Lenny’s family hadn’t shown up either.

‘My parents live in Canada,’ he told her. ‘They’re bloody old. It was too much of a hike for them to get back here. Mum hates to travel, anyway. And I’m an only child, so no brothers or sisters to turn up either.’

Lenny had given her money – a lot of money – to shop for a bridal gown, and she had selected a simple shift although she would have loved something more elaborate, which she would have chosen if it had been a proper church wedding. For the register office, she chose an ivory dress and a simple unfussy bouquet of yellow and cream roses. Standing in the bridal shop, trying on sumptuous dress after dress then finally seeing sense and going for a much less opulent number, she found herself once again thinking of Dora, and how wonderful it would be if Dora could have been here with her enjoying this, choosing her ‘mother of the bride’ outfit, then living it up on the wedding day.

But Dora was dead and gone.

As Angel stood before the registrar and vowed to love, honour and obey Lenny Axelford, she told herself that the past was over. She’d loved her mother, but Dora was no longer here. Once a fortnight, she went to the cemetery and laid roses on Dora’s as yet unmarked grave. She sat there on the grass and talked to her, which was stupid but somehow she found it comforting. Now at last, as Mrs Axelford, she could afford to get Dora a headstone.

Today was the start of Angel’s bright new future as Lenny’s wife. True, he was a lot older than her and sometimes behaved like an overgrown schoolboy, which she found charming, not annoying in the least. She felt completely safe and sheltered when she was with him, as if none of the bad stuff in the world could reach her, ever again.

‘You may kiss the bride,’ the registrar told Lenny, and he did, to cheers and catcalls from Tom and all Lenny’s watching mates.

‘I love you,’ Lenny murmured against her mouth, smiling into her eyes.

‘I love you too,’ said Angel.

They honeymooned in the villa over the bay in Majorca, swimming in the infinity pool, eating fresh food, lazing in the sun, making love long into the night. This was reality and Angel was coming to accept it. That Lenny lived in style, and that now she would too. Nightmares no longer plagued her like they had before. Some days, she felt that everything was going to be OK, that all that was done and dusted, over with. On other days, not frequent thank God, she was afraid of everything and just sat and waited for the axe to fall because she had done a bad thing, a terrible thing, and surely she would be punished for it.

But Lenny loved her and would always look after her. She told herself that, over and over.