‘Oh.’ Her first reaction was to ask if that was really OK with Luke, but then she realised he was more than capable of saying no.
‘So can you drop me off on your way?’ Xander went on.
‘Of course. Are you ready?’
‘Yup.’
‘Thank you so much, Hattie,’ said Fiona. ‘I don’t know what I’d have done without you and Nick.’
‘You don’t have to think about it,’ said Hattie. ‘Come on, Xan.’
Hattie let Xander out of the car at Luke’s but didn’t call in herself. She wanted to get the phone and Fiona’s clothes as soon as she could. Then Fiona and Nick, lovely as they were, would leave so she could have some space.
The church was full of the expensive wedding flowers Lance had demanded but it was very still. Sheila wassitting at the front, a case on the pew next to her. Hattie walked up the aisle.
‘It’s all so beautiful,’ said Sheila. ‘To think it was for something that was so ugly.’
‘Not any more,’ said Hattie. ‘Fiona escaped before it was too late.’ She sat down next to Sheila.
‘I still don’t know how you managed it,’ Sheila said.
‘Nick was the one who managed it.’
‘I wish I knew more about him. I don’t want Fifi rushing into the arms of someone else on the rebound.’
‘I don’t think she is rushing, and Nick is a good man.’
‘That’s something. I remember him from the quiz. He seemed nice.’
Hattie hesitated for a moment and then said, ‘What about you, Sheila? Will you be all right?’
‘With Malcolm? I’m going to give him a bit of time. He never bullied me as badly as Lance bullied my little girl.’ She gave a rueful laugh. ‘I’d better give you her phone and her clothes so she can run off to Paris with a gorgeous new man. It sounds so romantic, doesn’t it?’
‘It certainly does.’ Hattie laughed.
‘I’m so grateful to you,’ said Sheila. ‘If ever there’s anything I can do for you, let me know.’
‘I will,’ said Hattie, thinking it was unlikely. ‘But I was so happy to help. Fiona is a sweetheart and the thought of her with that brute was heartbreaking.’
Chapter Fifteen
The moment Hattie had waved off Fiona and Nick she went into the back garden and sat in her favourite seat, turned her face to the sun and closed her eyes. It was bliss. The sun was warm but not too warm and the silence broken only by birdsong was instantly calming. She planned to stay there until she was so hungry she had to move, which might be quite a long way off.
She thought about Sheila and how awful it must have been for her, watching her beloved only child being ensnared by a coercive bully. She thought about Lance, how angry he had been to have Fiona taken from him although he had never intended to be a proper, faithful husband to her. She thought about Nick, her discerning client who was now a patient suitor, almost like a knight of old.
Then, inevitably, her brain turned to work. Working for herself meant she never quite switched off and the wedding had been a distraction. She stayed in the sun for a few more blissful minutes and then went inside to check her emails. Try as she might, she was never as good at sitting still as she wanted to be.
There was one from a potential new client who had a detailed and very specific wish list. A grand periodproperty. A flat plot but with far-reaching views. A cobbled stable yard, a wildlife pond that definitely had frogs in it, a small orchard to include Bramley apple trees, five acres of level pasture and good stabling. The budget was about half of what would be required to find this unrealistic dream.
Rather than answer the email, Hattie decided to visit Mary, which meant visiting her own unrealistic dream home in the form of a cottage on a hill which had the views her potential client wanted. She picked flowers first, and retrieved some cheese scones from the freezer.
Hattie felt her old friend was a little frailer than usual and wondered if she was eating properly. She heated the scones and buttered them, wishing she’d brought more of them as Mary would insist Hattie ate them too.
‘Shall we sit in the garden?’ Hattie suggested. ‘It’s so lovely! I’m thinking of taking on a new client who wants exactly what you have with regard to views and an orchard.’
‘Well, I may not need this house for much longer,’ said Mary cheerfully. ‘You could sell her this!’
Hattie shook her head. ‘Sadly your stabling would be inadequate, and you lack a cobbled stable yard.’
