Chapter Fifty-One
The plane bumped on the landing as a strong crosswind pushed the nose of the aircraft along the runway. There were a few anxious moments but the pilot was used to landing in Inverness and a minute later the plane was gently taxiing to its final spot. The passengers gave a friendly cheer and began to remove their baggage from the overhead lockers.
Clem was almost jumping up and down in impatience. By the time the doors were open, she was at the front of the queue and clattering down the steps. The wind snatched at her hair, which was instantly flattened by the rain and she was grateful that her overnight bag was weighing her down.
‘Bloody awful weather, isn’t it?’ shouted a man behind her as he too started to navigate down the rocking steps. Not letting go of the rail, she turned around and grinned up at him. ‘I love it!’
By the time she had cleared the airport, her curls had given up all semblance of control and instead of driving straight to Rory’s, she decided to head home and tidy up first. She wanted to look as good as possible before she saw him. The last time she had seen him, she had brushed him off as she dashed over to confront Symeon. Later, when she had gone to find him, he had disappeared. He had been incredible during the show when he stopped to take a phone call. Even if he hadn’t, he had put his concerns for his nephews before a fashion show and Clem had to applaud that. Plus, she had to concede that the publicity for that alone had been all over social media.
It was mid-morning by the time she made it to the castle and she realised that without Otto it felt vaguely empty. She patted the heavy oak doors, just you and me old girl, she thought, and called out to see if any of the staff were in.
‘Hello, Clem. How did it go?’
Ginny was wearing a coat and looking set to leave as she came along the corridor, smiling at Clem.
‘Total success! I’d bore you silly but it looks like you are off out?’
‘Yes, I’m heading home to get ready for the Gowan wedding reception.’
‘Gowan?!’ Clem came to a halt and stared at Ginny in dismay. How could Rory be getting married? Had she left it too late? Janet must have been lurking in the wings. Clem groaned. Why the hell hadn’t she talked to Rory before rushing off to confront Symeon? Otto had clearly misinterpreted his actions. He was simply being neighbourly. God knows she had barely said a civil word to him in the past week.
Ginny continued, oblivious to Clem’s worries.
‘Aye, it’s always a big do when one of the laird’s grandsons gets married. If you thought Mari’s wedding was a big occasion, wait till you see what Rory does.’
‘Rory?’ Clem was now almost faint with horror. She hadn’t even had time to process how she felt about him and now he was getting married?
‘Yes, he’s the man of the moment.’
‘No. No. No!’ Clem turned and ran back out of the house and into her car.
‘Where’s the wedding?’
Ginny shouted out the church’s name and Clem sped off before she could catch the rest of Ginny’s sentence.
***
Clem wondered if she was going mad. What did she think she was doing? If Rory wanted to marry Janet, that was up to him. It wasn’t as if they had even had a date but she thought there was something between them. Was this her fault? Had she shoved him back into Janet’s arms? How the hell had Janet managed to arrange a wedding so fast? No, the least he could do would be to explain himself. She would grab him before the service started and ask him what the hell he was playing at.
As she got closer to the village, she saw a large Rolls Royce with cream ribbons pulling out of a long drive. Swerving to overtake it, she put her foot down and hurtled towards the church. Mounting the kerb, she left the keys on the dashboard and ran across the road. As she landed on the pavement, her heel snapped beneath her and she lunged to the left, grabbing at one of the ushers waiting outside for the bride to arrive.
Smiling, Callum Gowan helped her up. ‘Hello, Clem, I didn’t know Rory had invited you?’
Clem looked at him in too much of a hurry to explain.
‘Where is he?’
‘Inside, up the front but you’d better hurry, the bride will be here in a minute.’
His words tailed off as Clem ran and hopped into the church. The congregation turned to look at Clem as she marched past them, one shoe in her hand, her hair in disarray and wearing a pair of ripped jeans.
‘Apparently it’s the fashion,’ whispered one of the women to her friend.
‘Do ye think she’s after this wedding dress as well?’
‘She certainly looks like she has something on her mind.’
Clem stormed on, oblivious to the congregation as she fixed her gaze on Rory. He was standing at the altar with his brother, both men smiling as they watched her hobble towards them. Deciding she’d had enough of Rory’s amused expression, she removed her other shoe and finished the last few metres barefoot.
As she reached the two men standing at the top of the aisle, she had to admit that they made a very striking sight in their formal kilts and black jackets.
‘What the hell do you think you’re playing at?’ hissed Clem.
‘Clem, this isn’t the time or the place. We can talk after the wedding.’
Rory was smiling broadly at her, which wound her up even more.
‘No, we bloody well can’t,’ she said loudly enough that her voice carried through the church.
The congregation nudged each other and leant forward.
‘Yes. Clem we really can. John’s about to get married…’
‘I don’t care if you are about to get married. What the hell do you mean by marrying Janet? I thought you and I had something going on. Is this how you behave in the highlands?’
Rory continued to beam at her as his brother tried to get a word in edgeways.
‘Clem, it’s my wedding, not Rory’s.’
Clem stood barefoot with her hands on her hips, glaring up at the two brothers. She took in a deep breath to have another go at Rory and then looked at John again.
‘Sorry, what?’
‘My wedding. Caroline, my bride will be here any minute, and I reckon she has a temper to match yours, so do you think we could do this afterwards?’
Clem looked at Rory. ‘Not your wedding?’
‘No.’
‘But Ginny said you were the man of the moment. You were organising it all?’
‘I’m the best man.’ And he bent down and kissed her firmly on the lips. ‘Now, go sit down over there and behave. We can do us later. Now, this is them.’
Clem looked up at him and grinned and then flicked out her hair and turned around. The entire congregation was smiling back at her and as nonchalantly as she could she went and sat down next to Ursula. A moment later, the organ began and the congregation stood for the arrival of the bride. John couldn’t take his eyes off Caroline, but Rory and Clem only had eyes for each other.
Yes, thought Clem, life was good and it was about to get a whole lot better.
THE END