Katie Fforde - Wedding Season

‘It'll mean a lot of hard work, poppet,' said Rupert to his wife. He turned to Sarah. 'Would she want the whole house? Including bedrooms?’

Sarah nodded, priding herself on being back in full control of her emotions again. 'It would be a hell of a lot of work. She might want to use the bedrooms to get dressed in and stuff, even if she stays in a hotel. But financially, it would be well worthwhile for you to do them up.' She paused. 'I'd get a good deposit for you, so you could do the work.'

‘We've got some capital we could use but not really enough. Would the deposit cover all the extra help we'd need to get in?' asked Fenella.

‘I'd make sure it would,' said Sarah, determined at that moment to bring her celebrity wedding here whatever it took. It would put Somerby on the venue map as nothing else could.

‘So how do you get paid, if that's not a rude question?' asked Rupert.

‘I like to negotiate a flat fee if I can,' said Sarah. 'That's what I'm doing with Carrie. Not all wedding planners do it like that, but I prefer it. It gives me an incentive to get good deals so that my clients have saved money by having me. Or at least,' she went on, thinking back to some of the weddings she'd organised, 'not spent hugely more.'

‘So we wouldn't have to pay you?' asked Fenella, obviously doubtful.

‘No! I'm not saying some of the big hotels don't give me good rates, things like that, but I don't take backhanders. I want to be neutral, so I look for the perfect venue for each client.'

‘Very virtuous,' muttered Hugo.

Sarah shot him a black look, but realised she was more angry with herself than him.

‘It could all be so perfect!' said Fenella, suddenly all dreamy.

‘Yes,' agreed Sarah and then she remembered – her bloody sister's wedding. She turned to Hugo. 'How long would it take to get from Steeple Colby-’

Hugo might have been a complete bastard, but he was quick on the uptake. 'Oh, your sister's wedding?’

She nodded.

‘Not sure. An hour, possibly?’

Sarah closed her eyes while she worked things out. How soon could she reasonably leave her sister's wedding, overlooking the fact that she shouldn't leave it at all? What was the minimum time she could spend with Carrie before the event, given that Elsa and Bron would be with her, getting dressed and stuff. When she opened her eyes again she hadn't found an answer to her question. Fen and Rupert were looking concerned. 'Sorry – nothing for you two to worry about. It's just that my sister has chosen to get married the very same day as Carrie Condy.'

‘And she can't change-’

Sarah interrupted Fenella's question. 'It's at her fiancé's parents' church, the date is booked and she's pregnant. They wouldn't be able to get another Saturday for weeks, by which time the baby would be showing.'

‘Ah,' said Fenella, obviously understanding the dilemma. 'Do his parents know she's pregnant?'

‘I think so, but none of the other relations must know. They'd really prefer for her to be a virgin bride although she's been married before.' Sarah knew she shouldn't be sharing all this intimate information with virtual strangers but it helped to talk about it and Fenella seemed understanding and discreet.

‘Well, if you do have Carrie's wedding here, I'll help you as much as I can,' said Fenella. 'After all, a lot of what you do is checking on caterers, things like that, isn't it?'

‘Mm,' said Sarah.

‘Well, I'm used to doing things like that. And if it's here, I'll want everything to go as smoothly as possible.’

Fenella was very reassuring. It was probably a good thing Sarah had washed a little family linen in public.

‘That could be marvellous – I usually arrive at a venue at dawn and leave twenty-four hours later…' She made a deprecating gesture. 'Well, sometimes it feels like that. I do have to make sure everything is tidy.'

‘It sounds exhausting!' said Fenella sympathetically.

‘It is quite full on, but most of the hard work is done beforehand and if you trust your suppliers and it all goes well, it's very satisfying.'

‘Well, don't you worry about this end,' said Fenella. 'If Carrie Condy has her wedding here, she won't regret it. I promise.’

Looking at Fenella, Sarah felt confident that she was organised, determined and brave. She hoped she wouldn't need her to be brave to help with Carrie's wedding, but the other two characteristics were essential. 'I'm going to work really hard on getting her to decide on Somerby,' she said. 'And if not Carrie, the very next wedding that might be remotely suitable.’

If effort of will alone could have made Sarah sprout wings and fly home and thus avoid travelling with Hugo, it would have happened. But even more mundane solutions like hiring a car or finding a taxi were too difficult. After all, she didn't want to announce to Fenella, Rupert and Hugo himself that she was so upset with him for not having told her he was engaged that they couldn't share a car. It sounded childish, even to herself.

So when the time came, and she'd hugged both Rupert and Fenella, she got in and accepted her fate.

The moment he'd closed the door of the car, Hugo said, 'Sarah, I want to explain about Electra-’

She flung her hands up in a warding-off gesture, suddenly feeling like her sister Lily. She would have preferred him to wait until she was somewhere that would allow her to leap out of the car on the pretext of calling in on old friends. 'No, no, please don't! Why should you? It's nothing to do with me.'

‘The thing is, I feel I should explain-'

‘No!' She stopped feeling like Lily and became her own, fierce self again. 'Please don't. It's quite unnecessary.' She laughed, trying to prove that she hadn't been remotely fazed by the announcement. 'Just don't ask me to arrange a wedding on the eighteenth of August! I don't think I could fit in another one on that day.’

Hugo sighed. 'I promise I won't do that.'

‘Super.' Sarah was pleased with her apparent insouciance. Maybe if she acted it long enough and hard enough she'd gradually begin to feel it.

‘So, keeping my personal life off limits, what did you think of the venue?'

‘Fabulous! Really, really good. I just hope it's licensed for weddings.'

‘You could get Carrie to get married in a register office a couple of days before and then have a blessing at Somerby. It could look nearly like a proper wedding.'

‘I had thought of that and it's my back-up solution, but selling the idea to Carrie will be really difficult. It's just not traditional.'

‘But it's been done by a lot of celebs lately.'

‘I know, but I want to pursue the normal route first. If it's possible, it would be much the best.' She paused, knowing that she should now take time to thank Hugo for taking her to such a beautiful house. She bit her lip. 'Thank you so much for taking me to Somerby. It's really lovely.' There, it was done.

Hugo sighed again. He seemed a lot less cheery than he had been on the outward journey – depressed, almost. 'That's OK, Sarah. I am only too happy to help you. And Fen and Rupert, of course.'

‘How did you meet them?' With relief, Sarah steered their conversation off the rocks and into calm water. She could listen to Hugo go on about what Rupert got up to at school until they finally got home.

Bron was just locking the car, having put postcards about her mobile hairdressing service in all the local post offices in the area, and anywhere else who would put one up, when her phone rang. As she burrowed about for it she wondered if leaving the salon had been rash -she could spend more on fuel than she earned driving all over the country to do her work. But how could she have borne to go on working there? She'd be forever picturing her boss in a red nylon thong – not a pretty sight.