Chapter 44
44
Daisy was marching out of the shop. She wasn’t entirely sure where she was going, she just knew that she needed to get away from the snooty jeweller with his extortionately priced rings.
‘It’s not that ridiculous, really,’ Theo said. ‘I mean, you’re going to wear it every day for the rest of your life. It’s not surprising that it would cost that much.’
‘I could put a deposit down on a house for how much that ring cost,’ Daisy said. ‘And it wasn’t like there weren’t ones that were even bigger. There is no way I could wear something like that every day. I’d be terrified of losing it. No, I want something I can wear every day that doesn’t cost an average salary.’
‘That’s obviously the going price for engagement rings nowadays,’ Theo replied. He didn’t seem half as upset about the situation as Daisy was. In fact, he was giving the impression that it really wasn’t that big a deal.
‘Maybe the average price for people who have more money than sense,’ Daisy replied. ‘No, absolutely not.’
They walked a few steps further, and it was only when Theo slipped his hand in hers and tugged it ever so slightly, that Daisy realised how fast she had been walking.
‘Okay,’ Theo said, pulling her around slightly so that he was looking at her. ‘Then maybe we should check out the antique shops instead. There are loads of beautiful antique rings. After all, the one you’re wearing is antique, and you liked that one, didn’t you?’
Daisy glanced down at the ring on her finger. It was true – if she ignored the negative associations with it, it really was stunning. So maybe an antique ring was the answer.
‘Okay, let’s try that,’ she said, and let Theo lead her into a small, cabinet-filled antique shop.
Unlike at the previous jewellers, the prices were all displayed and, just like Theo had suggested, there were lots more in the budget range that Daisy was after. But as she tried on what had to be her tenth ring, Daisy found herself faced with another problem.
‘I feel like they’ve all got their own story. Is that weird?’ she said, as she slipped an emerald and white-gold ring onto her finger. ‘Like they all had a life before me that I’m somehow interrupting.’
‘Yes, it is. Very weird,’ Theo said.
She punched Theo lightly on the shoulder before sliding the ring off her finger and handing it back to the jeweller.
‘They’ve all already got their own history,’ Daisy said with a sigh as she looked at Theo. ‘It’s different with the ring from your grandmother. You knew her story. You knew how many happy memories she had because of the ring.’
Theo frowned. ‘Actually, she got divorced. She mainly kept the ring in her jewellery box until she gave it to my mum.’
‘What, and you didn’t think that was important?’ Daisy said, shocked that Theo would not see that as an issue. Though, from what she had learned about Theo over the last weekend, she knew she shouldn’t be surprised. ‘That’s the problem with all the jewellery in here,’ she said, waving her hand dramatically to take in as much of the shop as she could. ‘You don’t know how many rings here are from people who weren’t happily married. Or had to pawn their jewellery because they ran out of money, or belonged to people who have died.’
‘Well, considering the majority of pieces here are well over a hundred years old, I’m guessing most of the owners are dead. Or in the Guinness Book of Records ,’ Theo replied.
Daisy chose not to respond to that.
‘I want a ring that’s our story. Just yours and mine.’
‘Well then, let’s go back to the other jeweller’s,’ Theo said. ‘I really don’t care what it costs. This is the only ring I’m ever going to buy, after all.’
Still, Daisy shook her head. ‘No. There’s no way I’m paying those prices. We are not starting our married life in debt because of a single piece of jewellery,’ Daisy replied. ‘No, we just have to wait.’
‘Until what?’
‘Until the right thing turns up.’
‘The right thing that isn’t new or antique? Not exactly sure how that’s going to happen, Daisy.’
She sucked on the inside of her cheek, but there was no way she was going to change her mind on it.
‘Look,’ Theo said, ‘I don’t mean to push, but you are my fiancé, right?’
‘Yes,’ Daisy said, although it still sounded strange, hearing him say the word.
‘Right, and I would like my fiancé to have a ring. If you don’t want to wear the one from my grandmother, pick something. Pick something cheap, because I think it’s going to take years to get what you’re after. And I’m willing to wait, I am. But I still want people to see you with a ring on your finger.’
‘What, so they know I’m yours?’ Daisy said, leaning in up against him.
‘Too right.’ He bent down towards her, and the smile that played on his lips was irresistible. Daisy pushed up on her tiptoes, ready to lose herself in his kiss, when a throat cleared behind her.
Blushing, the pair turned to look at the jeweller, whose face was pinched and expression stony.
‘If it is budget rings you are after, we have a selection of costume jewellery on the other side of the shop.’