Court Out - By Elle Wynne Page 0,101

they seen each other since?”

“As if!” she scoffs. “I forgave him but he’d already made it perfectly clear to me that he wanted nothing more to do with that tramp.”

I’m struggling with an internal dilemma. On one hand, I owe Lucinda no favours. She has been nothing but a complete bitch to me. On the other, does she really deserve to be planning a wedding to a complete shit? She’s going to find out soon anyway. Hopefully. I can’t tell her the truth, but maybe there is something I can do to soften the blow.

“Lucinda, this may not make sense now, but remember when we were at Bar School we were always told to have confidence in our intelligence?”

She’s looking at me like her earlier suspicions about me being certifiable were correct.

“Well” I continue “I’ve always interpreted that as go with your gut feeling. If something seems wrong, it normally is.”

I pick up my bag and walk out of the changing room, resisting the temptation to look behind me. She may not want to see what is right in front of her, but she’ll have to soon.

Chapter Twenty Three

It doesn’t take me long to drive to Westhulste House. I make my way up the long, sweeping gravel entrance drive and take in the grandeur of the majestic building. I can see why Serena chose this venue for her big day; it looks like something regularly frequented by D-list celebrities who pull up in horse-drawn Cinderella carriages.

I find a parking space and take a moment to compose myself. Serena wants me to stay here overnight with her and help her to get ready in the morning and as yet, I’ve been unable to think of a reason to get out of it. With a heavy heart and a feeling of foreboding I clamber out of the Audi and make my way to the entrance.

I’m met with scenes of chaos. Some people are rushing about carrying large floral arrangements, others are shuttling large suitcases into rooms off the large, opulently decorated hallway. I stand in the doorway, fascinated by the activity before me.

My reverie is rudely interrupted by a screeching noise that I immediately recognise to be made by Serena. No-one apart from me seems to bat an eyelid at this audible abomination, so I suspect that this isn’t the first time it has been heard today. I resign myself to my fate and head towards a room at the end of the corridor.

Sure enough, as the heavy door swings open I spy the bride-to-be pointing at a small well-dressed cowering man who is desperately clutching at a wad of paper. I step inside, trying to remain undetected.

“This is not what I paid for, how dare you try and rip me off!” Serena is shrieking like a pre-menstrual banshee.

“I haff not!” he desperately replies in an accent that could be French.

“You bloody have!” she continues. “I told you that the paper for the menus had to be specially sourced from Japan! This looks like it has come from a bloody photocopier!”

The man looks as though he is praying for a miracle as his protests fall on very deaf ears. Luckily for him, someone is listening. Mid rant, Serena turns and spots me.

“You!” she screams.

I run through my mental inventory of ways to deal with this. I know that I’m supposed to still be the dutiful bridesmaid, but I’m not sure I can take much more of her crap.

“Yes?” I venture.

“Where the fuck have you been?” she yells. “You are the world’s worst friend ever!”

I remain silent as she comes striding towards me. Up close, she looks even angrier. It’s killing me that she can take this sanctimonious line with me and I can’t tell her that I know about her betrayal. I remind myself that this is only for a little while; the police have to do something soon. Don’t they?

Sebastian and I had a long talk last night about what to do about Ewan. I agree with Sebastian that we can’t let him walk into this wedding with no idea at all about his fiancée’s infidelity, let alone her criminal behaviour. Although we both shared that view, neither of us had a clue on how to break it to him without letting on about her involvement with the juror bribing. As it stands, Sebastian is going to try and think of a solution. My instructions sadly remain the same, pretend I know nothing and try to carry on as normal.

I look