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Rosie grabbed the brass handle to open the French doors and let the cool evening breeze waft into her living room. She inhaled the air laced with cinnamon and warm caramel from the bakery on the corner. It gave her the strength to continue with the conversation.
‘No, Hannah,’ she continued, ‘about Aunt Bernice.’
‘Oh, yes, of course Dad told me. But I don’t see why you had to leave immediately?’
Rosie waited for Hannah to express her sympathies for her beloved aunt’s demise. Whilst Hannah’d had no relationship with Bernice, her sister knew Rosie had been close to her, that she’d spent a summer at her cottage the previous year, and their emails and old-fashioned written communications had fanned the flames of friendship ever since.
Nothing. Just like Edward when she had shared the news with him.
‘Well, are you, Rosie?’
‘Am I what?’
Hannah expelled a sigh of irritation. ‘Are you going to ditch me in it with Jacob? I’ve been so stressed about the wedding and now this uncertainty about your intentions has added to my anxiety. I can hardly concentrate on enjoying the best day of my life because of you!’
‘Because of me?’
‘Yes, I couldn’t get you on your cell phone. I’ve rang you a hundred times. I need to know what you intend to do.’
Good grief, the gall of the girl! Was she for real?Herfault that Hannah couldn’t enjoy being the centre of attention? She doubted this assertion very much as Hannah usually partied like a Rio showgirl.Herfault she had blundered in on a moment of forbidden lust before the door had slammed shut minutes before her wedding?Herfault she wasn’t available to reassure Hannah of her silence in the matter, before Hannah settled down to a glorious life with her handsome groom in his million-dollar penthouse in Battery Park overlooking the Hudson Bay, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and the New Jersey shoreline beyond?
As she had practiced for years, Rosie crushed her rising indignation. She tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear and gnawed on the skin inside her cheek which now threatened an ulcer.
‘I know you can’t come to the funeral, Hannah. I’ve got a flight booked tomorrow from JFK. Don’t worry. I’ll sort out the paperwork with the English lawyer who contacted me yesterday to break the news. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Aunt Bernice died peacefully in her sleep, but, sadly, she was alone.’
This last sentence had coiled around the labyrinths of Rosie’s mind since Mr Meadows had uttered it and, despite the slicing pain of all her discoveries in the last few hours, it was this fact which hurt her the most. For some inexplicable reason, her grief was mingled with guilt; that her aunt, who had guided her back to emotional health when Carlos had dumped her, had died without anyone to hold her hand.
‘Look, Rosie. Aunt Bernice was ancient. For whatever reason, she never married nor had children. She only knew you until you were eight when Mum and Dad left the boring old Cotswolds to come to Connecticut. If you choose that way of life something like that is bound to happen. She should have settled for anyrandom guy willing to give her a ring and she wouldn’t have had to die alone!’
‘Is that what you’re doing, Hannah?’
‘What?’
‘Settling for some random guy so you’re not alone?’
‘No way! I love Jacob.’
A snort of derision escaped from Rosie’s lips before she could stop it.
‘Look, Rosie, Edward was just a panic encounter – the last before I have to hide myself away from all of life’s temptations.’
Rosie gulped down hard as an anvil-heavy weight thumped against her chest. Those five minutes of forbidden pleasure had meant nothing to Hannah! Unbeknown to her, she had destroyed Rosie’s dream of a new relationship – if it could be described as such as – and then discarded it with a flick of her platinum curls and a flash of her sapphire eyes. She and Edward were one of a kind – both of whom she’d willingly welcomed into her heart.
How unlucky was she?
But whilst she could wipe Edward from her life due to lack of merit, she was unable to do the same with her only sister. She couldn’t allow this nightmare to sow the seeds of bitterness in the hearts of those she loved.
‘No, Han, I won’t tell Jacob,’ she said softly. ‘But I have to tell you how shocked I was at your behaviour. I thought, hoped, that all your crazy, wild exploits were behind you when you accepted Jacob’s proposal. He’s a decent guy, you know, and he adores you. He deserves your loyalty.’
‘I promise you I will work hard at being the best wife I can be for Jacob.’ Hannah paused, and for the first time in a longtime Rosie heard a serious tone creep into her sister’s voice. ‘Romantic love is not all it’s cracked up to be, Rosie. You should find someone who will provide for you, too. Don’t tell me that’s not better than slogging your life away in that sweatshop of an office.’
Rosie experienced a flush of sorrow at the possibility that Hannah had settled for less than a burning-hot passion for her handsome husband. She wished with all her heart that today she could have fully rejoiced in the vicarious happiness of her sister’s wedding day. Her head considered Hannah’s proposition as a possible alternative to her loneliness, but at the same time her heart screamed traitor.
‘Are you telling me that you don’t love Jacob with all your heart and soul?’
Hannah was listening but the words clearly didn’t penetrate into her brain. ‘It was a beautiful ceremony, Rosie, it’s such a shame you missed it. I know you said ivory roses and peonies are classy and sophisticated, but I still wish you had gone for something a little more show-stopping like I wanted.’
‘Goodbye, Hannah. Send my love to Dad.’
