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It was another agonizing twenty-five minutes before a commotion at the back of the church announced Joseph’s arrival.
Iris kept her eyes to the front as he walked up the aisle. She could hear everyone laughing good-naturedly as he made fervent apologies, explaining that mice had got into his wardrobe, which was why he was wearing trousers and a jacket rather than a suit. She glanced at Esme, sitting next to her. The tension had left her face and she was laughing along with everyone else.
Hearing Gabriel making his way along the pew behind her, Iris turned, and in the look he gave her, she knew that Joseph’s excuse for being late was total fabrication.
After apologizing personally to the vicar, Joseph came to the pew where she was sitting with Esme and Hugh, and with whispered excuses, wedged himself between them.
“I hope you don’t mind,” he murmured.
She caught the sharp smell of mint on his breath. “Not at all.”
Joseph leaned toward Hamish, asleep in her arms. “Isn’t he lucky to have the two best godparents in the world? Paragons of virtue, both.”
She was saved from answering by the vicar calling them to attention. The service began, and, apart from having to hand Hamish to Joseph at one point, she was able to ignore him until the ceremony was over and they were called through to the village hall for lunch. She hadn’t been able to speak to Gabriel yet, so she edged her way over and gently touched his arm. With an apology to one of Esme’s sisters, he broke off his conversation with her and moved to Iris’s side.
“What happened?” she murmured. “With Joseph?”
“He was drunk,” he said, disgust clear on his face. “I had to stick his head in a sink of cold water to get him to sober up. He’s still borderline drunk though.”
“Esme asked me to keep an eye on him at lunch and make sure that he doesn’t drink.”
“Good luck with that. How are you feeling? Any better?”
“A bit. But I’m going to take a couple of pills just to be sure. I’ve got some with me.”
Grabbing a bottle of water from one of the tables, she headed to the loo. When she came out, everyone was milling around the buffet table. Moving her bag onto her shoulder, she joined the queue, took a plate and helped herself to a couple of things that she hoped wouldn’t upset her stomach, chatting to the people around her as she went.
Two long tables had been set up in the center of the room. Iris scanned the places until she found the card with her name on it and sat down. A quick glance to the name cards to the right and left told her that Esme’s two brothers-in-law were her neighbors and, for a moment, she thought Esme had changed her mind about her being responsible for Joseph, until she picked up the card for the place opposite and saw his name. She checked the place cards on either side of him; Esme’s two sisters. Esme had cleverly surrounded Joseph with people who probably knew about his alcohol problem and, like her, had been instructed to keep an eye on him.
Reaching over, she picked up his wineglass and moved it farther down the table.
“I saw what you did there, Goldilocks.”
She looked up and saw Joseph standing by his chair.
“All right, cards on the table,” she said as he sat down. Esme’s sisters and their husbands were still at the buffet so there was no one in earshot but she lowered her voice anyway. “Esme asked me to keep an eye on you and make sure you don’t drink, so while you’re on my watch, the only stuff you’ll be drinking is this.” She waved a bottle of water in his face.
“I think it might be a case of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted,” he said. “And that,” he added, jabbing a finger at her, “is your husband’s fault.”
She heard the slur in his voice and her heart sank. “What is?”
“Me falling off the wagon. He shouldn’t have told me.”
“Told you what?”
“About Charlie.”
Iris frowned. “What did he tell you?”
“That it wasn’t an accident.”
Her heart thumped. She took a quick glance around; there was still no one in earshot. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“It was my fault.”
Her mind began racing. “You need food,” she said. “I’ll get you some. And while I’m away, do yourself a favor and drink a couple of glasses of water.”
She unscrewed the lid from the bottle, filled his water glass and stood up. At the buffet table, she piled a plate high with food and took it back to him. Esme’s two sisters and their husbands were sitting down as she arrived.
