‘Next you’ll be telling me that, no less than the trees and the stars, he has a right to be here,’ Grace sniffed. ‘So it is him?’
‘Yes, of course it’s Brian – who else would it be?’
‘I just thought…’ Grace said faintly.
‘Whatdid you think?’
‘Well, you could have met someone new for all I know. I thought in Africa perhaps…’
Hoped, you mean,Kate thought, her heart sinking. She hadn’t expected her mother to be ecstatic, but this was downright depressing. ‘Well, I didn’t, Mum. It’s Brian. I thought you’d be happy for me.’
‘Of course I’m happy for you, darling,’ Grace said uncertainly, ‘if you’re sure it’s what you want.’
‘Don’t sound so bloody enthusiastic!’ Kate sulked.
‘I’m your mother, Kate. Naturally I want you to be happy.’
‘Look, I know you don’t like Brian?—’
‘I wouldn’t say that,’ her mother butted in defensively.
‘It’s true, Mum. Be honest. But it’s just that you don’t know him very well.’
‘Well, whose fault is that? We’ve gone out of our way to include him, to get to know him better – you can’t say we haven’t tried, sweetheart. But he spurns us at every turn.’
Spurns! thought Kate. Her mother was entering melodramatic airspace.
‘You can’t deny it, Kate. He makes no secret of the way he avoids having anything to do with us. He didn’t even bother turning up for your sister’s wedding until it was almost over.’
‘I know, I know,’ Kate said placatingly. ‘But you can be a bit?—’
‘Overwhelming?’
Shit! Kate kicked the wall. Why the hell had she told Lorcan that? She should have known he’d declaim it from the rooftops. ‘Well that’s just because he doesn’t know you very well,’ she said soothingly. ‘Mum, if you really knew him like I do?—’
‘That’s all very well, Kate,’ Grace snapped. ‘I’m sure his mother adores him and his granny thinks he’s the dog’s bollocks – but don’t you think there’s something to be said for how one appears to the world at large? I mean, do you really have to go onone of these love-in weekends with someone before you can tell what they’re really like? There’s a lot to be said for first impressions, you know.’
‘If we just went on first impressions, Elizabeth would never have ended up with Mr Darcy,’ Kate pointed out.
‘I rest my case,’ her mother replied tartly. ‘Mr Darcy was exactly what he appeared to be to anyone who met him – an insufferable snob and an anal retentive that would make Mr Anal from Uranus look like a slacker.’
Tell me what you really think,Kate thought bitterly, on the verge of tears now. ‘It’s not fair!’ she wailed. ‘You weren’t mean to Rachel when she got engaged to Tom.’
‘But we all adore Tom – you know that. He’s an absolute pet.’
‘So youdon’tlike Brian,’ Kate pounced. ‘I knew it!’
‘When’s the wedding?’ Grace asked stiffly.
Damn,she thought. Why had she let her mother goad her into spilling the beans about the engagement? Grace would have a field day when she discovered there were no concrete wedding plans.
‘Oh, we haven’t set a date yet,’ she said, trying to sound casual. ‘It’s not a formal engagement.’
‘In other words, no ring,’ Grace said.
Kate decided to ignore that. ‘We don’t want a lot of fuss. That’s why we’re not telling anyone until nearer the time. Mum, you have to promise you won’t tell anyone.’
‘Of course.’
