The Little Village Bakery: A feel good romantic comedy with plenty of cake (Honeybourne Book 1) (14 page)

‘No.’

Another pause. Dylan looked at his boot as he scuffed it on the old brickwork like a child being told off. ‘Shall I come over tomorrow? I can finish work on the beams and maybe we can get the rest of that beer?’

Millie shook her head. It was taking all her strength not to cry. She knew what she had to do. Rowena would stamp out any relationship that showed the tiniest promise of love, and her methods would be cruel. Millie had to stop anything with Dylan before Rowena got wind of it. In the end, it was the kindest thing to do, for Dylan’s sake, at least.

‘I think we should keep things on a professional level from now on. I don’t think you should do any more work for me until I can pay you properly.’

Dylan’s mouth fell open. ‘I don’t understand…’

‘I’m sorry. But I think it’s for the best.’

He looked hurt and it was a knife to Millie’s heart. She had to stay strong, though. ‘But today… I thought we had something… I really like you. I thought—’

‘It was a silly mistake,’ Millie cut in. ‘I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea.’

His expression darkened. ‘It did that alright. I’m sorry I thought otherwise.’

And before she had a chance to reply, he had stalked off. Millie watched him go through his garden gate and disappear behind the hedge, her throat tightening. But there was no point in crying. It had to be this way.

N
ight had turned
into day and Millie had been awake to witness it all. She had turned over every possibility, every solution to her problem, but short of hiring a hitman to take out Rowena (and that would use up valuable plastering money) she couldn’t seem to make anything fit. One thing was certain: when Rowena came knocking again, which she would, Millie didn’t want to be around to answer it. She dressed early and took a walk through the fields that bordered the village as the first light of dawn skimmed the treetops, savouring the dewy chill in the air that would soon burn away and trying to clear her head and calm her thoughts. She couldn’t be away from home all the time, but she could make it as difficult as possible for Rowena to find her. She wondered if she ought to go and apologise to Jasmine for not showing up the night before, and not even texting as she had promised Dylan she would. But she needed to keep Rowena away from the people she cared about, and if that meant cutting herself off from Jasmine for a while then that was what she would have to do. At least until she’d figured out a way to make Rowena see sense and forget whatever insane plan she was cooking up.

Feeling fresher after her morning walk, Millie returned to the old bakery and collected some of the equipment she’d need to work at the pub. The plan had been to bake pies there for the lunchtime trade. The rest of what she needed she hoped they would have, otherwise it meant a trip into a larger town to buy it before she could start any cooking. She didn’t really mind that either, any excuse to be missing for a while was fine with her, but the landlord might not be so happy with the delay. She had left the ingredients in Doug’s large fridges the previous afternoon.

When Millie arrived at the Dog and Hare she found that Doug had gone to a farmer’s market in a neighbouring village. His wife, Colleen, was already busy in the kitchen preparing vegetables, but she assured Millie that the kitchen was plenty big enough for them both and she was more than happy to have the company. As Millie gratefully dragged her own equipment in, feeling a frisson of excitement as she gazed around at the vast steel landscape of top equipment at her disposal instead of the dismal excuse for a kitchen that she had at the bakery, she couldn’t help but note that Colleen didn’t quite look herself. Whenever they’d bumped into each other before, Millie had thought that for a woman she guessed to be in her early fifties, Colleen looked youthful and glamorous. She was more reserved and thoughtful than her gregarious husband, but had a more genuine warmth to her that made Millie like her all the more. Today, Colleen’s make-up looked hastily applied over swollen eyes. Her clothes were obviously designer and as tasteful as always, but something about the way they had been thrown on didn’t seem quite right, as though Colleen hadn’t cared which top she teamed with which skirt. As they worked, mostly in silence apart from the humming of a radio in the background and the odd comment about the weather, or the state of the pub trade, Millie began to find these incongruous details about Colleen more and more distracting. She had troubles of her own, more than enough to go around, but Millie hated to see anyone else suffer. Other people’s troubles had a way of making hers melt into the background.

Eventually, Millie could stand it no more. Even though she knew she might open up a whole Pandora’s Box of problems, she had to ask. ‘Is everything alright with you?’

Colleen stopped dicing a carrot and looked up. Her bottom lip trembled.

‘Ignore me,’ Millie said, immediately regretting her question. ‘I’m always putting my foot in it and sticking my nose in where I shouldn’t.’ She had clearly tipped Colleen over the edge by asking and wondered now whether she had done more harm than good.

‘No…’ Colleen said, taking a deep breath and running a delicate finger beneath each eye. ‘I’ve always thought you seem a kind soul, and I know it now. Please don’t feel bad.’

Millie nodded silently, waiting for more. But Colleen went back to chopping her vegetables. After a moment, Millie returned to poring over a dog-eared recipe book.

‘People used to say I was good looking,’ Colleen started to explain, hesitantly.

Millie gave an encouraging smile. ‘You are. You always look lovely when I see you.’

Colleen waved a dismissive hand in front of her face. ‘It’s all make-up now. The foundation gets thicker every year, the figure that bit harder to maintain. I’m not good looking anymore, just well preserved.’

‘Beauty is about more than looks. You’re beautiful on the inside and that shines through. And every new line is merely a record of each wonderful experience you’ve had in your life.’

‘That’s easy for you to say. You’re still young and gorgeous.’ She sniffed. ‘I’ve seen the way all the men around here look at you, including my Doug… Like slobbering dogs watching their dinner put out.’

Millie’s eyes widened.

‘Sorry, sorry,’ Colleen said quickly. ‘I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m not surprised they stare at you and I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m not myself today, ignore anything I say.’

‘Do you want to talk about it?’

‘No…’ Colleen sighed. ‘Yes. I suppose I do.’

Millie closed the recipe book and leaned against the worktop. ‘I’m all ears.’

‘I’m going to get a brandy and lemonade first. Doug can moan about his precious stock because I’m going to drink it dry this afternoon. Care to join me?’

Millie nodded. A bit of brain-cell obliteration seemed like an appealing prospect for her too; it would certainly take her mind off her own woes. She watched, deep in thought, as Colleen disappeared to the bar to get their drinks.

So, it seemed Doug was at the heart of Colleen’s distress. It was obvious, when she thought about it. Part of her wondered whether it was wise to get involved in a marital spat, but the other part of her knew that she couldn’t stand by whilst someone as lovely as Colleen was so upset. The least she could do was listen while she got it all off her chest.

Colleen returned with two tall glasses, topped up with ice. ‘Doubles,’ she smiled, handing one to Millie. ‘Cheers.’

Millie took a sip. It was still early but she was surprised how good a tall brandy and lemonade tasted at this time of the morning. Perhaps in her own fragile state she needed the warming, friendly alcohol as much as Colleen obviously did. Whatever the reason, it didn’t seem half as wrong as it ought to.

‘Doug told me last night that he didn’t love me. Just said it out of the blue after we’d locked up.’ Colleen’s lip quivered again and she knocked back another swig of brandy to quell it. ‘He said he didn’t find me attractive anymore. We’re old, you know, but I thought married couples were supposed to accept that they’d grow old together and love one another for what’s in their hearts, not what their skin looks like.’

‘You’re right,’ Millie said. ‘That’s how I think it should be too. Does he think time has stood still for him while it’s marched on for you?’

Colleen let out a mirthless laugh. ‘That’s a very good point. I don’t know. I asked him if he was having an affair and he said no. I asked if he wanted to have an affair and he said no to that too. He just doesn’t love me and that’s that.’

‘Maybe he’s in a rut and he’s mistaking that for something else. Maybe he just can’t see that he still loves you because you’re always here, running the pub, and you never get time for each other.’

Colleen nodded. ‘Maybe.’

‘So, what’s going to happen now?’

‘He wants to put the pub on the market. We’ll sell it and go our separate ways.’

Millie’s eyes widened. ‘Bloody hell.’

‘He must have been feeling it for months and never said a word…’ Colleen sniffed. ‘I feel like such an idiot. Did it look obvious to everyone else that he wasn’t happy?’

‘Not one bit. You’re not an idiot. How could you know if he doesn’t tell you what’s in his heart? If he had said something at the beginning then perhaps you could both have worked on the marriage.’

‘Do you think it’s too late for that now?’

‘Do you? You know him better than me.’

‘I only know I love him dearly. I can’t let him go, not without a fight.’

Millie paused, staring into the depths of her drink. A flashback came to her, like a slap in the face, of a moment in her own past. Hours later Michael was dead. She paled at the memory, the ice in her glass clinking against the sides as the tremors hit. Placing the glass on the worktop, she took a deep breath and looked up at Colleen, who seemed not to have noticed that anything was amiss.

‘I have to do something to make him love me again,’ Colleen continued. ‘What can I do?’

Millie gripped the worktop, her head beginning to spin. ‘I don’t know. Perhaps you could talk to him,’ she said weakly.

‘He wouldn’t listen. Once he’s made his mind up about something he doesn’t change it.’

‘But this isn’t choosing where to go on holiday or how many barrels of beer to order in… This is your marriage. He has to listen. How long have you been together?’

‘Thirty years.’

‘See… there you go. Who would throw thirty years away without talking about it first?’

‘But you could give me a love potion!’ Colleen blurted out, before clapping a hand to her mouth.

Millie tried to speak but nothing would come out. Was this some sort of cruel karma?

‘You could, right?’ Colleen said quietly. ‘I mean, you’ve been giving everyone else things to help them.’

‘Colleen… I don’t know what you mean.’

‘The potions.’

‘They’re not potions, they’re just simple herbal remedies.’

‘Ruth told me you do magic.’

Millie stared at her. She had certainly misjudged Ruth.

‘There is nothing magical in what I do. I can’t make people fall in love or stay in love. I’m interested in old remedies and the uses for plants and herbs that our ancestors used on a daily basis, that’s all,’ Millie said, fighting to keep the bitterness from her tone. If she’d had that sort of power, she wouldn’t have hesitated to use it; Michael would still be alive and she’d still be blissfully happy in Millrise in the house they had once shared.

‘Then why does everyone say your potions are magic? Is it a lie – don’t they work?’

All Millie needed to do was confirm Colleen’s doubts and it would all be forgotten. She could get on with her cooking while she lent a sympathetic ear and Colleen could cry all the pain from her system. It would be that easy. But Millie could not deny the help she might be able to give someone when they asked so desperately for it, even if her life depended on it.

‘I’m not saying it’s a lie; but there is no potion I know of that can change the path of love. Love won’t be ruled, not by me or anyone else. It doesn’t answer just because you call it. Love will do only what love wants to do.’

Colleen thought for a moment. ‘But you could make him see me in a different light. Perhaps if he fancied me again he might fall in love later?’

‘You can do that just as well yourself.’

‘How? I’m already made up to the nines every day and I always dress as well as I can. I get my hair done every week, have facials… I can’t do any more than I do already to look good.’

‘Perhaps you two could spend some quality time together; he might fancy you again if he remembers what it was he liked about you at the start… I’m talking about more than clothes and hair; I mean the way you made him feel when you laughed at his jokes, your kindness and sweet nature.’

Well…’ Colleen said, clearly becoming exasperated. ‘Could you give me something just to smooth the wrinkles a little? Anything would be a start.’

Millie sighed. She would get more sense from a brick wall at the moment. Perhaps she could fob Colleen off with a harmless herbal brew. If half the battle was believing, then perhaps if she thought Millie’s placebo was doing the trick, the confidence it gave her might actually make her more attractive to Doug. It was probably the only way she was going to get Colleen off her back.

‘I’ll see what I can do.’

Colleen beamed. ‘Thank you! I always said you were a lovely girl.’

‘But,’ Millie added, ‘please don’t tell anyone about this…’ She had visions of villagers queuing up to satisfy their every heart’s desire and was beginning to feel rather sick. ‘I’ll bring something over for you later.’ She suppressed a huge, frustrated sigh.

‘No… I’ll come to you. I wouldn’t want Doug getting wind of it.’

Millie wondered whether Colleen had inadvertently stumbled on the real problem with their marriage, in that one duplicitous sentence. But she had a feeling Colleen wouldn’t see that even if she tried to explain it to her. ‘Alright,’ she agreed. ‘Just remember, you can’t tell anyone else.’

‘I won’t,’ Colleen said, her tears all dried up now and a spring back in her step. ‘It’ll be our little secret.’

Millie was almost certain that was exactly what Ruth had said.