The Wedding Promise (3 page)

Liza could see it all happening. Her aunt must have spotted the budding romance and decided to encourage it along.

“She showed us some of her artwork,” Jennifer went on. “And when we finally left, she told us to come back and visit her. We did come back a few times. We liked to bike ride on the island or come to this beach. We started thinking of it as our beach,” she added. “We always stopped to say hello to your aunt. She told me once that she was sure Kyle and I were a perfect match and felt sure we’d get married someday,” Jennifer confided with a small smile. “I asked if we could get married here, at the inn, and I remember exactly what she did. She sat back and clapped her hands and said, ‘My dear, that would make my heart sing.’”

Liza smiled. That was Aunt Elizabeth. Her heart could sing, quite beautifully. And she could make other hearts sing, too.

Liza heard the rattle of china and flatware and saw Claire coming into the sitting room with a tray that held a teapot and cups and a dish with slices of fragrant lemon poppy-seed cake.

Claire set the tray on the table. “The tea has been steeping in the kitchen. I think it’s ready to pour.”

“Thank you, Claire,” Liza said. “Would you like some tea and cake, Jennifer?”

“Yes, please. I really shouldn’t have the cake, now that I need to shop for a wedding dress. But it looks delicious,” she admitted.

“Oh, a small piece couldn’t hurt,” Liza assured her. She was grateful for the small break in the conversation. Talking about her aunt brought back memories. Liza did miss her.

“So, you visited my aunt often while you were in high school but haven’t been back in a while?” Liza asked.

“Around the time Kyle started college, we stopped coming to the island. Not enough time, I guess.” Jennifer shrugged. “But we never forgot this place. We always imagined having our wedding here someday. It’s just so special to us, almost . . . magical or something.” Jennifer’s bright eyes sparkled. “Your aunt told us the legend of the island, too.”

Liza smiled ruefully, not at all surprised. “The legend, yes, of course. My aunt loved that story. I made her tell it almost every night when I was a little girl and stayed here during the summers.”

Aunt Elizabeth never minded telling it over again—unlike some adults who balked at repeating a bedtime story—even though Liza knew it by heart and could have easily told it to herself.

In the mid-1600s, English colonists came to the area and founded the town of Cape Light. During their second winter, a highly contagious illness ravaged the village. None of the usual cures, herbs, or even bleeding, could help, and most of those who became ill did not survive. The village authorities decided quarantine was necessary to control the outbreak. The sick were brought to the island, and very few of the colonists were brave enough or selfless enough to come out and help them.

There would be weekly visits with food and water and other necessities but not much more than that. Sometimes storms washed out the land bridge and made it impossible to reach the island by boat. In the winter, the island was practically inaccessible to the villagers, even if they wanted to come.

That winter was particularly brutal with ice storms and high snow. For months, no one could get to the island to visit the sick villagers, and no one believed they would survive. It was spring when a group from the town finally made it out to the island, bracing themselves for a grim sight. But the truth was even more shocking than they could have imagined. The quarantined islanders had not only survived the harsh winter but were restored to full health.

They claimed that a group of very able, gentle people had come and nursed them through the winter. But no one could say exactly where those helping hands were from.

Of course, they wanted to thank their rescuers. After they all returned to the mainland, some of the survivors traveled around, searching for the ones who had answered their prayers. But they could never find a nearby town or anyone who knew about the quarantine. Or who would admit to having gone to the island that winter.

A number of the survivors concluded that they had been saved by the healing touch of angels disguised in human form. It was said that their spiritual healing presence could be felt and experienced on the island forever after. Those who believed even pointed to the shape of the island’s cliffs that jutted out like angels’ wings.

The unnamed island became known as Angel Island, and locals still debated the truth of its history.

“I heard different versions of the story growing up,” Jennifer said. “But your aunt made it sound so . . . convincing.”

“Yes, she did.” Liza had to agree.

“What do you think? Do you believe the legend?” Jennifer asked curiously.

“I guess I’ve gone through phases, believing and not believing,” Liza said honestly. “Right now, I suppose I’m in an ‘anything’s possible’ stage,” she added with a smile.

“Me, too. I do think that anything’s possible.” Jennifer’s expression became more serious. “Your aunt told us that when couples married on the island, the angels watched over them for the rest of their lives. She said the partnership is forever blessed and protected.”

“I’ve never heard that before,” Liza admitted, “but it’s a lovely thought.” And romantic and spiritual, too, just like Elizabeth. Now that Liza knew her aunt had been in the picture, it made it even harder to refuse Jennifer’s request.

But she couldn’t do a wedding here. There had to be some way to let the girl down easy. To make her see that, despite her lovely memories and daydreams, the inn in its present state would never live up to her fantasies.

“It sounds as if you and Kyle are a perfect match,” Liza said sincerely. “I understand why the inn has such meaning for you, but I just don’t think it’s possible to do a wedding party here. Not at this time,” she quickly added.

“But your helper . . . Claire . . . She just said that you do weddings.” Jennifer looked stunned and suddenly so sad.

“I know she did. I think she meant that there were weddings here in the past—when my aunt and uncle ran the inn and were up to the task. But that was years ago. And I just took over in March,” she added.

“Oh . . . I see.” Jennifer sighed and looked down at her hands a moment, twisting her diamond engagement ring on her finger—a sparkling round stone in a plain gold setting.

She suddenly looked at Liza again. “Does that mean you haven’t had the opportunity to do a wedding? Or you just don’t want to do one? Because this isn’t going to be a very big wedding,” she continued. “Not big at all. Just our immediate family and a few friends. I mean, if you do any sort of parties here, it wouldn’t be much more complicated. And if you want to just try a wedding, it would be a good place to start.”

Liza couldn’t help smiling at the girl’s persuasive manner and persistence. Jennifer had seemed a bit shy at the door but was clearly no pushover.

“Frankly, I haven’t given weddings much thought, one way or the other,” Liza said honestly. “We have so much repair work to do. After my uncle died, my aunt wasn’t able to keep the inn up, and now we need some major renovations, inside and out.”

“You seemed to be talking about that just before I came in. I overheard a little from the porch.”

Liza’s face flushed, recalling her exact words—a disaster waiting to happen—but she tried to maintain a professional manner. “It’s not quite as bad as it sounded. I was feeling a little frustrated about something.”

“Well, that’s good to hear,” Jennifer said quickly.

“But the inn really is a work in progress,” Liza insisted.

“That’s okay. As long as it’s presentable.”

“Presentable?” Liza echoed. Jennifer nodded.

Didn’t brides want to be married in picture-perfect, jawdroppingly beautiful sites? Like castles and chateaus? Vineyards and grand estates?

The inn was far from that standard.

Liza was starting to feel backed into a corner. No matter how many pitfalls she pointed out to having a wedding here, Jennifer had some solution.

She decided to change the subject entirely.

“So tell me a little about yourself, Jennifer. Are you in school?” Liza thought she looked about college age.

“I just graduated,” Jennifer replied. “I went to Boston University. I grew up in Cape Light. My family still lives there. They didn’t want me to go too far away and it worked out fine.”

“What did you study?”

“I have a degree in education,” Jennifer said proudly, “but I decided to put off looking for a job until Kyle and I are married. Teaching jobs are so hard to find right now, and it seemed a lot to do along with planning the wedding.”

“That would be a lot to handle.” Liza paused. They were back to the wedding again. No avoiding it. “Have you and your fiancé picked a date?”

“We’d like to be married as soon as possible. In a month or so. Certainly by July.” Liza could see that Jennifer was watching her expression, waiting for her reaction. “Would that be a problem for you? I mean, it sounds as if you don’t have any other big parties planned here.”

“No . . . I don’t . . . but that’s because I don’t do big parties,” Liza clarified, reminding herself of the fact again. “I mean, I don’t do them yet. And a month or so . . . well, that’s not much time to plan a wedding, don’t you think? I mean, for anyone to pull it together.”

“That’s what my mother keeps telling me. If you need a bit longer, that would be all right. But not too much. I don’t want to have one of those long, drawn-out engagements. Kyle and I just want to be married. We don’t need to make a project out of it. We’re not that type of couple. Know what I mean?”

“Yes, I do.” Liza smiled at her. So often it seemed that couples—especially the brides—were so focused on the wedding day, planning it for a year or even two, that they forgot about the days after, the rest of their married lives together. But Jennifer seemed to have the right focus.

“Is this the first place you’ve visited?” Liza asked curiously.

“Yes, it is. And the last. I really don’t plan on visiting any place else. Honestly.” Jennifer’s expression was completely calm and certain, as if Liza had not just told her point-blank, several times, that she didn’t do weddings.

“I thought brides liked to look around and compare their options. Maybe if you looked at some other inns or restaurants, you’d be surprised—and pleased,” Liza suggested.

She had a feeling this inn would not seem nearly as appealing compared to other possibilities, local choices like the Cape Light Country Club or the Newburyport Yacht Club, both just a short distance away on the mainland.

Jennifer sat back and smiled. “Oh, I don’t need to go through all that. It would be a waste of time. Kyle and I have our hearts set on the inn. We really do. It would mean so much to us. And we wouldn’t be fussy at all, I absolutely promise. The inn is so charming and unique. Even if it’s not in perfect condition, it really has character. Could you just please think about it, Liza?”

Jennifer stared at her with wide blue eyes. Liza didn’t know what to say.

She had been touched by Jennifer’s romantic story and hearing that her aunt had known the young couple. That part had hooked her, for sure. It wouldn’t be good for her business reputation, either, if she just dashed this girl’s hopes to bits and seemed unfeeling and abrupt.

“Yes, I will definitely consider it. But I’m not promising anything,” she hurriedly added when she saw the sun come out again in Jennifer’s lovely face. “I have to warn you, I think the answer will still be that I’d love to do it, but the circumstances here aren’t ideal.”

“But you’ll think about it?” Jennifer replied quickly. “I mean, you really will think it through?”

Liza sighed, then nodded. “Yes, I will. I promise.”

“Great.” Jennifer practically bounced in place on the old sofa. “As I mentioned, we aren’t planning on a large party at all, only thirty to, say, fifty guests at most.” She gazed at Liza quickly to check her reaction. Liza was about to explain that it was premature for any details like that, but Jennifer rushed on and Liza couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

“. . . and we would like the ceremony here, too. Maybe out in the garden in back. I remember there was a beautiful garden, with all these roses and all kinds of flowers in the summertime.”

“I’m not really sure what’s left of the garden. My aunt wasn’t able to do any outdoor work as she got older.”

That was another item on her to-do list. Liza loved to garden and had begun working around the property as the warm weather set in. But the large beds of perennials, in the back especially, needed serious attention—a new garden design and a truckload of new plants.

“The gardens need some work,” Liza said briefly.

“Oh, we won’t worry about that. We’ll bring in flowers. That’s what florists are for,” Jennifer cut in again. “And don’t worry about a lot of fancy food either. Honestly, the food thing is so overdone at all the weddings I go to lately.”

Liza had to agree with that. There was usually a lavish cocktail hour with hundreds of appetizers. Just when you thought you couldn’t eat another bite, the guests were led into another room for a long dinner with several courses followed by an elaborate array of desserts.

“We want something different. Something fun but simple. Maybe just champagne and hors d’oeuvres.”

“That sounds simple and elegant, too,” Liza had to agree. She liked parties like that. Maybe with live music, a trio of some kind in the corner. Flowers, of course. Yes, she could see it.

Jennifer looked pleased at her reply, and Liza caught herself before saying anything more.

Whoa, what was going on here? She was letting this girl get her carried away, like a riptide. Getting her all involved in these wedding plans when tomorrow Liza knew she would have to tell Jennifer in a diplomatic but final way that she could not have her wedding here.