Peggy blamed Sally’s oven and Sally blamed Peggy’s incompetence for setting the hot cross buns alight. The two women were so busy berating each other that the entire building might have burned to the ground if Henry hadn’t arrived in the nick of time. He wielded the kitchen’s fire extinguisher with such dexterity that Sally hailed him as her hero and even Peggy admitted that he’d done well.
The fire brought everyone in the village running, but Henry put it out before any lasting harm was done and the onlookers soon lost interest. I held my left hand to my chest to protect my thumb as I made my way through the retreating bystanders and heaved a sigh of relief when I reached Bill’s car.
“Lori!”
I looked up to see Bree Pym running toward me. She, Jack, and Emma had appeared atop the humpbacked bridge at the first cry of “Fire!” but Jack and Emma had evidently gone back to work after the initial excitement had died down.
“Hi, Bree,” I said as she approached. “How’s the master plan coming along?”
“Slowly,” she replied. “Jack stops every five minutes to ask Emma if he’s read her diagrams correctly. Then she spends twenty minutes explaining them to him. We may finish by Christmas, if we’re lucky.”
I laughed. “I’ve left you to cope with a pair of perfectionists, Bree. Sorry about that.”
“No worries,” she said.
Bree looked down at her hands, shuffled her feet, and chewed on her lower lip, as if she were debating how to say what she wished to say next. I wondered if yet another startling revelation was coming my way.
“Lori,” she said finally. “Why didn’t you change your surname when you married Bill?”
“Oh,” I said, caught off guard. It was the last question I’d expected to hear from her, but I didn’t mind answering it. “It’s pretty simple, really. As the only child of two only children, both of whom are dead, I’m the last surviving member of my family. When I married Bill I wanted to honor my mother and father by keeping the name they gave me.”
“Did Bill mind?” Bree asked.
“No,” I said. “He understood. Still does.”
“What about the twins?” she pressed. “Will and Rob are Willises. Have they ever asked you why you’re the only Shepherd in the family?”
“They aren’t confused by it because they’ve grown up with it,” I said. “But sometimes, when a new friend is confused, they ask me to explain it again so they can pass my explanation along to their friend. They never knew my mom and dad, so it gives me an opportunity to show them photos and tell them stories about my childhood. Grandma and Grandpa Shepherd will never be as real to them as Grandpa Willis is, but I don’t think my parents will be forgotten.”
Bree nodded thoughtfully. I burned to ask her if she was considering a name change—from Pym to MacBride, for instance—but I held back. I was a friend, I told myself, not a nosy Handmaiden. If Bree wanted to confide in me, she would. If not, I’d respect her privacy.
“Thanks,” she said. “I was just wondering because . . .” She looked away. “Well, I was just wondering.”
“No problem,” I said. “Would you like a lift back to Ivy Cottage?”
She grinned. “I think I can make it there on my own. See you at the party!”
“See you then,” I said.
Bree ran off and I got into Bill’s car. It was past noon, I was starving, I needed to pop a pill, and I had to do a little more research before I spoke with Aunt Dimity. I averted my eyes from the rearview mirror and headed straight for home.
No one but Stanley was there to greet me when I walked into the cottage and his greeting consisted of opening his eyes briefly when I put my head into the living room. The untouched note on the kitchen table suggested that Bill and the boys hadn’t yet returned from Anscombe Manor. Since Bill seldom accompanied Will and Rob to their riding lessons, I suspected them of treating their father to a lengthy display of their equestrian skills.
I made a cheese and tomato sandwich and ate it at the kitchen table before taking another dose of my pain medication. The telephone rang as I was putting my solitary plate into the dishwasher. It was Bill, calling to let me know that he and the twins were at Fairworth House with his father.
“I thought you could use a little more R & R,” he said. “I brought a change of clothes for Will and Rob and we’ll go straight from here to the party at Anscombe Manor. I’ve already told Peter and Cassie not to expect you.”
I gave an outraged squawk, then clamped my mouth shut. If Bill thought I was going to miss the homecoming party, he had another think coming. I decided to keep my own counsel, however, and surprise him by showing up anyway.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll see you later.”
“You’ll be asleep by then,” Bill said, laughing. “Take it easy, love. Don’t try to do too much.”
“I won’t,” I said angelically and hung up.
I smiled wickedly as I entered the study.