Chapter 33
There was no time to waste. It was already eleven thirty. Although the prizes weren’t awarded until late in the afternoon, people would start coming down to the gala from one o’clock, if not before. That was one hell of a lot to get sorted in that time.
‘Ring your sister. Ring Eilidh.’ Bex was firing words to anyone who’d listen.
‘Ring everyone we trust and get them down here now,’ Bex said.
‘They’re already here,’ Daisy replied.
‘They are?’ Bex blinked.
‘Well, Lorna, Eilidh and Niall are. They’re outside in the garden with the dogs.’
‘What?’
‘They came up after dropping their things off down at the marquee. I made them breakfast and then when the doctor showed up… I think they thought taking the dogs out could help you a little.’
‘Really?’ Bex’s heart swelled so large it felt fit to burst. They were here to help even before they knew she needed their help.
Of course they were. That was the type of people they were.
And now that she really did need them, they were here, almost as if the universe were conspiring to make this wedding happen.
‘Lorna! Niall, Eilidh!’ Claire called outside, with the practised holler of someone who’d summoned a teenager from their room countless times. ‘Hurry up! You’re needed!’
‘I’m gonna have to learn to do that one day, aren’t I?’ Daisy said, resting her hand on her baby bump.
‘Quite possibly,’ Bex replied, barely having time to catch a breath before the dogs came hurtling into the hallway, followed by Lorna, Eilidh and Niall.
‘What is it?’ Lorna asked. ‘What’s happening?’
‘We’re doing it,’ Bex said, grabbing Duncan’s hand behind her, her face grinning so hard her cheeks ached. ‘We’re getting married.’
Lorna blinked. ‘We know…’
‘No.’ Bex laughed. ‘We’re getting married today. We’re gonna hijack the gala and have our wedding.’
‘You’re not serious?’ Eilidh said as her hand flew to her mouth. ‘Oh my God, you are!’
Bex nodded. ‘What needs to happen?’
‘Well, we need to get the permission of the gala committee first,’ Duncan said, ‘if we want to use their food.’
‘I’ll go do that,’ Lorna said. ‘I mean, I’m the future Laird’s Cup winner, so there’s no way they can say no, right?’
Bex rolled her eyes.
‘I’ll come with you,’ Daisy offered. ‘It’s much harder to say no to a pregnant woman.’
‘Good thinking,’ Lorna agreed. ‘Let’s go.’
‘What about a dress?’ her mother asked. She and Bex’s father had stepped out of the drawing room to join them in the hallway, and though part of Bex wanted to yell at her dad and tell him to sit back down, it was also a relief to see him up and on his feet. ‘You need a dress, right?’
‘Yes,’ Bex said, turning to look at Eilidh. ‘But I have a feeling I already have one… right?’
Eilidh’s eyes widened slightly, a smile curling at the corners of her mouth.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘You don’t?’ Bex offered her a withering look.
‘You know I told the judges I didn’t know your style.
That I wouldn’t be able to spot it in the show.
And I wasn’t lying, I don’t think I do. But you do know mine.
You know what I love. You know my taste.
And that dress… well, I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect one.
It looked like it’d been made for me. Because, well… because I assume it was.’
‘I was worried you wouldn’t like it,’ Eilidh said softly, tears filling her eyes as Bex stepped forward and took her hand.
‘It’s perfect. Beyond perfect. But you’ll probably have to take it out of the competition, you know, for me to be able to wear it.’
‘You know that having you wear that dress on your wedding day would mean more to me than winning every contest at the village show.’
Bex let out a slight chuckle.
‘Don’t tell that to Lorna,’ she added.
* * *
The instant Daisy and Lorna returned to the castle to say Marjorie had given them the go-ahead, the house turned into a military operation.
Apparently, the committee had raised no objection to the idea of using the food, flowers and any other items required from the gala for the last-minute wedding at all, as they were convinced it would go down in village history. They were probably right.
Carrie took on the role of wedding make-up artist and hairdresser, while Bex’s own mum, Lilith, went through the men’s wardrobe, ensuring they all had suitable items before picking something from the clothes collection for herself too.
Niall and Eilidh were sorting out music, while Roddy – who Duncan had run to immediately tell of the development – was apparently in charge of furniture. Whatever that meant.
‘I can get a flight out in two hours, so I’ll be there for the party after the service,’ Bex’s brother said on the phone when she video called him. ‘You know, this is pretty short notice.’
‘Hey, I’m only ringing you because Mum and Dad said I had to,’ Bex lied. ‘I didn’t even want my big brother there.’
‘Yeah, right.’ He grinned back. ‘Just make sure any single bridesmaids are available for a dance. Actually, make sure they’re all free for a dance.’
‘Just get here,’ she said, rolling her eyes, before blowing him a kiss and hanging up the phone.
‘We’d better go,’ Claire said a little after one. ‘Make sure everything’s all right down by the loch. You sure you don’t need help up here?’
‘No, I’ll be fine,’ Bex said. ‘I’m not on my own. Dad’s staying. He’s sitting down in the drawing room, right? Not up and about helping people.’
‘He’s with Rosie. Cuddling on the sofa.’
‘The sofa! She knows she’s not allowed on there. And so does Dad.’
And yet Bex couldn’t even feign being cross at either of them. This wasn’t the day for that.
A couple more people, such as her mum and Lorna, came to say their farewells too – all checking she was okay with them not staying, which she was, given how much there was to sort down at the loch – and then that was it.
She was on her own, in her bedroom, slipping on her wedding dress.
Unsurprisingly, the fit was absolutely perfect.
‘Wow, Becky Boo…’ Her father’s eyes filled with tears as she walked down the stairs in the oyster wedding dress, feeling not like a princess, but like a lady. Lady Rebecca Duffy. Laird of Highland Hall. ‘You look so grown up. My baby girl, getting married.’
‘Are you sure you’re all right to be doing this?’ she asked her father as she held out her arm for him.
‘Just you try and stop me.’ He beamed back, before reaching out to the table and grasping a bouquet of wildflowers, hand-tied with string, with a second-place rosette pinned to the side.
‘Apparently the vicar said you liked these best?’
‘I did,’ Bex commented, slipping her arm into his as she took the flowers, turning them so that the rosette was facing her and not visible to others.
Arm in arm they moved towards the door only for a loud knock that resonated through the hallway to cause Bex to stop.
‘You expecting anyone?’ her father asked.
She shook her head. ‘No… but that’s not unusual round here.’
Releasing Bex’s arm, he stepped forward and opened the door, revealing a man with a very large camera slung over his shoulder.
‘Thank goodness. I thought I was gonna be late. And oh, Lady Duffy, you look stunning. Wait right there, don’t move an inch. Not an inch.’
He crouched down, snapping several photos in quick succession, then several more, until Bex cleared her throat.
‘Sorry! Yes, of course, not to be intrusive. You don’t like lots of photos, I get it.’
‘I’m sorry.’ Bex moved back towards her dad and took his arm. ‘I don’t mean to sound rude, but where have you come from?’
‘Your sister-in-law. Lorna. I’m one of—’
‘—the members of the amateur photography meet-up, right?’ Bex finished for him as it all fell into place.
He nodded. ‘There’s half a dozen of us dotted around. Candid shots, you know? As long as you’re okay with that. If you’re not—’
‘That sounds beautiful,’ Bex said. ‘Thank you. Thank you so much for this.’
The man beamed, then stepped back out of the doorway. ‘Well, I guess I should say, after you.’