‘Actually, it’s more my home than it is yours,’ Grace pointed out. ‘You two only live here because you’re married to my brothers.’

Dulcie cheered silently as Jessie and Beth stared at her, open-mouthed.

‘You can’t talk to us like that,’ Beth said.

‘Can’t I?’ Grace turned her head slightly to look at her. ‘I’d choose a different dress if I were you. That one might have suited you five years ago when you were May Queen but now it just makes you look fat.’

The girls gaped at each other. Then Jessie burst out laughing.

‘She’s right, you do look like a heifer!’ she screeched. ‘You tell her, Gracie!’

Grace turned on her calmly. ‘And I think you should stop laughing,’ she said. ‘No one wants to see all those missing teeth.’

Dulcie ducked her head so they would not see her giggling to herself. She had never heard Grace stand up to anyone before. Now she seemed to be growing in confidence before Dulcie’s eyes.

‘Well, I like that!’ Jessie’s little face screwed up in fury. ‘If that’s the way you feel then – we won’t come to your wedding!’

‘That suits me perfectly,’ Grace said.

They stomped off, slamming the door behind them. Grace raised her gaze to meet Dulcie’s in the mirror.

‘They will come,’ she said. ‘They would never miss a party. Let alone a chance to criticise.’

‘All the same, I’m glad you stood up to them.’

‘You don’t think I was too harsh?’

‘Not at all. They deserved it.’

Grace smiled reluctantly. ‘I must say, it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. But I’ve never had the courage before.’

‘Why not?’

Grace shrugged. ‘I thought everyone was better than me.’ She lifted her chin and met her reflection with a smile. ‘But that’s not true, is it? I’m just as good as everyone else.’

Dulcie looked at her friend’s reflection, and a lump rose in her throat. Dear Grace, she was simply the purest and biggest-hearted person Dulcie had ever met. There was not a shred of malice in her.

If anyone deserved to be happy and loved, she did.

‘No,’ she said. ‘You’re not just as good as everyone else. You’re far, far better than that. Now come on, let’s get you into your dress.

It took a long time to get Grace dressed. She was trembling so much Dulcie could scarcely do up the tiny mother-of-pearl buttons. But once it was finally fastened, they stood back to admire her reflection.

‘It’s perfect,’ Dulcie said. She had only ever seen anything like this delicate creation of fine lace and pearls in the pages of Vogue. ‘It must have cost a fortune,’ she said without thinking.

‘Don’t say that!’ Grace cried in dismay. ‘What if I tear it or spill something down it? You know what I’m like.’ She gazed back at her reflection, her eyes round with wonder. ‘I told Robert I would have been happy to make do with my mother’s old wedding dress, but he insisted I should have one of her own.’