‘And I think he – Simon – will be very impressed with how you’ve turned out. You must have been quite young when he last saw you.’
‘I was thirteen.’
‘Not a good age – spots, puppy fat – but now you’re grown up and gorgeous! I expect you’ll be asking me to rescue you from him later.’
Vanessa laughed. ‘Well, I suppose I have improved a bit since those days. I was rather chubby and my hair was terribly greasy.’
‘It’s luxuriant now! Do you remember when we first met at the cookery school and I helped you in the dressmaking class? I thought then that you had lovely hair.’
‘I was very shy and I know it made me seem a bit stuck-up. You girls seemed different from the others there – a group of friends.’
‘We’d only just met. And you’re part of the group now.’
Vanessa smiled. ‘It’s lovely! With you I can just be myself, I don’t have to compete to be invited to the most parties and balls and all that stuff.’
Lizzie gave her a warm smile back, confident Vanessa was now happy. ‘OK, Ness, can you tell me why you think your parents felt obliged to come over last night? So your father could talk to Hugo on the night before his wedding?’
Vanessa picked up a bit of toast. ‘Well, I don’t suppose it was so Daddy could tell Hugo about the birds and bees. Hugo has obviously got that one sorted out.’
‘Yup. I can confirm that to be the case.’
Both girls giggled and then Lizzie asked again, ‘So why do you think they came? And what did your father need to say to Hugo that was so urgent?’
Vanessa examined the crumbs on her plate. ‘I don’t really know my father very well. I’ve always been a bit frightened of him, to be honest.’
Lizzie nodded. ‘I can understand that.’
‘But I think the only thing he really cares about is money. He thinks there’s nothing he can’t have if he can pay for it.’
Lizzie shrugged. ‘Poets say money can’t buy you love!’
‘Daddy would definitely say that actually, it can.’
‘I wonder,’ said Lizzie slowly, ‘if your father thought, if he offered Hugo enough money, he would pull out of the wedding.’
Vanessa gasped.
Lizzie went on. ‘Let’s not pretend, Nessa. We both know your father is very unhappy about Hugo marrying me. Hugo is his son and heir. He might very well be prepared to do a lot to stop the wedding.’
‘Oh God, Lizzie!’ Vanessa began, as if wanting to deny what Lizzie had just said. But she stopped, unable to say it wasn’t possible. ‘But Hugo … he’d never do anything like that – I mean take money to pull out of the wedding. He loves you!’
Lizzie took a breath. Did he? He had neversaidso. Caught up in the whirlwind wedding preparationsand soothed by Hugo’s gentle kindness, she had mostly managed to bury her concern that Hugo was only marrying her because it was the honourable thing to do, but she had never completely forgotten it. Still, she had no doubt that, whatever his motive, he would do the right thing. ‘Well, of course I trust him completely, but I have to know what they were talking about. Could you ask him?’
‘No. Absolutely not.’ Vanessa didn’t hesitate.
‘Maybe I should ask him—’
‘No!’ said Vanessa again, with even more certainty. ‘He wouldn’t tell you.’
‘What about your mother? Would she know? And if she did, would she tell me?’
‘No. I’m sorry, Lizzie. If you want to find out you’re going to have to ask Hugo. Of course, it would be terribly unlucky to see him before the wedding.’
It took Lizzie less than half a second to consider this. ‘Not half as unlucky as me turning up at the church and there being no bridegroom there.’
‘True,’ said Vanessa. ‘So what are you going to do?’
Somehow this question made Lizzie feel a bit better, a bit stronger, as if there was a solution. ‘We need to see Hugo. He’s staying with Simon. Do you know Simon’s address?’
