‘I’d prefer it. Lance chose all those clothes.’ She looked at Hattie gratefully.
Hattie laid out a selection of items from her own wardrobe. ‘Will you come down when you’re ready? Or do you need a hand with the buttons?’
‘I need a hand.’ A few seconds later, when Hattie had lifted away the confection of lace and silk, Fiona said, ‘I thought I loved that dress but I never felt comfortable in it.’
‘You looked utterly beautiful in it. But then, you are.’ Hattie smiled. ‘Shall I pop back and get you when you’re dressed?’
‘I’ll come down.’
Hattie didn’t leave the room immediately. ‘Do you – did you – feel safe with Nick?’ Hattie was aware that she had been taking a huge risk asking Nick to help. She hardly knew him. If it hadn’t been for her vision he would never have come into her mind to help Fiona.
Fiona nodded. ‘He’s so kind, isn’t he? I remember meeting him when we did the quiz and thought he was really nice. I didn’t know he was a limo driver and what a coincidence that he works for the company we booked for the cars.’
Hattie bit her lip. She wasn’t absolutely sure what Nick did for a living, but she was fairly sure limos didn’t come into it.
Downstairs, Hattie sent Xander and Nick out on a fake errand for milk. She suddenly had the feeling that Fiona would need some space.
When Fiona came into the kitchen, Hattie was glad she had asked the others to go shopping. Fiona looked hollowed out in a pair of jeans that hung off her and a T-shirt washed to the palest pink and no bra. Hattie realised she had probably been wearing something complicated and constricting under the wedding dress.
‘Are you hungry?’ Hattie asked.
‘Toast,’ said Fiona. ‘Have you got bread? I haven’t had toast and Marmite for months.’
Hattie cut bread and put it in the toaster. ‘Would you mind telling me what happened? Not if you don’t want to, obviously. Tea?’
Fiona nodded. She sat down at the table and put butter on the crust of bread that was there. ‘It was a miracle really. I was so unhappy but I couldn’t see a way out.’
‘Oh, love, that’s awful,’ said Hattie.
‘So we set off in the car – Dad had a hip flask he sipped from a few times and offered to me. I didn’t have any. I thought I’d be sick. I felt ill enough as it was. Then, when we’d gone a little way, Dad said, “This is the wrong way, you fool!” Nick said – I hadn’t noticed it was Nick, I was too wound up with everything. Nick said he’d heard that a load of sheep were loose on the usual way and we had to take a detour.’
‘Golly,’ said Hattie, impressed by Nick’s ingenuity.
‘And then Nick took a call on his phone, through his ear, you know, and said Dad was wanted urgently back at the house. He said that someone had rung and it was urgent.’ Fiona paused while Hattie buttered the toast that had now popped up. ‘Dad went ballistic and said we’d be late for the wedding. Nick said he’d drop Dad off and make sure I got to the wedding on time. I knewDad was nervous about walking me down the aisle, so he didn’t say anything.’
Hattie cut more bread. She got the impression that Fiona was enjoying telling her story.
‘Nick dropped him off and then we sped away, really fast. But we hadn’t gone far before he pulled into a lay-by and asked me if I’d like to think about whether I wanted to get married or not.’ Fiona paused, apparently losing focus a bit.
‘What did you say?’ Hattie prompted, desperate to know the story.
‘I realised I hadn’t thought about it. Not ever, I don’t think. Lance proposed, gave me this enormous diamond.’ She waggled her finger. Hattie wasn’t an expert but she guessed it to be about two carats. ‘And suddenly, that was that. We were getting married, buying a house, moving to the country.’
Hattie took out the second lot of toast and started buttering. ‘Are you happy with Marmite or do you want something sweet?’ she asked.
‘Marmite every time. You have no idea how absolutely delicious this is. I haven’t eaten a carb since I met Lance, I don’t think. Or since he decided he wanted to marry me but only if I was slim.’
‘You are slim.’
‘But not thin! Not thin enough to give him status,’ said Fiona. ‘Apparently. I let him down by being podgy.’
Hattie took a breath to protest but let it out again. She wanted to know the rest of the story. ‘So you decided you didn’t want to get married?’
‘Actually, I started to cry. Nick came and sat next to me in the back of the car and handed me tissues and water. Eventually he said, “I’ll take that as a no,then.” Fiona smiled at the memory. ‘Even though I was crying so hard I had to laugh. And I knew I didn’t want to marry Lance and the wedding had to be called off.’ She gave a shuddering sigh. ‘I told him I didn’t want to marry Lance, but I thought I still had to. Nick told me the wedding didn’t have to happen.’ She bit into her toast. ‘Then he rang you and I spoke to Mum.’ She yawned. ‘Would you mind if I lay on the sofa for a bit?’
Two minutes later, Fiona was fast asleep.
‘She must have been exhausted,’ said Hattie as she and Nick surveyed the sleeping Fiona, now covered with a blanket.
