‘Fiona. Yes.’
‘Well, you might also remember that she’s getting married, to Lance. Who’s not so nice.’
‘I remember.’ He pursed his lips but didn’t comment further.
‘I want to stop the wedding. Now, before you say anything, let me give you my reasons.’
He nodded. Hattie took a breath and then her coffee arrived, interrupting her momentum.
‘You were saying?’ said Nick when Hattie’s coffee was served.
‘Actually, I wantyouto stop the wedding. I’ve thought for ages about how I could do it, and I can’t think of a way.’
‘Why do you think the wedding should be stopped?’
‘Firstly and most importantly because Lance is horrible to Fiona. He bullies her. Secondly, I think he stands to make money out of marrying her, divorcing her and taking half of whatever house they buy. Finally, I know for a fact that he’s unfaithful to her.’
Nick looked very stern. But crucially, he didn’t ask her how she knew that Lance was cheating.
‘Have you thought about stopping the wedding in the traditional way?’
‘Yes, but I really don’t want to do it. It would be so upsetting—’
‘Stopping the wedding however you do it is going to be upsetting. Have you talked to Fiona about it?’
‘She won’t hear a word against Lance. She says his behaviour is a sign of how much he loves her. The other day he said he wanted to call the wedding off because she hadn’t lost enough weight.’
‘She doesn’t need to lose weight!’
‘I know. He’s a monster.’
‘That’s a polite word for him.’
Nick’s quiet anger was very reassuring. Hattie relaxed a little. ‘I think we’re right. We must stop the wedding happening if we can. We may not be able to do it, of course. It won’t be easy. But we’ll have tried. And if the wedding goes ahead, we’ll just have to be supportive and hope it ends gently.’
‘We want to avoid that if at all possible.’
‘I’m so grateful to be able to share this with you. I’ve been so worried,’ said Hattie, suddenly feeling deeply fond of the man who until recently was just her most discriminating client.
‘Of course, I can’t promise anything. When is the wedding? And do you know who’ll be driving her and her father – presumably – to the church?’
‘I can find out,’ said Hattie.
They discussed details of the wedding. Hattie told him everything she knew and said she could ask for more details on some pretext, if that would be useful. Nick wrote everything down. Then he put away his Moleskin notebook and said, ‘I’m not sure why you’ve asked me to help but I find myself compelled to try, for Fiona’s sake. She’s a lovely woman. She doesn’t deserve to be shackled to a man like Lance.’
And Hattie left the pub feeling lighter than she had in days.
Chapter Twelve
Suddenly it was Saturday morning, the day of the wedding. Xander had assured Hattie several times that he’d be fine on his own, and as she finally left the house in her borrowed clothes (including a hatinator which had made Xander snort with laughter when she put her head around his bedroom door to say goodbye), she realised she had turned into Xander’s mother: over-anxious. Though quite what could happen to him while he was lying in bed she wasn’t sure.
But when she arrived at Fiona’s house, any thoughts about her nephew faded. Sheila opened the door to her. ‘Thank goodness you’re here, Hattie. Come in.’
Fiona was in what was obviously her parents’ bedroom. Her hair was in heated rollers and a make-up artist was applying concealer under her eyes. She looked as if she’d been crying.
‘Hello, everyone!’ said Hattie, not sure of her role, but deciding to think of herself as a cross between a bridesmaid and a wedding planner. She felt glad she hadn’t actually had to plan anything, although keeping people’s spirits up looked as if it was going to be a tough challenge. ‘Are we all excited? Fiona? You must be longing to get into your dress!’
Too late, Hattie spotted Sheila shaking her head, indicating that Hattie shouldn’t have mentioned the wedding dress.
