‘Do you like it?’ Justin said in my ear.
‘I love it!’ I turned and gave him a quick but heartfelt kiss. When he’d said he was taking me for a day out, I hadn’t expected this. I thought it would be a fancy lunch at one of his favourite haunts or an art gallery. While I didn’t mind those things, this was much more up my street. How wonderful that he’d realised without me even telling him.
‘Come on,’ he said, grabbing my hand and leading me towards the castle. ‘There’s someone I want you to meet.’
I didn’t have time to raise my eyebrows in surprise because we were instantly hurrying along the path, over the bridge, and onto the island. The castle itself sat just beyond a large, clipped lawn surrounded by a path. Justin tugged my hand and pulled me into one of the large gatehouses that sat just beyond the bridge.
A woman in a gorgeous cream suit greeted us as we reached the nail-studded wooden door and led us into a spacious room with a large brick fireplace at one end, tapestries on the walls, and wrought-iron chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. A waiter appeared from nowhere and offered each of us a glass of champagne.
‘Mr De la Hay,’ she said warmly, and I detected a hint of an American accent. ‘Welcome to Hadsborough Castle. Why don’t I give you a tour first, and then we can talk in more detail about our wedding packages?’
‘Perfect,’ Justin said and squeezed my hand.
I just smiled back. Had she just said ‘wedding’? The concept of this even being apossiblevenue blew my mind.
The next twenty minutes were a blur. We inspected a spacious barn situated a short distance from the castle, the more affordable of the castle’s two wedding venues, and then Faith, our guide, brought us back into the castle itself, where she showed us a large panelled banqueting hall with mullioned windows overlooking the moat, a dressing room for the bride with a proper four-poster bed, and promises of a drinks reception and photos on the lawn outside if the weather was fine. Once all the talk was over, she withdrew to a discreet distance.
Justin led me to the long windows overlooking the moat and took my hands in his. ‘So … what do you think? Don’t you think this is the perfect place to get married?’
I nodded, swallowing at the same time. Itwasgorgeous, a dream come true. But that was half the problem. ‘I … I don’t think my mum and dad would be able to stretch to something like this,’ I said quietly, not wanting Faith to overhear. ‘Not even the barn.’ And I looked back at him, willing him to understand, so I didn’t have to spell it out in front of a stranger. To be honest, I’d hoped he might have worked this out for himself.
Justin reached up and touched my face with his hand. ‘Darling, of course I’m going to chip in! I wouldn’t expect your parents to bear the cost of this alone.’ He smiled back at me, as if that solved everything.
My throat tightened further. Only the other week, Mum had told me how hard she and Dad had saved for my and Lo’s weddings. Our family wasn’t going to let the side down. They were going to put on a good ‘do’.
‘I think I need to talk it over with Mum and Dad,’ I said quietly.
Irritation pinched Justin’s features. Even though he was an incredibly structured kind of person, sometimes, he also had these … what did I call them? ‘Whims’ didn’t fit. The word made it sound as if his ideas were flighty or airy when, in fact, they were often solid and intractable, projections of his steely will. I could tell he’d come here expecting to book this place today, and he’d be upset if we didn’t.
‘My dad grew up with nothing,’ I explained. ‘He’s worked all hours to build up his plumbing business, and he’s proud of what he’s achieved, and he might be a bit …sensitive… if we rock up and say what he’d been planning isn’t good enough. I think he and Mum had been thinking of The Maple Court Hotel.’
‘What? That place where your cousin had her engagement party? Don’t you think it was a little tired?’
I bit my lip. At the time, I hadn’t thought anything of it. The Maple was the poshest hotel in the area, which wasn’t saying much, I suppose, since our bit of south London wasn’t exactly a thriving tourist hotspot. However, when I looked around at where we were – an actualcastle– and thought about the kind of places Justin frequented, I could see his point.
‘You’re right. Of course you are.’ Justin always was when it came to matters of taste. ‘But I don’t want to offend my parents … They’ve done so much for me over the years.’
His face fell. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked off to stare into the vast, empty fireplace. I waited for a minute or two, unsure what to say or do, and then I followed him.
‘Justin?’ I said, rubbing his arm gently.
‘I know I’ve got ahead of myself,’ he said, gazing in the direction of the grate, ‘but I wanted to give you this. I want you to have the fairy tale,Angel, because you deserve it. It doesn’t matter what it costs, not to me.’
He looked so dejected that I walked round to stand in front of him and drew him into a hug. ‘You’re right,’ I said quietly. ‘I do love it. It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of, but …’
‘But?’
He looked at me with those big blue puppy dog eyes of his, and I felt myself begin to crumble. ‘Maybe we could take Mum and Dad out to lunch at the weekend, talk it over and get their blessing, rather than just presenting it to them as a done deal? If we make them part of the decision, maybe ask them to chip in for something they could afford …’
I wasn’t convincing myself they wouldn’t be hurt, but what could I do? I had to find some compromise. I was stuck between two sets of people I loved to distraction.
Justin looked sheepish. ‘The thing is … I might have already booked the castle. There was a cancellation at the end of February. Other than that, it was a two-year wait, so I just … did it. I thought you’d be pleased.’
‘February? That’s only five months away!’
‘I know it’ll be a rush to get things done, but if you scale back on work and concentrate on planning, I’m sure we can get it all done. You can build things up career-wise again after we’re married. While I appreciate you contributing to the household, it’s not as if we need to rely on your income.’
‘I …’
