Page 55 of The Scottish Island Wedding

‘Oh, I think we can manage without you, sweetie.’ Sorrel winked conspiratorially at Matty. ‘Go for a walk. Get some fresh air.’

‘It’s freezing out there. Are you mad?’ Heather chuckled. ‘No, thanks. I’m happy to stay by the fire and eat biscuits with you guys.’

‘No, no.’ Primrose cleared her throat. ‘I agree. I think you should go. For a walk.’

Heather looked out of the window at the grey clouds that had come in low over the island.

‘It looks like rain,’ she argued. ‘No thanks.’

‘I’d love you to come for a walk with me, Heather,’ Matty repeated, sounding overly formal. ‘There’s… something I want to show you. On the loch.’

‘What?’ Heather looked up, frowning. Matty was looking uncharacteristically coy. She looked at her sisters, who were smirking. ‘What’s going on?’

‘We think you should go to the loch. Wear your warm coat,’ Sorrel repeated. ‘Off you pop.’

‘I don’t know what’s going on, but okay…’ Heather sighed, getting up. ‘You’re all acting very strangely. I just want you to know that.’

‘Noted.’ Sorrel grinned. ‘We’ll see you later.’

As they walked from the castle down to the edge of the water and the pebbly beach that merged the Balhennie land with the deep, mysterious loch, Matty was quiet, holding her hand. Heather shivered. She’d assumed that Matty wanted to talk to her about something important, which was why she’d agreed to come in the first place, but it was very cold, and a heavy mist hung in the air.

‘Are you cold, baby?’ Matty drew her in closer to him as they walked along, putting his arm around her waist.

‘Yeah. Remind me why you wanted to come out for a walk?’ She smiled fondly up at him. He was wrapped up in a thick wool coat, boots, a knitted hat and a scarf.

‘It’s Christmas Eve. New tradition.’ He planted a kiss on her forehead.

‘Oh… okay…’ Heather put her hands in her pockets. ‘That’s all?’

‘Hm. What?’ He stopped, taking his phone out of his pocket and looking at it. ‘Yes. That’s all. Come on, let’s go down to the water.’

They were walking through the woodland at the edge of the castle grounds, heading along a dirt pathway that led to an old lych gate. Through the gate, a pathway led down to the pebble beach. There was a small access road nearby, but hardly anyone ever brought their car there, as it was a private road. Sometimes, Uncle James’s groundskeepers would leave their trucks there if they were tidying up the beach, or doing some fishing after they’d clocked off for the day in the summer.

When Heather had closed the gate behind her, she frowned, because a large van was sitting at the end of the access road, and on the beach, a large wooden summer house had appeared. Next to it, a campfire burned merrily in a large brazier, with several more arranged along the beach. The wooden house was covered in fairy lights.

‘Oh… my… goodness. What is this?’ Heather gaped at the beach, and then at Matty. ‘What have you done?’

‘Welcome to your own special night-before-the-wedding spa on the beach!’ Matty announced, laughing at her flummoxed expression. ‘Come on. Let’s go and check it out.’

He took her hand and led her carefully over the stones until they reached the wooden house.

‘Here it is, then.’ He stepped up onto the wooden floor of the structure and helped her up. ‘I hope you like it.’

‘Matty… I don’t know what to say. This is amazing,’ Heather breathed, looking around at it all. The summer house – winter house, really – was open at the front so that they could look onto the loch, with the sun setting over it, casting an orange glow over the black water. In the centre of the structure was a large, bubbling hot tub, which steamed into the cold air. On both sides of the tub – which, Heather estimated, could easily take six people – there were chairs and loungers topped with comfy cushions and pads, and some free-standing heaters that were kicking out enough heat for the space to feel warm. A fridge filled with champagne, wine and soft drinks stood in the corner with a couple of large zipped-up thermal food bags.

‘Well, I know that your hen do didn’t quite turn out the way you wanted it, so… I organised this for you. Your sisters, your mum, the aunts, and my mother and Clara, Annie and Estella are going to come down and hang out with you for a while, in a bit. But I thought we could have an hour or so down here alone first, have a drink and watch the sun set. What ‘d’you think, Mrs Campbell? Does that sound good?’ Matty beamed at her delighted face. ‘I mean, I feel like your expression says it all.’

‘That sounds like literally the most amazing, romantic thing anyone has ever said to me!’ Heather squealed with excitement. ‘Oh, Matty! This is so wonderful. Thank you.’ She took both of his hands in hers and squeezed them tight. ‘Yes. That sounds perfect.’

‘Well, then. Let’s pop open a bottle of bubbles, and I believe, if you look in one of those zipper bags, there’s a delicious lobster roll in there with your name on it. If you could manage it.’ He grinned at her delighted expression.

‘If I haven’t said it before, I love you, Matthew Campbell.’ Heather knelt down by one of the thermal bags and unzipped it. Inside were a number of delicious-smelling packages, including several white baguettes stuffed with lobster, salad and a tangy, delicious sauce. ‘Oh my god. This is heaven. I’ve died, and this is it. I’m fine with it, by the way,’ she said, mouth full, as she took a bite. ‘Dying, I mean. If this is death, take me now.’

‘That’s dark.’ He laughed. ‘Well, before you die, I just want to show you the food selection… There should be enough for everyone in there, plus in the cool box there are cupcakes for you guys, grain salads for the vegans and people on macrobiotic diets, and an array of breads, cheeses and cold meats.’

‘Orgasmic. I love you.’

‘Haha. Thank you, baby, I love you too. Then, in the other hot bag you’ve got sausage rolls, baked potatoes and individual tubs of toppings… baked beans, chilli, cheese, that type of thing. Hopefully there’s enough variety to suit everyone. I got all your favourite things.’ Matty popped open a bottle of chilled champagne and poured some into two champagne flutes. ‘There. Come and sit by me and get cosy.’