She nodded. ‘I suppose we are. We seemed to miss out that part, didn’t we?’ One minute we hardly knew each other and the next we are planning to spend the rest of our lives together, she thought.
‘We did and so we missed getting you an engagement ring.’ He put his hand in his other pocket and took out a smaller, squarer box. ‘I’ve taken it upon myself to get you one. But, of course, if you don’t like it, it can be exchanged.’
Inside the box was an opal ring that flashed blue and green. Round it were diamonds. It was quite large and yet didn’t seem heavy.
‘It’s beautiful!’ said Lizzie, a bit overcome.
‘Do you like it? It’s Edwardian, so made just at the turn of the century, before the First World War. I got David to help me choose it and he thought you’d like having something a bit different from the single stones that most people have.’
‘Oh? When were you in touch with David?’ Lizzie was a bit surprised. She hadn’t pictured Hugo and David becoming friends.
‘I managed to ring him yesterday and today, after he’d taken you girls out for lunch, he took me to a jeweller friend before he had to be at the theatre. He’s nice, isn’t he? He’s so fond of you all.’
‘He’s lovely. So is this ring.’ Lizzie was staring at it.
‘Here,’ said Hugo. ‘If you think you like it, I’ll do this.’
For a horrible moment Lizzie thought Hugo was going to go down on one knee. But he didn’t. He took the ring out of the box. ‘Lizzie, will you do me the extreme honour of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?’
Lizzie gave a little nervous laugh. ‘I think, considering all the preparations that have gone on, I’d better say yes!’ She held out her hand, waiting for him to slip the ring on to her finger.
‘No,’ he said. ‘That isn’t the answer I want. If no one knew anything about us, there had been nothing booked – no church, no venue – no parents involved, if you weren’t pregnant, and I asked you, what would your answer be then?’
She looked up into his eyes. ‘Same,’ she said. ‘I’d say yes.’
‘In which case, you shall have your ring.’ He put it on and it flashed blue and the diamonds sparkled.
‘Thank you so much!’ she said.
This was the moment when she should follow Alexandra’s advice and tell him she loved him. It was also the moment when he should say the same thing. But he didn’t.
There was a short silence. Hugo looked a bit awkward, cleared his throat and then said, ‘I’m so glad you like it. Now I’m going to take you back to Patsy’s.’
Chapter Thirty
Lizzie was aware of being excited when, four weeks later, she woke up and realised it was the morning of her wedding. All her family and lots of her friends were going to gather together today to see her marrying Hugo.
Several of them were here already. There were her parents and Gina, who were staying at the hotel. It had been lovely to catch up with Gina the previous day and she knew that she was planning to have dinner with her parents at the hotel after the wedding. Lizzie hoped Mrs Brinklow, her mother’s guest of honour, wouldn’t join them; Gina would either die of boredom or suppressed laughter.
David was at the hotel too and Lizzie really hoped her parents wouldn’t run into him, although he and Gina had met before and got on really well. But her parents would be very confused if they realised Lizzie had invited Alexandra’s butler-come-chauffeur to her wedding. Maybe they would think he was there because of Alexandra.
Alexandra and Meg were staying at the house in the woods. They had reluctantly left Clover behind in London with a neighbour. They didn’t think she would be a particularly welcome guest at the wedding, or even in the cottage, which had been hastily redecorated and made fit for guests and was therefore rather vulnerable to dog hair and claws. Vanessa, the third of her three bridesmaids, was somewhere here in Patsy’s house; and Hugo was with Simon, who was his best man. She wasn’t sure where he lived.
When she saw her dress hanging up on the wardrobe door, covered in a cloth, she felt a rush of emotion that was partly nerves and partly pride that she’d managed to make it in time. Next to it was a cloud of white tulle bunched on to combs and sewn on to the tiara that would be her veil. The veil had originally been her grandmother’s. Her mother had taken it to someone recommended by a friend and this person had created something which delighted both mother and daughter – not an easy feat.
Having not particularly enjoyed the preparations, now the day was here, Lizzie wanted to get up and get going. She looked at the little travel alarm clock on the bedside table, thoughtfully provided by Patsy. It was six thirty, hours before anyone else would be up. The wedding was at two, and at twelve, Lizzie’s mother was coming over to help her get ready. Hours away!
Patsy said that breakfast would be served at nine, but Lizzie needed something to eat now. She had forgotten to take up a snack with her at bedtime and if she didn’t eat first thing, she felt sick. She got out of bed and found her dressing gown.
Although it was so early, she wasn’t the first one in the kitchen. ‘Nessa! Hello! What are you doing up at this time?’ Lizzie said, seeing one of her bridesmaids sitting at the kitchen table with her hands round a mug of something
‘Oh, hello, Lizzie. I woke up before dawn and couldn’t get back to sleep.’
Nessa didn’t seem her usual bouncy self, Lizzie thought, allowing for the hour. When they’d first met, on the cookery course, Lizzie had had her down as a haughty deb, scathing of lesser mortals, but she knew her better now. Vanessa was capable of great kindness and Lizzie was now really fond of her. ‘Are you OK, Ness?’
Vanessa sighed deeply and stared into her mug. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Why? What’s the matter?’
