‘I liked your scrambled eggs too,’ said Mary. ‘I loved our short time of living together. We had such fun.’
‘The best fun!’ Hattie’s throat closed with tears and she had to cough a lot, trying not to start sobbing.
Mary patted her hand again. It helped.
Chapter Forty
As the wedding grew nearer, things got busier. Leonie came over to spend the weekend with Tom and Xander. They met at a pub for an early supper on the Thursday, when Leonie first arrived.
‘Remind me why you left Luke’s?’ asked Leonie. ‘I thought it all went well when you were staying?’
‘It was fine,’ said Xander.
‘I just thought we were cramping Luke’s style a bit, living there,’ said Hattie.
Leonie raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment.
Hattie thought she’d avoided further questioning when Xander said, ‘There’s a woman called April who calls him quite often. Hattie thinks she’s his girlfriend.’
Hattie felt herself turn scarlet.
‘Is that right, Hattie?’ said Leonie.
‘I don’t want to make things awkward for him. Now I think we should order, and what about another round of drinks? My turn!’
Her sister gave her a curious look but, again, didn’t comment further. Hattie felt she’d dodged a bullet.
Two days later, on the morning of the wedding, Hattie awoke to hear rain drumming on the roof of her guest apartment. No point in worrying about that, she realised, she had other things on her mind. She got dressed quickly into loose linen trousers and a top and then went along to the main house. She had a secret and was worried that she might have the fact written on her forehead in large red letters. Sheila shared the secret and they exchanged furtive glances but couldn’t speak. They’d have to be very careful.
Fiona was at the table looking a bit glum. ‘It’s raining,’ she said, in case Hattie hadn’t noticed.
‘But it doesn’t matter,’ said Hattie, ‘because it can all happen inside. And the hall is looking wonderful!’
Sheila, who was pulling a croissant apart but not eating it, nodded. ‘I must say, the WI all came up absolute trumps. They gave up their very best blooms and their time and talent.’
‘They did,’ said Hattie, reaching for toast. ‘Decorating it last night was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had in a long time.’
‘It was fun, wasn’t it?’ said Fiona, distracted from the rain. ‘It turns out that ladder holding and fetching water is quite fun if you’re with pals.’
‘We couldn’t let you climb ladders in your condition,’ said Hattie. ‘And I had fun climbing them. And fixing flowers to the proscenium arch.’
‘I didn’t know that bit of the stage was called that,’ said Fiona. ‘Until last night.’
‘It’s not the sort of thing that comes up in conversation,’ said Hattie, saying almost anything to avoid mentioning what was on her mind.
‘It would be a good question for a quiz,’ said Sheila randomly. They exchanged quick glances; Sheila was obviously feeling the same.
Sheila poured more coffee. ‘Should I get your dad up, do you think?’
‘No, no,’ said Fiona. ‘We’re fine. Let him take his time.’
‘It would have been easier if the village hall had been picturesque to start with,’ said Sheila, temporarily thwarted in her desire to fry bacon for her husband, and possibly slightly resentful that she hadn’t got to choose the venue. ‘Some have lovely beams and things to hang things from.’
‘We did try for one of those,’ said Fiona, ‘but we wanted to be near here. And it looks brilliant now.’
‘It does, darling,’ said Sheila, holding her daughter’s hand. ‘I’m just a bit tired.’
‘And emotional!’ said Fiona. ‘I don’t know how much you had to drink last night, but it was a lot.’
