Page 2 of Cupid Comes to Little Valentine

Clementine let out a breath and stood outside for a moment on the doorstep. The roses were in bloom, cascading around the porch, and the decadent scent surrounded her, the early morning sun warm on her face. A perfect day, she thought with a smile. Well, except for the dratted mouse. Mice. Never mind. It was a lovely day for a stroll, and the Misses Brumley would be pleased to see her.

Striding out, Clementine made her way through the front garden, making a mental note to ask the gardener to oil the squeaky gate, and then out onto the lane. She bade the occupants of the graveyard a good morning as she cut through, past her father’s church and out onto the footpath that crossed the stream and led on towards Honeysuckle Cottage.

Poppies and cornflowers studded the fields and the frilly lace caps of wild carrot waved as she made her way along the narrow path. The pungent scent of wild garlic tickled Clementine’s nose, and she wished she had thought to bring a basket with her. Still, she doubted that sharing a basket with a bundle of smelly weeds would endear her to the cat she intended to buy. She did not doubt that Miss Dotty would have a cat, for she had many feline friends, much to the despair of her sister, Edith, who was always trying to find suitable homes for them.

Honeysuckle Cottage made an adorable picture on a sunny summer morning, the thick thatched roof overhanging a sturdy little building of timber frame with whitewashed plaster infill. The front garden rioted in a mad display of flowers and herbs, the lazy drone of insects loud as Clementine made her way up the brick pathway. Butterflies rose around her, disturbed by her passage as her dress brushed against a lavender bush, and Clementine stopped as a sweet ginger face with beady yellow eyes peered at her, before darting out of sight again. Stooping on the path, Clementine called softly, enchanted as the little ball of fluff peeked out once more. Breaking off a lavender flower, she wriggled it back and forth on the brick path. A moment later, the kitten pounced, catching the flower between soft pink paws.

“Oh, you will be a fine mouser,” she exclaimed, scooping up the kitten.

“Who’s there?”

Clementine looked up and then straightened, carrying the kitten to the front door. “Good morning, Miss Dotty,” she called cheerfully. “It’s Miss Honeywell.”

“Oh, good morning, my dear. Come in, come in. I’ve just made tea. Oh, and I see you have found a friend,” she chuckled, bustling Clementine inside.

A few moments later and Miss Dotty had hustled Clementine into their bright breakfast parlour and supplied her with a cup of tea and a currant scone, while the kitten attacked the hem of her dress.

“Of course you can take Little Ginger, not that it’s the poor dear’s name. I haven’t named this litter yet. It’s so difficult to decide what suits them best,” Dotty said thoughtfully.

“It’s really not,” her sister remarked, striding into the room. “Morning, Clementine. How do?”

“Very well, Miss Edith, thank you,” Clementine remarked, smiling at Miss Edith, who was as tall and slender as her sister was short and plump. They were nothing alike, for Edith was a no-nonsense, practical woman with sharp features and a restless air about her. Dotty, by contrast, was all softness, a sweetly faded rose of a woman. Clementine thought she must have been a considerable beauty in her time. Now she was comfortably plump, with pink cheeks and pale blue eyes that sparkled with mischief.

“You’re going to take one?” Edith asked, nodding at the ginger kitten that had since been joined by several siblings.

“Oh, but you can’t take one,” Dotty cried, looking appalled. “The poor darling will be lonely. No, no. You must take two.”

Clementine frowned, wondering how Mrs Adie would react to two cats in her kitchen, but Edith, sensing weakness, went in for the kill.

“Two or none,” she said briskly. “Dotty will plague me to death, making me check on the wretched thing every day if you don’t take two.”

Clementine laughed. “You drive a hard bargain. Very well, I shall take the ginger one and… and that black one, with the white spot on his cheek. Is it a he?” she asked.

Edith, who had just sat down, got up again, and lifted both kittens, peering at their bottoms.

“Edith!” Dotty cried, mortified, as she buried her face in her hands. “Don’t shame the poor little creatures, oh, and at the breakfast table too!” she moaned, shaking her head in despair.

Clementine bit her lip to stifle a laugh as Edith rolled her eyes. “The ginger one is a boy; the black one is a girl. So, you’ll certainly have more soon enough.”

Clementine considered this. Though she was a very practical young woman and never let her heart rule her head, as she looked down at the little balls of fluff, she could not help herself. It was probably a terrible idea, but… oh, they were adorable, and Caspar and Daisy would love having kittens about the place.

“I’ll take them,” she said with a smile. “Only, I was expecting to carry one kitten home, not two.”

“No trouble. I’ll bring them in our picnic basket later today,” Edith said with ease, lavishly buttering half of a scone.

“Perfect, then I shall give you some jars of our honey, a nice ham, some of our goat cheese, and a large jar of Mrs Adie’s pickled onions in payment. They’re eye-watering, but delicious.”

“Splendid,” Dotty said, clapping her hands with delight, having recovered from her sister's appalling lack of conduct. “That’s very generous, dear.”

“It is, but I actually want something else, too,” Edith replied, and Clementine smiled. Edith was definitely the more practical of the two women and would never let the opportunity to negotiate a bargain slip past her.

“Go on,” Clementine said, interested to hear what came next.

“You know we rent out the little house on the seafront during the summer months?”

“Oh, Edith, I really don’t think—” Dotty began, only to be silenced by the impatient look Edith cast her. She sighed.

“Well, we have rented it out to a brother and sister, a Mr and Miss Marwick, for an entire year. They paid handsomely and they seem very respectable.”