Josie cleared her throat and gave Diana an odd look.
‘Joined at the hip, you mean.’
‘I’m sorry for your loss,’ I said. ‘I had heard the sad news and I arrived just as the funeral started. A lot of people attended so she must’ve been well thought of.’
‘I think they wanted to be sure she was gone,’ Josie said. ‘Personally, I couldn’t abide the woman.’
Diana scowled at her.
‘Be nice, Josie. The poor woman is dead. She may not have been the easiest person to like but she didn’t deserve to die the way she did.’
‘That’s true.’
‘It was a hit and run, I understand.’ I gave Diana a sympathetic smile. ‘Do the police have any idea who did it? Were there cameras in the vicinity?’
‘Sadly not. But they said they are pursuing enquiries, whatever that means. Alex doesn’t think we’ll ever find out. Which is probably just as well in a way. He’d kill them if he could and that’s not a good attitude for a highly successful heart surgeon to have, whose sole purpose is to save lives.’
The doorbell rang again. Merry barked and Elsie shook her head.
‘It’s like Piccadilly Circus today.’ She laughed as she stopped in the doorway. ‘Can you hear carol singers? Or do I need to get my hearing checked? I turned off the radio so I know it’s not that.’
Josie laughed too. ‘It’s carol singers. ’Tis the season, after all.’
‘Where did I put my handbag?’ Elsie glanced around the room.
‘It’s in the hall on the stairs,’ Josie said. ‘I spotted it when I arrived. Shall I go and pay them?’
‘Would you, honey bee? Thank you. Give them a tenner. That should keep them quiet.’
‘Don’t you like carol singers?’ I asked her, as Merry began to join in. ‘Shush, Merry.’
Elsie laughed louder. ‘Merry sounds more tuneful than they do. Why do people who can’t sing always think they can?’
‘That reminds me,’ Diana said. ‘I saw Perse on my way here. She’s the vicar of St Mary Star of the Sea, Lottie. Her name’s Persephone but everyone calls her Perse, which is pronounced like the man’s name, Percy but is spelt with an ‘se’ on the end and not a ‘cy’. Don’t make that mistake if you send her a Christmas card or you’ll never hear the last of it. For someone whose business is forgiveness, she’s not very forgiving if you misspell her name.’
‘Is that your news?’ Josie said, returning from the front door. ‘That you saw Perse this morning.’
She grinned and nudged her sister and I could see that despite their banter, they were very close. It must be lovely to have a sister to confide in. Or even a brother. But at least I had cousins, albeit distant cousins, whom I’d finally met after all this time.
‘Yes,’ Diana replied. ‘Because seeing the vicar as I walked past the church is headline news. Of course it isn’t. But Perse did remind me that there’s a carol concert tomorrow night and she expects us all to be there because naturally, everyone in the village will be attending. That will now include you, Lottie.’
‘Tomorrow night? I’d love to go but I can’t leave Merry alone in our room. She’s settling in but it’s still too early to leave her on her own.’
‘There’s no need to,’ Diana said. ‘Our vicar is one of a kind. She truly believes we’re all God’s creatures and is happy for anyone to take their pets to church. We’ve not only had cats, dogs and rabbits, we’ve had sheep, goats, tortoises, even a snake. That caused quite a stir, especially when someone asked if the snake had brought an apple to tempt us all.’
‘I missed that one, sadly,’ Elsie said to me. ‘I only go to church for funerals, weddings, christenings and at Christmas. But the carol concert’s a must and we all go to that. Then there’s the Meet and Mingle Jingle afterwards which is fun. It’s basically a Christmas buffet for which everyone pays a fiver and provides a dish or two for the table. It’s a chance for everyone to chat and there’s even mulled wine.’
‘The Meet and Mingle Jingle,’ I repeated. ‘I like the sound of that. But why ‘Jingle’? Is there music? Or more singing? Or is it just because it’s Christmas?’
‘No.’ Diana grinned. ‘It was just the Meet and Mingle when Perse planned it, as a way for her to get to know the residents and for them to get to know her and others they might not have spoken to very often. But one or two of the villagers had a bit too much mulled wine and went into the belfry and rang the bells. They didn’t know how to, so people were swinging all over the place. Someone even got his foot caught in one of the bell ropes and was swinging there the entire evening. He was fine, don’t worry. So the next year, Perse added the ‘Jingle’ and now anyone who wants to have a go at bellringing can do so, with supervision.’
‘Afterwards,’ Elsie added, grinning, ‘a few of us adjourn to the pub and this year the plan is to continue on to Neptune’s Nightclub.’
‘I’ve never been,’ Josie said. ‘I’m really looking forward to it. This’ll be my first Christmas in Seahorse Harbour in years. Half the collection from the Meet and Mingle Jingle goes to The Seahorse Riders to help with conservation of the seahorse population, so it’s for a good cause.’
‘Are pets also welcome to that?’
‘Yes,’ Diana said. ‘If they’re well-behaved and looked after by their owners.’
‘Merry will be more than welcome,’ Elsie said. ‘And some of the pets are better behaved than their owners. Take it from me.’
‘Count me in,’ I said, already looking forward to it. It would be a great way to meet more of the villagers … and possibly a chance to see the delectable vet, Asher Bryant, once again.
‘So what was your news?’ Elsie asked Diana.
I’d forgotten Diana had said she had news to share.
‘Ah. Now I don’t want you and Josie to get cross because nothing’s settled yet and we’ll have to see how Christmas goes, but Alex has definitely changed and he really needs me and the kids right now. So … I think I may give him another chance.’
‘What?’ Elsie said, glaring at her.
‘Are you completely mad?’ Josie added, glowering.
‘Aren’t you seeing someone else?’ I asked, although I had no idea why I said anything at all, especially when all eyes turned to me. ‘Sorry. It’s none of my business. But I think Lilith mentioned you were now seeing Mikkel Meloy. Or did I get that wrong?’
‘No.’ Josie glowered at Diana again. ‘You got that right. What about Mikkel, Di? Does he know about this?’
Diana slowly shook her head. ‘Don’t shout at me. It’s a difficult situation, I’m well aware of that. But I can’t help the way I feel. I thought I was over Alex, I really did. But it seems I’m not. Mikkel knows that we’ve been spending more time together, obviously, and he knows that Alex told me he’s given up his cheating ways and wants to try again. But until Bernice’s accident, I didn’t think I’d ever consider going back to Alex. Since Bernice died, we’ve talked a lot more. And he realises how much he hurt me. And not just me but also the kids. He’s promised me he’ll try to be the perfect husband and the perfect dad, if I’ll give him another chance. He says he never stopped loving me. Even when he was considering leaving me for Una, he said he knew deep down he never would.’