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He pinned her with a steely glare. ‘So Megan isn’t already married then?’ He offered her his hand. ‘Mind the ditch.’
However much she wanted to rebuff his offer of help, there was no way she was negotiating that ditch without help. Reluctantly, she took hold of his outstretched hand. ‘It’s complicated.’ She leapt inelegantly, slipped and almost fell into the water face-first. Matt managed to catch her and she landed with a thud against his chest.
They were nose-to-nose. His face was wet, his jaw clenched, and she could see his breath misting in the air. ‘You bang on about how you can’t trust me, and how I lied about my dad, and all the while you’re hiding the fact that Megan’s already married. Talk about hypocritical.’
She flinched in his arms. ‘It’s not the same thing.’
‘It sure seems that way to me. Is she even allowed to get married tomorrow?’
There was no point lying. ‘Not legally, no.’
‘Great.’ He gently released his hold. ‘My poor clueless nephew gets to be humiliated in front of his whole family. A family who’ve been against this marriage from the start. Do you have any idea how crushed he’s going to be?’
Guilt kicked Beth hard in the ribs. ‘That’s what I’ve been trying to tell my sister.’
‘And yet you’re still protecting her.’ He jumped onto another boulder. ‘Doris!’
‘I’ve been begging her for weeks to come clean, but she was adamant she could get an annulment before tomorrow.’
He jumped off the boulder. ‘And has she?’
‘No.’
‘Then why did you agree to arrange this wedding when you knew she was already married?’ He sounded so disappointed in her, and she wasn’t sure whether her face was wet from the rain or from crying. Either way, she felt rotten. And complicit.
She wiped her face with her sleeve. ‘I only found out after I’d agreed to plan the wedding.’
He frowned at her. ‘You didn’t know your sister was married?’
Beth shook her head, and then a faint sound made her turn. ‘Did you hear that? Someone’s calling. Grandma Doris!? Can you hear me?’
It took a few moments, but eventually they spotted her. Across the moor, a small figure was waving. Beth’s relief was palpable.
‘Wait here,’ Matt said, sprinting over.
‘Wait!’ It was pointless, he was already gone.
Beth hoisted up her wet and now very muddy gown, and made her way over to her grandma. Please be okay, she prayed. This wasn’t the weather to be outdoors, at any age, let alone eighty-four.
By the time Beth reached them, Grandma Doris had been lifted off the muddy ground and was lying in Matt’s big arms, looking tiny and frightened and very frail.
‘Are you okay?’ Beth asked as she reached them. ‘Are you hurt, Grandma?’
Her grandma shook her head. ‘Just a bit shaken. Where am I?’
‘You’re on Bodmin Moor.’
Her grandma looked confused. ‘How did I get here?’
‘It’s Megan and Zac’s wedding tomorrow. We’re all staying at the Jamaica Inn for the weekend. You must’ve gone for a walk and got a bit lost.’
‘I need to get home – the carers will be waiting.’
‘The carers didn’t come with us to Cornwall, Grandma.’ Beth stroked her damp brow.
‘I’m very tired.’ Her grandma yawned and dropped her head against Matt’s chest, letting her eyes drift shut.
‘Let’s get you back to the hotel for a lie-down.’ Beth looked up at Matt, grateful he was there – she couldn’t have carried her grandma alone. ‘Do you need a hand?’
