Chapter 12 #2
Bex nodded. ‘Absolutely. If we’re not having it at the castle, then I at least want reminders of it.
’ She turned to Duncan. ‘And it reminds me of back down south too,’ she said.
‘You know, with Wildflower Lock and everything.’ She looked back at Amanda to explain.
‘It’s the name of the part of the canal where my friend has a narrowboat.
I spent lots of time round there. Yes, wildflowers are absolutely what I want. ’
A smile of something close to pride graced Amanda’s lips.
‘Well, that’s one thing done,’ she said, clasping her hands in front of her. ‘Excellent. Now, we still need to decide on what kind of theme you’re going for. I don’t suppose there’s any point asking if you’ve been to any dress fittings yet?’
Bex felt her cheeks colour slightly. She hadn’t even thought about a dress.
Which was strange for her, because it wasn’t like she didn’t like clothes.
She’d liked her heels and her suits in London.
She’d liked dressing up for nights out. But since moving to LochDarroch, that had changed.
She dressed for practicality now. For the weather.
Even when she was in meetings, she only put a slightly nicer top with her jeans, and boots, rather than dress up fully.
To spend so much effort looking at one garment of clothing that would only be worn for a few hours… well, it felt like an unproductive use of time, that was for sure.
With a slight tut that was too loud to be subtle, Amanda opened up one of the hatboxes.
‘Well, I brought a few things, like I said, just to see if there’s anything you like.
We can look through them now, but I’ll leave them with you too, so you can try them on in your own time.
Sometimes you need to sit with something, you know.
Really feel if its essence resonates with you. ’
‘You brought dresses?’ Bex said in shock, eyeing the small boxes in front of her. She couldn’t imagine a wedding dress would fit in any of them. Then again, she struggled to know what it would feel like to have an essence resonate with her either.
‘No, no.’ Amanda chuckled. ‘Just little tokens. Like this veil.’ She reached into the hatbox with one hand and pulled a thin piece of lace fabric which she dropped over the other arm, before going back for more.
Then more. Then even more. It was gargantuan, Bex noted, wondering if at any point it would end.
‘I thought you might like to see how you felt wearing something like this. I believe this is the very same veil that the Earl of Clemford’s wife wore, and everybody commented on how unique and stunning it was. ’
Was the Earl of Clemford one of the hundreds of guests Bex was expected to invite to the wedding?
Quite possibly. She wasn’t sure. Just like she wasn’t sure she was planning on wearing a veil.
But it was worth a look even if what she really wanted to do was ask Amanda how she had got hold of the Earl of Clemford’s wife’s veil to bring it here. That sounded like a story.
‘There are tiaras, a few brooches – imitation not real, don’t worry – and even a couple of garters in case they spark your imagination.’
‘Garters definitely spark my imagination,’ Duncan whispered into her ear. Bex moved to elbow him. After all, this was meant to be a serious meeting, but she couldn’t help grinning in response.
‘While we’re talking about clothing,’ Amanda continued, tastefully ignoring Duncan’s remark as she put the veil back into the box less than a minute after removing it. ‘I wanted to check that you’ve both got your outfits sorted for the tenth. It’s only a week or so away, after all.’
‘The tenth?’
Complete hollowness swallowed Bex’s brain, and she looked to Duncan, hoping he’d fill in the blank and stop it from becoming obvious they had no idea what Amanda was on about. But his face was just as confused as hers.
‘Really?’ The sigh Amanda let out sounded remarkably like a schoolteacher reprimanding a naughty child, rather than someone they’d hired to help them plan a wedding.
‘The tenth. The photoshoot with Manors and Mansions magazine.’
‘Manors and Mansions magazine?’ Bex stuttered, eliciting a definite scowl from Amanda.
‘Yes.’ Her tone was clipped. ‘I sent the email last week, confirming the date, and asking you to respond if you had any issues with it. Manors and Mansions is terribly difficult to get into, and they want to do a full six-page spread on the pair of you.’
‘A six-page spread?’ A lump fixed itself in Bex’s throat.
‘Yes.’ Amanda’s voice was curt, bordering on weary, and something told Bex she’d written all of this down in one of her many, many emails.
‘It’ll mostly be photos, but there’ll be an interview too.
The photographer’s booked the whole day.
You’ll need at least four or five outfits for the event.
I guess this means you haven’t even booked in hair and make-up either, have you? ’
‘Oh, no. No I’ve… I’ve done that,’ Bex lied. ‘I just got confused about that date, that’s all. It’s all booked.’
‘It is?’
‘You have?’
Amanda and Duncan spoke at once.
‘Yes, absolutely,’ Bex replied a little more confidently than before.
Of course she hadn’t booked anyone. But Duncan’s stepmum, Carrie, was incredibly good at hair and make-up. She’d jump at the chance to be in a magazine. Bex was sure of it.
Amanda pouted slightly, but the tension lessened.
‘At least that’s something. But I was hoping to see the outfits you picked out.
You know, make sure there’s enough variation.
So many brides-to-be just think white will do for their engagement shoot, but then it takes the impact away from the day.
One white dress, maybe two, but there needs to be colour in there.
Some of your personality. I thought it might be quite nice if we saw the businesswoman side of you too.
Maybe have you dressed in some Louboutins, sitting behind your desk, glasses perched on your nose and hair tied back in a bun.
You know, the sexy accountant side of you. ’
‘I don’t wear glasses,’ Bex said, confused at how they had gone from talking about wedding dresses to sexy accountants in a matter of minutes.
She certainly didn’t think that anyone would find anything sexy about her normal state in the office, with numerous cups of tea and coffee slowly growing a scum layer on top as she struggled to find time to drink them.
‘I was actually thinking I might use some of the clothes here. You know, vintage garments from the old lairds. The women, that is. Like Winny, Fergus’s wife.’
She was thinking on her feet, but the more she spoke, the more she liked the idea. There were wardrobes of clothes she hadn’t even dared to look into, and she suspected some of the clothes in there were even older than Winny’s.
‘A vintage look?’ Amanda nodded, tapping a single finger against her lip. ‘Yes, yes. That could work. Particularly with the decrepit state of the castle as a backdrop.’
Bex felt Duncan stiffen beside her. She squeezed his knee tightly.
‘Okay, well, I’d like to see photos of the options,’ Amanda said. ‘At least three days beforehand. That way I can check if there’s anything that needs altering.’
‘Sounds good,’ Bex replied.
It would also mean she had time to get Eilidh to design a dress or two for her. As much as she knew Carrie would appreciate doing the make-up, getting one of Eilidh’s designs in a magazine could really help her career as a designer take off.
For the next two hours, they continued to work through the never-ending guest list. Apparently, there had been several important members of the Scottish laird community that Amanda had overlooked in her previous round.
She also shared with them a list of catering options, wedding cake specialists, florists, musicians and bespoke jewellery makers, should she be thinking about getting something unique done for the day.
‘Once again, you’ve got a lot of homework to do,’ Amanda said, standing up, signalling the meeting was over. ‘Please, please try to stay in touch.’
‘I will.’
‘Of course,’ Amanda said with a roll of her eyes.
At least they both knew she was lying.