persuading her to go ahead and marry someone she so evidently couldn’t trust? Then again, all hell was going to break loose if she didn’t.
‘I did a bad thing. I’m sorry,’ Tara said again, glancing out of the window and spotting a familiar figure hurrying up the drive. ‘The registrar’s just arrived. What are you going to do?’
‘This was supposed to be the happiest day of my life.’ Annabel sounded bewildered. Luckily she didn’t seem the punch-your-lights-out kind.
‘You have to make your mind up. If the wedding’s off, the registrar needs to know.’ Steadily Tara said, ‘Do you want to marry Dominic?’
‘Of course I want to marry Dominic! Of course I do.’ Annabel’s voice trembled with emotion. ‘I love him. Everyone says we’re the perfect couple. And he loves me.’
Scarcely daring to breathe, Tara said cautiously, ‘So the wedding’s on again?’
‘Yes. Yes, no thanks to you,’ Annabel shot back. ‘And I don’t want to see you here this afternoon either.’
‘That won’t happen. I’ll leave now. Thanks for listening to me, anyway.’ Hugely relieved but at the same time stung by Annabel’s tone, Tara backed towards the door. On impulse she added, ‘If you like, I could iron your dress.’
‘What, so you can burn scorch marks down the front? No thank you, my mother and sister’ll be back any minute. I don’t need any help from you.’
For a moment Tara was tempted to snipe back that if she was going to be marrying Dominic, she’d be needing all the help she could get. She didn’t say it.
‘Right, well, I’ll go down and let everyone know the wedding’s going ahead.’
‘And then you’ll leave the hotel,’ Annabel frostily reminded her.
‘And then I’ll leave the hotel.’ God, there had to be a simpler way to wangle an afternoon off.
‘Will you be sacked?’
‘I don’t know.’ Tara crossed her fingers behind her back. ‘Probably.’
‘Good.’ Annabel wasn’t brilliant at playing the bitch, but she was giving it her best shot. ‘People like you have no shame. I hope you realize how pathetic you are. You deserve to lose your job.’
***
‘It’s back on again,’ Tara told Daisy, and briefly ran through her stressful encounter with Annabel.
Daisy shook her head. ‘You didn’t have to do that.’
‘I did. They might have sued the hotel.’ Tara shrugged. ‘My word against theirs. We wouldn’t have had a hope.’
This was undoubtedly true.
‘Maybe not. So she’s going to marry a lying weasel,’ sighed Daisy, who knew all about lying weasels. ‘Oh well, that’s not our problem. You’re a star.’ She gave Tara, who was looking miserable, a hug. ‘And cheer up, for heaven’s sake.’
‘They want you to sack me.’
‘You big wally. Of course I’m not going to sack you.’
‘What happened to the best man?’ Blinking back tears of relief, Tara changed the subject. ‘I half expected to come in here and find him staple-gunned to the wall.’
‘It crossed my mind. What a bastard. He’s in the bar with Dominic.’ Daisy grimaced, realizing that she now faced the delightful prospect of being forced to admit to Dev Tyzack that he had been right and she’d been wrong. She could just picture the supercilious look on his face.
***
The preparations for the wedding were cranking into overdrive as Tara slipped away from the hotel. The rain had stopped but the grey clouds were as low as her spirits. Why hadn’t she taken Daisy’s advice in the first place and swapped shifts with one of the other chambermaids? Why couldn’t she just have resisted the urge to see Dominic again and stayed away? How, how could she have thought that surprising him on the morning of his wedding would be fun?
Disconsolately, Tara kicked her way through a pile of soggy dead leaves. There was no getting away from the truth; basically, she was as guilty as if she had hurled herself at Dominic and ripped his trousers down to his knees.
God, what a disastrous
‘I did a bad thing. I’m sorry,’ Tara said again, glancing out of the window and spotting a familiar figure hurrying up the drive. ‘The registrar’s just arrived. What are you going to do?’
‘This was supposed to be the happiest day of my life.’ Annabel sounded bewildered. Luckily she didn’t seem the punch-your-lights-out kind.
‘You have to make your mind up. If the wedding’s off, the registrar needs to know.’ Steadily Tara said, ‘Do you want to marry Dominic?’
‘Of course I want to marry Dominic! Of course I do.’ Annabel’s voice trembled with emotion. ‘I love him. Everyone says we’re the perfect couple. And he loves me.’
Scarcely daring to breathe, Tara said cautiously, ‘So the wedding’s on again?’
‘Yes. Yes, no thanks to you,’ Annabel shot back. ‘And I don’t want to see you here this afternoon either.’
‘That won’t happen. I’ll leave now. Thanks for listening to me, anyway.’ Hugely relieved but at the same time stung by Annabel’s tone, Tara backed towards the door. On impulse she added, ‘If you like, I could iron your dress.’
‘What, so you can burn scorch marks down the front? No thank you, my mother and sister’ll be back any minute. I don’t need any help from you.’
For a moment Tara was tempted to snipe back that if she was going to be marrying Dominic, she’d be needing all the help she could get. She didn’t say it.
‘Right, well, I’ll go down and let everyone know the wedding’s going ahead.’
‘And then you’ll leave the hotel,’ Annabel frostily reminded her.
‘And then I’ll leave the hotel.’ God, there had to be a simpler way to wangle an afternoon off.
‘Will you be sacked?’
‘I don’t know.’ Tara crossed her fingers behind her back. ‘Probably.’
‘Good.’ Annabel wasn’t brilliant at playing the bitch, but she was giving it her best shot. ‘People like you have no shame. I hope you realize how pathetic you are. You deserve to lose your job.’
***
‘It’s back on again,’ Tara told Daisy, and briefly ran through her stressful encounter with Annabel.
Daisy shook her head. ‘You didn’t have to do that.’
‘I did. They might have sued the hotel.’ Tara shrugged. ‘My word against theirs. We wouldn’t have had a hope.’
This was undoubtedly true.
‘Maybe not. So she’s going to marry a lying weasel,’ sighed Daisy, who knew all about lying weasels. ‘Oh well, that’s not our problem. You’re a star.’ She gave Tara, who was looking miserable, a hug. ‘And cheer up, for heaven’s sake.’
‘They want you to sack me.’
‘You big wally. Of course I’m not going to sack you.’
‘What happened to the best man?’ Blinking back tears of relief, Tara changed the subject. ‘I half expected to come in here and find him staple-gunned to the wall.’
‘It crossed my mind. What a bastard. He’s in the bar with Dominic.’ Daisy grimaced, realizing that she now faced the delightful prospect of being forced to admit to Dev Tyzack that he had been right and she’d been wrong. She could just picture the supercilious look on his face.
***
The preparations for the wedding were cranking into overdrive as Tara slipped away from the hotel. The rain had stopped but the grey clouds were as low as her spirits. Why hadn’t she taken Daisy’s advice in the first place and swapped shifts with one of the other chambermaids? Why couldn’t she just have resisted the urge to see Dominic again and stayed away? How, how could she have thought that surprising him on the morning of his wedding would be fun?
Disconsolately, Tara kicked her way through a pile of soggy dead leaves. There was no getting away from the truth; basically, she was as guilty as if she had hurled herself at Dominic and ripped his trousers down to his knees.
God, what a disastrous
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