Chapter Fifty-Three

Richard called in to see Kitty the week before the wedding and she flew into his arms. ‘I’ve missed you,’ she told him, the soft mound of her tummy pressing into him.

He smiled. ‘Sorry. I was away longer than I expected to be, but everything is booked for the wedding now. I shan’t be seeing you again before the big day though. Lots to do, you know? And it’s bad luck anyway.’

Kitty pouted. ‘But that only applies to the night before the wedding.’ There were still four days to go until they became man and wife.

‘Even so, I’m very busy but just think – after Saturday, we’ll have all the time in the world together.’

Slightly pacified, she nodded. In truth, she would be glad to be away from Brunswick Villa now. Her mother hadn’t taken the news of the forthcoming wedding at all well and had barely spoken to her since.

Now Kitty took Richard’s arm, intending to take him into the day room where they could have some privacy, but he gently put her from him, saying, ‘I just need a word with Ruby. You run along and I’ll catch you before I go.’

Slightly crestfallen, Kitty watched him stride off down the hallway before hurrying upstairs to her room where Maggie was busily packing their cases.

‘I thought I might as well make a start,’ she told Kitty. ‘But do you have any idea where all our things have got to go to?’

Kitty shook her head. ‘Not yet, Richard hasn’t said. I dare say he’ll arrange for them all to be collected in due course.’

‘Hmm, well, perhaps he ought to get a move on,’ Maggie answered fractiously. ‘It would be nice to know where we’re going to be living after Saturday! This is all a bit disorganised, if you ask me. I mean, all we know is what time to turn up for the ceremony.’

‘That’s all we need to know,’ Kitty chuckled. She went over to stroke the new outfit she had chosen to wear for her wedding, which was hanging on the wardrobe door. Their choice had been severely limited because of the shortages of clothes but she and Maggie had finally found it in a little shop off Bond Street and Kitty loved it. It was a gown in a lovely summer blue colour, trimmed with cream satin ribbon all around the handkerchief edge and neckline. The lining was a heavy satin, the overlay a thin floaty material that swayed about her with even the slightest movement. And they’d even managed to find an adorable little hat in the same colour to go with it. A pair of cream satin shoes and a matching bag completed the bridal outfit, and they had then decided that her bouquet should consist of tiny cream rosebuds and gypsophila. It would be a long way from the fairytale wedding that Kitty had always dreamed of, when she would float back down the aisle of the church in a froth of tulle and lace on Richard’s arm, but she didn’t mind any more. All she cared about was becoming his wife, and very soon now her wish would come true. Kitty had even managed to persuade Maggie into a new outfit in a very pretty pale green that complemented her colouring.