‘I believe you.’ Alice is looking down at the floor, so I gently tilt her face so we’re eye to eye again. ‘I know you wouldn’t do that.’
‘Thank you.’ Alice’s voice is hoarse. She leans against me and I wrap my arm around her, pulling her in tight. ‘The thing is, Francelia is adamant I took that necklace and she told everyone. It was humiliating, and now nobody trusts me. Not even my dad.’
‘I do. I trust you completely.’
‘I’m glad to hear it.’ Alice straightens. ‘Because there’s Archie. Trust me when I say he’s perfect for you.’
I walked into that one, didn’t I?
‘Come on, quick!’ Alice grabs hold of my hand and tows me towards the throng of people. ‘He’s disappearing into the crowd.’ Tugging on my hand, she weaves us between partygoers at an alarming rate. My feet, already aching in the heels I’m wearing, are struggling to keep up.
‘Slow down,’ I call out over the increasing music volume as we race across the dance floor, but it’s no use. Alice is on a mission. Nothing can stop her. Nothing, apart from a six-foot gardener stepping into her path.
‘Fuck’s sake,’ I hear him growl even over the loud music. He’s batting at his shirt with one hand, where there’s a wet patch soaking through to his skin, while the other holds on to a now near-empty glass. A couple of ice cubes have clinked onto the floor, and Alice has crouched down to scoop them up.
‘I’m so sorry.’ Alice plops the ice cubes back into the glass. ‘Let me get you a fresh drink.’ She goes to take the glass, but Tom snatches it away.
‘It doesn’t matter. I’m not in the mood anyway.’
I do not like this guy. He’s about as charming as a bag of steaming dog turds and I can’t understand why Alice and Carolyn were so excited about being reunited with him.
‘Let me at least get you a napkin.’ Alice’s eyes move to the damp patch on Tom’s shirt and she pulls a face.
‘It doesn’t matter, honestly.’ Tom swipes at the patch and shrugs. ‘It’s only a small spill, and I’ll be getting off soon. I only came to wish Carolyn well.’
‘She’ll be thrilled you came. It’s been too long.’
Tom scratches the back of his neck. ‘Yeah, well, a lot happened back then.’
Alice nods, her gaze dropping to the floor. ‘It did, but we shouldn’t have let it affect our friendship. We were so close.’ She looks up again, her eyes on Tom, but he’s gazing down at the dregs of his drink and the melting ice cubes in his glass. ‘You were one of my best friends, Tom. I’ve missed you.’
‘Look, it’s been great to see you again, Alice, and I’ve enjoyed the drinks and canapés.’ There are canapés? Where? I’ve just stuffed myself stupid with a three-course meal, but I never say no to snackage. ‘But I should get going. Stuff to do, you know? Give Carolyn my regards, won’t you?’ Pressing the glass into Alice’s hand, Tom strides away, heading straight for the door. He wrenches it open before disappearing from the ballroom.
Alice frowns and shakes her head. ‘He didn’t used to be like this. He was so lovely. Kind, funny, like a big brother, really.’
‘That guy?’ I thrust a thumb at the door, which has now closed behind him, and wrinkle my nose.
The corners of Alice’s lips have turned down and she sighs. ‘He was one of my best friends growing up, but he feels like a stranger now.’
‘He couldn’t have been that good a friend if he didn’t believe you about the necklace.’ I wasn’t even at the castle at the time, yet I know Alice didn’t take it.
Alice shakes her head. ‘Tom believed me. He stuck by me, with Carolyn and Archie. They were the only ones who did.’
‘Then what happened to drive a wedge between you?’
But Alice doesn’t answer. Her smile is back on her face, as though she’s rebooted her settings. ‘There’s Archie!’ She points ahead. ‘Let’s go!’
I groan as she grabs my hand and starts to tow me through the crowds once more, but at least it’s at a much slower pace this time.
The barman is wielding a cocktail shaker as I approach, the ice cubes rattling and the liquid sloshing as he jiggles it in the air. There’s already a pair of glasses set out on the bar in front of the guy who helped me with the suitcases, which the barman fills with the red liquid before adding a maraschino cherry to garnish.
‘That looks delicious.’ I lean against the bar in an attempt to take the weight off my aching feet. We’ve traipsed back and forth across the ballroom in search of the elusive Archie but have yet to locate him. I feel like I’m taking part in an interactive Where’s Wally? Alice was not impressed when I made the comparison.
‘It’s a Poison Apple,’ he tells me before taking a sip. His eyebrows lift once he’s swallowed. ‘It’s pretty potent stuff, actually. Wow.’ He grins at me and I smile back, trying not to laugh as he eyes the glass with great suspicion before taking another – tiny – sip. ‘Can I get one for you to try?’
‘Why not?’ I was going to go for another blood orange margarita, but this looks much more enticing. ‘Can I get two, please?’
‘Thirsty?’ he asks once he’s placed the order with the barman.
‘The other’s for my friend.’ I’d finally convinced Alice to pause the search for Wally (aka Archie) to grab some drinks, so I can’t turn up empty-handed. ‘What about you?’ I point at the second drink waiting on the bar.
‘For my aunt.’ He picks up the glass. ‘I should get this to her. She isn’t the most patient of people. But maybe we’ll bump into each other again?’ He starts to move away, but turns to face me again. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.’
‘It’s Emily,’ I say as the barman places a couple of martini glasses on the bar.
‘It’s lovely to meet you, Emily.’ He smiles warmly at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners. ‘I’m Archie.’
‘You can call off the search,’ I tell Alice as I pass her a Poison Apple cocktail. ‘I’ve found him.’
‘You found Archie? Where?’ Alice is on her tiptoes, eyes searching the room.
‘At the bar. He recommended these.’ I lift up my glass before taking a sip. Wowsers. I’ll be squiffy after half a glass.
‘But where is he now?’
I shrug. ‘With his aunt somewhere.’
‘Oh.’ Alice returns to her normal, non-tiptoe height. ‘That’ll be Francelia. There’s no point in disturbing him if he’s busy.’ She takes a large sip of her drink and doesn’t even bat an eyelid at the strength. ‘What did you think of Archie? He’s cute, right?’
‘Hmm.’ I shrug. ‘I guess.’
He is good-looking – especially in his tailored suit – but I know Alice will pounce if I even hint that he’s an attractive member of the opposite sex. She’d up her game. Hunt him down and make sure there was a firm introduction, where every single bit of salient information was exchanged: ages, job titles, hopes for the future, whether marriage and children are on the cards. I’ve been there before – and mortifying doesn’t come close to describing the experience – and I’m not keen to return.
‘He’s such a sweetie, honestly. When all that “stolen necklace” nonsense happened, he stuck up for me, going against Francelia and everything. He knew I wouldn’t do something like that and he wasn’t afraid of saying so. Shows great strength and loyalty, don’t you think?’
‘I guess.’ I take another sip of my drink. I wonder if Alice’s meddling would seem less annoying if I downed the lot in one go…
‘And he isn’t like Francelia at all. You wouldn’t even think they’re related.’
‘I suppose not.’ Archie didn’t seem to possess the same iciness as his aunt, but then I’ve only encountered him briefly.
‘So? What do you think?’ Alice leans in close to me, one hand on her chest, breath held.
‘I think I’d quite liked to get drunk on these cocktails.’
Alice sighs, her hand slipping back down to her side. ‘We had a deal, remember? You have to take this seriously.’
‘Sorry.’ Not sorry. ‘I will take it seriously. Very seriously. But I can’t promise to fall head over heels for him. We might not be compatible at all. You can’t force that kind of thing.’
‘I know.’ Alice takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. ‘But don’t worry, honey. There are plenty more fish in the ballroom. Your Prince Charming is here somewhere, and we’ll find him. Trust me.’
Chapter Ten
Alice sweeps me around the room, introducing me to eligible bachelor after eligible bachelor, each seeming more weird or pompous than the last. My feet are aching and I’m in dire need of a Poison Apple top-up, but there’s no stopping my friend in her mission to pair me up. We’ve devised a clever code, so as not to hurt any feelings – Alice’s idea, not mine – where Alice, after initiating a little get-to-know-you session between us, will ask if I’d like a drink. If I say, ‘no, I’m fine, thanks’, I’m giving the guy the thumbs up and Alice will slink away. If I say, ‘yes, let’s go to the bar!’, I’m giving a definite thumbs down and off we toddle.
Alice isn’t deterred in the slightest that I’ve rejected each and every one of them.
We’ve yet to make it back to the bar, though.
‘You have got to meet my second cousin, Owen. He’s a little camp, but if you believe the gossip, he’s totally into women and isn’t lacking in that department.’ Alice doesn’t even have to tug on my hand; I’ve become completely resigned to her mission and stopped fighting it several eligible bachelors ago. My aim for the evening is to play along with her meet and greets, ignoring my poor, throbbing feet, until I can feign exhaustion and crawl into bed.
‘Alice!’ Before we can make it to Owen – who, I can already tell, even from a distance, is way more than a little camp – we’re derailed by Francelia. I never thought I’d be so glad to see the woman, but she’s like my guardian angel, swooping in to save me from another matchmaking attempt. ‘Have you seen Carolyn? She’s had a little tiff with Piers, apparently, and I need to make sure they smooth things over. Nothing is going to ruin this wedding after all the effort I’ve put in.’
‘I haven’t seen her.’ Alice starts to wring her hands while her eyes dart around the crowded room. ‘What was the row about? Nothing major, I hope?’
Francelia throws her hands up in the air. ‘Goodness knows! You know how dramatic your sister can be.’
‘Carolyn isn’t…’ Alice starts to say, but Francelia isn’t listening. She sighs and brings a hand up to rest on her unnaturally smooth forehead.
‘Do you realise how stressful planning a wedding is? No, of course you don’t. What a ridiculous question! You’d need an actual engagement for that. Or a boyfriend at the very least.’ She sighs again and clamps a hand down on her hip. ‘I heard there was a bit of a scene at dinner. Can you please keep yourself out of trouble? You don’t want to embarrass your father and I, do you?’
Alice opens her mouth to speak – to defend herself – but Francelia is already striding away.
‘Right.’ Alice does a good job of faking cheer as she turns to me, smile fixed in place, head held high. ‘Let’s go and find your Prince Charming.’
I want to say no thank you, let’s not. I want to say I’m too knackered to have another lap of the ballroom. I want to kick off my shoes and curl up in bed. But I don’t do any of these things. I can’t. Not after Francelia’s little dig. Because as jolly as Alice appears to be, I know she isn’t. So, grudgingly, I decide to go along with it for just a little bit longer.
I’m ready for calling it quits when Alice suddenly squeals, grabs my hand and pulls me away from the second or third cousin (they’re all blending together into one boring mass by now) I’ve been listening to drone on and on for the past ten minutes (is that all it was? It felt like much longer, believe me). I’m mid-fake laugh as I’m wrenched away and plonked in front of Archie, the star of the show as far as Alice is concerned.
‘There you are!’ Alice throws her arms around Archie and gives him a tight squeeze. ‘We’ve been looking for you everywhere. It’s so good to see you!’
‘It’s good to see you too.’ Archie steps back so Alice is at arm’s length, though they’re still grasping one another. ‘It’s been too long. I’ve missed you.’ Archie adopts a stern voice, his head dipping towards Alice. ‘You shouldn’t have stayed away.’
Alice squirms out of his grasp and looks down at the floor. ‘I know, but all that stuff with the necklace…’
‘Hey.’ Archie cups Alice’s chin and brings her gaze back up to his. ‘Everyone who matters believed you. Carolyn, Tom, me. We know you’d never do anything like that.’
Alice nods, but she doesn’t look any happier.
‘Come here.’ Archie opens his arms and Alice falls into them, resting her cheek on his chest. He drops a kiss on the top of her head. ‘I really have missed you, Alice in Wonderland.’
Alice in Wonderland?
Archie catches my eye over the top of Alice’s head and smiles. ‘It was our nickname for Alice when we were kids.’
Alice giggles as she straightens. ‘I’d forgotten about that, Archibald the Great.’
Archie holds up his hands as he says to me, ‘That wasn’t my choice. I’m not that egotistical.’
‘Not like Queen Carolyn,’ Alice says with a giggle. ‘She insisted on that one.’
‘We’ll have to think of a nickname for you,’ Archie tells me. ‘If you’re to become part of the gang.’
Alice widens her eyes at me, her hands clasped and her lips pressing together in an attempt to keep her excitement locked in. I suppose it is quite sweet that Archie is inviting me into their little group.
‘As long as it’s something complimentary,’ I say.
‘Of course.’ Archie nudges Alice. ‘We only give the non-complimentary names to those who truly deserve them.’
Alice claps a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening. ‘The Goblin!’ She and Archie giggle at the shared memory. ‘The Goblin was the name we gave to Francelia, though we never told her that, obviously.’
Alice and Archie share more tales of their childhood at the castle: playing truth or dare, hiding out in the woods, swiping booze from the drinks cabinet and concocting disgusting cocktails when they were in their early teens, late-night dips in the pool.
‘We should do that now,’ Archie says.
‘What, go swimming?’ Alice asks. ‘Now?’
Archie nods. ‘It’ll be much more fun now Uncle Ned has updated the place. The pool is heated now, and there’s a hot tub and everything. What do you say?’
Alice looks at me and I shrug. ‘Why not?’
A swim would be more fun than standing around the ballroom for two reasons:
1) I can take my shoes off, which are seriously killing me and
2) It would mean there would be no more meet and greets for the time being.
‘Great!’ Archie claps his hands together. ‘Go and grab your stuff and I’ll meet you there.’
The pool room is clearly not an original feature of the building. Where the rest of the castle is in keeping with its heritage, this glass-walled room is modern, with clean lines and bright lighting. The large pool in the centre of the room is clear and inviting, with wide steps leading down to the water, which is tinted from the turquoise tiles. There are sunloungers lined up along the length of the pool, with shower facilities and a hot tub at the head. Archie is already in the pool when Alice and I arrive, and he crawls leisurely across the water as we remove our cover-ups and flip-flops, leaning against the pool’s wall when he reaches us.
‘This is so much better than the old pool,’ he says.
‘It couldn’t have been worse.’ Alice pulls her broderie anglaise kaftan over her head and tosses it onto a nearby sunlounger. ‘The old one gave us frostbite.’
‘Wow.’ Archie’s eyebrows lift as Alice dips her toe into the water. ‘You’re looking good these days, Al. I remember when you were a flat-chested teenager with puppy fat.’
Alice does look
amazing. She’s wearing one of the bikinis from Daisy Lane, the company she works as a buyer for, which cost at least three times the amount of my supermarket one-piece.
‘Oi.’ Alice slips into the water and splashes Archie. ‘I did not have puppy fat.’ She glides through the water for a moment before turning and floating on her back.
‘Aunt Francelia says you’re the head of a boutique chain of shops now,’ Archie says as I lower myself down the steps and into the water.
‘Oh, for God’s sake.’ Alice sighs and looks briefly at Archie before returning her gaze to the glass vaulted ceiling. Although the pool room is flooded with light, it’s now pitch-black outside. ‘I am not the head of anything. I’m an underwear buyer for a chain of high street shops.’
Daisy Lane may be on the high street, but it isn’t your everyday kind of outlet. It’s pretty niche with its astronomical prices for what are essentially tiny scraps of silk, cotton and lace.
I do not point this out. I’m smarter than that.
‘It sounds like you’re doing well though,’ Archie says.
Alice nods. ‘I get by.’ Although Alice’s family are rolling in it, her father has never provided her with any assistance other than the house we live in, and even then it was only ever a loan and Alice is now responsible for the mortgage repayments. He could have bought it outright, but Alice’s father has never wanted to hand anything over to his daughters.
‘He’s tighter than a camel’s arse in a sandstorm,’ Alice once told me.
Roderick Monroe is tight with money and even tighter with love.
‘And I do love my job,’ Alice adds now.
‘Lucky you,’ Archie says with a sigh.
‘Don’t you enjoy your work?’
‘It has its perks.’ Archie leans back to float on his back too. ‘Company car, private healthcare, a four-week sabbatical every year, free use of their villa in the south of France. But it’s stressful.’ He flips back onto his front as I approach. ‘What do you do, Emily?’ I tell Archie about my teaching job. ‘Quite a vocation. I couldn’t do it, so hats off to you.’
I bask in the compliment. Teaching can be difficult at times, and I’m often glad I don’t have kids of my own when I’ve had to deal with a particularly bratty kid, but I do love my job. Not that I’m itching for the summer holidays to end. I’m going to enjoy this week of leisure before I have to start thinking about teaching plans, classroom displays and the impending GCSE results of my former Year 11 pupils.
The Wedding that Changed Everything Page 7