‘Go on,’ I said, once she wasn’t looking. ‘What about the others?’
‘Angela and Greg are amazing and will look after you like a daughter,’ she continued. ‘And Marilise is marvellous, all diamonds and furs, even if she’s only going to the garden centre. I’m sorry she’s not so well these days,’ she said, her face clouding over. ‘But I’m glad she’ll have someone as nice as you to look after her.’
‘Thank you,’ I replied. ‘I’m looking forward to meeting her. Angela said she has lots of stories.’
Araminta brightened.
‘Oh, she does! She’s a European princess, you know, from some teeny country on an island somewhere in the Black Sea where they abolished their royal family decades ago. She’s got lots of glamorous stories about palace life before she had to move here, and plenty more from then. I’m sure you’ll love her.’
I saw Dorothea advancing again and quickly snatched up a little chiffon bag and dropped in some almonds.
‘What about Nick? You said you were old friends?’
‘We are. There are plenty of pictures of us capering around the grounds of Lyonscroft when we were little, having a terrific time. Until that horrible father of his sent him off to board, that is, then I only saw him in the school breaks, if he was allowed to come home.’
‘Allowed by the school?’ I was confused, not understanding what the rules of boarding school might be.
‘No, by his father. He never liked Nick much, or Victoria, his sister, for that matter.’ She shrugged. ‘Just wanted an heir, I think, and when that job was done, he pretty much washed his hands of the lot of them.’
‘How sad.’
She nodded.
‘He’s nothing like his father, thankfully, but he also doesn’t want anything to do with the house, which scandalises this lot.’ She jerked her head to indicate the other women in the room. ‘They can’t think of anything nicer than inheriting a smart country pile and a London pied à terre, regardless of how much – or how little – your parents loved you. Poor Nick’s a very eligible bachelor round these parts.’
‘Nothing like that between you and him, then,’ I asked, the prosecco and Araminta’s openness making me nosier than I would usually be with a complete stranger.
She snorted.
‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘Everyone’s been trying to push us together for years, but there isn’t that vibe between us, and there never will be. Anyway’ – she lowered her voice – ‘I’m having a terrific time playing the field. They don’t approve, because they think I should be looking for a husband, so don’t tell them, will you?’
I held up my little finger, and she crooked it with her own.
‘Pinky promise,’ I said. ‘As long as you tell me more another time.’
‘Will do,’ she agreed, and hastily stuffed a few more bags, as my mother approached.
‘Thank you for your work tonight, girls,’ she said, picking up the box of completed bags and looking around for more. ‘Is that it? Oh well, maybe you can finish them off tomorrow, Laura.’
I looked around the room: most people had left while Araminta and I were talking, so I gathered myself.
‘Actually, Mum, I’m only staying over tonight. I’ve got to head to a new job tomorrow.’
‘What!’ she shrieked, and I pressed myself back in my chair, steeled for the inevitable fallout.
‘What is it?’ demanded Steph, marching over. ‘Is that all you two have done of the almonds? You can finish them tomorrow, Laura.’
‘She won’t be doingthat!’ hissed my mother, fanning herself with a pattern for a satin ring pillow. ‘She won’tbehere.’
‘Won’tbehere!’ parroted my sister, accepting an emergency glass of prosecco from Dorothea, who was enjoying every second. ‘Of course she’llbehere, what do you mean?’
‘I won’t, I’m afraid,’ I cut in, knowing that this one could run and run. ‘I’ve accepted a nursing job. I’ll be nearby, though, about nine miles away, so I’ll be able to do all the wedding stuff.’
‘But what aboutme?’ wailed Steph, snatching the pattern from Mum and handing it to Dorothea, who flapped it around the bride-to-be’s rapidly reddening face. ‘What about supportingmeat the most special time in my life?’
I briefly thought of reminding her about how little she had supported me, ever, but squashed the words down.
‘You’ll have Dorothea for most of that,’ I said calmly. ‘As your chief bridesmaid. And I’ll be here for the hen and the wedding itself, of course. They said it was fine for me to take the whole day.’
