Dorothea, no doubt furious to be reminded that the title wasn’t yet actually in her grasp, shot him a look of pure venom.
‘Shall we go and find Steph?’ she said to my parents. ‘I know she wanted to talk wedding a little tonight.’
As they sailed off, I bit my lip and put a hand to my head, glancing up at Nick, who was also trying not to laugh.
‘Ouch,’ I said. ‘Sorry about Mum.’
‘It doesn’t matter at all,’ he said. ‘She meant to be kind, unlike Dorothea.’
‘Talking about my delightful sister-in-law?’ came a voice, and we turned to see Minty, wearing a silk dress with a chiffon cape in the exact blue of her eyes. She hugged both of us, then drained her glass and swiftly swapped it for a full one from the tray of one of the ubiquitous waiters. ‘I’m so glad to see you both, my mother has been intolerable. She keeps trying to fix me up with people now she thinks you’ve been taken, Nick, and no matter how much I tell her that I don’t care about being at the wedding on my own, she seems to think it’s some terrible indignity.’
We laughed and glanced at each other and Minty looked at us intently.
‘Ooh, I think youhavebeen taken!’ she said. ‘I’m right, aren’t I?’
We grinned back at her dopily.
‘You are,’ said Nick, taking my hand again.
‘Good,’ she whispered, squeezing my arm, as the butler struck a gong which stood in a corner of the room.
‘Please will guests make their way to the ballroom, where the Christmas concert is due to begin in five minutes,’ he intoned.
We walked back into the hallway, and I saw that a huge pair of double doors now stood open, revealing an enormous ballroom, its walls covered in gold flocked velvet wallpaper and hung with oil paintings and large, gold-framed mirrors. A stage had been erected at one end and chairs laid out in neat rows. Minty led us to the front of the room, and we sat down as the seats filled around us. A hush fell as the musicians stepped onto the stage. A woman sat at the grand piano, which was so highly polished you could do your eyeliner in its reflection, two mensat down and picked up violins, a third man lifted a cello and another woman took up a viola while a third sat down amongst various percussion instruments. Finally, a woman dressed in a navy-blue velvet suit with diamante buttons, holding a baton, walked onto the stage and bowed as we applauded. Then she turned around, lifted her baton, and the music began.
For the next hour I was transported to Christmas heaven as the musicians played a sweeping range of pieces from carols such as ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’ to family favourites, including ‘Frosty the Snowman.’ For the final piece, the conductor turned to the audience and told us it was our turn to join in. She picked out twelve people, one of them Minty, and gave them large boards with a picture of each of the presents from ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’. These they had to hold up at the right time so that the rest of us could join in. Perhaps predictably, it all fell apart around ‘nine ladies dancing’ and there was much laughter as the conductor untangled us and skilfully set the song going again. The atmosphere in the room couldn’t have been more perfect for the time of the year as Bridget Montgomery came onto the stage, a genuine, wide smile on her face, and thanked them, then announced how much had been raised for the charity that evening. Tingling with Christmas cheer, we returned to the White Drawing Room, where round tables, each seating ten people, had been set up for dinner. A large seating chart showed us that Nick and I were at the same table, but not sitting next to each other. I had Hugo on one side, with Steph next to him, and a man called Sim Waykes on my other side. Nick was next to Minty.
‘Seems kind of unfair that Steph and Hugo can sit next to each other, but we can’t,’ I whispered as we walked to the table. I was beginning to feel persecuted.
‘To be fair to Bridget,’ said Nick, ‘she’s following the rules. Engaged couples can sit together, but others are usually split up. Doesn’t mean to say we have to like it, though. Shall I swap the name cards?’
‘No, don’t do that,’ I replied. ‘It’ll be all right.’
Hugo and Steph were already there when I sat down, and my sister greeted me with little enthusiasm. I made dull small talk with Hugo for a few minutes, before the seat on my other side was taken by a tall, debonair man with thick black hair, tanned skin and the most come-to-bed eyes I had ever seen this side of a movie screen.
‘Good evening,’ he said, holding out his hand, which I shook. ‘I’m Sim.’
‘Laura,’ I replied.
‘Well, Laura, I’m very happy to meet you. Very happy. Did you enjoy the concert?’
I barely noticed the first course, a delicious beetroot soup with a swirl of cream on top, being served, as Sim engaged me so totally in conversation, asking me questions about myself and making me laugh with his gently bitchy anecdotes of the Montogomery family, who he seemed to have known forever. He kept my wine glass full, complimented my dress and made thoughtful comments about the state of our National Health Service, having learnt that I was a nurse. As the second course, a rich and fragrant winter vegetable Wellington, was put in front of us, I glanced over to Nick for, much as I was enjoying Sim’s company, I still would have preferred to be sitting with him. He waggled his thumb at me, a questioning look on his face, and I gave him a firm ‘thumbs up’, not wanting him to worry that I wasn’t enjoying myself. By the time we started on the mini pavlovas with spiced stewed pears, drenched in an orange-brandy sauce and topped with whipped cream, I had not only had enough wine, but was beginning to think I’d alsohad enough of Sim’s company, which was tipping over from the friendly to the flirtatious. As coffee was served, I took the opportunity to turn to Hugo, instead finding that he had moved and Steph had taken his place.
‘Enjoying yourself, are you?’ she said, raising her eyebrows pointedly in Sim’s direction, although speaking too softly for him to hear. ‘Please don’t embarrass me here.’
I pressed down my anger and said mildly, ‘We were just talking. I’d rather be sitting next to Nick, but I wasn’t given the choice.’
‘Well, I’m sure Bridget knows what she’s doing with theplacement,’ replied Steph. ‘She obviously thought that you and Sim would get on, and she was right, apparently. Anyway’ – she took another sip of her wine – ‘you don’t want to put all your eggs in Nick’s basket, do you? Very sensible.’
I knew I shouldn’t take the bait, but I couldn’t resist.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well,’ she continued, pushing her barely touched pavlova aside and picking up her coffee cup. ‘He’s moving back to LA after Christmas, isn’t he? Everyone knows that. At least there’s no danger of spoiling our plans of you being my maternity nurse.’
I gritted my teeth.
‘I think they were your plans rather than ours, Steph.’
