The Way to a Woman's Heart (18 page)

Still, she hoped Billy was happy and never wanted to leave Hideaway. Life without Billy, even if he was completely unaware of it – and Poll fervently hoped he was – would, for her, be unthinkable.

‘Yes, a really lovely meal, dear.’ Trixie interrupted the dreamy thoughts, her copious rows of beads rattling with enthusiasm. ‘Absolutely lovely. Couldn’t have done better myself.’

Poll heaved a sigh of relief. ‘I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Now I’m sure both you and Billy must be tired after your journeys, but as soon as I’ve got George off to bed, I’m going to make some coffee. I thought we’d have it outside because it’s such a lovely evening. I know it’s getting dark, but I’ve got lots of candles.’

‘I make candles,’ Trixie said, carefully wiping her mouth on her napkin. ‘I ask the fairies to help me to pick fresh herbs – always with the dew still on them, of course – and add them to my candles when the wax is wet with a few spell words to ward off the evil spirits and make nice things happen. I do love a bit of a flickering flame.’

‘Ah, so that’s how you burned your house down, was it?’ Billy said, chuckling. ‘One too many flickering flames?’

Trixie bridled. ‘Indeed it was not! That was a cooking accident, pure and simple. I just took my eye off the ball for a moment, so to speak, and whoosh! Terrible, it was. Terrible.’

Billy nodded. ‘It must have been. Losing everything like that. I’m really sorry for you. Mind, we’re all in the same boat here.’

‘Hardly.’ Trixie patted her plentiful curls. ‘You weren’t burned out, were you? I was left with nothing. My past was gone in a jiffy. Everything – photos, letters, me little trinkets and mementoes – all burned to a crisp.’

‘Sorry,’ Billy looked mollified. ‘I didn’t mean to demean your tragedy, love. I know that must have been really awful for you. Didn’t you manage to save anything from your cottage?’

‘I only managed to salvage a few books and whatever other nearby bits and bobs I could grab, and the clothes I was standing up in.’ Trixie gave a shudder. ‘It was terrifying. The flames and the smoke were something chronic. They rampaged everywhere – so quick, it was… so terrifyingly quick…’

‘Ah,’ Billy nodded, ‘it must have been. So, if it wasn’t your, er, fairy candles, was it a bit of, um, mystical cooking you was doing at the time of the inflagration? A clash of magic ingredients?’

‘Mystical cooking?’ Trixie stiffened. ‘Magic ingredients? Let me tell you it was normal cooking, plain good home cooking – that’s my forte. Yes, I may brew one or two little herbal tinctures – solely for my own consumption, in the privacy of my own home – but if you’re alluding to my herbs and fairies and whatnot in a mockery way then I’ll have to ask you for an apology.’

Billy chuckled softly. ‘Wouldn’t dream of mocking you, Trixie. Each to his own, that’s what I always say.’

Trixie was still looking slightly miffed. ‘When I’ve settled in proper like, I’ll show you what the fairies can do – then you’ll be laughing on the other side of your face.’

‘Probably literally if the spell goes wrong.’

Trixie huffed and straightened her necklaces. ‘Because I’m a lady and because we’re all having such a lovely time here and I know my manners, I’ll ignore that. But just to prove that you’re wrong to mock, I’ll let you into one of my little fairy secrets, shall I?’

Billy stifled a snigger.

Poll shot him a warning glance. ‘Go on.’ She smiled encouragingly. ‘Oh, and yes, George, go and find a lovely book for your bedtime story, sweetheart, I’ll be up in a minute. No, go on Trixie, tell us about the fairies.’

‘Well –’ Trixie rearranged her beads and fussily smoothed the front of the floral frock ‘– fairies are good people. There are fairies for every occasion. Fairies who can be called on to help out when earthly methods simply don’t work.’

‘Really? And can we actually see them?’ Poll looked expectantly at her.

‘Oh, yes. But everyone sees them differently. Most people just say it’s like a vivid swirl of fast-moving light, or a cascade of falling stars, or simply a sense of light and movement and colour.’

‘Oh.’ Poll was entranced. ‘How very lovely! It sounds so beautiful.’

‘It is. They are.’ Trixie’s curls nodded rigidly. ‘And everyone has a special fairy. A fairy who is there, in the enchanted
world, just for us. And our special fairy has a name for us that reflects our personality.’

Billy hooted with laughter.

Poll, sensing a scene threatening, felt soothing intervention was called for. ‘Ah, yes, I’ve heard about something like that… I remember Mitzi Blessing’s younger daughter found something on the inter-web-thingy – she stopped calling herself Lulu and wanted to be known as Moonwand Frostblizzard for ages. Really confusing it was. Mind you, Lulu Blessing is a confusing girl at the best of times.’

Trixie nodded. ‘Oh, yes, the fairy generator name sites are lovely and a bit of fun, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about Real Fairies. I’m talking about each one of us having our own fairy guide who knows us by our Given Enchanted Name.’

‘Really?’ Poll gave Billy another warning glance and hoped Ella wasn’t listening. She’d never believe this. No, Ella was still chattering to Onyx and Ash. Thank goodness. ‘Do you mean like a guardian angel?’

Trixie shook her head. ‘No, that’s something else again. But we really do each have a fairy who looks over us, takes care of us, and knows us not as Trixie Pepper or Poll Andrews but by our Enchanted Name, and whose mission is to make sure we do the right thing at the right time.’

‘Yours had the night off when you burned your house down, did she?’ Billy asked innocently. ‘Or had you taken one too many of your herbal tinctures?’

‘That,’ Trixie hissed, ‘as I’ve told Poll, was the work of a Bad Elf while I was cooking my supper and watching that
edition of
Dewberrys’ Dinners
from Cornwall where they were making pasties and got to the bit where they realised they’d left the veg out and were trying to get it into the cooked pastry without that ghastly Gabby Dewberry noticing and I got riveted and my pan caught on, and whoosh!’

Billy bit his lip and chuckled.

Trixie ignored him and looked plaintively at Poll. ‘Oh, it’s so difficult to explain about the fairies to non-believers –’

‘I wouldn’t bother then,’ Billy said kindly. ‘It’ll like as not be nonsense.’

Poll tried not to laugh. ‘Don’t be such a nay-sayer, Billy. I’m fascinated, Trixie. Go on.’

Casting a further baleful look at Billy, Trixie took a deep breath. ‘Well, my fairy name is Gossamer Snapdragon.’

Billy hooted with laughter. ‘How lovely!’ Poll exclaimed quickly. ‘And does it have a special meaning? For you?’

Trixie nodded. ‘All the given fairy names accurately reflect their owner’s personality. Mine means I’m imbued with a lightness of spirit, in tune with the burgeoning of youthful spring, and can also be tough but fair when needed.’

‘Poppycock!’ Billy spluttered. ‘I’ve never heard so much old baloney in my life!’

Poll flapped her hands. ‘Take no notice of him – tell me what mine is then, Trixie. Can you do that?’

‘I can’t, but the fairies can if I ask them to.’ She narrowed her eyes at Billy. ‘Now, I don’t know either of you properly, do I? I’ve only just met you today, have only been able to
form a sketchy opinion of your characters from this dinner party, but the fairies will tell me your names which are linked to theirs and reflect your personality.’

‘Party tricks.’ Billy grinned. ‘I love party tricks. Go on then, give us a bit of a laugh.’

Trixie leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Poll and Billy exchanged amused glances.

‘Right.’ Trixie opened her eyes again. ‘Poll’s fairy guide says her name is Thistledown Dreamer – soft, gentle, generous, easily distracted, kindly and loving. And you –’ she stared at Billy ‘– your fairy guide says you’re Pumpkin Scoffer. You’re honest, robust, hard-working and loyal, but inclined to mock others, albeit in a non-hurtful manner.’

‘Well!’ Poll was impressed. ‘That’s amazing, Trixie! Thistledown Dreamer… how pretty! And how very apt for me. And Billy’s is very accurate, too. Pumpkin is so sweet.’

‘Damn Pumpkin, my foot!’ Billy snorted. ‘She’s making it up. She’s just picking bloody silly, um, I mean, fairy names that go with what she’s already sussed out about us.’

Trixie’s cheeks turned very red. Poll really hoped she wasn’t going to have a heart attack. She’d forgotten most of her elementary first aid unless it was fastening a splint. She could do splints. Splints, she felt, wouldn’t be much use in a cardiac arrest.

‘All right then, Mr Scoffer.’ Trixie raised her eyebrows in a superior way. ‘So, what about the rest of the party? The three young ’uns down t’other end of the table? I don’t know anything about them at all, do I? I can’t even begin to
guess at their personalities, but I’ll ask the fairies to tell me their names too, shall I?’

Billy chuckled. ‘Ah, go on then. But I think you should leave out Onyx because none of us knows her so we wouldn’t be able to say yay or nay, would we? You just do Ella and Ash, but I’m betting you won’t get it right this time.’

‘Actually,’ Trixie said, ‘Ella should be easy as the literal interpretation of her name is “fairy maiden”.’

‘Nooo! Is it?’ Poll beamed. ‘Really? I wonder if she knows. Sorry, Trixie, I know you want to concentrate…’

Trixie closed her eyes again.

‘Nodded off,’ Billy said softly to Poll, his brown eyes crinkling with mischief. ‘Probably won’t get another peep out of her until bedtime.’

‘Ssssh, Pumpkin,’ Poll said softly. ‘Let the fairies do their work.’

Trixie’s eyes suddenly shot open.

‘Blimey,’ Billy said. ‘That were a bit scary. Like summat off a ghost train ride.’

Poll giggled.

Trixie ignored him. ‘Ella’s fairy name is Sunshine Strangeflower. A happy-go-lucky girl with a warm heart and a willingness to tackle anything that life throws at her and always with a ready smile.’

Poll nodded. ‘Well, as far as I know, that’s Ella to a T. Come on, Billy, you’ve got to admit it.’

‘And as I hardly know the girl, I’ll have to trust you on that one. Come on, then. How about young Ash?’

Trixie did the eye-closing thing again. Poll held her
breath. This was really quite fascinating. And how lovely it would be if there really were fairies. She wasn’t sure if she believed in them or not. She’d always hoped they existed, always been fascinated by the idea – mainly after reading about the Cottingley Fairies. She’d never believe that was a hoax. Never. If the explanation had been good enough for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle then it was certainly good enough for her.

‘Ash’s Enchanted Name,’ Trixie’s eyes opened wide, ‘is a bit odd. I hate to admit it, but I may have got this wrong.’

‘Surely not,’ Billy chuckled. ‘You tell us what the fairies are telling you about young Ash, and Poll’ll soon put you straight.’

‘I’m sure you will, Mr Scoffer. Well, I’m being told he’s known as Kalen, um, Aspeeday. Kalen indicates a warrior king – someone loyal and honest and hard-working, who slaves for what he wants to achieve but will also fight to the death to protect those he loves or the ideals he believes in.’

Billy nodded grudgingly. ‘OK – young Ash strikes me as a lad who’d fight – not literally, of course – for the rights of anyone and everything he holds dear.’

‘Yes, but,’ Trixie said, ‘where the Aspeeday bit comes in I’ve no idea. It’s not the usual sort of Enchanted Name at all and, as far as I can see, has no meaning or any relevance.’

‘That’s absolutely amazing,’ Poll exhaled. ‘And it has loads of relevance, actually. You see, A-s-p-i-d-e means serpent or snake.’

Billy’s dark-brown eyes widened in admiration. ‘Fancy you knowing that, Poll, love. That’s very clever.’

Poll blushed at the compliment. ‘I had an old-fashioned education.’

‘Really?’ Trixie frowned. ‘And is Aspeeday Latin, then, dear?’

‘Old English,’ Poll said. ‘You don’t want to know how boring it was, but things learned by rote seem to stick, don’t they?’

‘They do, dear,’ Trixie agreed. ‘I still know all my times tables. And the fairies use a lot of Old English language – not that I’m au fait with it all, of course… but even if you’re right – and I’m sure you are, dear – I still don’t understand why a snake should be relevant to Ash.’

Poll nodded enthusiastically. ‘It is, believe me. Oh, I don’t mean in a sort of creepy way or that Ash is a viper in the bosom or a wicked tempting serpent as in Adam and Eve, but, and of course you couldn’t possibly know this, he has a much-beloved pet snake called Roy.’

‘Bloody hell!’ Billy snorted. ‘In the bedroom next to mine?’

Poll nodded. ‘Very securely locked in.’

‘Oh, good.’

Trixie smiled broadly. ‘Really, dear? Oh, I am pleased! Fancy that! I’ve never been let down by my fairies before but I must admit I thought they’d got it wrong. Ash must love this, um, Roy very much for the fairies to have linked it to him in his name.’

‘Oh, he does,’ Poll assured her. ‘Roy’s the love of Ash’s life.’

Oh dear, and if only that were completely true. Poll
glanced along the table. Onyx’s chair was empty and Ash and Ella were laughing together. Of course Ash loved Roy, but it really seemed tonight, having seen them together for the first time, that he loved Onyx too. Poor Ella. Even if she and Mark called a halt to their relationship, Ash was clearly off limits. Life was so unfair sometimes.