Page 57 of Moonlight Kisses at Willow Tree Hall

This led to another big cheer as Tom and the band all stepped up on stage.

‘Hiya,’ said Tom, smiling and waving at everyone. ‘Are you ready for a singalong?’

With just his guitar, he began to sing a scaled-down version of one of his biggest hits, with the rock band as back-up singers. This got a rousing reception and everyone sang along.

Lily lost track of time for a while as she enjoyed the music. But when she checked the time on her phone, she realised that darkness had fallen and that she really ought to be getting on with her work. She rechecked her lists and was dismayed to see that she had failed to achieve most of what she had wanted to that day.

However, she was pleased that the fete had gone so well and had been such a successful day. Turning to head back to the Hall, she came face to face with Jack, who had been leaning against a tree watching her.

‘Hi,’ he said, nodding at the stage where the band were still singing. ‘Are you not staying for the rest of the show?’

‘I’ve got work to do,’ she told him.

He looked up at the sky. ‘It’s a beautiful night.’

She nodded. ‘Yes. I suppose it is.’

‘You wouldn’t have noticed, having spent the last ten minutes looking at your phone,’ he told her.

She scowled at him. ‘Apparently we’ve got some extra guests to cater for tonight, so I need to get myself organised.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘I thought the bed was already made up, according to Annie.’

‘It is, but that’s really not your concern,’ she told him, going around the tree to move away. ‘Excuse me.’

‘Are you ever going to stop being mad at me?’ he said, walking alongside her as she went away from the audience.

‘I haven’t decided yet,’ she replied.

To her surprise, he laughed. ‘Fair enough,’ he told her.

She glanced at him. He shouldn’t still be that good-looking, surely. It wasn’t fair. A few tiny lines here and there, but the look of him was making her senses reel.

‘What do you want, Jack?’ she asked, stopping to spin around and face him.

He took a deep breath. ‘To apologise, I suppose,’ he said.

‘Oh.’ It had been the last thing she expected from him. ‘Go on, then.’

A smile touched the edges of his lips briefly before he turned serious. ‘I’m sorry for the pain that I caused you that evening. I should have broken up with you before the prom, not on the way there. That was wrong of me.’

Her eyes unexpectedly filled with tears. ‘It was,’ she told him. ‘Had you felt that way for a long time?’

He looked away. ‘No. I just suddenly knew that you had to follow your path and I was going a different way.’

‘I see.’ The hurt prickled away inside her until she could bear it no longer. ‘Well, thank you for the apology.’

She spun around and rushed away, this time leaving him far behind.

Once she was alone in the house, she rushed upstairs to her bedroom in the staff quarters. She sank onto the bed, trying to keep calm and not cry.

It felt as if they had only just broken up, as if the heartbreak was as fresh as it had been all those years ago.

She had thought that they had been so alike at the time, rebelling against the unfair world. But, of course, they weren’t. Jack had something real to rebel against. She hadn’t. She had been lucky enough to have a warm and loving family taking care of each other ever since she was born. She had always had a roof over her head. A home full of love. Jack hadn’t had any of that.

She sighed. Of course, she was still cross with him about standing her up at the prom. She was also cross that he had agreed to stay the night at Willow Tree Hall, given their history together. In fact, she was cross with him for everything.

Most of all, she was cross with herself that she could remember how good it felt to be kissed by him all those years ago. And how nobody had ever kissed her like that since.