“And with such politeness,” he replied with sarcasm. “I dread to think what they’re going to be like once they get to know each other.”
My stare went from mum to Grace and back again. “There must be a way to stop them.”
“I don’t think there is.”
“Well, you may have got your way over the ceremony,” Grace said, upping the antics. “But I have the wonderful honour ofyourdaughter wearingmybeautiful wedding gown.”
“Oh no.” Mum let out a laugh, as if she’d never heard anything so ridiculous. “I think you’ll find she’s wearing mine.”
Both women looked my way.
“Tess?” Grace said.
I swallowed hard.
“Well?” Mum said.
Chapter 47
Leo and I sat at the kitchen table and like me, Leo seemed to be using the silence to get his head around the previous evening’s events. We’d tried talking about things as soon as we landed home from the restaurant, but it had been the wrong time.
Not usually ones to snipe at each other, we’d each felt an unreasonable need to defend our respective mother’s behaviour. I recalled how things between us ultimately descended into an argument. Instead of getting an apology from the real culprits, we spent the rest of the night saying sorry to each other.
“I have to wonder if Mum was drunk,” Leo finally said. “I’ve never seen her like that before.” He took a sip of coffee. “Dad did say they’d stopped off for one on the way to meet us.”
“Goodness knows what my mum’s excuse was,” I replied. Patricia Cavendish might have started out controlling her tongue, but as soon as the subject of wedding dresses came up, she let it get a whole lot looser. “On the plus side,” I said.
Leo looked at me like I’d lost the plot. “You think there’s a positive to all this?”
“I was thinking about the long list of extra wedding guests we’ve acquired. With a packed ceremony and reception, it’ll be easier to keep them apart.” I scoffed. “Hopefully they’ll be too busy mingling to even think about going for round two.”
“As long as we don’t have ringside seats. They can do what they want.”
A loud knock at the front door interrupted our conversation. With both of us wondering who had come a calling, Leo shrugged, before rising to his feet and going to find out.
Hearing voices, I cocked my head, straining to hear. But as the hushed tones continued, I couldn’t decipher a word.
Reappearing in the kitchen doorway, Leo gave me a warning look, before stepping aside to let Grace and Bill through.
Seeing them stood there, I immediately felt nervous. Having experienced enough disputes of late, I certainly didn’t want to find myself in the middle of another.
“What a lovely house,” Grace said, taking in my somewhat-eclectic design choices. She turned her attention onto me. “And in such a lovely spot.”
“We like it,” I said. I knew Leo’s parents hadn’t come all the way from town to talk about life in the Yorkshire Dales, and refusing to engage in any more small talk, I waited for Grace to say what was really on her mind.
The woman looked to Bill, who gave her what appeared to be an encouraging nod. “Can we?” Grace said, indicating the empty chairs at the table.
“Of course,” I said. “Please do.”
“I’ll make more coffee,” Leo said, as his parents took their seats.
“No,” Grace said to her son. “It’s all right.”
Leo halted.
“We’re not stopping. The taxi’s waiting to take us to the train station.”
“Oh,” Leo said, his disappointment evident.
