Chapter 27
‘Okay, I’m actually having fun,’ Bex said to Duncan as she leaned up against him, following the direction of the photographer, placing her hand against the side wall near the loch.
‘Is that right?’ He beamed back at her.
‘I mean, I don’t want to spend our wedding day doing this. Don’t get me wrong. But it’ll be nice to have some photos to remember the day. Still, it’s not as bad as I imagined.’
‘And you look gorgeous, by the way. I think this dress is my favourite.’
‘You said that was the last one.’
‘Did I?’ He grinned.
‘Yes. And the one before it.’
‘What can I say? Maybe we should just make it a weekly thing. That you always dress up in a ballgown.’
If she was honest with herself, the best part of the day was definitely spending some one-on-one time with Duncan.
Laughing with him, walking around the grounds with him.
Even if they were followed by an entourage who had thrown paper leaves and rose petals at them more than once.
Just seeing the way his eyes lit up when he looked at her was enough to remind her what all this was for.
‘I’m not sure how that’ll work for walking the dogs,’ she said. ‘Speaking of which, we should probably check on them.’
‘I told Roddy to do that too,’ Duncan replied.
Right. That squirm was back in Bex’s stomach. If there was a problem between them, Duncan seemed completely oblivious to it. But then, maybe the issue wasn’t with Duncan and Roddy at all. Maybe it was with Fi. Though why she couldn’t be honest about it, she didn’t know.
‘I think the others are having fun,’ Bex said, nodding across the way to an area of lawn close to the marquee, where her mum, Claire and Daisy had set up a picnic blanket with various nibbles Bex assumed had come from Lorna. Presumably ones that weren’t good enough to make the cut for the gala.
‘I think Claire’s havin’ a good time with the wine cellar, for sure,’ Duncan added. ‘When we’re done, you should go and join them. Make the most of the time together. You’ll get less of it when the bairn comes.’
A baby. It didn’t feel real, and yet the bump was there. Claire already had a daughter, Amelia, and when Daisy’s baby arrived, it would mean Bex was the only one of them yet to have a child. It was crazy.
‘I want to do something for the kids,’ she said, speaking the idea the moment it struck her. ‘Set up a little trust fund. I know they’re not blood family, but to me… I would really love it if we could.’
‘They’re your family. They’ve always been your family,’ Duncan said. ‘If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do.’
Her heart filled with love. He really was the most perfect person. As their eyes met, he leaned in to kiss her.
‘Keep that head angled up, please!’ The direction came from the photographer. ‘Duncan, maybe you could lift her hand to your lips. Look like you’re gonna kiss those magnificent diamonds, perhaps?’
There was no denying the jewellery really was magnificent, even if Bex was constantly having to check that the necklaces and bracelets were still in place. She was so terrified of them falling off.
‘Maybe we could sell off a piece of jewellery for each of them to start it off,’ Duncan suggested. ‘And I know you don’t want to hear it, but maybe you just need to take a bit of a break.’
‘When the wedding is over,’ she said.
‘Okay. Don’t stress yourself out, all right? Enjoy it.’
The next shoot involved them having glasses of champagne too, and the following one. Any hope Bex had of it being a short job was dashed when the photographer mentioned a sunset shoot. Apparently, the crew was staying until then.
Thankfully, Roddy had had the foresight to ring the café and get them to bring down a load of sandwiches, so at least people weren’t starving.
By the time they got the final photos done, the sun was setting.
‘Just time for a couple indoors by the fire,’ Amanda suggested. ‘Give people some cosy, homely photos.’
‘Maybe with a couple of friends too?’ someone suggested.
Amanda looked over at the group, most of whom were now on the far side of tipsy.
‘Maybe for another shoot,’ she said. ‘Now, why don’t you go and dress in something everyday? Just jeans and a slouchy top.’
Bex looked at Duncan, not sure she was hearing right. She was scared to question it, just in case Amanda changed her mind, so she nodded her head furiously.
‘Right. I’ll get all these off too,’ she said. Gradually, she had put more and more jewellery on with each set. Her fingers were laden, her ears weighed down. It would be nice to get some of it off.
She went upstairs, found Rosie sleeping at the top of the staircase, curled up next to Ruby.
‘Oh, you. When you’re like that,’ she said. ‘Like that, I can’t be mad at you.’
She moved into the dressing room to take off the dress. But as she began putting the rings back, she stopped. Something didn’t feel right.
She slipped the last one off her finger and into one of the slots in the jewellery box – then realised what it was.
Forty-six rings.
She counted. And counted again.
Wasn’t it meant to be forty-seven?
Yes. She was sure it was forty-seven. She remembered Lorna saying that.
Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the thought of how much it could be worth. There had been forty-seven rings here before. And now there were only forty-six.
So what did it mean?
There was a truth she didn’t want to admit.
Someone had stolen from her.