Three Amazing Things About You(64)

As for the shopping village . . . well, it was a huge, eclectic sprawl of stalls, some standing on their own, others clustered in tents the size of wedding marquees. From hot tubs to angora socks, from fine diamond jewellery to nylon dog leads, there was something for everyone, and you never knew what you were going to come across next. For the next hour, Hallie and Bea marvelled at stalls selling diamanté-encrusted shoes, luxury summer houses, home-made fudge, life-size wire sculptures of horses, and jars of mustard.

‘Eww, mustard.’ Shaking her head in revulsion, Hallie’s eye was caught by a bright stall opposite. ‘Let’s have a look at that one over there.’

This was better; oh yes, this was her kind of place. The front of the stall was hung with bunting and multicoloured tissue pompoms. Inside, there were art prints, stained-glass lamps, strings of pearl-encrusted fairy lights, velvet gloves, silk scarves, items of bold statement jewellery and a wide selection of hats. The man running the stall was wearing a dashing black fedora with a red ribbon tied around it and was wrapping a pair of candlesticks in silver paper, placing them in a fuchsia-pink cardboard carrier with emerald rope handles.

‘It breaks my heart to sell these. I can’t believe I’ll never see them again.’ He handed the bag over to the customer. ‘Goodbye, my darlings, you’re going to live with a new family now.’

Once the woman had gone, his assistant, who was wearing a purple trilby, reached under the table and with a triumphant ‘Ta-daaah!’ pulled out two more identical candlesticks.

‘Ahh, it’s a miracle!’ The man applauded her. ‘Like the loaves and fishes. Hello, ladies, have you come to make off with more family heirlooms and break my heart too?’

Hallie said to the girl in the purple trilby, ‘Is he always like this?’

‘Well, it’s my first time working with him, but I’m pretty sure the answer’s yes.’

‘I really like your hat.’

The girl looked amused. ‘Another one of his ideas.’

‘Why?’

The man chimed in. ‘Because we sell hats. If customers see one they like, they don’t want to be the only person wearing one. Feel free to try any of them on, by the way. So long as you don’t have nits.’

But Hallie’s attention had been caught by the silk scarves tied to the branches of a silver tree on the central table inside the tent. ‘Oh, look at these, they’re just gorgeous.’ Wheeling herself over, she lightly touched one of the scarves, feeling the slippery material slide between her fingers. This one had splashes of lime green, fuchsia, deep purple and gold exploding like fireworks over an inky blue background. It reminded her of midnight on New Year’s Eve, when she and Luke had watched the celebration in Carranford together from her bedroom window.

‘That one’s my favourite,’ said the girl.

‘Mine too.’ Hallie found the tiny price tag and turned it over, fingers mentally crossed in the hope that it might by some miracle say £6.50.

Well, you could always dream.

It didn’t say £6.50, of course. The scarf cost eighty-five pounds. Which was a crazy amount, even if it was stunningly beautiful.

‘Those colours would really suit you.’ Joining her, Bea also checked the price tag and pulled a face. ‘Ouch.’

‘I know.’ The girl in the purple trilby was sympathetic. ‘They’re hand-painted by a designer in Cornwall, so no two scarves are the same.’

‘I could let you have it for seventy,’ said the man, ‘if it helps.’

It was still far too much. Regretfully, Hallie let go of the scarf and turned her attention to the jewellery on the table. The man’s phone had begun to ring and he pulled it out of his pocket.

‘Margot! Are you calling to find out if I’ve sacked her yet? No, no, Flo’s doing fine, she’s just wrestling with a shoplifter at the moment. Flo, put the poor man down, you don’t know your own strength!’

‘What about this necklace? D’you like it?’ Lifting up a long multicoloured string of beads, Bea said encouragingly, ‘It’s only eighteen pounds.’

Hallie shrugged, because the necklace was pretty but it didn’t begin to compare with the scarf.

‘Look, you can use it as a lasso.’ Twirling it around in the air, Bea said, ‘If you spot Prince Harry, you can use it to bring him down. He won’t stand a chance.’

Hallie grinned. ‘Then I could tie him up with my oxygen tubing.’

‘Is he here today?’ Flo was interested. ‘How exciting!’

‘Not sure, but we’re going to keep a lookout. It’d be so brilliant to see him, even if it’s just from a distance.’ Hallie wheeled herself backwards, away from the table. ‘Right, let me have a think about the necklace. We might be back later.’