The Secret of Orchard Cottage by Alex Brown

Author:Alex Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780007597444
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2016-04-28T04:00:00+00:00

‘Ahh, here we are!’ Molly said. ‘Just park by the lamppost.’

April looked to her left and saw an old, ramshackle wooden bus shelter, but where was the haberdashery shop?

And then she saw it. On the other side of the bus shelter was the sweetest little yarn store that April had ever seen. With ‘Hettie’s House of Haberdashery’ in swirly gold lettering on a French-navy background above the door, it was set back from the road with a white picket fence leading up to the double-fronted shop attached to an oast house with a roundel at the far end. It was picturesque. A quintessential chocolate-box scene.

‘Oh, it’s amazing,’ April said, switching off the Beetle’s engine.

‘Come on, wait until you see inside,’ Molly grinned, grabbing a large flowery tote from the footwell. April was pleased that the ferret, which it turned out was aptly called Stinker, had been left at home in his cage. Molly’s youngest boy had come up with the name, she had told April on the drive over here.

After locking the door, April followed Molly up to the entrance of the shop, keen to get inside. The window display was amazing, a yarnbombed armchair next to a pile of cot mattresses draped in granny-patch blankets in a variety of bold, primary colours, one with a plump green pea balanced under an upturned corner, and all topped off with a knitted princess doll. Ahh, April got it! It was the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, ‘The Princess and the Pea’. Marvellous. April had loved that story as a child. In fact, Aunt Edie had first introduced April to it after giving her a colourful hardback edition for her birthday. And April had treasured it. In fact, she was pretty certain she still had it somewhere at home in the loft. She filed a quick memo in her head to take a look when she went home.

Molly pushed open the door and April smiled on hearing the old-fashioned jangle of the bell. It was so cosy and welcoming, like stepping inside an olde worlde sweet shop as a child, which on looking around at the numerous display shelves housing the most exquisite mountains of multi-coloured yarn, was much the same feeling that April was experiencing now as an adult. This place was incredible. An Aladdin’s cave of crafting goodies. And her friends from the knitting group back home would love it. April wondered if it would be OK to take a picture to show them, so rummaged in her bag to locate her mobile.

‘Come in, come in. So lovely to meet you, April. Molly mentioned that you might be joining us for this afternoon’s knit and natter group.’ A woman with red curly hair and a warm smile came walking towards them and held out her hand to April. ‘I’m Sybs by the way.’

‘Oh, um, hi Sybs.’ April stopped rummaging and shook Sybs’ hand, and then suddenly felt panicky. She hadn’t realised. She thought they were just popping in to talk to Hettie.

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