Chapter 1 #2
You need to look at that phone, a voice in Heather’s mind said.
She dismissed it immediately: I’m not a suspicious person. I’m not insecure. I love Matty and he loves me.
He wouldn’t lie to me.
Would he?
She had begun to question her own judgement.
It had been gradual, over the past few days.
Hers and Matty’s romance had seemed like a dream so far.
When he’d proposed, it felt like all her wishes were coming true.
But was this secrecy and oddness the kind of behaviour that romantic dreams were made of?
‘Morning, lovebirds.’ Angus Balhennie walked into the kitchen and sniffed the air. ‘Ah, coffee, is it? Any spare?’
‘Sure, Mr Balhennie. There’s another cup in the pot,’ Matty said politely.
‘It’s Angus, laddie. Please. I’m aboot tae be your father-in-law.
We’re family!’ Angus prodded Matty in the arm and chuckled.
‘Mr Balhennie, indeed. Not like we don’t know each other well enough by now.
’ He took a mug for himself and poured coffee into it, adding a large splash of milk and three sugars.
‘And, might I say, we’re excited tae finally meet our fellow in-laws soon!
’ he added, winking warmly at Heather. ‘It’ll be grand tae get tae know your parents, Matt. ’
‘Oh. Yeah. They’re excited to meet you all too.’ Matty nodded and smiled, though Heather sensed that he was being polite, and he was still stressed.
Just pre-wedding jitters, she thought.
Are you sure? that same voice in her head asked. She shushed it.
However, Heather had to admit that it was strange that she hadn’t met Matty’s parents. In fact, she’d only met one member of his family – his sister Annie, who lived on a boat on the Union Canal between Falkirk and Edinburgh.
Annie, Matty said, was a bit of a rebel, and had refused to go to university and get a sensible job like him and his two brothers; his brothers apparently managed some property portfolios, and Matty was a lawyer.
By contrast, Annie had joined a commune for a few years and then bought herself the boat and now made a small living from her artwork.
Heather liked that Matty had a proper job and that he was smart, but what she really loved about Matty was the fact that he was caring and ethical.
He could have gone to work for some corporate law firm with his qualifications – and he had, for a while – but then he’d left the corporate world and set up an environmental charity with a friend.
To Heather, who had worked for an animal charity for years and was passionate about protecting nature, Matty’s care for the natural world was a big part of why she’d fallen for him.
Heather had always relied on her instincts; on the rare occasions that she hadn’t listened to that wise, quiet feeling in her heart, it had been a mistake.
She’d always been intuitive; she could sometimes see glowing light around people’s heads and bodies, an aura, in different colours.
She felt things about people, connecting to their energy. None of that had ever led her wrong.
But, as much as she loved him, and as much as Matty had been a big YES from the moment she’d met him, she wondered now if she had been right to trust him so implicitly.
What did she really know about him, other than what he’d told her?
There was only his behaviour to measure him by, and that behaviour was starting to become erratic.
‘When’re they arrivin’?’ Angus asked. ‘I know Catriona’s on the case, but I want tae make sure I’ve been tae the barber tae smarten up beforehand.’ He ran a hand over his greying beard. ‘Got to look good, eh? James Bond all the way.’
‘Next weekend. The 19th, I think.’
‘Good, good. The day of the Christmas party! That’s great. We’re excited tae meet them. James has the rooms ready at the castle, though they’d have been welcome here. We can still put them up, nae bother, if they want. Nicer here, honestly. That auld place is full o’ mice.’
The Balhennie Inn typically held a Christmas party for all of their friends and family in the festive period.
Angus always dressed up as Father Christmas and made Catriona be Mrs Claus, even though she complained every year that the costume made her look frumpy.
Angus always dismissed the notion that Catriona could ever look anything less than devastatingly gorgeous.
‘Dad. The castle’s lovely. And it was very nice of Uncle James to offer to accommodate Matty’s family for the wedding.’
Heather knew that her father had a long-standing rivalry with his cousin, the laird, James Balhennie. According to Angus, generations ago, the ownership of the castle had been unlawfully stolen by James’s side of the family, and he, Angus Balhennie, should be the laird.
‘Aye, I suppose so,’ Angus grumbled. ‘Dinnae ken why the in-laws aren’t hangin’ oot wi’ us, though. Get to know each other. Have a few drinks. Better breakfasts here.’ He sniffed.
‘We’ll have plenty of time to get to know the Campbells, Dad.’ Heather placated her father, wishing that she felt as confident as she sounded.
‘Aye. I suppose so. Matt, I was wonderin’ what part o’ the Campbell clan you were from,’ Angus said. ‘I know I asked before, an’ I dinnae think we ever got around tae lookin’ at it. But I’ve known a fair few Campbells over the years. I might know your parents – you never know, eh!’ he chuckled.
‘Oh, right. Yeah. We’ll have to sit down and look at it,’ Matty said vaguely. ‘You know, my head’s really sore. Maybe I do need to rest up.’ He put down his coffee.
‘Do you want me to go with you?’ Heather asked, feeling a little anxious.
‘No, you stay here with your dad.’ Matty picked up his phone, put it in his pocket and squeezed her shoulder. ‘I’ll see you later, okay? Good to see you, Mr Bal… I mean, Angus.’
‘Nae bother, Matt. See you later, eh?’ Angus nodded. ‘Feel better soon.’
‘Yeah. See you, then.’
Heather watched him go with a feeling of unease curling in her belly like an eel.
‘Everythin’ okay, sweetheart?’ Angus asked his daughter. ‘You look a bit oot o’ sorts.’
‘It’s just wedding stress, Dad. I’m fine,’ Heather said, giving her father a bright smile.
But the truth was that she was worried. She’d heard stories about men who got calls in the middle of the night, and men who didn’t let their partners look at their phones, and the story was always the same. They were cheating.
What if there was someone else? What if Matty was cheating on her? She hadn’t known him that long. It was conceivable, even though Heather felt very strongly that Matty wasn’t seeing someone else.
Why would he do such a thing, and right before their wedding, too? It made no sense.
But there was definitely something up, and Matty refused to talk to her. In the vacuum of information, Heather’s imagination was running riot. What if Matty just didn’t want to marry her any more?