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A blast of scent from the flowers in the front garden made me breathe in the morning air. When the cottage glowed in the sunlight, I noticed the myriad colours and textures of the stone for the first time. Shades of green in the mountainside seemed to have increased overnight. Though I was insignificant compared to the mountain, the moment made me want to leap to the top. Danny’s words still echoed in my head: It’s perfect here with you . I had realised we were comfortable together and he made me feel complete, but when he was cagey about who called him in the morning, I felt deflated. As I tipped the watering can, I watched the water reviving the geraniums. Happiness made me glow again. I had to trust Danny. He told me it was an old friend he had not seen since early in the year, so it could not be Laura. Smiling again, I cast the doubts aside. It was best to keep busy, prepare the packs for the literature festival and talk to Danny later.

As I drenched some roses with water, my mind flicked to the email received from school. My mentor loved my plans for the lessons. I mumbled, ‘Yay’. Everything seemed to be going my way for once, making me dare to hope I just might win the writing competition. Surely luck comes in threes, I thought to myself.

Then I caught sight of Nora waving as she walked towards me. Oh no, she probably knew what happened last night.

‘Good morning, Maisie.’ Nora’s pace speeded up as she headed towards the garden gate. ‘You look very pleased with yourself.’

I waved and turned my back to water the flowerpots outside the front door. Memories of last night flooded back to me and made me grin again , but I forced myself to frown in concentration before I turned around.

When I looked up, Nora shoved a postcard in her pocket. A brief glimpse of the Eiffel Tower meant she had taken the bait. ‘Have you seen your aunt?’ shouted Nora from the garden wall, waving a floral scarf. ‘Camellia is sure she’s seen Ada, and I’m convinced I could smell her perfume in the …’ I knew she stopped herself from saying potting shed.

‘It’s wishful thinking.’ Another cryptic discussion with Nora did not appeal to me. It was not appropriate to say my aunt was dead and never coming back when I knew the truth now. A couple of days ago, I had found Camellia in the shed supposedly searching for my secateurs and weed killer. At some point, I would need to change the lock on the plotting shed because I could not risk them discovering Bella’s identity. ‘Catch you later, Nora. I’m running late. I’ve got to organise some stuff for the festival.’

‘OK. Haven’t you done them yet?’ She nodded her head and then said, ‘Good luck with the short story competition. No hard feelings if I win. Bye. I must change into my costume. See you later.’

‘Hi, Maisie,’ said Jemima, standing in front of me. ‘Nora walked straight into me just now and was striding with purpose.’

‘I think she’s investigating something.’ I tapped my nose and then winked. ‘How are you on this glorious day? Aren’t you just glad to be alive?’ I sounded like Pollyanna and realised my face was now aching from grinning.

‘I’ve come to show you my outfit for the festival.’ She walked up and down the garden path in a beautiful purple cloak with stars on it. A Hogwarts symbol embroidered in gold dominated the cloak. She wore a pointed hat and a curly wig. ‘What do you think?’

‘Wow! Fabulous costume, Jemima.’ I hugged her.

‘I can’t wait to greet everyone at the Back of Beyond Bridge. Dad has painted a big sign saying: Welcome to Heatherbridge Literature Festival . Now he’s installing his hand-painted book trail clues with the primary school caretaker. By the way, you look nice today. That colour top is gorgeous on you, Maisie. Your skin is glowing. Have you been for a spa?’

I paused to find the words. ‘Erm. No, I haven’t.’ Was it that obvious? Can you help me with some bookish stuff, Jemima?’ Piles of books, bookmarks and treasure maps were still crowded in the conservatory, so I beckoned Jemima to follow me. I handed her paper bags with the Heatherbridge Literature Festival logo printed on it. ‘It would be great if you put the children’s book packs together. We’ll take them down to the bridge in the wheelbarrows later on.’

‘Cool.’

When Jemima was concentrating on filling the bags, I checked for messages from Danny.

Had a cold shower and can’t stop thinking of last night. I must stop this inane grinning. Danny. Xxx

Restraining the urge to punch the air with joy, I smiled. Everything was going to be OK.

Jemima watched me. ‘Danny’s back in Heatherbridge. Did you know Danny and my grandad have been working on some artists’ tours of Paris? I was there a couple of weeks ago and I spent the day with Danny. He let me help him on one of the tours of the vineyard. I was in charge of organising the picnic. He said you had some great ideas for a murder mystery weekend in Paris. I saw some fab photos of your trip to Paris and he talked about you a lot.’ She hummed, ‘Love is in the Air,’ without looking up from the packs.

‘Who’re you in love with?’ I asked, fixing a grin on my face.

‘Ha! Ha!’ Jemima raised an eyebrow exactly like her father. ‘Come on let’s get into the village with the wheelbarrows. I’ll race you.’

*

Moving the wheelbarrows through the village took a while as they wobbled, and we were stopped by the various shop owners. At Heatherbridge Stores, Willy Wonka waved at us. The greengrocer was dressed as a very tall, slender Beatrix Potter and she was writing a message on the board outside the shop. The sweetshop had been renamed Mrs Pratchett’s as a tribute to the Roald Dahl story. Hand-knitted characters from novels were available to buy at the knitting shop. The café in Heatherbridge Mill and Crafts had been transformed into the Mad Hatter’s tea party.

A short man wearing a rabbit costume ran up and down the cobbled road declaring he was late. On removing the rabbit’s head, Peter dabbed sweat trickling down his forehead. ‘I’m late, I’m late for a very important date.’ He jumped up and clicked his heels, then removed his pocket watch and pointed to the clock face. ‘I must get a move on. I need to get someone to sort out the projector and laptop for later.’ He patted my arm. ‘I’m late, I’m late. It’ll all be fine in the end, you’ll see. Camellia gets carried away; you know.’

Before I had a chance to ask Peter what he was talking about, a group of visitors stopped in front of me to ask me where the tearoom was. I pointed to the Mad Hatter Tearooms and then a little girl asked me about the wheelbarrows. I checked my phone again.

I may be a little late to the festival. Friends have broken down in their van and I’ve organised a mechanic. I should be there for the awards. Still grinning. Danny X

Miss you. Get back soon. Maisie x

I joined Jemima on the bridge and parked my wheelbarrow next to hers. The purple and lilac wheelbarrows crammed with the children’s welcome packs were inviting. I admired the arched sign above the bridge designed by Felix and the caretaker.

Positioned on the brow of the bridge, beneath the festival sign, Jemima said, ‘I’ll stand here to hand out the packs and Nora and Camellia will collect the money from the visitors. I love it here, Maisie. I wish I lived here with Dad rather than in the big old house in Leeds.’

Hugging her, I said, ‘You’ve got the best of both worlds and can visit Heatherbridge at any time. You’re a member of this community.’

Women’s voices interrupted our discussion, and we had to move apart as Nora and Camellia pushed between us.

I sighed and said, ‘Be careful. We’ve just set up the barrows of books.’

‘Sorry, Maisie, my love,’ said Nora, dressed in a tweed suit and matching hat with a couple of pigeon feathers in it. ‘I’ve been making a few enquiries and asking Camellia some questions. I think this outfit has brought out the inner Marple in me. But Camellia is being unhelpful about her specific sighting of Ada.’

Camellia straightened her blue pinafore dress and then flicked her long blonde wig. ‘In the words of Alice, that woman is getting curiouser and curiouser.’

‘Just remind me NOT to eat anything she’s prepared from the buffet. It’ll probably poison me,’ responded Nora. ‘Peter had one of Camellia’s curries last night, and he’s been dashing off to the loo all morning.’

‘Ladies, ladies. Come on now. You’ll have to smile at the guests.’ I tried to make my voice as cheerful as possible.

‘Oh, I can’t help smiling whenever I see her short legs in those ridiculous white tights,’ said Nora. ‘Camellia is up to something. She’s been blinking a lot and it’s always a sign, ever since she was knee high to a grasshopper. She’s jealous of my investigation into Ada and wants to steal my thunder. You know, my late husband was a police constable for a year before he was accused of helping an old lady with her alibi.’

I responded with a serious nod.

Grant arrived dressed in breeches, tights and a tailcoat. ‘Maisie, darling,’ he cried from the distance. ‘Come hither and hug this fine figure of Darcy, I beseech thee.’ Arms outstretched, Grant ran towards me in slow motion and then I saw mischief twinkle in his eyes. He hugged Nora, kissed her on the lips and supported her as he almost dropped her to the ground. ‘Maisie, darling. The village life suits you. You really are becoming Miss Marple.’

Once on her feet, Nora dabbed her face with a lavender handkerchief and said, ‘My hero.’

Hands over her mouth, Jemima giggled at Grant. ‘I’m Jemima, pleased to meet you, Grant.’

‘Gorgeous!’ He placed Jemima’s hand on his and declared, ‘Lead me to the teashop, I’m parched.’

My parents waved at me from the car park, so I left Nora and Camellia to squabble and ran over to meet them.

Mum beamed at me. ‘You’ve got a lovely tan, and that lime green shift dress is great. Country life suits you. You look so, so happy. Your eyes are sparkling.’

‘Thanks, Mum. You look well. Is Dad OK?’

‘He’s doing well, love. We’re both excited you’re taking part in the writing competition.’ She touched my face. ‘It’s lovely to see you, Maisie.’

Dad gently tapped my arm. ‘How’s Miss Bloom? Are you ready for school? Concentrate on school, remember there’s no rush to submit to the publisher. It’s a lot of work for you. I don’t want you to put yourself under pressure.’

‘I’m ready for September and my mentor loved my lesson plans and ideas to get the pupils to read. I also submitted my first three chapters and a synopsis to the agent, but it was rejected. It’s been a really busy summer, but I’ve achieved a lot. It’s funny how the more I have to do, the better organised I am.’ As I spoke, I considered the good feeling I had about writing, but Dad hated it if I got overconfident and then my hopes were dashed. ‘I’d love to get a deal with a publisher one day, but we’ll see. For now, I’ll concentrate on the story I entered in the festival.’

‘Remember, there’s no pressure. I was a bit annoyed with our Ada for sending you on a wild goose chase but now I can see she knew how to motivate you to write. I had no idea about…’

During the time alone in Heatherbridge, I’d thought about how fortunate I was. ‘Yes, she knows me well.’ I almost put my hands over my mouth but realised no one had heard me refer to Aunt Ada. ‘I’m so lucky to have my own cottage and be involved in this community. Everyone is so friendly. I’ve got great neighbours. Felix is wonderful when you get to know him. And Danny is very nice,’ I said, thinking of his text about the cold shower.

Dad pointed to Nora and Camellia. ‘Well, it’s not every day I see Alice in Wonderland arguing with Miss Marple.’

‘Ladies,’ I demanded, and Dad grinned at me. ‘Now, let’s not spoil the day with quarrels. We want Heatherbridge to be at its best.’

Nora stood with her back to us and pointed her finger at Camellia, ‘It’s my duty as a good citizen to look into any areas of concern. I need more details about any sightings of Ada because I suspect she may be in disguise for some reason.’ Now I knew she had seen the recent photos of my aunt. ‘I need to help my good friend. I was close to Ada and feel her presence.’

‘Come on, Dad, let’s leave them to it.’ Tired of intervening in their row, I guided Dad towards the teashop. ‘Let’s have some Alice in Wonderland scones and cream,’ I said as I glanced at the menu.

Dad said, ‘I think we’ll pass if Alice has made them. I’m no Bella but the two of them seem to be up to something.’