Page 60 of The Scottish Island Wedding

‘I’m sorry, Chrissie,’ Elizabeth said, as they returned to the summer house. Heather helped her great-aunt into one of the camping chairs and laid a blanket on her lap. ‘I was so rude to you about those photos from your younger days. It really wasn’t any of my business what you did, and you’re right. You weren’t doing anything wrong. And you did look rather marvellous.’ Elizabeth knelt down beside Aunt Chrissie. ‘Will you forgive me?’

‘Oh, of course, my dear. All water under the bridge.’ Chrissie sighed. ‘It’s not our fault, anyway. It’s these damn men. They want us to be a certain way and then they criticise us for it. You can’t win, either way. I hope it’s better for the younger ones, don’t you?’

‘I do. I hope it will be. Especially when you have a daughter, Heather.’ Elizabeth smiled; Heather was amazed at the sudden warmth in her expression. ‘I can’t wait for that. I can’t wait to be a grandmother. None of my other children have obliged, so far. That child will be so spoiled.’

‘Ha. Not too spoiled, I hope,’ Heather chuckled.

‘Just the right amount.’ Elizabeth winked. ‘She’ll come from a long line of feisty women, anyway. And that’s good. You need to be strong in this world. Otherwise, it will grind you down.’

‘How do you know I’ll have daughters?’ Heather asked. ‘I might not.’

‘It seems deeply unlikely that you wouldn’t, coming from a family of six sisters, dear,’ Elizabeth said, drily. ‘Anyway, whatever you have, I’ll be delighted.’

‘That’s so lovely to hear, Elizabeth. Thank you,’ Heather said quietly.

‘I’ve been a bit hard on you, haven’t I?’ Elizabeth sat down in another camping chair and looked at the fire. ‘Since we arrived. I know I have, don’t pretend.’ She waved her hand at Heather, as if to stop her from disagreeing.

‘Er… well… a little, yes.’ Heather nodded. ‘But it’s okay.’

‘It isn’t okay at all,’ Elizabeth retorted. ‘What you have to understand is that I didn’t grow up with all of this. When I met Arthur, I was a very normal, working-class girl. I didn’t grow up in a castle, like you, or… yes, I know, you didn’t technically grow up in the castle. Attached to it, then.’ She waved her hand dismissively again. ‘Arthur and I met because I was his personal assistant. I bet you didn’t know that?’ She looked up at Heather and Aunt Chrissie.

‘No.’ Both of them shook their heads.

‘No, you didn’t know, and that’s because I’ve kept it a secret for all these years.’ Elizabeth took a moment before she spoke again. ‘I grew up in a very poor suburb of Glasgow. Drumchapel. It was tough. My mother and I lost my dad; he was killed in a brawl in a pub when I was five.’ Elizabeth took in a deep breath and let it out, slowly. Heather’s heart broke at the look of sadness on Elizabeth’s face. ‘I did as well as I could at school, though it wasn’t a good school at all. I went to secretarial college. I lost my accent on purpose. I used to spend hours training myself in front of the mirror at home. How to speak. How to stand. How to dress and do my hair and make-up. That’s something I concentrated on keeping out of the papers, let me tell you. That day when we arrived, Chrissie, do you remember that Joan asked me about my family, and I walked out?’

‘Yes, dear. You got very aerated about it.’ Aunt Chrissie reached into a food bag, took out a home-made cookie and then handed the bag to Heather. ‘We all wondered why.’

‘Hm. I know it was an overreaction. But I’ve always kept my family history a secret. My mother has a nice life now; she’s all set up. But I never wanted anyone to know that I was the daughter of a drunkard. That he died in a fight. That my mother had to scrimp to get by to put food on the table.’

‘That morning, before we left for Skye, I had a call from a particularly horrid investigative reporter. I didn’t tell him anything, but when you asked me about my family… I had the horrible feeling that you knew, somehow. I know that’s silly. But I was just feeling so sensitive about it all.’ She sighed. ‘Then, he had the gall to come to the castle, when we’d all just got there. Goodness knows how he got that far – I think my security were still setting up, and they hadn’t got the perimeter secured yet. Anyway, he drove through, and I had to go out and head him off while we were all having champagne. Horrible little man.’

‘Oh!’ Heather realised that was what she’d seen, that day outside the castle. ‘I saw you talking to a man in his car. I couldn’t work out what was going on. It all seemed very cloak-and-dagger. You threw something at him. I thought it was an envelope of money.’

‘It was an envelope of money.’ Elizabeth rolled her eyes. ‘I had to pay him off. I’ve been paying him off for years,’ she added quietly. ‘He’s the only person that has bothered to research my background. He’s been blackmailing me all this time.’

‘Oh… I got a letter too. That was what mentioned Drumchapel. I’m so sorry that I mentioned it to you, in front of everyone, that day. But I was so cross about the golf course, and what you were saying about wildlife.’ Heather put two and two together. ‘Was that from him, do you think?’

‘Oh my dear… I’m so sorry!’ Tears brimmed in Elizabeth’s eyes. ‘I had no idea… you had a letter from him?’

‘I think so. It said nasty things about you, and that I should ask you about Drumchapel.’

‘And you did, through no fault of your own.’ Elizabeth looked appalled. ‘Heather, please accept my deepest apologies. I really would never have wanted you involved in all of this.’

‘Well, it was a short letter. And it was addressed to me at the castle, so I figured he didn’t know where I lived, or hadn’t bothered to find out.’ Heather reassured her mother-in-law. ‘Annie and Matty said I should ignore it.’

‘Oh… I’m so mortified.’ Elizabeth hid her face in her hands.

‘It’s nothing to be ashamed of, dear. So, you came from humble beginnings. So what? You worked hard, presumably, and then you and Arthur fell in love,’ Aunt Chrissie said. ‘Listen. I don’t feel ashamed of my modelling days. I was damn good at it, and I made a lot of money. That money paid for my flat in Portree, among other things.’ She wagged her finger at Elizabeth. ‘You should not be ashamed of where you came from, or the fact that you had a job, and that your boss wanted to marry you. It wouldn’t be the first time and it won’t be the last. For goodness’ sake, don’t be so hard on yourself. So, you grew up with not a lot. So what? It gave you grit. Didn’t it?’ Aunt Chrissie raised an eyebrow and regarded Elizabeth for a minute.

Heather thought that this regally stern talking-to was more something Aunt Joan would normally have said, but Aunt Joan was laughing and paddling with Catriona at the edge of the water.

‘I know. I’m not ashamed of being working class. I love my mother, and I made sure when I married Arthur that she had a lovely house to live in, a good car, a nice standard of living. I support her now, and I’m glad to do it. But I always knew what the press would say if they found out. Call me a gold digger. Especially now, because I have a certain… reputation.’ Elizabeth gazed at her two daughters-in-law who were swimming in the loch with Primrose and Violet. ‘Estella and Clara don’t know any of this. They’d be shocked.’

‘Of course they wouldn’t,’ Aunt Chrissie said.

‘My husband… he’s a good man. But he married me out of propriety when I got pregnant with Charles,’ Elizabeth said quietly. ‘He wouldn’t say that, but I know it’s true. I’ve tried very hard to be a suitable wife for him. I had to learn how to entertain all these upper-class people, learn to ski – yes, I learned as an adult. I know that’s ironic, given that I lectured you about it, Heather.’ Elizabeth cleared her throat. ‘The thing is, even though our marriage is rather… distant… these days, I can’t leave him. I am fond of him still, and I have to look after Mother. And I wouldn’t ever want to subject the children to a scandal. We’re so well-known now that it would be all over the papers.’

‘That doesn’t mean that you need to be unhappy, dear,’ Aunt Chrissie said. ‘You can talk to your husband, can’t you? He’s not a total oaf. Wouldn’t he listen to you?’