Page 19 of Must Love Lavender and Little Lies
“Yes. Exactly that. Well, I mean,” I said, suddenly realizing what I was agreeing to. “It felt wrong to see him married to someone he didn’t love.”
Tansy smiled then nodded. “I understand. And I’m happy to help in any way. As for the rest of the town, my lips are sealed. I’m happy to play along.”
“Thank you, my friend.”
“You’re very welcome.”
“I suppose I should go tell Polly. She has grand elderberry plans. I’ll give her a hand with that. It will be good to have my mind on something else for a while.”
Tansy nodded. “Let me know if you need anything or anyone to talk to. I’m always here.”
“Thank you, Tansy,” I replied, then I headed back downstairs to get to work. Pulling on my apron, I made my way into the kitchen. As I went, a small smile came to my face. One day, wewould look back on this mess and chalk it up to another of our antics. We were just silly enough to pull this off.
I hoped.
Near midday,Tansy came down from the loft, book tucked under her arm.
“Ready to go have Portia explain to us what this book was really about?” she asked with a laugh.
I giggled, then grabbed my copy ofThe Un-Witch of Summerfield Farm. “I actually liked this one. The farm scenes were sweet.”
“Of course you would love those scenes,” Tansy replied.
“Tease,” I joked with her, then turned to Polly. “Will you be all right?”
Polly, who was restocking our elderberry elixirs, nodded. “I’m right as rain here. See you girls soon.”
Tansy and I headed out into the warm, spring air. It was a beautiful spring day. All of Moonshine Hollow was adorned for the Greening. Every window we passed had displays depicting heart hares, spring chicks, ducklings, colored eggs, and flowers. The flowerbeds were bursting with tulips and daffodils. The air was perfumed with their sweet scents. Moonshine Hollow had officially embraced all things spring.
We arrived at Sir Hootington’s to find the other ladies were already upstairs in the talking loft. When we entered, Tansy stopped to talk with one of her customers who was browsing in the bookstore while I made my way to join the others. The bookstore always brought me a sense of ease. The walls, painted a canvas of changing shades of starry blue and enchanted totwinkle like stars, made me smile. There was a hum of crystal sound bowls played softly, heard but unseen. Those books that thought I might be a good fit giggled as I passed, wiggling with excitement. Many glowed with cheery light or hopped up and down to get my attention. Other books floated through the air on their way to being reshelved. While I still felt the calming energy the bookstore always wrought, it was battling against the boulder of nerves that had formed in my stomach.
I was about to tell my friends that I was planning to pull off a whopper of a lie.
What would they say?
I could only hope they were as calm as Tansy had been.
I made my way up the spiral staircase to the loft, where I found the others chatting. Portia was pouring tea while Rosalyn cut a small cake she’d brought with her.
“Juniper,” Emmalyn said with a smile, turning her attention away from Winifred, who was chatting her ear off about some fresh piece of gossip. “Merry met,” she told me, her eyes going wide, a relieved smile on her face.
We all loved Winifred dearly, but Emmalyn had a low tolerance for gossip. I understood it well.
“Merry met,” I replied with a smile. “Tansy’s right behind me. She got waylaid. Good day to you all.” I turned to Sir Reginald Hootingon, the resident owl, who was studying us. He was such a lovely creature with his blue feathers and starry eyes. “Sir Hootington, good day to you,” I said, giving him a gentle pat.
The owl leaned into my touch briefly and let out a soft “whooo.”
“Here, have some cake,” Rosalyn told me with a bright smile, handing me a slice. “It’s Earl Grey, lemon, and raspberry.”
I slipped into my usual spot, setting my basket at my feet, and took the plate from her. “Sounds perfect.”
“Juniper. Welcome,” Portia told me with a smile, pouring me a cup of tea. “Primrose is running late and said to start without her.”
“Ah, here I am. Sorry,” Tansy said, joining us. “One commission richer, too. It’s a good day.”
“Well done,” Rosalyn said with a smile.
We all settled in, sipping tea and enjoying a bit of Rosalyn’s delicious cake.
