This Could Change Everything(64)

‘As soon as I heard she wanted to come to Colworth, I knew everything would be all right. You wouldn’t let me down. How’s Hector?’

‘I’m fantastic,’ announced the distinguished-looking man who had to be Daisy’s father, emerging from the hotel with two small dogs dancing around his highly polished shoes. ‘Calm down, you two. This is Clive and this one’s Clarissa,’ he explained to the assembled party, before greeting Zillah with an affectionate kiss on each cheek. ‘Darling, remind me again why we never married?’

Zillah laughed and tweaked the rose-gold silk tie he was wearing with his beautifully cut dark suit. ‘I think it’s because you were far too busy having a secret love affair with your future wife.’

‘Ah yes, that was it.’ Hector’s gaze shifted past her, to the private ambulance currently crossing the stone bridge behind them. ‘And here’s your lady now. Daisy, is everything ready?’

Daisy bent to scoop up the smaller of the two dogs. ‘Dad, have I ever been inefficient? Everything’s perfect.’

By the time Barbara had been unloaded and reintroduced to Daisy and Hector, Essie had the Skype connection set up and running. As they entered the hotel, she placed the iPad in Barbara’s hands. ‘Here you are.’

‘Mum, hello!’ On the iPad’s screen, all the way from Sydney, Australia, Gail was waving and showing off the bump beneath her yellow sundress. ‘Look, I’ve got even bigger! I’m huge!’

‘Oh darling, we’re here! At Colworth Manor!’

‘I can see exactly where you are,’ Gail exclaimed as the stretcher was wheeled through the oak-panelled hallway with the open fire burning merrily in the fireplace. ‘I can practically smell the woodsmoke. Is Aunt Peggy there with you?’

‘Hang on, this nice young man is taking lots of photos to remind us of today. Peggy isn’t here yet,’ Barbara explained to her daughter. ‘There are roadworks on the M4 and she’s held up in traffic, but she’ll be here soon.’

‘Pretty brave of them to set up roadworks when Aunt Peggy needs to use the motorway,’ said Gail.

They paused at the entrance to the ballroom.

‘It’s almost exactly the same,’ Gail exclaimed. ‘You didn’t do this just for us!’

‘No,’ said Hector. ‘There’s an evening wedding reception taking place here at six o’clock. But if there hadn’t been,’ he added gallantly, ‘of course we would have done it just for you.’

‘He’s such a charmer.’ Zillah gave him an affectionate nudge.

The ballroom was bathed in golden light from the two overhead chandeliers, each of the circular tables was dressed in white and silver, and there were groups of candles, fairy lights in bottles, and posies of white flowers tied with gauzy bows.

Barbara’s eyes were alight with joy. ‘Oh darling, it’s just like your wedding day all over again.’

‘You were wearing that gorgeous pink dress,’ Gail reminded her. ‘You’ll never know how proud of you I was when you stood up and gave that speech—’

‘I’m here, I’m here, sorry I’m late! Those damn roadworks are an abomination.’

Essie looked up as Barbara’s older sister Peggy came rushing into the ballroom. In her early sixties, she had shoulder-length mid-brown hair and was wearing a loose faded blue sweatshirt over pale jeans. She gave Barbara a kiss on the forehead. ‘Barb, how are you doing? What’s it like being back here?’

‘Wonderful.’ Barbara touched her sister’s face with genuine affection. ‘If I could get up off this contraption, I’d be dancing.’

Hector said, ‘And I’d be dancing with you.’

Essie realised that Conor was no longer taking photos. He was standing back from the rest of the group, behind Hector and Peggy, staring down at the tiny screen on his camera. And he’d been frozen in that position for several seconds.

As the others continued to chatter away, Essie reached across to touch his forearm. ‘Are you OK?’

Conor was barely aware of Essie’s hand on his arm. He managed to nod and mouth, I’m fine at her, but the rest of his brain was in overdrive.

As yet, Barbara’s sister hadn’t so much as glanced in his direction. Understandably enough, all her attention was focused on Barbara. But when she did eventually look over at him, she was going to get a shock.

Oh, but look at her. The transformation was incredible. Who could have imagined that the woman standing in front of him now was the boss whose law firm he’d walked out of?

Because Barbara’s sister Peggy was Margaret Kale, and while he’d been working for her, Conor genuinely couldn’t recall ever having seen her smile. At work, she’d always had her hair pulled back in a tight bun, and had worn dark grey suits. Her manner had invariably been brusque and ruthlessly efficient. Beneath the lapels of her jacket had been a heart of solid ice.

Yet now here she was, informally dressed and looking ten years younger, laughing as she exchanged a joke with her niece in Australia and stroked her dying sister’s hand.

Having collected himself and resumed taking photographs, Conor managed to capture the exact moment she noticed him for the first time. Her smile slipped as her eyes widened in recognition.

He smiled slightly. ‘Hello, Margaret.’