One Day in May - Catherine Alliott [62]
‘It is, actually.’
‘Oh… my… God.’ She clutched my arm. ‘Remember, Hattie, we saw a bride going in with her father? That beautiful lace dress? And you made me sit and have another glass of wine in the square until she came out again with her groom? Went all misty-eyed and said if you were going to come out of any church, on any man’s arm, it might just as well be that one, remember?’
‘No,’ I growled.
‘And will you live out there? When you’re married?’
I could hardly breathe.
‘I’m not sure.’
My eyes were on Hal’s shoes. As if I were thoroughly absorbed in the way he’d tied the laces.
‘We haven’t really decided.’
‘They’ll probably live in my house!’ cut in Letty with another shrill, unnatural laugh. ‘They’re trying to chuck me out of it!’
This was beyond embarrassing.
‘Come on, Mum,’ said Cassie quickly, taking her arm.
‘We’d better be going,’ agreed Hal, taking the lamp from her. They said their goodbyes and, between them, helped Letty away.
‘It was lovely to meet you,’ called Cassie over her shoulder, as we watched them go up the lane.
‘Well,’ Maggie declared after a moment, still shading her eyes. ‘So that’s Hal. You didn’t tell me he looked like that! Hattie? Hattie!’
But whatever else she said was lost in the wind. I’d turned on my heel and stalked away from her, in the equal and opposite direction.
13
‘Don’t be silly, you’re exaggerating. I wasn’t interrogating him, I was just being polite.’ Maggie was trotting to keep up with me, but I was setting quite a pace as I stalked up the hill towards the woods, taking the short cut.
‘Polite? I’m surprised you didn’t ask to see a photo of her! Reach for his wallet and thumb through it!’
‘Oh, you’re being absurd. I was merely showing an interest. And it was a coincidence, him getting married at that church that you said yourself, in your wildest dreams, if you and Dominic—’
‘Me and Dominic.’ I stopped and spun round to face her, fists clenched. ‘Wildest dreams, a confidence to a friend, certainly not one to be shared with his brother or his widow! Christ, any minute now I thought you’d give that an airing. Don’t you see how awkward it was?’
‘Well, I wasn’t going to mention that, was I? The fantasy groom. I’m not a complete fool.’
We plunged into the woods in silence, following a dry rutted track through avenues of dark pines, our eyes taking a moment to accustom to the gloom. I was fuming with her but angry with everything. Seeing them all like that had completely thrown me. I’d carefully avoided meeting any of them individually for years: having them turn up together in one bumper package was certainly not in the script. Released from having to behave and make polite conversation, I gave in to the shock, let it rock me. My breathing was shallow now and I subjected Maggie to complete silence as she stumbled to catch up with me in her highly inappropriate wedged heels. I strode mercilessly on, snapping twigs and pine needles underfoot, feeling sharp stones through my thin ballet pumps, punishing my body as my mind reeled away down some dark and ancient abyss.
After a while we found ourselves walking up the back drive. My heart rate had come down a bit and I was breathing more steadily. Self-preservation dictated I rationalize the last half-hour as quickly as possible: square it away and recover. And I was surely a past master of such disciplines. I would be calm. In the distance, behind the parterre and the rose garden was the tennis court. Seffy and Biba were playing languidly in jeans and bare feet. They saw us and raised their rackets from afar. I waved; gave a tight smile back.
‘Is Hal very like Dominic?’ Maggie asked, pleasantly enough, and no doubt trying to embark on a cordial subject. But she was unaccustomed