‘Nina,’ Jakob said quietly beside her. ‘Are you okay?’
Realising she hadn’t answered him, she threw him a tight smile. ‘I’m fine,’ she whispered, just as an excited hush fell onthe room signalling that the ceremony was about to begin. That was when Hilary turned around, craning her neck to get a better look at Nina. And Jakob. Keith must have just told her that Nina wasn’t here alone.
The ceremony was over. It had been one of those woo-woo affairs as Hugh used to call them, when the formal gravitas of the service had been jettisoned in favour of a more personal but perhaps less meaningful approach.
At one point Fabian had vowed not to squeeze the toothpaste tube in the middle or mislay his keys quite so regularly. In exchange the bride had promised to curb her addiction to online shopping. Their vows had drawn chuckles from the guests, but it had made Nina feel old and out of step. Just as she had in the cloakroom earlier.
With guests now on their feet, it was time to go outside to the marquee where, they’d been informed drinks and canapés would be served while the photographer got to work with the bride and groom.
This was it then, thought Nina. Now the curious glances and questions would really begin. And without realising she was doing it, she slipped her arm through Jakob’s and in response, he pressed it firmly and reassuringly against his side.
‘It will be fine,’ he said out of the corner of his mouth. ‘It will be a walk in the park. A breeze. Child’s play. A piece of your finest Victoria sponge cake.’
She laughed. ‘Any more idioms up your sleeve?’ she said.
‘Oh, I’m sure I can think of something if the moment presents itself.’
Inside the fuggy warmth of the marquee, they were met with the smell of crushed grass and the richly extravagant scent of cut flowers. Every table was decorated with a beautiful display of white and lilac blooms. There were silver balloons too, which,no doubt, knowing Hugh’s family, would not make the end of the night.
They’d just been handed a glass of champagne each when Hugh’s aunt Lindsay approached. She was Hilary’s oldest sister and was a no-nonsense woman who was a retired headmistress of an all-girl’s school. Her default setting was straight out of the Mary Poppins handbook, spit-spot and best foot forward, no slouching, no slacking, even in the face of adversity. Nina had often wondered at the army of girls who must have passed through her hands and who were now out in the world.
‘How lovely to see you, Nina!’ she exclaimed, landing a kiss on Nina’s cheek with such force it nearly tipped her backwards. ‘And how well you look. Now then, who’s this you’ve brought along with you? Introduce me!’
‘This is Jakob, Jakob, this is Lindsay, one of Hugh’s many aunts.’
Lindsay gave a deep-throated chortle. ‘Be warned, Jakob, when you throw in Keith’s side of the family, there’s a lot of us!’ She then leant in towards Nina. ‘And what does Hilary think about this?’
Nina played dumb. ‘This? What do you mean?’
‘You, having a chap.’
‘I think we might be about to find out,’ Nina murmured, seeing Hilary fast approaching and with Keith trailing in her wake.
Chapter Eighteen
Hugh used to joke that when his mother was on the warpath, she took on the handbagging persona of Margaret Thatcher and could deliver a scathing insult before you knew she’d even taken aim. ‘She might be small of stature,’ he’d say, ‘but she’s a giant when it comes to a putdown and as Dad and I have learnt, it’s best to ignore what she says, it’s just her way.’
With Hugh’s voice in her head, Nina braced herself by greeting her mother-in-law with a smile and a ready supply of the accepted social niceties of the day.
‘Hello, Hilary,’ she said as the woman as good as shoved Lindsay out of the way, ‘that’s a lovely outfit you’re wearing. Did you enjoy the ceremony? Tigs and Fabian looked so charmingly adorable together, didn’t they?’Charmingly adorable? Since when had she started saying things like that?
Hilary’s glinting gaze bore into Nina’s as though seeing right through her pretence. As well she might.
‘I suppose this—’ she swivelled her head towards Jakob, ‘thisyoung manyou’ve brought with you today is the reason you were so evasive when I suggested we could come together. You could at least have been honest.’
‘I wasn’t evasive,’ Nina said, ‘I just hadn’t finalised my plans. Anyway, this is Jakob who I don’t believe you’ve met in the gallery before. Ever since joining Lavelle’s he’s been my invaluableassistant. I really couldn’t manage without him these days.’ Her choice of words was as loaded as those of Hilary’s when she’d referred to Jakob as thisyoungman.
Seemingly unfazed by the situation, and all credit to him, Jakob held out his hand to introduce himself. But Hilary rudely ignored him.
‘Everything makes sense now,’ she said. ‘Everything.’ She then inhaled deeply, and with her nostrils flaring, she turned her back on them and walked away. Keith gave an apologetic shrug and went after her.
‘That was intriguing,’ remarked Lindsay with a raised eyebrow. ‘What could my sister have meant byeverything makes sense now?’
‘You’d have to ask her,’ Nina muttered, suspecting that Lindsay’s question was entirely disingenuous. Nothing in this family was secret, they told one another everything and no doubt Hilary had grumbled to them how Nina was dragging her feet about producing the grandchild she wanted so badly. Very likely Hilary now believed she had just been presented with the reason why Nina was selfishly refusing to play her part, that she was daring to replace Hugh and his baby was the last thing she wanted.
She was about to suggest that she and Jakob should circulate when members of the family were requested to pose for photographs.
‘That includes you too,’ Lindsay said, grabbing hold of her arm and nearly spilling her glass of champagne.
