was there, although I don’t remember her smiling much. He never knew his father. My parents didn’t approve, so they refused to come. At the time I was miserable about it, but looking back on it I can see it was probably the best thing. A few more people might have warmed the church a little, but I can’t imagine they would have added much to the proceedings.”
“Why didn’t they approve?”
“They thought we were too young. And they didn’t understand Nick’s career. They thought he was too cavalier and adventurous, and that he needed to get a proper job. He’s an Egyptologist.”
“I know. Rosie says he’s super smart. She showed us a video of him lecturing on YouTube. She’s very proud of her dad. Your parents weren’t proud?”
“They died soon after we married so they only knew him at the beginning, before he’d made a name for himself, but they didn’t understand an academic career. They thought it was a frivolous thing to do. Not a proper job. They were worried he wouldn’t be able to support me.”
“You didn’t work?”
They strolled together through snow and even with a pounding head and a mountain of anxiety, Maggie was charmed.
The whole trip was turning out much better than expected, if you ignored the discomfort she felt from not telling Catherine the truth.
“I worked in academic publishing. Still do.”
“What a smart pair you are. No wonder he married you.”
Maggie didn’t feel smart, particularly when she was with Nick. She tended to listen rather than talk, conscious that anything she said would be boring compared to his tales of the desert. He was a natural storyteller with an ability to embellish each anecdote and hold the attention of an audience. It was the reason his lectures were always standing room only.
“We understood each other. We both wanted to create the sort of family neither of us had growing up.”
“Rosie tells me you have the most darling cottage.”
“Yes.” Maggie thought about the cottage, standing dark and empty over Christmas. She felt something close to guilt, and decided that was ridiculous. A house couldn’t feel lonely. What she was feeling was nostalgia for all those wonderful Christmases they’d spent in the cottage. “It’s a special place. I hope you’ll visit.” She said it to be polite, not because she genuinely thought it would happen. How could it? She wasn’t going to be living there next year.
“What did you wear?”
“For my wedding? We didn’t have much money, and my parents refused to pay for what they saw as a mistake, so I found something in a nearly new shop and told myself it was vintage. Talking of which, you must tell me how much you’ve spent on Rosie so that I can pay you back.”
“Not at all. This wedding is my gift to them. So, tell me, did you lose your baggage on purpose?”
“Excuse me?”
“On purpose. Lost baggage is a fabulous excuse for shopping, isn’t it?”
How was she supposed to answer that? Maggie decided that she might be lying about her marriage, but she wasn’t going to lie about anything else. “I don’t completely love shopping. I never find things I like, and I often find the process intimidating.”
“Then you’re going to be so happy you met me. Shopping is my superpower, and we have arrived at my favorite boutique.”
Maggie took one look at the outside and knew she wouldn’t be able to afford more than a pair of gloves. “I think this might be outside my budget.”
“Don’t worry. I send so many people here, they let me have the clothes at cost.”
She propelled Maggie into the welcoming warmth and greeted the woman who was hovering. “This is my dear friend Maggie. She’s Rosie’s mother—can you see the resemblance? Same eyes and the same beautiful skin. She needs a whole new wardrobe because the airline lost her baggage.”
The woman’s face lit up even as Maggie’s heart sank. She was going to have to sell Honeysuckle Cottage to pay for this.
“My case might arrive. I only need a few things.”
“Let’s see what leaps out at us, shall we?” Catherine trawled the clothes like someone on a mission, picking up a dress here and a sweater there. Black pants, a couple of shirts, a cashmere poncho, a coat with a fake fur strip on the hood. She was a force to be reckoned with. Trust me, you will look great in this.
With considerable difficulty Maggie removed the jeans and wriggled into the black pants and a fitted roll-neck sweater