‘Cory, how lovely to meet you. I’m so glad you could come.’
His sisters were equally warm in their welcome, Jenny proving to be a carbon copy of her mother whereas Rosie was big, stolid and hearty. So was her husband, a tall blond man with red cheeks, whereas Jenny’s husband was slim to the point of boyishness with floppy shoulder-length hair and an easy grin.
The only person who didn’t seem pleased to see Cory was a voluptuous redhead whom Nick’s mother introduced as, ‘Margaret, my god-daughter. Margaret’s a lecturer at Leeds University and doing awfully well.’
Margaret’s handshake was cool, her smile more so, but Cory noticed it hotted up a good few degrees when the redhead turned her lovely green eyes on Nick. ‘Nick, darling.’ The voice was upper-class and well modulated. And warm, very warm. ‘Why haven’t you called me lately, you naughty boy?’
Cory kept her smile in place with some effort. So that was how things were? This woman liked Nick. In fact, from the way she was devouring him with her eyes, Margaret liked Nick very much. She watched as Nick gave the other woman a perfunctory kiss on the cheek, much as he had done with his sisters, before moving on to shake the hands of his brothers-in-law.
‘Darling, my beautiful chair and stool. I love them, they’re perfect. And what a surprise. I couldn’t believe it when Hannigan’s van drew up and the man said it was a special delivery for me.’ Nick’s mother reached up and kissed him, her eyes glowing. It was clear she was thrilled.
Nick’s face was full of love as he looked down at the diminutive woman in front of him. ‘I’m glad you like them,’ he said softly. ‘But the surprise part was Cory’s idea. I was going to ring up and ask what you wanted.’
‘Happy birthday, Mrs Morgan.’ Cory handed Nick’s mother the small package from her handbag along with her card.
‘Oh, call me Catherine,’ Nick’s mother said, touching Cory’s arm in a quick, friendly gesture before taking the gift. ‘May I open it now?’
‘Please do.’ Cory would rather she’d waited until there wasn’t quite such an audience, but as the tiny box revealed its contents Nick’s mother was delighted. ‘They are exactly what I would have chosen,’ she said warmly. ‘How did you know? I’ve always been a bit of a gypsy,’ she added in an undertone to Cory, ‘and I just love dangly earrings. These go perfectly with what I’m wearing tonight.’ So saying, she whipped out her present earrings and substituted the ones Cory had bought, moving her head slightly so that the teardrops swayed against the line of her jaw.
‘Looks like we both chose well,’ Nick whispered in Cory’s ear a moment or two later. He had just ordered champagne cocktails all round.
She nodded. ‘Your mother’s lovely,’ she said quietly. ‘You’re very lucky, Nick.’
‘I know it.’ He was looking into her eyes as he spoke and his voice was deep and soft.
The next moment Cory became aware of Margaret at their side. All the others had sat down again and now, as Rosie reached out and touched Cory’s arm, asking her if she had been to Barnstaple before in an obvious effort to be friendly, Cory had no choice but to smile at Nick’s sister and take the seat Rosie patted beside her.
All the time she was talking to Nick’s sister she was vitally aware of the two people at the perimeter of her vision, however. Nick appeared to be his usual relaxed self from the odd glance she managed to throw his way, but Margaret seemed to be talking very intensely, her voice low but her body language suggesting it wasn’t a normal conversation.
After a few minutes Nick took the seat on Cory’s other side, putting his arm round her shoulders as he leant across to join in the discussion she and Rosie were having about the advantages and disadvantages of being near the coast. Cory welcomed his nearness; she had felt a bit odd talking to Rosie with Nick and Margaret so intent on each other.
By the time they had transferred to the big function room where the party was being held and the other guests had started arriving, Cory knew she liked Nick’s family very much. His two sisters were as different as Nick had indicated, as were their husbands, but underlying their dissimilarity Cory sensed a bond that was unbreakable.
Catherine Morgan was very much the matriarch of the family but in the