Page 37

Nova

Nova sat in front of the mirror, applying her makeup. She’d barely slept last night, what with her late-night meeting with the book club members, followed by a long, emotional phone call with Craig. He and his parents were staying at his aunt and uncle’s for the night, so that Nova and her mum could have the house to themselves this morning. Only her mum was currently five thousand miles away in South America.

Nova smeared concealer under her eyes to try and hide the dark shadows that were threatening to appear.

“Easy there, Nono, or you’ll look like a panda.”

Nova glanced at her phone screen, which was leaning up against the mirror so her mum could see what she was doing.

“That better?”

“Yes, but make sure you blend it well. Are you sure you don’t want to call Katie or Faye to come and help you? Their hotel isn’t far.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Honestly, after the twenty-four hours I’ve had, it’s quite nice to have a bit of time on my own.”

“I still can’t believe Lauren’s behind all your problems at the center,” Maddy said. “From everything you’ve said about her, I really thought she had your back.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“What did Craig say when you told him? He must have been furious with her.”

“I haven’t actually told him yet,” Nova said, and she saw her mum arch an eyebrow in surprise. “He already thinks I’ve turned into a conspiracy theorist over this stolen money, so I figured it was best to wait until we have some actual evidence before I started making wild accusations about one of his best friends. I’ll tell him after the wedding.”

“And you’re sure this plan you and your book club friends came up with is going to work?”

Nova thought back to their meeting last night. As Arthur had predicted, Phyllis had been full of ideas about how they could prove what Lauren had been up to, almost all of them inspired by her beloved Miss Marple. For once, Nova hadn’t dismissed them but had listened to what Phyllis had to say, and with a few tweaks suggested by her, Arthur and Ash, they now had a plan in place. But was Nova sure it was going to work? Absolutely not.

“Darling, I think I might be about to lose phone signal,” Maddy said. “I’ll try and call you in a bit but—” The screen froze before flickering back into life.

“Mum, don’t worry, my car will be here soon,” Nova said. “I’ll speak to you later.”

“I love you, Nono. And remember, you can always—” The screen froze again and then went blank.

Nova applied her mascara and then stood up and crossed to the wardrobe. Her wedding dress was hanging in its cover, and Nova unzipped the bag and pulled out the long white gown. It was a beautiful dress, there was no doubt about it. The silk was soft to touch, and the hundreds of hand-sewn crystals glistened in the late morning sunlight. Pamela had been right: millions of women would dream of getting married in a fairy-tale dress like this. So why could Nova still not see herself walking down the aisle wearing it?

There was the sound of a horn outside the window. Shit, if that was her wedding car then she was running late. Nova crossed to the window to call down to the driver that she’d be ready soon, but as she looked through the glass, she let out a laugh of surprise.

It wasn’t a Mercedes waiting for her, like Pamela had arranged. Instead, it was a huge, rusty tractor, black smoke belching from its exhaust and a white ribbon tied to its bonnet. In the cabin sat a ruddy-faced farmer, dressed in a suit and flat cap. He turned off the engine and gave Nova a cheery wave when he saw her, and she opened the window.

“Arthur, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in place at the church already?”

“The others have it all under control. Besides, it occurred to me that you might need a lift.”

“Are you seriously suggesting I ride to my wedding in that old thing?”

“Don’t you dare insult Bessie! She might look a bit knackered but there’s life in the old girl yet.”

Nova smiled. “That’s a very kind offer, Arthur, but Craig’s mum arranged a car.”

“You don’t want a boring old car, do you? A girl as unique as you deserves something more original than that.”

“You know what, you’re absolutely right! Give me a few minutes and I’ll be down.”

Nova laughed as she turned away from the window, then stopped when she saw her wedding dress hanging up, waiting for her.

A girl as unique as you deserves something more original than that.

Ten minutes later, she left the house and found Arthur standing by the tractor, waiting for her. He looked distinctly uncomfortable dressed in his suit, but when he saw her, he took off his cap, and she saw his eyes had misted up.

“Bloomin’ heck, Nova. You look like Sophia Loren or one of those golden age movie stars.”

Nova smiled. She’d chosen a 1950s red dress which she’d bought with her parents years ago in a flea market in Paris. It was cinched at the waist with a full skirt, and she’d paired it with Mary Jane shoes and dark red lipstick. Craig’s mum was going to have a heart attack when she saw it, but Nova didn’t care. After all, it was her wedding day, not Pamela’s.

“You’re going to have to give me a leg up into that thing,” she said, pointing up at the tractor cabin.

“Of course. But before we set off, there’s something I wanted to ask you.” The man looked even more uncomfortable, and Nova could anticipate the difficult question he was about to ask.

“It’s okay, Arthur. I had a long chat with Craig last night and we cleared the air. I’m not going to quit my job, and he’s apologized for ever asking me to do that.”

“Oh, I was—”

“I know I told you yesterday I wasn’t sure about getting married, but I’ve thought about it long and hard and it’s what I want to do. I love Craig, and even though today might not be my dream, it’s his and I want to make him happy.”

“Actually, it was something else I was going to ask.” Arthur was staring at his shoes, wringing his cap between his hands. “I know you said your mum was going to walk you down the aisle today, but she’s not going to make it. So, I wondered if maybe I could have the honor of accompanying you instead? I never had a daughter, you see, and…”

He trailed off and Nova felt tears spring to her eyes. She blinked them away before her mascara smudged.

“Oh Arthur,” she said, putting her arms around the old man and pulling him into a hug. “Thank you.”