Chapter 7 #2
Heather shook her head. ‘Please, Sorrel,’ she murmured, trying to communicate with her eyes that she needed Sorrel to stay calm.
As cross as Lady Campbell’s comments had also made her – Sorrel wasn’t alone in being offended – Heather felt as though she had to try and keep everything together, even though it felt as if it was all falling apart.
She hated the fact that she’d thought Matty had told his parents about her months ago, when he’d told his sister Annie.
But he hadn’t. She had to just deal with that, somehow, although knowing it made her feel small and sad.
If she could just keep the peace until Matty came home, then she was sure everything would be all right.
Wouldn’t it?
Heather knew that was a lie she was telling herself, but she didn’t know any other way to cope.
‘Fine. Carry on, Lady Campbell,’ Sorrel said, in a tone that indicated she was still very upset.
‘Thank you. Now. The wedding dress. We have a traditional gown that has been passed down through the Campbell family, and a set of jewellery that has traditionally been worn by Campbell brides since the 1940s. I have the jewellery here.’
Elizabeth opened a vintage-looking, velvet-lined box and revealed a stunning diamond and pearl necklace.
It featured a choker, locket and a huge hanging pendant with what looked like sapphires and emeralds; there were also matching earrings in the box.
Heather took in a deep breath. She didn’t think she’d ever seen anything as opulent when it came to jewellery.
Elizabeth slid the box down the table to Heather.
‘You can hold it, dear. It’s quite heavy, but it will look lovely on you.’
Heather picked up the necklace with a feeling of unease in her stomach. It wasn’t the fact that the necklace and earrings weren’t lovely – they were. But it was the fact that she was being presented with them, like everything else on this list, without being given a choice.
‘Here. Let me put it on you.’ Clara took it from her fingers and fastened it around her neck.
Heather immediately felt its weight pressing on her collarbone.
It was uncomfortable, like a leash. ‘Isn’t that beautiful?
’ Clara cooed, standing back to take in the effect.
‘With the earrings, that will be lovely. I loved wearing it on my wedding day.’
You might have loved the leash, but I don’t, Heather thought. And I don’t care how many diamonds it comes with.
‘It’s quite uncomfortable, actually.’ She lifted it off her neck. The back of the necklace was rough and prickled her skin. ‘Sorrel, can you unhook it? Please?’
Sorrel clearly saw the panic and discomfort in Heather’s eyes and took the necklace from her, putting it back carefully in its box.
‘Hm. You’ll get used to it,’ Elizabeth said. ‘The dress is in my room. You can come and see it; there’s a veil, too. Of course, it will probably need to be adjusted to fit you. Clara was the last one to wear it, and she’s significantly smaller than you.’
Oh, charming, Heather thought.
‘Actually, I have my dress already. It’s been fitted and everything. I’ll try yours on, but my dress is perfect,’ she replied.
‘Hogwash. The Campbell dress will be better,’ Elizabeth retorted.
‘Lady Campbell, you’re being totally unreasonable.
Heather’s just told you that she has a dress already.
You can’t just turn up here and—’ Sorrel obviously couldn’t help herself; Heather knew how she felt, but her desire to hold everything together was stronger than her urge to tell Elizabeth Campbell off.
‘Sorrel,’ Heather interrupted her sister. ‘It’s okay. I’ll go and see the dress.’ She gave Sorrel an imploring look. Heather had no intention of wearing a different dress than the one she and Catriona had chosen, but she would pacify Elizabeth for now.
Sorrel made a face at her sister, but Heather shook her head surreptitiously.
‘Good, good.’ Elizabeth smiled thinly. ‘Now we’re getting somewhere. Next on the list: the service.’
‘What about the service?’ Sorrel said, through gritted teeth.
‘All Campbells are married with a traditional Catholic ceremony,’ Elizabeth said, brusquely. ‘If you’re Church of Scotland, that’s also acceptable, that’s also fine.’
‘Matty and I have organised a humanist handfasting,’ Heather said, dreading the response.
‘A what?’ Elizabeth leaned forward, as if she hadn’t heard correctly.
‘A humanist handfasting. It’s actually what people did before the Church came to Scotland, some people say.
We just liked the idea of it,’ Heather said, trying to stand strong in her choices in the face of a look of dawning horror on Elizabeth’s face.
‘It’s lovely. A celebrant will hold a ceremony about love and nature and bind our hands together with a ribbon. ’
‘A ribbon?’ Elizabeth stood up, raising her voice.
‘The Campbells of Glenorchy usually marry in a cathedral. I’m looking the other way on this occasion because you are at least getting married in your ancestral castle, which is acceptable.
But some ordinary, non-ordained person tying your hands together with a bit of ribbon, singing kum-ba-yah?
Unacceptable!’ She banged the flat of her birdlike hand on the table.
For the fiftieth time in the past twenty-four hours, Heather wished that Matty was here to deal with his mother.
This was so deeply unfair; meeting Elizabeth Campbell and being presented with a bulleted list of demands, all of which were inappropriate, was nothing like the beautiful fantasy Heather had had of the days leading up to her wedding.
She’d imagined meeting Matty’s family being full of warmth and conviviality; board games over cups of tea and cake, being shown photo albums of Matty as a baby; maybe even going shopping with Elizabeth or some other nice bonding activity.
None of that was happening. Heather grieved the idea of Matty’s family: the reality wasn’t at all so idyllic.
‘Lady Campbell. Please calm down.’ Sorrel had sat down again, but she faced Elizabeth grimly across the table.
‘You can’t just come in here and throw your weight around.
This is Heather’s day, and she’s got it all organised.
She’s being nice to you because she’s a sweet girl and because she loves Matty. But you are out of line.’
‘Oh, really. Well, then, I’ve got a question for you both.
Where is Matty?’ Elizabeth Campbell asked, acidly.
‘Because the last time anyone saw him was when we arrived at the castle yesterday, and he hasn’t been seen since.
I received a text saying that he’d be back “soon”.
’ She gave Heather a withering glance. ‘When is “soon”, dear? I’ve cancelled everything in my diary to be here, and now, when I arrive, my son has disappeared. What can you tell me about that?’
‘Um. I don’t know where he is. He said he had to work,’ Heather replied in a small voice. ‘We… we had a disagreement, yesterday. When you all arrived.’
Heather noticed the way Elizabeth had phrased it: I’ve cancelled everything in my diary to be here. As if it was an inconvenience, and not her son’s wedding.
‘About what?’ Elizabeth demanded.
‘Er… It’s difficult to say, really…’ Heather prevaricated. She didn’t want to explain to Elizabeth Campbell how shocked she’d been that Matty’s family were well-known reality TV stars and that she’d been appalled that he hadn’t told her.
‘Try,’ Elizabeth said, sitting down again and tapping her perfectly manicured nails on the table. ‘Because as far as I can see, it doesn’t matter if I’m out of line or not, as your charming sister puts it. Because my favourite son has clearly had second thoughts, and I can’t say I blame him.’
There was a deathly silence around the table. Even Estella and Clara had the decency to look shocked.
‘I can’t believe you just said that.’ Sorrel looked furious. ‘You need to apologise to my sister. That was too far.’
‘Fine. I apologise. But you can’t deny that it all looks a little suspicious,’ Elizabeth said, smoothing her immaculately coiffured blonde hair. Sorrel still looked furious.
‘He hasn’t had second thoughts.’ Heather tried to keep her voice as calm and untroubled as she could. Yet Elizabeth had hit a nerve, and Heather could see from the look in her eyes that she knew it.
Heather was worried that Matty was about to call the wedding off. That he was just too scared to, but that he didn’t want to marry her any more. That was her fear, and having her fiancé’s mother say it to her face only made it feel more real.
‘Oh? Then why isn’t he here?’ Elizabeth demanded again.