The table was laden with every sort of food you could imagine: much more than could have been frozen after the non-wedding party. There were plates of charcuterie, smoked salmon and rare roast beef, interspersed by salads obviously inspired by Ottolenghi. Tabbouleh bright with parsley; chickpea salad with tiny tomatoes, peppers and shallots, sprinkled with fresh herbs. There was a pile of flatbreads and another of baguettes and sourdough rolls. It was the perfect combination of fresh and healthy food and luxurious decadence.
Hattie was just trying to decide where to start when a pretty young woman came up. ‘Are you Hattie? Hi! You don’t know me but Gavin sent me. He’s hoping to come later – it’s such a lovely invitation – but he wanted to make sure that at least one of us got here. I’m April, from Rabbet and Such.’
‘Oh, hi!’ said Hattie. ‘So pleased to meet you! I was hoping to catch up with you. Luke? Let me introduce you to April. She works for my favourite estate agent. You might not know of them,’ she said to Luke, ‘but we work together quite a bit. And this is Luke, the best builder in the county, but sadly, always busy.’
‘Hattie’s saying that because people do proposition me at parties,’ said Luke with his shy smile.
‘I promise you I won’t,’ said April. ‘But it’s good to have a name to suggest to clients. You can tell them you have no availability!’ She laughed.
At this moment Hattie noticed that Tom Saye and her sister had separated and Leonie was heading towardsthem. Xander broke away and Hattie was pleased he seemed keen to see his mother.
Sheila came up to her. ‘I think it’s going rather well, don’t you?’
‘You’ve made the garden look magical!’ said Hattie. ‘Did you hire a team of designers to make it look so fantastic?’
Sheila laughed. ‘You know I didn’t. It’s all me and Fiona, helped by Nick. I must say I like a man who can climb a ladder without complaint. I’m no good at heights myself.’
‘So you like Nick?’
‘I love him! The more I see him with Fiona, the more I realise how wrong Lance was, even before he got controlling. Even Malcolm is coming round to him.’ Sheila paused in thought. ‘Although in some ways, I have to be grateful to Lance. He made me and Malcolm reassess our marriage. I think Malcolm realised how easily he could lose me.’
Hattie wasn’t quite sure how to reply to this so she squeezed Sheila’s hand comfortingly. Luckily, Rose didn’t hesitate to interrupt their moment. ‘Sheila! The garden is so beautiful! You must not only have the greenest of fingers, but work on it every hour God sends! Do you do it all by yourself or do you have help?’
‘I had help for tonight,’ Sheila said happily. ‘But mostly it’s just me.’
There was a little dance floor set up on the patio and music came from inside the house. Hattie found herself dancing with various people, including Tom Saye, who also danced with Leonie and then they went off together. She was having a rest when Luke came up.Her first thought was that he was going to ask her to dance but she quickly realised that he wasn’t.
‘Xander is flagging and Leonie thinks he should go home. I’m more than happy to take him. Leonie wants to come too.’
‘I feel I must stay a bit longer as the party is in my honour. You don’t think Leonie would mind?’
Luke shook his head. ‘She says she’d like to stay with me and Xander. I can put her in the spare room.’
‘Where I slept?’ asked Hattie, knowing that her sister liked a pure down pillow with a silk pillow case and a thread count for the sheets that was almost beyond counting. When she’d last been there, Luke’s spare room featured a ladder, a saw horse and a load of tools.
Luke nodded. ‘Would you like to come for breakfast?’
‘That would be very nice, thank you,’ she said.
‘I think Leonie is taking Xander out for lunch.’
‘It’ll be good for them to have some proper time together.’
Luke suddenly grinned. ‘I thought for a moment you were going to say “quality” time.’
Hattie smiled in return. ‘I thought I’d spare you. I know how you hate clichés. I’ll see you in the morning.’
Hattie moved away from the dance floor and found a little table and chair next to a bed of night-scented stocks that filled the air with their heady fragrance. She was glad to have a few moments on her own. She had a lot to think about. Had Tom and her sister really hit it off? It seemed as if they had, and with Leonie planning to live in the area, they could become a proper couple. She didn’t often question her visions, and so far they hadn’t ever been wrong. But for some reason, as this one involved her sister, she felt the need to be extra vigilant.
And then there was Fiona and Nick. She was very happy for them. They seemed very happy.
As if thinking about them had conjured them up they appeared at the little table. ‘There you are, Hattie! There are about three people all longing to dance with you! Come on!’
Hattie laughed, allowing herself to be led back to the dance floor. She took the clip out of her hair and began to move to the music; she loved dancing.
Chapter Twenty-One
Hattie opened her eyes cautiously the next morning but realised drinking a lot of water before she went to bed had held off a hangover. A quick shower and she felt good as new before she headed over to Luke’s. She brought with her croissants from the freezer and some mixed seeds and berries that she’d bought for her sister. She was a bit anxious; she really hoped Leonie hadn’t been critical or disapproving of Luke’s house.
