Country Affairs. Zara Stoneley

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СКАЧАТЬ Dad.’ Lottie gnawed on her bottom lip anxiously. It was very heroic of Rory to go after Todd like this. In fact, it was one of the most romantic things he’d ever done, but what if he caught him? ‘Er – doesn’t Rory have the wedding rings, though?’

      Billy ruffled his hand through his hair and winked at his bemused bride, Tiggy, who was waiting as patiently as the spaniel that was sitting beside her, a red ribbon tied to its collar in honour of the occasion. ‘You can always rely on our Lottie to make sure the occasion is a bit different, can’t you? Come on, love, let’s just get on with it, shall we? The lad will be back soon enough.’

      ‘But he’s your best man.’ Lottie could easily see the day she’d so carefully planned (well the day she’d done her best to sort out, and which Pip, Sam and Amanda had tactfully prompted her about when she’d forgotten things), ending up in a state of chaos. Everybody was looking at her expectantly, as the man she loved disappeared into the distance in hot pursuit of her bigamist ex. She didn’t know whether to be pleased that Rory seemed intent on upholding her honour and wreaking revenge on her behalf, or upset that at her first event as Lady of the Manor to be (or should that be Lady in Waiting?) he’d abandoned his duties as best man and disappeared in pursuit of a horse. Going after them wasn’t an option, was it?

      ‘I think I’ll go after my horse and, er, check everybody is okay.’ Tab observed, but nobody was listening.

      ‘He’ll be back in time for the beer, love. Never known Rory to miss a party. Right oh.’ Billy rubbed his hands together and nodded at the vicar, who after a little hesitation decided to carry on where he’d left off. Lottie glanced back in the direction of the Equestrian Centre, which was where Merlin (irrespective of any rider intentions) was heading, then turned her attention back to her father. She was, after all, supposed to be responsible for arranging his marriage to the scatty Tiggy Stafford. And up until this point in the ceremony it had been going reasonably well, considering.

      Organisation wasn’t her strong point, unless it involved horses and getting ready for a competition. That she could handle brilliantly, but managing events was different altogether, and it was so easy to get distracted. But she’d done this because she knew she had to. Discovering that she was the rightful heir to Tipping House Estate, not Uncle Dominic as she’d always assumed, had been a bit of a shock. Well, it had been a major shock.

      It had all seemed a bit unreal, until Dom and Amanda had married, and he’d had less time for his caretaking duties. She had to get ready to take over the reins, he’d said (repeatedly, in his stern looking-down-his-aristocratic-nose way). To be fair, he’d spent an awful lot of time encouraging and helping her and she wanted to take over. She really did. She was far too independent to be on a lead rein and even before Lady Stanthorpe had dropped the bombshell, she’d known she belonged here. This place was part of her, she loved every shabby inch of it, and she really thought that Uncle Dominic was being a bit too much of a fussy mother hen. So she’d been determined to prove to him, and to herself, that she was more than capable of being Lady of the Manor. Of organising stuff. And organising her father’s wedding had seemed a perfect opportunity. And once Uncle Dom saw how brilliant she was, maybe he’d stop looking over her shoulder and trust her.

      She sighed. Well, that had been the plan. And it had been going splendidly. Until Todd had arrived. A few months ago she might actually have been pleased to see him, but things were different now. She was different – her life had moved on.

      ‘Certainly. Right, I er…’ The Very Reverend Waterson straightened his dog collar and cleared his throat, waiting for the guests to settle. ‘Ah, yes, we were, hmm…’

      Lottie stared at the vicar. He actually seemed to be enjoying himself, which was a first. Maybe becoming a Very Reverend, as opposed to a Reverend, had cheered him up. Promotion was good for everybody, she supposed, even if you were never actually going to get the top job in his line of work.

      ‘If any of you can show just cause why they may not be lawfully wed, speak now or else forever hold your peace.’ He smiled. Paused. ‘I charge you both, here in the pre—’

      ‘I do.’ Tiggy spoke for the first time, her soft voice singing out into the near silence with an unusual clarity. ‘Oops, I mean, I can.’ She giggled. ‘Show just thingy. Cause. I can show just cause why we can’t be, er, lawfully wed.’

      For the second time that day there was a gasp of horror. Lottie looked in alarm at her father and tried to ignore the wicked delight on her grandmother, Elizabeth’s, face.

      ‘What? But. You can’t. I. Why?’ Lottie ran out of words. How could the bride have an objection? She wasn’t that up on weddings, but she had a damned good idea that any objections were supposed to come from the guests not the bride or groom. And she’d always thought Tiggy was so nice and harmless. ‘Dad?’ She made a grab for his arm, not quite sure what she was going to do next.

      Billy guffawed, which wasn’t right. ‘She can’t, because she’s already married.’

      All eyes swivelled from Billy to Tiggy and back again, as Lottie’s hands flew to her mouth. It was her worst nightmare.

      ‘Oh my God. Not her as well.’

       Chapter 3

      Lottie was on her second glass of bubbly and feeling slightly disorientated by the time Billy had finished the speeches, filling in for his AWOL best man, Rory, last seen riding his mechanical charger into the distance.

      So far the day hadn’t gone to plan at all, she thought, as she gazed across the lawn towards Folly Lake Equestrian Centre, home to her father and his new bride.

      She had been totally confused when Tiggy had dropped her bombshell, mainly because they both looked happy, and surely you were supposed to be devastated (or at least seriously upset) if it turns out your future forever person was on the verge of becoming a bigamist? She certainly had been when she’d found out that Todd had two weddings but no divorces to his name. I mean, she hadn’t exactly been planning on marrying him herself, but it was still the type of news that came as a bit of a shock.

      So, it had been a toss-up. Did she burst into tears because she’d gone to all this bloody trouble organising this wonderful day for nothing? Did she have a ‘life is so unfair’ tantrum? Or did she follow Rory and Todd’s example and do a runner?

      She’d opened her mouth, but nothing had come out. Which was when Billy had put a gentle hand on her shoulder. ‘To me. She’s already married to me, Lottie. Sorry love,’ he didn’t look that sorry, in fact he looked very pleased with himself, ‘but we got married last month when we were away. Didn’t want to hang around any longer and, er,’ he gave her an apologetic look, ‘we didn’t know if you’d pull this off. So, it’s like a blessing, isn’t it Rev?’ He’d glanced at the vicar who nodded and smiled with, Lottie thought, a certain un-reverential smugness.

      The fact that even the bloody vicar was in on it seemed so unfair, thought Lottie, why was she always the last to know everything?

      But her Dad had looked so pleased with himself it was hard to be ratty with him, and he’d even given her a brief bear hug, which was almost unheard of. ‘And it’s a bloody good excuse for a party as well, of course. Right then, let’s get this wound up and get on the razz.’ He’d hugged Tiggy in close and there was a collective gasp of relief and outbreak of laughter from the crowd, who’d agreed that this topped even the best of the Brinkley’s previous disorganised events.

      And СКАЧАТЬ