‘Oh, you’ve brought Clover!’ said Lizzie delightedly, watching as the dog clambered out of the car, having woken up after sleeping during the journey.
‘With us all out all day, we had to,’ said Alexandra.
‘And we thought she’d like a day in the country,’ added Meg.
They all watched as the dog walked along the edge of the lane, sniffing hard, before relieving herself. She didn’t seem ecstatic with her change of scene.
‘I think she’s more at home in Belgravia these days,’ said Meg, going to the back of the car and opening the boot. ‘We’ve brought you things from the house. Look!’ She was clutching a dressmaker’s dummy. ‘This should be about your size, Lizzie. And as much fabric as we could fit into an old laundry bag.’
Lizzie hugged her. ‘Oh, Meg! I’ve been wanting fabric scraps so much. I can make a patchwork quilt for my brass bed! When I’ve made my dress, of course.’
‘I’m afraid there’s no wedding dress material,’ said Meg, who knew that Lizzie was worrying about this.
‘Can we go in?’ said Vanessa.
‘Of course,’ said Lizzie, suddenly a bit self-conscious about her future home. ‘I don’t know what I’m going to feed you on. Or is Patsy doing lunch?’
‘No,’ said Vanessa. ‘She wants you to have time with us today.’
‘And don’t worry about food,’ said Alexandra, ‘we’ve brought food and champagne and Vanessa – very extravagantly – has a special treat.’
‘It’s a hamper. I’ll go and get it,’ said Vanessa. ‘I thought I ought to make sure the mother of my niece or nephew had plenty to eat. I’m starving!’
‘I brought home-made bread,’ said Meg. ‘A fruit cake, a pork pie, some sausage rolls and some egg sandwiches.’
‘That all sounds delicious,’ said Lizzie. ‘I’m hungry too, now.’
Vanessa came back with a hamper from Fortnum’s that was so large she could hardly carry it.
‘David sent you cheese and fancy butter,’ said Alexandra. ‘In case you’re short of calcium or something.’
‘It was probably a bargain at the market,’ said Meg. ‘David can’t resist a bargain.’
‘Let’s go in,’ said Lizzie, no longer worried, just happy to see her friends.
The hamper was too big to unpack in the kitchen, so they did it on the sitting-room floor, throwing the wood shavings that surrounded each jar, tin or bottle directly into the fireplace.
‘A honeycomb!’ said Meg. ‘Honey on toast is so good. Ooh, tinned ham. And some tongue.’
‘And loads of biscuits, of all kinds,’ said Lizzie. ‘I could now offer George a bit of shortbread if he visits.’
‘Is George Tim and Patsy’s little boy?’ asked Vanessa. ‘I’ve forgotten.
‘Yes,’ said Lizzie. ‘He’s sweet.’
‘And did you find Patsy scary?’ Vanessa went on.
‘I certainly did to begin with,’ said Lizzie.
To everyone’s surprise, Hugo arrived, just when they were having lunch. ‘Hello! Patsy told me you were all coming so I’ve popped back to say hi. I can’t stay more than a minute or two.’
‘Hughie!’ said Vanessa, stepping over the plates of food to get to her brother. She hugged him hard.
Lizzie wished she felt she could show her feelings about him so freely. She smiled shyly at him, delighted he seemed so happy to find his house full of women eating and drinking champagne. Her own father would have been very tight-lipped about it.
‘Well, there’s loads to eat,’ she said. ‘What would you like? Some pork pie? A really delicious egg sandwich? You can use my plate. Oh, I’ll just give you some nice things,’ she finished, hoping she wasn’t being unacceptably wifely. After all, they weren’t married yet.
‘Will you have some champagne?’ asked Alexandra. ‘There’s a drop left in the bottle.
