They stood there in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the cool air after the heat of the reception room. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted. ‘Can I ask you something?’ Lili said.
‘Fire away.’
‘How on earth did you end up inviting Ben the Photographer to your wedding?’‘Ben theBloodyPhotographer,’ Lo reminded her, resurrecting the name she’d given him in a show of sisterly solidarity. ‘And I didn’t invite him. I’ve never even met him. What are you talking about?’
‘Well, somebody did. Because he was just here!’
Lo started to chuckle. ‘That’s impossible! There’s no way I’d ever invite Ben the …’ she trailed off, looking both confused and concerned at the same time.
‘Lo?’ Lili asked, leaning forward to get a better look at her sister’s face. ‘You okay?’
Lo seemed frozen in space. ‘Um …’ she said, looking most distressed.
And then Lili felt terrible for bringing it up at all. She’d already hijacked significant parts of her sister’s big day. She did not need to make a mountain out ofthatmolehill. That was done and dusted, more than five years in the past. There had to be a safer subject she could steer the conversation on to. ‘You said you’d invited the guy who helped me get from Scotland back to London,’ she began. ‘Any sign of him yet?’
But, if anything, Lo’s face grew even more pinched. She stared back at Lili, and then, very slowly, shook her head. ‘He … He couldn’t make it after all.’
‘That’s a pity. I wanted to thank him. There’s no telling where I’d have ended up without his help.’
Lo seemed to recover herself, pushing away from the wall and pulling open the fire door that hadn’t quite properly slammed shut behind Kerry. ‘Maybe it’s for the best,’ she said, as she stepped across the threshold and beckoned Lili to follow her. ‘You’ve got a great new future to look forward to. Let’s leave the past in the past.’
Part IV
One Month Later
Chapter Sixty-Two
Now.
BEN FOUND HIS aunt sitting in Fernpoint’s garden, taking a break with a large cup of coffee and enjoying the March sun, as she sat on a bench and watched Willow desperately attempting to turn a skipping rope more than twice before she tripped herself up and landed flat on the grass. It didn’t stop her trying, though.
He showed Norina a large A4 envelope. ‘Those papers I’ve been waiting on arrived.’
‘You’re really going to do it?’ She lowered her voice so Willow couldn’t hear. ‘You’re going to notify the council you’d like to adopt her?’
Ben nodded. When he’d got back from England, close to a month ago, he’d resumed his search for the man named on Willow’s birth certificate. A stroke of luck in finding one of Cat’s friends had given him the lead he needed and he’d gone down to Glasgow to meet the guy. He hadn’t been interested, had told Ben in no uncertain terms he wanted nothing to do with the kid, that he wasn’t even sure it was his and had seemed quite relieved when Ben had asked if he’d consider giving up his parental rights. Even though Ben’s heart had broken once again for Willow,he was pleased the matter was going to be settled once and for all.
Willow spotted him, dropped her skipping rope and ran towards him. ‘Uncle Ben! Are we going on our fairy walk now? You promised!’
‘That we are. Go and get your coat.’
Ben walked behind his niece when they reached the castle grounds, keeping an eye on her as she ran along the wide path, over the bridge and into the woodland beyond. There was a strange feeling of lightness in his chest, despite the disappointments of recent weeks. Part of it was that he was excited to begin the adventure of watching Willow grow up, of being the best father he could be to her, but there was something else …
‘Look!’ Willow called, running into a small clearing in the woodland. ‘Can you see it? Can you? I think it’s a fairy, I really do!’
Ben looked to where she was pointing. He could see something glinting high up in the breeze, the sun catching it from behind, and it twirled and floated up between the trees. If it were later in the year, he’d have said it was a dandelion head lit up by the long rays of the afternoon sun, but it couldn’t be that, and a wisp of sheep’s wool caught in the wind would probably be too heavy to float that high. ‘I think you might be right, Willow. I really do.’
She ran over and jumped into his arms, squeezed him tight and said in a breathless voice, ‘Oh, Uncle Ben! I’m so happy I could burst!’
He hugged her back, revelling in the feel of her warm little body against his. ‘Willow?’
She looked up at him, eyes bright and trusting.
‘How would you feel about calling me “Daddy”?’
Her little eyebrows shot up. ‘Really?’
‘Yes, really.’
