Ladies Who Lunch

It was late morning before I had the next opportunity to speak to Cecile about her brother. Beverley had gone across to Butterglove Lodge to spend time with her cousins Biddie and Lena, and undoubtedly she would take a look at the quads; they had discovered their voices and spent hours burbling at each other. Brendan and Orton had been joined by their friends Lucky Snow-Warren and Nolly Persis. Originally they had been playing outdoors, but a cloudburst limited this to half an hour and it sent them scurrying back indoors. I assumed they had gone to one of their bedrooms. This meant I was alone with Cecile and little Russell, the tiny lad happily urging his rocking horse through its paces. I do love that little dot.

Cecile listened patiently whilst I outlined the revelations from Rowan and young Figwort. She refrained from commenting as I spoke, but her eyes expressed her feelings, confirmed when I had completed my tale. She laughed.

"And you believed him?" she said, shaking her head. "Oh Jack, I didn't think you could be so gullible."

"Unfair, Cessie. You didn't see his reaction when he heard Tara's name. And do you really think he would use young Figwort in that way?"

Cecile furrowed her brow. "That does seem unlikely. Still, Rowan's been back in Mellowdene a year now, and in all that time Tara has never appeared to be searching for him."

"Wait a minute," I said, staring at my wife, "How would you know whether or not Tara Lapine-Frost has been searching for Rowan?"

"I think she would have mentioned it before now."

I gestured for her to continue.

"I must have told you before. You probably weren't listening... no? Oh, then maybe I didn't think you'd be interested."

"But now you're going to remedy that?" I prompted. The little I did know - Tara's rough address, for example - had come in passing from Chris Snow-Warren, not Cecile.

"Fine. It's not a secret. You remember the minor confusion about Bobbie, Valentine's Day before last? Well, Bobbie was curious about Nigel when I relayed Charity's information about his supposed lady friend. We decided to investigate..."

o 0 O 0 o

It emerged that Cecile - together with Bobbie Butterglove and Charity Snow-Warren - had been meeting up with Tara Lapine-Frost every few weeks at the Blackcurrant Café where they took either lunch or  afternoon tea. Fifteen months of sandwiches, butterfly buns and chatter, washed down with the finest tea Marion Brighteyes could supply. It may even have been their gentle persuasion that caused Nigel and Tara to reveal their romantic friendship.

"And she knows Rowan is back? Does she venture into the village apart from these afternoon teas? I don't recall ever having seen her."

"Well she does live at the north of the county," explained Cecile. "She's near to the canal so it makes sense to get some provisions from the hill cats. I believe she also visits Timbertop Farm for most of her food, so her appearance in the village isn't as common. But to answer your question, I have mentioned Rowan in our chats so yes - she's aware of him."

I frowned. "But she didn't say she met him years ago?"

"Maybe she forgot him."

"Really? Can anyone forget Rowan Ivory?"

"Hmm." She grinned. "That's a fair point. I'll have to ask her."

I didn't know if that was a good idea. "Maybe it's better you have a chat with Rowan first. If Tara isn't concerned about him, it might be better not to rock the boat."

Cecile regarded me with one of her assessing looks. "Alright. But you have stirred my curiosity."

I didn't know whether that was a good thing. A crack of thunder broke my thoughtful mood.

"Fine. Just be aware of potential consequences." I raised my eyes to the ceiling. "And speaking of being aware, the boys are noticeably quiet. I'd better check on them."

o 0 O 0 o

(To be continued in  - The Story of Hawkshade)