Chapter 13 #2
‘Oh, god, no! Please don’t change!’ Annie cried.
‘I can’t tell you how grateful I am that Matthew’s marrying a nice, normal girl!
I think you’re awesome. If Mother has something like that in her mind, then it might be affecting her behaviour, sure.
But when she gets to know you, she’ll realise you’re a darling and that Matty’s lucky to have you. He adores you, you know.’
‘Thank you. That’s so sweet! I’m glad you’re here.’ Heather chuckled. ‘I adore him too, but he’s really wound me up over the past few days. Maybe this is giving me a taste of married life.’
‘Haha. Right. I’ve heard that. The sound of someone’s chewing makes you want to murder them after a certain number of years.’
‘Well, I guess it’s all part of accepting the other person’s flaws. I’ve been thinking of it like, we’re perfectly imperfect for each other. And all this is definitely showing us our imperfections.’
‘That is a nice way to look at things. Goodness, Heather. Matty did well finding you!’ Annie tapped her future sister-in-law on the arm.
‘Oh, thank you. That’s kind.’ Heather beamed at Annie. ‘I have to say, with your family being here, I was beginning to feel like an alien at the castle. You know when you start to second-guess yourself?’
‘Heather. Please do not second-guess yourself. You are perfect. I love my family, underneath it all, but they can be so elitist. I could never get on board with all that crap. Don’t pay attention to it.
It’s not real. Clara and Estella have got sucked into it.
The designer clothes, skiing, whatever.’
‘Well, you know, even though my uncle has the castle, we don’t really know the type of wealth that your family has.
I mean… I know the Balhennie estate is a lot, obviously, but it’s all ancestral land.
There isn’t a lot of income, apart from tourism, and Uncle James sometimes takes people out on boat tours, but he doesn’t even charge for that.
Mum and Dad run the Inn as a normal business.
There are some family treasures, but it’s not like anyone’s ever going to sell them,’ Heather said, thoughtfully.
‘Maybe I just don’t understand the pressures of that kind of wealth. ’
‘It’s not wealth that ruins people, Heather.
I’ve known plenty of very wealthy, land-owning families who were completely lovely.
People who commit to rewilding their estates and farms, people who give most of their fortune to charities, real philanthropists.
People who support their local communities.
Mum’s foundation is amazing, don’t get me wrong.
But there are so many parties, events, glittery fundraisers.
It’s all about being friends with the right people and holidaying with the in-crowd, as far as I can tell.
Dad didn’t even want to do the TV show, but she suggested he should do it. ’
‘Oh,’ Heather sighed.
‘I can see that you’re such a sweet person; you’re trying to find reasons why Mum is the way she is.
It’s not the money, I can assure you. She’s a grifter, and she always has been.
’ Annie closed her eyes for a moment. ‘It’s a good quality, in many ways.
Matty would tell you that she has her reasons for being the way she is.
I dunno. She and I just butt heads, and we always did. ’
‘Annie, I’m so sorry.’ Heather slowed down as they approached the Balhennie Inn. ‘We’re just about to pass my family’s Inn, actually.’
Angus had just had the sign outside the Inn repainted, as part of its recent renovation. Now it said:
THE BALHENNIE INN
A FAMILY BUSINESS
ROOMS – DINNER – AFTERNOON TEA – WI-FI
YOUR HOME FROM HOME ON SKYE
Heather smiled to herself, knowing that the addition of Wi-Fi was her sister Sorrel’s doing. Sorrel had helped her parents with the Inn’s renovation and remained a part of the Inn’s management. Heather particularly liked all the new claw-footed baths that Sorrel had sourced for the bigger rooms.
‘Would you like to stop here?’ She had the sudden feeling that Annie would probably love to spend some time in a warm and inviting home; she was getting the idea that it wasn’t something her new sister-in-law had experienced much of.
‘Aw. That’s so nice,’ Annie replied. ‘Yes. I’d love to say hi to your parents, if they were around?’
‘Of course. They should be home; they’ve still got guests at the moment: people who have come up for the wedding.’ Heather pulled off the road and into the long drive which had room for multiple cars. ‘Come on. We can get a coffee here too.’
It was a relief to be on home ground. As soon as Heather walked through the garden gate and into the Inn’s lovely cottage garden, she felt the stress start to ebb away from her.
‘Wow. This garden is lovely. Are these apple trees?’ Annie reached up and touched the bare branches of one of the nearby trees that had been at the Inn for as long as Heather could remember.
‘Yes. We have apples, medlars and plums on the trees, and Mum and I keep a vegetable garden. There’s also a lot in the greenhouse, because, you know.
Skye weather.’ Heather pulled her coat around her.
‘We try to get hardy varieties of plants. Sometimes a fruit or veg or a flower doesn’t like it, but we do our best.’
‘Aw. That’s so cute. You have green fingers, huh?’ Annie asked, marvelling at the garden. ‘I mean, I know it’s the depths of winter right now, but I’d love to see this in the spring and summer. It must be gorgeous!’
‘It is.’ Heather let herself in through the kitchen door; Annie followed. ‘I’ll be sad to leave, in a way. Even though I know that marriage is a new adventure, and I’m looking forward to making a home with Matty.’ She closed the kitchen door behind them.
I’m not going to doubt that, she thought. Even though Matty’s been distant, and I’m cross with him, I’m still going to believe in our future together.
She was learning to see reality instead of the fairy tale, but that didn’t mean that she should stop being an optimist and a romantic.
I hope not, Heather thought to herself. Those are two of the things I like best about myself. Maybe I’ll become a realist romantic. Whatever that looks like.
Immediately, they were ensconced in the warm, homely smell of cinnamon, coffee and baked bread. The radio played ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ in the background. Catriona Balhennie looked up from where she stood at the oven, smiling in delight when she saw her daughter.
‘Oh, Heather! I didn’t know you were coming by today!’ she exclaimed. She put down the tray of cinnamon buns that she’d just taken from the oven, took off the oven mitts she wore on both hands and embraced her daughter in a hug.
‘No, it was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment thing.’ Heather was so happy to see her mother. ‘Mum, this is Annie, Matty’s sister. I’m taking her on a tour of the island.’
‘Oh, lovely! Great to meet you, dear.’ Catriona beamed.
‘Shall we hug? I always ask, because some people aren’t huggers.
And that’s all right.’ She wagged her finger at both of them.
‘That’s what my therapist says. It’s all about consent, nowadays.
I wish it always had been! In my day, you just had to hug every unpleasant uncle you had and all your mother’s gossipy friends, and I wish I hadn’t had to. ’
‘Ha. You’re so right! But I’m fine with a hug, Mrs Balhennie. Thanks for asking, though,’ Annie chuckled.
‘Oh. The things I’m learning, you wouldn’t believe!’ Catriona laughed as she hugged Annie. ‘Everyone should be in therapy. It’s changed my life, I can tell you.’
Heather could see that Catriona and Angus had been busy with the Christmas decorations at the Inn.
Usually, Catriona insisted on at least five Christmas trees, and this year seemed to be no exception: there was a tree in the kitchen, so Heather assumed that there was also one in the large hallway, where the Inn’s reception was, two in the lounge and one in the dining room.
Catriona considered the kitchen tree the ‘family’ tree – the ones in the areas that guests used were dressed beautifully in tartan bows and matching baubles, but the kitchen tree was always decorated with all the personal decorations that the girls had made when they were little, as well as baubles bought on family holidays, or received as gifts.
Therefore, the kitchen tree wasn’t at all coordinated or stylish, but it was the one that Heather liked best. She hoped to have one exactly the same one day: a tree decorated with all of her children’s creations.
‘Oh, I bet. I’ve had a therapist for years. She’s amazing,’ Annie agreed.
‘Any coffee going, Mum? And maybe one of those buns?’ Heather asked. Catriona was unlikely to have matcha, and at this point, Heather’s caffeine intake was the last thing on her mind.
‘Oh, yes. I was just about to put the drizzle on, though, if you give me two minutes.’ Heather nodded.
‘I like to do a mid-afternoon snack for any of the guests that fancy it,’ she explained to Annie.
‘And, as we’re just a few days from the wedding, we’ve just got friends here, who are coming anyway.
So, it’s more like a nice holiday catch-up for us at the moment, rather than strict business.
And obviously, it’s Christmas, so it’s cinnamon on everything! ’ Catriona grinned.
‘Cinnamon buns and coffee sounds – and smells – like pure heaven, Mrs B.’ Annie grinned back.
‘Good! Sit down, make yourselves at home, girls. Heather, make some coffee.’ Catriona picked up a newspaper and passed it to Heather.
‘Have you seen this, by the way, love? I did think of not showing you, but you’ll find out, one way or another.
’ She clicked her tongue in displeasure.
‘I tell you. Those bloody journalists. Muck-raking, that’s all it is. And this close to the wedding.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Heather frowned and took the newspaper. The headline read:
EXCLUSIVE: CAMPBELL brIDE-TO-BE’S AUNT SAYS: ‘I WAS A PAGE THREE STRIPPER!’