Read Online Secret Schemes and Daring Dreams by Rosie Rushton - Free Book Online Page B

ask her now? She’s in the conservatory doing something interesting with a couple of fir cones.’
    â€˜Oh Emma, there you are. Oh, sorry – you’re just leaving, right?’
    Emma nodded, smiled wearily at Lily Bates and glanced rather pointedly at her watch.
    â€˜I won’t keep you a minute – I mean, I should have asked you earlier, only what with the teas, and then Luigi letting me make the hollandaise sauce all on my own, and dashing back to the cottage to get Mum some supper – she’s feeling really rough today so I did her smoked salmon and scrambled egg, she loves that, a bit of a luxury but once in while . . .’
    â€˜So, what was it you wanted?’ Emma broke in, forcing a smile.
    The instant the words were out, she regretted it. Looking at Lily, with her bony frame, pale face and grey eyes with permanent shadows circling them, one might have thought she suffered from some rather awful disease. In fact, she was bursting with health and energy, and the only condition from which she suffered was a bad case of verbal diarrhoea.
    â€˜Well, you see, the thing is, it’s about Jake. Youremember Jake? Jake Fairfax? My cousin? The one . . .’
    â€˜. . . who is very musical, the one in the band,’ Emma finished, suppressing a sigh as she recalled the interminable reports every few months about how amazing Split Bamboo was. ‘Yes, I remember. What about him?’
    â€˜You’ll never guess, not in a million years . . .’
    â€˜So perhaps if you told me . . .’
    â€˜What? Oh yes – sorry! Well, he’s coming to Brighton. For four weeks! And guess why?’
    â€˜Haven’t a clue.’ Emma sighed.
    â€˜The band are playing at The Jacaranda Tree. And somewhere else I forget the name of. They’ve been booked for a whole month, two nights a week in each place. Isn’t that amazing?’
    â€˜Yes, it is,’ Emma admitted. She had always dismissed the band’s reported success as being a figment of Lily’s overactive imagination, but The Jacaranda Tree had built its reputation on showcasing upcoming chart-toppers and certainly weren’t likely to book no-hopers.
    â€˜We wanted him to stay with us – Mum loves to have visitors – but he said no, that wouldn’t do because the rest of the band are looking for lodgings too, so I said there’s Mrs Butler’s B & B in the village and he said he’d think about it, but to be honest he’s in such a state at the moment . . .’
    â€˜Right, well . . .’
    â€˜You see, he broke up with Caroline. Oh, you don’t know Caroline – she is – was – his girlfriend. Ever so nice, she and I got on really well. She’s at Cambridge University, dead clever. She’s doing politics andsomething or other. Anyway, she dumped him all of a sudden, just like that. I can’t think why, because Jake’s lovely and if we weren’t cousins I could fancy him myself! What was I going to say?’ She frowned and chewed her lip. ‘Oh yes, of course, silly me! The thing is, can you give this to your dad? I mean, I would but I thought if you did, then it might not look like I was – well, you know, being pushy.’ She thrust a padded envelope at Emma, and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. ‘Look, I must fly – I promised Mum I’d wash her hair for her. We’ve found this rather nice hair colour, sort of peachy blond it says on the packet and . . .’
    â€˜Lovely,’ Emma said firmly. ‘Look, I must go.’
    â€˜Sure, fine, yes. See you tomorrow. I’m having such fun here – your dad is such a nice man, thinking of me, and he did say to keep him in touch with things and I said, yes, I would and . . .’
    And with that Emma grabbed her bag and flew out of the back door, leaving Lily still talking.
    The moment Emma got back to her own bedroom, having chucked the envelope on her