“What?” Kate stared at her in surprise.
“If you’re pregnant.”
“Pregnant? Of course I’m not pregnant!” Kate got to her feet and stared at her mother in horror. “Wherever did you get that idea?”
“You’ve been moody and snappy all day.” Helen shrugged. “And now you feel sick. You say it’s not your time of the month, so what am I to think? It’s okay if you are. You’re getting married in a month.”
“Well, I’m not!” Kate snapped crossly. “And the amount of time Richard and I actually get to spend together, I doubt I ever will be. Not that I want to be anyway. I’m just feeling a bit stressed. And Janice was driving me mad. Mum, she’s so stupid, and quite obviously doesn’t like me.”
Helen stood up and tidied her hair in the mirror. “She is a little annoying, I agree, but of course she likes you. Mothers are often a bit possessive about their sons. That’s all it is.”
“But I shall be stuck with her as a mother-in-law for the rest of my life if I marry Richard. And then when she’s old and incontinent she’ll want to move in, and I shall say no, and we’ll have a huge row…”
“If you marry Richard? Surely you mean when. It’s a bit late for second thoughts. You’re not having second thoughts, are you, Kate? Oh, please say you’re not.”
Kate felt her face begin to get hot and turned away to look in the mirror. “No. No. Of course not. But I hate the idea of having that woman in my life.”
“Well, that’s not a good enough reason not to marry Richard.” Helen put her hands on Kate’s shoulders. “Now wipe your face, tidy your hair, and come back down again. You’ll find a way to deal with Janice. When you’re in love you can deal with anything.”
Kate followed Helen slowly out of the bathroom and back down the stairs. Was she really in love? Or was she just in love with the idea of getting married? God, no, it certainly wasn’t that. In fact, she could really do without the wedding bit. So it must be Richard. She really must be in love with Richard. Of course she was. What on earth was the matter with her? Just because she saw an old friend for an instant she’d started doubting her relationship? Her really solid relationship that she’d been in for three years. How shallow was that? Sam Somerville had never been interested in her like that anyway. And it wouldn’t matter if he was. She was in love with Richard now. She was going to marry Richard and live as a lawyer’s wife for the rest of her life. She paused on the bottom step. That was a very long time. She might live to be over a hundred. Great Aunt Hester had. She had lived to be a hundred and seven. That would be another eighty-one years. Eighty-one years married to the same person. She took a deep breath. Well, at least Janice would be long dead by then. And men didn’t live as long as women, so she wouldn’t actually be married for eighty-one years; she’d obviously be a widow for some of it. She had reached the dining room door, and paused again; was she actually wanting Richard to die before her? Well, obviously he would. He was nearly four years older, but she wasn’t actually wishing him dead. She was just being practical. One needed to plan for these things.
Richard looked up as Kate walked in. “Are you all right, darling?” He pulled out her chair. “I was worried about you.”
Kate sat down with a murmured apology, managing a small smile for Richard. He squeezed her leg gently and raised his eyebrows at her.
“I’m fine now. Sorry about that.” Kate glanced around the table. “Just got a bit of turkey stuck. But I don’t think I can eat any more.” She pushed her plate slightly away from her, and sat with her hands in her lap.
“Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better, Kate.” Janice leaned around her husband. “But you’re missing a treat here. This turkey is the best I’ve ever tasted. I hope you’ve been having some cooking lessons from your mother.”
“She doesn’t need to eat it if she doesn’t want to.” Helen frowned at Janice. “She’s just been sick. And for the record, Kate can cook very well. She got an A at GCSE.” She held out a dish. “Now would you like some more potatoes? They’re beginning to go cold.”
Chapter 4
“Oh, god, that was awful.” Kate leaned back against the wall of the summer house and closed her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Richard. I didn’t behave very well at all. I don’t know what got into me. Now your parents will really hate me.”
Richard chuckled and slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Stop worrying. They didn’t like you anyway.”
Kate’s head shot up, and she stared at him suspiciously. “You’re being serious, aren’t you? I knew it…”
“Kate.” He squeezed her shoulder. “No, of course I’m not being serious. But you know what they’re like. No one’s ever good enough for them. They can be very trying. Come on, let’s walk down to the river.”
Kate shook her head and brushed her hair back with a sigh. “Not now. I’m so tired. Can we just go and sit on the bench for a bit? Think I need an early night.” She turned and led the way down the garden towards the wooden bench positioned to overlook the valley that lay behind the house. She sank down on the hard wooden seat and covered her face with her hands. “I shall be so glad when this is all over.”
Richard sat down beside her and put his hand on her leg. “Not long now, darling. And once you’ve had your Hen Party, the time will fly by. This time next month we’ll be lying on the beach in Barbados with nothing to think about except us.”
Kate lowered her hands and leaned back. “I guess. But you’ll still get e-mails from work, I bet. There’s no way you’ll be able to leave that behind, will you?”
“It won’t bother you.” Richard put his arm round her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. “I can’t just abandon everything for two weeks, but I’ll make sure it doesn’t interfere with your holiday.”
“My holiday? My holiday? That’s the sort of thing I mean, Richard. It’s our holiday. Our honeymoon. What is the point of having a honeymoon if one of the parties isn’t fully committed to it? We may as well have a night in a cheap bed-and-breakfast and be done with it.” Kate pulled away from him and got to her feet. “I’m going to bed. I’m far too grouchy to be good company, and if we keep talking we’ll end up having a row.”
“Kate, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. Of course I’m committed to our honeymoon. We’ll have a wonderful time. But you must understand I can’t just abandon everything else. But I promise you it won’t interfere.” Richard followed her as she headed back to the house. “Please, Kate, I’m sorry.”
Kate continued walking up the damp lawn and spoke over her shoulder. “I know. I know what you meant. But I meant what I said about being tired. I’m going to bed now, and we can talk tomorrow.” She turned to look at him as they reached the back door. “And when can we next have a night together? It’s been ages.”
Richard caught her hands in his and pulled her close. “Soon, my love, soon. I’m so sorry I’ve been so busy, but it’s that big case. We’re in court all this week, and it may well spill over into next week, too, and you know I can’t see you when it’s like that.” He bent forward and dropped a light kiss on her nose. “You’ll have loads to do this week anyway, with the Hen Party and your sister coming over.”
“Oh, right, bring her into it!” Kate pulled away and rolled her eyes. “Why she even has to be involved in the wedding I don’t know. She’ll only go and do something to ruin it.”
“Why do you hate her so much?” Richard smiled at her in the darkness. “I get on fine with her.”
“Well, you’re the only one who does,” Kate muttered darkly. “Even Mum and Dad find her difficult. You watch your back. If she’s nice to you, it means she either fancies you or she’s out to get you.” She pushed open the back door and light flooded out from the kitchen. “Come on, I’d better say goodbye to your parents, I suppose. Then I really am going to bed, rude or not.” Kate strode across the kitchen, leaving Richard to close and lock the door, and stuck her head around the living room door. Her parents were squashed together o
n the sofa, listening politely while Janice regaled them with some long-winded story. Every so often she appealed to Martin to back her up, and Kate couldn’t help smiling at the expressions of complete bewilderment that adorned her parents’ faces.
“I’m off to bed now,” she chipped in when Janice paused for breath. “I’m still not feeling quite myself. Bye, Janice, bye, Martin. See you at the wedding.”
“Oh, I’m sure we’ll see you before then.” Janice waved a hand in the air. “Still lots to sort out. And then there’s your Hen Night, of course.”
Kate stared at her in horror. Did the woman think she was invited to that? Even her own mother wasn’t coming to it. She licked her lips. “The Hen Night?” she managed. “What d’you mean?”
“Well, we’ll want to hear all about it.” Janice beamed at her. “Lots of pictures. And it’s no good saying you’ll put them on Facebook; you know Martin and I don’t understand that. We want to see actual photographs.”
“Right.” Kate stared at her, wondering again how she could possibly have given birth to Richard. She backed out of the room. “Okay then. See you soon.” She reversed into Richard, who caught her round the waist and kissed the top of her head.
“Night, darling. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” Kate nodded and gave him a tired smile. “You do that. Night.” She scooped up her mobile from the hall table and made her way upstairs, pausing at the top to give a final wave to her fiancé. Then she walked into her bedroom and carefully closed the door behind her.
She stood for a moment savouring the tranquillity before she flung herself down on the bed and buried her face in the pillow. What the hell was wrong with her? The whole evening had been a nightmare, but she was well aware that her own behaviour had been atrocious. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. The whole wedding thing had really got to her tonight. And that woman was just too much to bear. That she would be her mother-in-law if she married Richard was a very unsavoury idea. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly. There it was again. If she married Richard. Not when she married Richard. She was marrying him in less than four weeks’ time. Surely that was a “when,” not an “if”? She loved him. She did. Even if his stupid job was driving her mad. They hadn’t managed to spend a night together for nearly three weeks, due to his job, and she wondered just how many nights they would be spending apart after the wedding. Maybe he’d make her sleep in another room when he had a big case on? She sat up abruptly. That would never do. If anyone was going in a different room it would be him. She wasn’t moving out of her own bedroom just because of his stupid job. He could sleep in the guest room. How dare he expect her to move out?
She got to her feet and pulled her dress over her head crossly, well aware that Richard hadn’t, and probably never would, ask her to sleep in their as-yet-imaginary guest room. She knew she was being unfair and unreasonable, and decided that she really needed a good night’s sleep to sort herself out. A really good night’s sleep in which she definitely wouldn’t dream about Sam Somerville and his gorgeous brown eyes. No, she would definitely not dream about him. She would dream about—she slid into bed and lay down, pulling the quilt up to her chin—she would dream about…anything except Sam Somerville. With a sigh she closed her eyes and reached out her arm to turn off the light. It would probably be better if she didn’t dream about anything.
Chapter 5
Wednesday 1st July
“Kate, have you done those invoices yet?”
The voice cut through Kate’s daydreaming and brought her back to reality with a jolt. Guiltily she rummaged through the papers on her desk, then peered intently at her computer screen.
“Nearly done,” she called, frantically trying to locate the correct files. “I’ll bring them through in just a sec.”
“Well, if you would.” The voice had a slight edge to it. “I did ask for them half an hour ago.”
Kate rolled her eyes and began to fill out the invoices she had finally located. Oh, god, there were six she needed to do. Oh, why on earth hadn’t she paid more attention? It was going to take her at least ten minutes, by which time her boss, quite rightly, would probably be breathing fire, and right down her neck. She sighed, hooked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and got down to it.
Ever since the encounter with Sam at the fête on Sunday, Kate had been finding it hard to concentrate. She was loathe to admit, even to herself, that she had been affected by it so much, but she had barely been sleeping, and although she had assured her mother it was just pre-wedding nerves, she was pretty sure it was more to do with Sam.
She gritted her teeth as her fingers flew over the keys. And of course she hadn’t seen Richard since Sunday either. That wasn’t helping. With him absent, it left her mind completely free to focus on things it should really leave well alone. She finished filling in the invoices, pressed Print, then got to her feet and walked over to collect them when they came out of the printer.
Leaning against the wall while she waited, Kate wondered for the hundredth time whether she should look for a better job. She had been the sales secretary at the farm machinery outlet for five years now, ever since she finished at Uni, and she couldn’t help feeling she was stuck in a rut. It was a very small firm, employing only about twenty people, and she knew them almost better than she knew herself. She knew when all their birthdays and anniversaries were, she knew who was sleeping with whom, who had a crush on whom, and in most cases what they were allergic to. Even her boss had the disconcerting habit of telling her all his marital problems, and she shuddered as she recalled the moment the week before when he’d opened up and asked her advice on his underwear. It seemed he felt it was inhibiting his sex life, and he valued her opinion. Kate had managed to escape fairly rapidly, but it had made her all the more determined to pursue a new career. But as usual she had done nothing about it.
With a sigh she rescued the invoices as the printer spat them viciously out and they floated towards the floor, then popped them into a folder and walked through to put them on her boss’s desk.
“There you go.” She slapped the folder down in front of him. “The printer’s playing up again. Shall I ask Gav to take another look at it?”
“If you would.” The short balding man at the desk didn’t even bother to look up. “And get me a coffee, will you, Kate? Thanks.”
“Yes, sir,” Kate muttered under her breath as she escaped the over-warm room out into the corridor. “And another job too, I think.”
She wandered along to the staff room, heaved the door open with her bottom, and peered cautiously in. There was no one else there. Perfect. She could sneak a little break while she waited for the kettle to boil. She filled it with enough water to make both her and James, her boss, a coffee, then slumped down on the sofa and closed her eyes. Before she had time to get lost in her own thoughts, the door was flung open and someone bounced down onto the sofa next to her.
“Kate, what’re you doing in here? Are you skiving?”
Wearily Kate opened her eyes to see the newest member of the office staff beaming at her. Holly had joined the firm straight from school a couple of weeks earlier, to work for the summer, and had only just turned sixteen. She was employed officially as assistant receptionist, but in reality she was a general dogsbody. She was nice enough but had a tendency to attach herself to Kate, who although ten years her senior, was the nearest in age to her. She was currently staring expectantly at Kate as if awaiting a bedtime story.
“No, Holly, I’m not skiving. I’m getting my boss a coffee. Just having a rest while I wait for the kettle. Why are you here?”
“Same.” Holly nodded happily, her precariously fastened topknot wobbling annoyingly. “I’m getting coffee for all the front office. They drink soooo much of it. I spend half my day in here.”
Wondering silently how much that had to do with her co-workers need for caffeine and how much with their desire for a few minutes’ peace, Kate smiled
at the girl.
“Always the same when you’re the new girl. You’ll be running errands for everyone all summer.”
The kettle clicked off, and Holly jumped to her feet. She carefully lined up four mugs and began to spoon instant coffee into them. Kate watched her for a moment, then made herself more comfortable on the sofa.
“Can you make mine too, Holl?” she said with a guilty grin. “I’ve just got comfy. Milk and sugar for James, and just milk for me.”
“Course I will.” Holly immediately rummaged in the cupboard for more mugs and spooned coffee into them. “I’m getting really good at making drinks.” She poured the water in and stirred each mug rapidly, splashing a little coffee over the sides. “I bet you’re really excited about your wedding now, aren’t you? I’d be sooo excited I wouldn’t be able to sleep.” She turned round and beamed at Kate. “I mean, in less than a month you’ll be committing yourself to spending the rest of your life with one person. Imagine that! The whole rest of your life! That could be—like—thirty years or something.”
“Well, I hope it’s a bit more than that,” Kate murmured, shifting uneasily on her seat. “That sounds very final, when you put it like that. I see it more as—sharing my life with the man I love. Not being committed.”
Holly handed Kate her coffee and bounced down onto the sofa beside her. “Wow. That sounds awesome. You must really love him. I can’t imagine loving someone like that.” She hesitated for a moment, her head on one side. “I think when I do—love someone, I mean—I think he’ll be more interesting.”
“More interesting than what?”
“Than your boyfriend. He’s got a pretty boring job. I think I’d like to fall in love with an explorer or something. Or a sportsman, or an astronaut…” Holly blushed. “Oh, god, I’m soooo sorry. I didn’t mean your boyfriend was boring. Well, maybe I said that, but I meant his job was boring. Oh, shut up, Holly!”
Kate gave a chuckle. “It’s all right. Don’t worry. I guess Richard’s job isn’t the most exciting in the world—well, not as exciting as an explorer, anyway—but I think it could be pretty interesting. He’s my fiancé by the way, not my boyfriend.”
Breaking All the Rules Page 3
