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‘No, I mean for an engagement ring. Have you thought about what type of ring you want? There are a couple of new jewellers and some antique and artisan ones, if you fancy something different.’

Daisy hadn’t really considered what type of ring she would pick for herself, although given that it would be the one accessory she wore for her entire life, it was probably important not to rush into it.

‘I don’t know. I guess I’ll know when I see it,’ she said.

Two hours later, after a breakfast of eggs Benedict with an extra hash brown, Daisy discovered it wasn’t quite that simple.

‘Is it me, or do loads of these just look the same?’ she said. They were inside a prestigious jeweller’s that boasted over a thousand engagement rings, though the problem – in Daisy’s mind, at least – was that there wasn’t much difference from one to the next.

At least 30 per cent of them were solitaires. Sure, there was some variation in terms of size and shape of the stone, or thickness of the band, and there was yellow gold, white gold, or platinum to choose from. Although the platinum and the white gold looked identical, so it didn’t feel like there was much variation there either.

‘These are classic styles,’ the jeweller said, with a slight hint of snootiness, clearly not approving of Daisy’s remark. ‘Though if you’re after something a little more flamboyant, we have several halo rings in stock.’

Daisy wasn’t sure if flamboyant was what she was after at all, but she smiled at the jeweller, who took it as a sign to fetch yet another tray of rings.

Halo, Daisy discovered, meant even more diamonds. A ring of small stones, set around a central larger one. Of course, some of the diamonds were square-shaped, some were oval, and there were still the same variations in band and stone size, but it was hardly a great selection, the way she had imagined a jeweller with one thousand engagement rings would have.

‘That one’s pretty,’ Daisy said, picking one that seemed to be middling in everything. Medium-sized band. Medium-sized diamond. Medium size ring of diamonds around the middle.

‘Ahh, yes, that one is lovely and very popular. Why don’t you try it on? Of course, this one is just a guide. We will get it sized to fit you at no extra cost.’

Daisy looked at Theo, who nodded at her. A moment later, the jeweller was slipping the ring on her finger.

‘It’s very sparkly,’ Daisy said, describing the ring with the first words that came to mind. And it was fitting. Every diamond on the ring glinted with its own spectrum, and the overall effect was mesmerising. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she said, needing a more fitting adjective than ‘sparkly’. It really was something. Feeling like perhaps this was the engagement ring she could spend the rest of her life wearing, she looked up at the jeweller.

‘How much is it?’ she asked.

44

Daisy was marching out of the shop. She wasn’t entirely sure where she was going, she just knew that she needed to get away from the snooty jeweller with his extortionately priced rings.

‘It’s not that ridiculous, really,’ Theo said. ‘I mean, you’re going to wear it every day for the rest of your life. It’s not surprising that it would cost that much.’

‘I could put a deposit down on a house for how much that ring cost,’ Daisy said. ‘And it wasn’t like there weren’t ones that were even bigger. There is no way I could wear something like that every day. I’d be terrified of losing it. No, I want something I can wear every day that doesn’t cost an average salary.’

‘That’s obviously the going price for engagement rings nowadays,’ Theo replied. He didn’t seem half as upset about the situation as Daisy was. In fact, he was giving the impression that it really wasn’t that big a deal.

‘Maybe the average price for people who have more money than sense,’ Daisy replied. ‘No, absolutely not.’

They walked a few steps further, and it was only when Theo slipped his hand in hers and tugged it ever so slightly, that Daisy realised how fast she had been walking.

‘Okay,’ Theo said, pulling her around slightly so that he was looking at her. ‘Then maybe we should check out the antique shops instead. There are loads of beautiful antique rings. After all, the one you’re wearing is antique, and you liked that one, didn’t you?’

Daisy glanced down at the ring on her finger. It was true – if she ignored the negative associations with it, it really was stunning. So maybe an antique ring was the answer.

‘Okay, let’s try that,’ she said, and let Theo lead her into a small, cabinet-filled antique shop.

Unlike at the previous jewellers, the prices were all displayed and, just like Theo had suggested, there were lots more in the budget range that Daisy was after. But as she tried on what had to be her tenth ring, Daisy found herself faced with another problem.

‘I feel like they’ve all got their own story. Is that weird?’ she said, as she slipped an emerald and white-gold ring onto her finger. ‘Like they all had a life before me that I’m somehow interrupting.’

‘Yes, it is. Very weird,’ Theo said.

She punched Theo lightly on the shoulder before sliding the ring off her finger and handing it back to the jeweller.

‘They’ve all already got their own history,’ Daisy said with a sigh as she looked at Theo. ‘It’s different with the ring from your grandmother. You knew her story. You knew how many happy memories she had because of the ring.’

Theo frowned. ‘Actually, she got divorced. She mainly kept the ring in her jewellery box until she gave it to my mum.’