The baby wriggled and then her tiny mouth scrunched up.
“She’s getting ready to scream,” Peter said.
“We have a space where you can nurse her, if you prefer privacy,” Bridget said. “You are, of course, welcome to feed her anywhere you’d like.”
“I think I’d rather have privacy,” Paula replied. “She’s not used to crowds.”
As the trio walked away, following Bridget, Janet could hear the baby starting to cry.
“Congratulations,” Robert Parsons said.
Janet smiled at the police constable who was responsible for policing both Doveby Dale and the neighbouring village of Little Burton. He was young, but he was very good at his job.
“You look beautiful,” Stacey added. The pretty blonde worked at the café with Todd and Ted and had been seeing Robert for several months now. Janet thought that it was likely that Robert would propose before too much longer.
“What a beautiful dress,” Beverly Osborne said. “I don’t believe you’ve ever met my son. This is Daniel.”
Janet smiled and shook hands with the man. “Edward, I know I’ve told you about Beverly.”
He nodded. “It’s very nice to meet you,” he said, shaking hands with both Beverly and Daniel.
“Where’s the bar?” Daniel asked Edward.
“Along the wall at the back,” Edward told him.
Beverly shook her head as she followed her son.
“Nancy pushed her way to the front,” Edna Green said as she hugged Janet. “But the rest of us decided to be polite.”
Janet laughed. “Edward, meet the rest of the lovely ladies from the Doveby Dale Ladies’ Club. This is Edna Green, this is Martha Scott, and this is Harriet Thomason.”
Edward shook hands with each of them in turn. “It’s very nice to meet you all,” he said.
“He’s very handsome,” Edna whispered loudly. “But who were all of the men in the dark suits? None of them looked happy to be here.”
“Those are my business associates,” Edward told her.
Edna raised an eyebrow. “They’re either dangerous criminals or spies,” she said. “For Janet’s sake, I hope they’re spies.”
Edward was still laughing as the three women walked away.
“Congratulations,” Gretchen Falkirk Murray said. “Being married is the most wonderful thing ever.”
Janet smiled at her. “I’m glad to hear that you still feel that way.”
Gretchen smiled at her husband, Jack. “I waited a lifetime to be his wife. I’ll always feel that way.”
Janet introduced them both to Edward.
“And now I must go and find Bessie and Doona,” Gretchen said. “And I suppose I must say something to Beverly, although I’ve no idea what to say to her.”
“Congrats,” Mack Fenton said, giving Janet an awkward hug.
“Thank you,” Janet replied. “You’ve met Edward, of course.”
“Yeah, nice to see you again,” Mack said. He glanced backwards and then slipped away into the crowd.
“That was odd,” Janet whispered to Edward.
“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” Edward replied.
“Paul!” Janet exclaimed, pulling the man into a hug. “Edward, this is Paul Nichols. He stayed with us for several weeks while he was working in Doveby Dale. Aggie thought the world of him.”
“Nice to meet you,” Edward said. “Aggie is a very good judge of character.”
Aggie, which was short for Agatha Christie, was the cat that Edward had given to Janet. Joan had promised to take good care of her while Janet and Edward were on their honeymoon.
“I do miss you and Joan,” Paul said. “Life in Doveby Dale was much less hectic than it is in London.”
“You know you can come back and stay any time,” Janet told him.
He shrugged. “My father is thinking about buying the antique shop and sending me up here to manage it. There are a lot of details that still need to be worked out, though.”
“We’d all love to have you in Doveby Dale,” Janet replied happily.
Paul had worked at the shop when William Chalmers had been the owner. The man who’d purchased it when William had decided to leave Doveby Dale was currently in prison awaiting trial on several charges. A “For Sale” sign had been put in the shop window in late October.
“And now for my friends,” Edward murmured as Paul walked away.
“My dear, I can’t begin to congratulate you enough,” Marcus Talford said. “I’m ever so happy for both of you.”
Janet hugged the man tightly. “I can’t believe that it’s been a year since you stayed with us,” she said as she released him. “You should have come for Christmas again this year.”
He shrugged. “As it happens, I spent Christmas with a friend this year. It’s still early days, but we may be more than friends by next Christmas.”
Edward had sent Marcus to help the sisters out of a difficult situation involving their distant cousin, Roland Dickerson. Although Roland was the only other relative the sisters had, neither of them had invited him to her wedding.
“Darlink, what a wonderful thing,” Eugenie Snelling said in her unusual and exotic accent. “I knew that Janet was perfect for you, but I didn’t trust you to be smart enough to agree.”
Edward laughed. “I’m not certain how to reply to that,” he told her.
“It doesn’t matter. Just know that I’m incredibly happy for both of you,” Eugenie said.
“As am I,” a nearly unrecognizable Tamela Underwood added. The woman looked beautiful, her hair cut short and styled to frame her face. Her dress was stunning and her eyes sparkled with an enthusiasm for life that had been absent the last time Janet had seen her.
“How are you?” Janet asked.
“So much better, thank you,” Tamela replied. “After very carefully going through everything that my mother left me, I’ve found several accounts about which my uncle knew nothing. It turns out that I’m quite wealthy. I’ve given up worrying about the money that my uncle stole from me. He has enough problems to worry about, anyway.”
Janet nodded. “I’m so pleased that things have worked out for you,” she told the woman.
“Welcome to the family,” Margaret Burns, Edward’s sister, said, hugging Janet tightly.
“Thank you,” Janet said.
They chatted for a moment before Edward put his arm around Janet.
“I think that’s everyone,” he said.
Janet looked around the room. “But what about all of your friends? The men in the black suits?” she asked.
“They couldn’t stay for the party,” he replied.
Janet opened her mouth to ask a dozen more questions, but she was interrupted by a waiter with a tray of finger foods. As she helped herself to something, Edward handed her the champagne flute she’d put down some time earlier.
Half an hour later, they all sat down to a delicious dinner. After dinner, they had both traditional wedding cake and a selection of additional puddings.
“I’m stuffed,” Janet said after she’d swallowed her last bite of chocolate cake. “Everything was delicious.”
“Thank you,” Bridget replied as she cleared the plates.
For several hours, the newly married pair drank and danced and talked with their friends and family. Janet giggled every time someone called her “Mrs. Bennett,” and Edward kissed her every time she laughed.
“It’s getting late,” he said as the clock on the wall struck nine.
“We have a plane to catch,” she sighed.
“And it’s an hour later in Paris,” he reminded her.
She nodded. “We should go.”
“But you don’t want to leave.”
“I do want to leave, but I’m also sad to leave. All of my friends are here and I’ve not had a chance to speak to everyone, not as much as I’d like, anyway,” she explained.
“I can change our flights until tomorrow, if you’d rather stay here tonight.�
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She looked at him and had to blink back tears. “You would, wouldn’t you? You’d change all of our plans just for me.”
“I made all of our plans just for you,” he said with a chuckle. “I want you to enjoy our honeymoon, and I want to make the rest of our life together one long holiday for both of us. One more day here won’t change anything in our forever.”
After kissing him, she shook her head. “I want our first night together to be special,” she said. “Paris is the most romantic city in the world. I want to be there with you, and only you, tonight.”
“Then we really do have to think about leaving soon,” he replied.
Half an hour later, she and Edward walked out of Ashcroft Hall and into a waiting limousine. Their family and friends waved as the car slowly drove away, heading for a London airport.
“More champagne?” Edward asked as they settled back in the seat.
“I think I’ve had quite enough,” she replied with a giggle.
“Then get some rest,” he suggested. “We’re going to be travelling for hours.”
They snuggled up together, and Janet let herself doze on and off as they made their way to London. The small private plane was waiting for them when they arrived.
“I’m not certain about this,” Janet said as she looked at the plane. “You know I’ve never flown before.”
“You’ll be fine,” Edward assured her. “You know I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
Janet nodded, but she wasn’t convinced. Inside the plane, the young flight attendant did her best to make Janet feel at ease. The takeoff was nerve-wracking, but once they were in the air, Janet felt herself relaxing.
“It’s actually a bit boring,” she told Edward after a while.
He laughed. “It is, yes. It should feel more exciting than it does.”
Another limousine was waiting for them at the other end. Janet greeted the driver in French. Once they were on their way, Edward grinned at her.
“I’d forgotten how good your French is,” he said.
“I’m sure I told you that Joan and I spent two years living in France in the early years of our teaching careers. We taught English, but outside of the classroom we spoke nothing but French for those years, even at home with one another. Once we came back to the UK, I taught French until I retired, so I was still able to speak it fairly regularly.”
“And now you shall be able to speak it every day for a fortnight.”
She smiled. “I’m looking forward to that, but I’m a bit worried about our fortnight in Venice.”
“I speak more Italian than French,” he assured her. “We’ll be fine.”
They arrived at their hotel, a small boutique property near the Eiffel Tower, after midnight.
“Please sign the register,” the man behind the desk said, handing Janet a pen.
She wrote “Janet Markham” and then passed the pen to Edward.
“Have you decided not to take my name, then?” he asked in a teasing tone.
Flushing, she took the pen back and carefully wrote “Bennett” after “Markham.” As she gave the pen to Edward again, she found herself giggling once more.
“Congratulations on your marriage,” the man told them as Edward scrawled something illegible on the line under Janet’s neat signature.
A uniformed bellhop showed them to their room while another followed with a cart carrying their luggage.
The huge suite gave them a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower and the surrounding area. Janet stepped out onto the balcony as Edward got rid of the bellhops.
“Happy?” he asked her when he joined her.
She looked out at the illuminated tower and then back at her new husband. “I’ve never been happier in my life,” she told him.
When Janet opened her eyes the next morning, she was momentarily discombobulated. The luxury suite was clearly not Doveby House, but it took her a moment to remember exactly where she was. A quick glance at her left hand made her smile. The simple gold band that Edward had given her yesterday looked perfect next to the gorgeous engagement ring he’d given her in September.
Sitting up in bed, Janet looked at the empty space next to her. Edward wasn’t in bed. The door to the enormous en-suite was open. Janet stuck her head inside. No Edward. “Maybe he’s enjoying coffee on the balcony,” she muttered as she slipped on one of the thick bathrobes, which had the hotel’s name embroidered on it. When she pulled open the curtains, though, the balcony was empty.
A nervous laugh bubbled up inside her. She’d been married for less than twenty-four hours and she’d already misplaced her husband.
Also by Diana Xarissa
The Markham Sisters Cozy Mystery Novellas
The Appleton Case
The Bennett Case
The Chalmers Case
The Donaldson Case
The Ellsworth Case
The Fenton Case
The Green Case
The Hampton Case
The Irwin Case
The Jackson Case
The Kingston Case
The Lawley Case
The Moody Case
The Norman Case
The Osborne Case
The Patrone Case
The Quinton Case
The Rhodes Case
The Somerset Case
The Tanner Case
The Underwood Case
The Vernon Case
The Walters Case
The Xanders Case
The Young Case
The Zachery Case
The Janet Markham Bennett Cozy Thriller Series
The Armstrong Assignment
The Isle of Man Cozy Mysteries
Aunt Bessie Assumes
Aunt Bessie Believes
Aunt Bessie Considers
Aunt Bessie Decides
Aunt Bessie Enjoys
Aunt Bessie Finds
Aunt Bessie Goes
Aunt Bessie’s Holiday
Aunt Bessie Invites
Aunt Bessie Joins
Aunt Bessie Knows
Aunt Bessie Likes
Aunt Bessie Meets
Aunt Bessie Needs
Aunt Bessie Observes
Aunt Bessie Provides
Aunt Bessie Questions
Aunt Bessie Remembers
Aunt Bessie Solves
Aunt Bessie Tries
Aunt Bessie Understands
Aunt Bessie Wonders
Aunt Bessie’s X-Ray
Aunt Bessie Yearns
Aunt Bessie Zeroes In
The Aunt Bessie Cold Case Mysteries
The Adams File
The Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Mysteries
Arrivals and Arrests
Boats and Bad Guys
Cars and Cold Cases
Dogs and Danger
Encounters and Enemies
Friends and Frauds
Guests and Guilt
Hop-tu-Naa and Homicide
Invitations and Investigations
Joy and Jealousy
Kittens and Killers
Letters and Lawsuits
Marsupials and Murder
Neighbors and Nightmares
Orchestras and Obsessions
Proposals and Poison
Questions and Quarrels
The Isle of Man Romances
Island Escape
Island Inheritance
Island Heritage
Island Christmas
The Later in Life Love Stories
Second Chances
Second Act
Second Thoughts
Second Degree
Second Best
About the Author
Diana grew up in Northwestern Pennsylvania and moved to Washington, DC after college. There she met a wonderful Englishman who was visiting the city. After a whirlwind romance, they got married and Diana moved to the Chesterfield area of Derbyshire to begin a new life with her husband. A
short time later, they relocated to the Isle of Man.
After over ten years on the island, it was time for a change. With their two children in tow, Diana and her husband moved to suburbs of Buffalo, New York. Diana now spends her days writing about the island she loves.
She also writes mystery/thrillers set in the not-too-distant future as Diana X. Dunn and middle grade and Young Adult books as D.X. Dunn.
Diana is always happy to hear from readers. You can write to her at:
Diana Xarissa Dunn
PO Box 72
Clarence, NY 14031.
Find Diana at: DianaXarissa.com
E-mail: Diana@dianaxarissa.com