Page 16 of The Scottish Island Wedding

‘A what?’ Elizabeth leaned forward, as if she hadn’t heard correctly.

‘A humanist handfasting. It’s actually what people did before the Church came to Scotland, some people say. We just liked the idea of it,’ Heather said, trying to stand strong in her choices in the face of a look of dawning horror on Elizabeth’s face. ‘It’s lovely. A celebrant will hold a ceremony about love and nature and bind our hands together with a ribbon.’

‘A ribbon?’ Elizabeth stood up, raising her voice. ‘The Campbells of Glenorchy usually marry in a cathedral. I’m looking the other way on this occasion because you are at least getting married in your ancestral castle, which is acceptable. But some ordinary, non-ordained person tying your hands together with a bit of ribbon, singing kum-ba-yah? Unacceptable!’ She banged the flat of her birdlike hand on the table.

For the fiftieth time in the past twenty-four hours, Heather wished that Matty was here to deal with his mother. This was so deeply unfair; meeting Elizabeth Campbell and being presented with a bulleted list of demands, all of which were inappropriate, was nothing like the beautiful fantasy Heather had had of the days leading up to her wedding. She’d imagined meeting Matty’s family being full of warmth and conviviality; board games over cups of tea and cake, being shown photo albums of Matty as a baby; maybe even going shopping with Elizabeth or some other nice bonding activity.

None of that was happening. Heather grieved the idea of Matty’s family: the reality wasn’t at all so idyllic.

‘Lady Campbell. Please calm down.’ Sorrel had sat down again, but she faced Elizabeth grimly across the table. ‘You can’t just come in here and throw your weight around. This is Heather’s day, and she’s got it all organised. She’s being nice to you because she’s a sweet girl and because she loves Matty. But you are out of line.’

‘Oh, really. Well, then, I’ve got a question for you both. Where is Matty?’ Elizabeth Campbell asked, acidly. ‘Because the last time anyone saw him was when we arrived at the castle yesterday, and he hasn’t been seen since. I received a text saying that he’d be back “soon”.’ She gave Heather a withering glance. ‘When is “soon”, dear? I’ve cancelled everything in my diary to be here, and now, when I arrive, my son has disappeared. What can you tell me about that?’

‘Um. I don’t know where he is. He said he had to work,’ Heather replied in a small voice. ‘We… we had a disagreement, yesterday. When you all arrived.’

Heather noticed the way Elizabeth had phrased it: I’ve cancelled everything in my diary to be here. As if it was an inconvenience, and not her son’s wedding.

‘About what?’ Elizabeth demanded.

‘Er… It’s difficult to say, really…’ Heather prevaricated. She didn’t want to explain to Elizabeth Campbell how shocked she’d been that Matty’s family were well-known reality TV stars and that she’d been appalled that he hadn’t told her.

‘Try,’ Elizabeth said, sitting down again and tapping her perfectly manicured nails on the table. ‘Because as far as I can see, it doesn’t matter if I’m out of line or not, as your charming sister puts it. Because my favourite son has clearly had second thoughts, and I can’t say I blame him.’

There was a deathly silence around the table. Even Estella and Clara had the decency to look shocked.

‘I can’t believe you just said that.’ Sorrel looked furious. ‘You need to apologise to my sister. That was too far.’

‘Fine. I apologise. But you can’t deny that it all looks a little suspicious,’ Elizabeth said, smoothing her immaculately coiffured blonde hair. Sorrel still looked furious.

‘He hasn’t had second thoughts.’ Heather tried to keep her voice as calm and untroubled as she could. Yet Elizabeth had hit a nerve, and Heather could see from the look in her eyes that she knew it.

Heather was worried that Matty was about to call the wedding off. That he was just too scared to, but that he didn’t want to marry her any more. That was her fear, and having her fiancé’s mother say it to her face only made it feel more real.

‘Oh? Then why isn’t he here?’ Elizabeth demanded again.

EIGHT

Why isn’t he here?

Elizabeth’s question resounded in Heather’s mind.

It was a completely fair question, but it was the question that she couldn’t answer. And that was making Heather horribly anxious.

‘Matty hadn’t told me anything about all of you. I didn’t know… you were the Campbells. I thought he was just… a normal person,’ Heather stammered, realising how silly she sounded. Technically, she wasn’t exactly a ‘normal’ person. The five of them were at present sitting in the drawing room of her uncle’s castle.

But Heather didn’t live here; she lived at the Inn, and her mum and dad worked hard in the hospitality business. The life that the Campbells led was alien to her.

What Elizabeth had said had really hurt: Heather didn’t want her future mother-in-law to think that Matty shouldn’t marry her. She didn’t want there to be bad blood between them at all. In her mind, they would be a whole new part of her own family, who she loved. For Heather, the idea that she might not like Matty’s family very much had never even crossed her mind.

She was also really worried about Matty’s disappearance, and Elizabeth’s words had taken something she was trying to stay positive about and made her panic even more.

‘I see. And the fact that we are a wealthy and successful family was a problem for you, because…?’ Elizabeth drawled.

‘It’s not a problem. I was just asking him why he didn’t tell me. I felt it was… dishonest.’

‘Matthew would have his reasons for not telling you, I’m sure.’ Elizabeth sighed. ‘He never wanted to be in the television show, for one thing. He is quite private, although he’s never had a problem accepting the family money. He didn’t argue when our money sent him to the best schools and universities. He’s a good boy.’

‘Well, perhaps we shouldn’t talk about Matty when he’s not here to defend himself,’ Sorrel interjected sensibly.