Chapters (40)
- Cover
- About the Author
- PENGUIN BOOKS
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- THE BEGINNING
Juliet watched him struggle. Then she cut in: ‘Jem thought you should come in the morning and his mother and my parents for lunch. Then everyone can be at the ceremony and at the party in the evening. He thought it was easier that way – easier for all of you.’
‘Absolutely,’ said Toni enthusiastically. She tore a tiny flake off the croissant and put it on her tongue.
‘Dear Amanda. How is she?’
‘Fine.’
‘Well, this will be strange,’ said Duncan. ‘Lives coming together today, after so many years and so much water under the bridge. Who would have thought it, eh?’ He turned to Irene. ‘If only your mother were here too.’
‘Yes,’ said Irene curtly. ‘Quite.’
‘Here,’ said Mickey, returning with more croissants. ‘And Mary’s up at last. She’s crouched on the living-room floor doing these very slow exercises. She looks a bit mad actually.’
‘Why did I invite him? I must have been having a brainstorm.’
‘Because he’s your father and it’s your wedding day.’
They were getting the lunch ready, while Juliet took her friends for a brief walk through the village.
‘I always forget what he’s like until I see him again.’
‘I know what you mean. Toni didn’t seem very happy, did she?’
‘Didn’t she? She seemed OK to me.’
‘No. Something’s going on. Do you get the impression they’re having money problems?’
‘He always has money problems. He borrowed £1,500 off me a year ago. Just for a week or so, he said.’
‘Ah.’
‘I can never work out what job he’s in.’
‘It changes. Something about import–export is what he said to me.’
‘Sounds like a seedy traveller out of a Graham Greene novel.’
‘The little girls are sweet though. I wonder –’
‘What?’
‘I wonder if they’re all right. Do they seem all right to you?’
‘Shy, that’s all. Don’t worry about them – just because you haven’t got yours here to worry about. Anyway, it’s not a day to think about things like that.’
‘Quite right. That beef must be nearly ready. We mustn’t overcook it, not in France.’
‘Is that enough salad?’
‘Plenty. Nobody will want to eat much.’
‘To be honest, I don’t think I could eat anything at all.’
‘Nervous?’
‘Kind of. It’s a big thing. You know what, I never thought I’d ever fall in love with someone who’d want to spend the rest of her life with me.’ He winced sharply. ‘I just want her to be all right. That’s all that matters.’
The doorbell rang.
‘That’ll be Mum,’ he said.