Breaded Bliss by Cressida McLaughlin

Author:Cressida McLaughlin [McLaughlin, Cressida]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2021-03-26T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

She woke before the alarm clock. She wondered if she’d ever been fully asleep, because she was wide awake in seconds, hopping out of bed while Jago slumbered on. The sun was slipping in through the windows, but Ellie could sense the freshness, and knew that the cloak of humidity that had dogged them for days was gone. Perfect, she thought, and tiptoed to the window to look out. Her smile slipped.

The day was bright, the colours bold, the glossy greens, pinks and yellows of the rose bushes shining up at her. But that shine was enhanced by puddles. Her gravel driveway was half underwater. The distant sea was a churning mass of blue-grey, swelling and moving like a giant sea monster, the way it always looked when its natural flow had been disturbed by an influx of rainwater.

Maybe Ellie had been fully asleep, after all. She certainly hadn’t heard a downpour and, judging by the size of the puddles, it must have gone on long and hard. She thought of delicate satin wedding shoes, long hemlines of fine, pale fabric, and her stomach clenched.

But there was time for it to burn off. The wedding wasn’t until midday, the sky was already a clear blue, the storm clouds having moved on as swiftly as they’d arrived. It would all be fine.

She padded downstairs to put the coffee machine on, and went to check her phone. It wasn’t unusual to have early messages from members of the wedding party, fretting or asking last-minute questions or simply checking it was all still going ahead. The coffee machine was gurgling when her phone, lying on the kitchen counter to charge, rang. She saw the name Jane Porthgolow Barn appear and, smiling, answered it.

‘Hello,’ she said. ‘Happy big day!’

‘Oh Ellie, thank god!’ Jane sounded frantic, and the hairs stood up on Ellie’s neck.

‘What is it?’ She kept her voice calm. She had to be the rock on her wedding days. No matter how many people ebbed and flowed, churned and harried around her, she would not get flustered.

‘Ellie, it’s … uh.’ Jane choked out a sob, and Ellie leaned against the counter and counted to three.

‘Just tell me,’ she said gently. ‘Whatever it is, we can work it out together.’

‘I don’t think we can,’ Jane said in a rush. ‘I really, really don’t think we can. The barn’s flooded. Not just the courtyard and the garden – which is like a mire – but the actual barn. I don’t know how the water got in, but there’s so much of it, Ellie. There’s no way it’s going to be dry by midday. Charlie and Daniel will be getting married in a lake.’ Her voice cracked.

Ellie rubbed her forehead. ‘Give me ten minutes, and I’ll be there. We’ll sort this out, Jane. Don’t worry.’

‘O-OK,’ she stammered.

‘Go and make yourself a hot drink, take some deep breaths, and I’ll see you very soon.’ Ellie said goodbye, and made herself wait until the coffee had filtered through so she could take a cup to Jago.

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