‘Calum,’ hissed Indy, feeling anger like she’d never felt in her life, ‘you are such a bastard. You deserve whatever the judicial system can do to make you pay.’
‘I’ll destroy you first, all of you,’ he snarled. ‘You think you’re all so high and mighty—’
At that moment, a hand reached around his neck and pulled tight.
‘Have you been threatening my daughter?’ growled Stu Robicheaux. He was older but taller and stronger, and he had rage on his side.
Savannah was sobbing now.
‘Savannah, come with me,’ said Chantal gently. ‘We need to fix your make-up. Eden, the police?’
‘Yes.’ Eden beamed. ‘I know just the people. This needs to be done quietly and subtly and—’ she leaned closer so she could whisper – ‘I will destroy your career, not that you have much of a career, but believe me, it will be destroyed. You’ll never do this to another woman, because I’ll make sure of it.’
Her father tightened his grip around Calum’s neck.
Calum tried to straighten himself up but Indy got in there first. She slapped him hard across the face with a hand that had tended many women’s bodies before and, for the first time, was punishing a man for hurting one.
Everyone turned to look.
‘You absolute piece of shit,’ she said loudly. ‘When this family is finished with you, you will know about it.’
With Rory on one side, and Steve, who’d materialised from nowhere on the other, they frog-marched Calum from the hall.
‘The police will be at the house with one phone call,’ said Eden, following them. ‘My father-in-law will keep an eye on you till then. Diarmuid’s very good with difficult people,’ she added. ‘He can make some calls. Get his guys to accompany you. Diarmuid,’ she leaned in, ‘knows some very scary people.’
In one of the bedrooms, the sisters gathered and took care of Savannah. Chantal made up her face again, Indy stroked her hands, Rory stirred sugar into some strong tea and Eden comforted her.
‘The police take domestic abuse very seriously.’
‘It wasn’t—’ began Savannah.
Eden held her. ‘It was, darling. It’s going to take time for you to process, but it was. It’s OK, though: it can only get better now.’
‘We’re here. You and Clary will never have to go through that again.’
‘We promise.’
‘Let’s not tell Mum, not till later.’
Savannah began to cry again. ‘I wanted to tell you all but—’
‘It’s not your fault,’ said Indy and Eden in tandem.
‘You’re not responsible for what he did,’ Rory said, her hand shaking as she stroked her sister’s hair. ‘We should have seen.’
Savannah looked at them all now. ‘I couldn’t bear to let you see and at the same time, I thought he was right: that I was this dreadful person …’ She shuddered. She still felt so scared.
Her family were telling her she was safe but she didn’t feel it: she still felt the fear.
Eden knelt on the floor in front of her.
‘You’re still scared, aren’t you? It will get better,’ she said. ‘Slowly but it will. I know just the people to help.’
Agnes Tallisker’s present had been a string quartet. And as Meg Robicheaux and her bridesmaids and flower girls processed down through the assembled people into the garden, where a beautiful archway had been decorated with silk flowers, the string quartet played. Meg smiled at the people around her, breathed in the scent of the roses from the hotel garden she had once tended and looked to where the love of her life stood beside the registrar. Stu had always had an amazing ability to recover from all-night benders. And he’d outdone himself today. He looked tanned and healthy. As she got closer, she could smell the Vetiver cologne he wore. His eyes were a bit bloodshot, she thought, but that was OK. She turned and smiled at Rory, who wore the most beautiful dark suit as she escorted Meg down the aisle.
‘Thank you, darling,’ she said.
Rory grinned. She looked lighter. Meg turned and smiled at all her attendants and beamed down at her three flower girls. They went and sat down. Should she marry him? Meg thought, looking at Stu. She leaned closer to him so that nobody else could hear.
