. Not that I’m saying she is scruffy now, but she’s more relaxed about herself. But once I saw you in that dress, I got into it and started to have fun. But, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to match up to you, and I really wanted to.’

‘You wanted to look like me?’ Helen paused in the act of reaching for an egg. ‘But I’m all lumpy.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. You’re gorgeous. Every time I see Tom look at you, I can see how much he thinks so too.’

Helen went back to the task in hand, twisting slightly so Thea couldn’t see the cloud that had crossed her face. Last night she’d half expected Tom to turn up with a bin bag for her to model, but he hadn’t. He’d read Dylan a bedtime story, then she’d read one too. It had been lovely. The three of them squashed together, either side of Dylan as he sat up in his little bed, but then Tom had told her he needed to make a few calls, and he’d be back later.

Midnight had come and gone before Helen had finally fallen asleep, but there had been no visit from Tom, and another day had passed by without the time being right to talk to Dylan about them.

Not wanting to dwell, Helen asked, ‘Where is Tina anyway? I thought she was going to help with the egg heist.’

‘Mabel fixed it so she could have a dress fitting this morning. Not one for letting the grass grow is our Mabel.’

‘Tina looked amazing.’ Afraid that she might have sounded wistful, Helen changed the subject. ‘You haven’t said much about the Cotswold dig. What’s it like being a celebrity?’

‘Actually, I wondered if I could have a word with you about that.’ Making sure that no one in the shop could overhear