This would be his room, she realised. It suited him. There were some stunning black-and-white landscape photographs on one wall, and above the bed was a large print of what seemed to be a ruined church, ivy winding around the tall,elegant buttresses of a glassless Gothic window. She was about to ask where it had been taken when there was a noise downstairs, and a husky female voice called out Ben’s name.
‘Up here!’ he yelled back, and a moment later, a rather short and rather round woman with sandy wavy hair and a no-nonsense expression appeared in the doorway, carrying what looked like a rolled-up duvet in a bag. She was joined by a rather breathless little girl with long, dark pigtails and large round glasses. ‘I carried the pillowcases and sheets all the way here!’ she announced proudly to Ben, then she spotted their guest. ‘Hiya!’ she said brightly. ‘You must be the lady who’s staying in our cottage for a wee bit.’
‘Yes … and thank you. I’m guessing you must be Willow.’
The girl beamed at her. Shyness was definitely not a problem for this one. ‘Have you seen my room? You can stay in that one if you like.’ She lowered her voice and leaned forward as if imparting serious information that the two other adults in the room wouldn’t understand. ‘It’s purple. You know, forgirls.’
She stifled a smile. ‘I saw it. It’s lovely.’
‘This bed will do fine enough,’ the woman said as she dumped the bag onto the bed and held out a hand. ‘I’m Norina – Ben’s aunt. Don’t you worry, pet. We’ll make sure you’re okay until everything gets sorted out. Oh, and I thought you could do with this …’ Norina handed her an older-looking smartphone. ‘Just in case you need anything. The B&B is just around the corner, and we can be here in a jiffy.’
‘Th-thank you.’ She took the phone and clutched it to her chest. They were all being so kind it made her eyes fill, and she had to take in a breath before she could talk again. ‘I just wish I could do something to repay you.Can I help you with the B&B tomorrow? There must be something I can do there.’
Norina regarded her carefully. ‘I could do with an extra pair of hands at breakfast, and there’s always a heap of washing to be done. Do you think you’re up to it?’
She nodded, smiling, and hoped desperately she was being truthful, because for the first time that day, she didn’t feel completely useless.
‘What’s your name?’ Willow asked.
She felt a slight tremor, similar to the feeling she’d experienced outside the café, but maybe she was getting used to coming up blank when someone asked that question because it was only that – a tremor. An aftershock. She blinked at the little girl. How did she answer this? ‘Um … I don’t have one at the moment.’
‘Everybody has a name!’
‘I know … And I do too. It’s just …’
Before she could find the right words, Ben knelt down and explained the situation to his niece quickly and simply in a way that made sense to a child her age. Willow nodded when he’d finished, accepting what he’d told her without doubt, but it obviously had set her thinking because, after a few moments, she said, ‘I sometimes have pretend names when I’m playing warrior princess games with my friends. Perhaps you could have one of those? You know, just ’til you remember yours?’
‘A warrior princess name?’ Ben asked, looking perplexed.
Willow laughed, snorting and covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled. It was adorable. ‘Apretendname. One you use for a bit ’til you go back to your real one.’
‘It makes sense,’ Ben said, and both he and his aunt looked enquiringly at their guest.
She nodded her agreement. ‘I suppose it does. I can’t just be called “Oi, you!” for the next—’ she swallowed as she realised she had no idea how long it might be ‘—the next couple of weeks.’
Willow bounced up and down. ‘Can I help? I always come up with the best names, don’t I, Uncle Ben? I know … Moana!’
Ben gave her a weary look. ‘We are not naming her after someone from a Disney film.Besides, you named your hamster Moana, and it would be confusing to have two of them.’
‘Elsa, then!’ Willow said, equally hopeful.
Ben rolled his eyes and shook his head.
Willow concentrated with the kind of fierceness only a five-year-old could muster. Finally, she looked up and said, ‘How about “Alice”? Like the book we’re reading at bedtime?’
‘Alice in Wonderland?’ Ben asked.
Willow nodded earnestly. ‘Because Alice is lost in a place she doesn’t know too.’
The look of hope on the little girl’s face was too much for her to bear. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I’ll be Alice.’ She might as well. It was as good a name as any.
Chapter Eleven
Eleven months before the wedding.
I STOOD OUTSIDE the fancy French brasserie in Covent Garden, tugging at the worn ends of my coat sleeves repeatedly. It was chilly, so I pulled it closer around my body. The rich blue sky was studded with stars, meaning there was no cloud cover, and while the shift dress I’d borrowed from Lo was a decent thickness, it was also sleeveless.
Just as my toes were starting to freeze inside a pair of Lo’s heels, Justin arrived. He was wearing a beautiful suit, as always, with his smart shoes and his camel-coloured coat. His sandy-blond hair was perfectly combed, with just a little bit of rakish floppiness at the fringe. When he smiled at me, the jittery sensation that had plagued me all afternoon intensified.
