Page 42 of A Recipe for Love
‘I am. And the next thing is probably trousers.’
The hearse was outside the coach house. The coffin was in place with a wreath of blue and lilac flowers resting on top.
Darcy was standing, one hand on the glass, tears streaming down her face. Veronica was a few feet behind, staring straight ahead, expression unreadable. Adam and Bella took their places in the first of the two following cars and waited as Flinty put an arm around Darcy to encourage her into the space alongside Veronica in the second.
They pulled away, up the narrow hillside lane, across the top bridge and back down the far side of the river and into the village.
‘Should I have gone with Darcy?’
‘And left me with your grandmother?’
Adam sighed. ‘Or the other way round. Should we have separated them?’
Bella twisted to try to peer into the car behind. ‘They look OK, I think.’
‘So they’re not actually pulling each other’s hair?’
‘No. They look quiet.’
Adam nodded.
They drove largely unnoticed along the coastline until they passed the store at the far end of the village. Anna and Nina were standing at the edge of the road, flanked by Netty and Hugh, with Pavel a few steps behind his mother. They bent their heads as the tiny funeral procession drove by.
‘Have they always been at each other?’
‘Darcy and Granny?’ He paused. ‘Not as bad as this, but yeah. I don’t think my grandmother has ever been that welcoming to a new lady coming in.’
‘You don’t say,’ Bella muttered.
‘She’s not that bad.’
‘Sorry.’ Bella was supposed to be supporting him, not sniping at his family.
‘Dad was her only son. Maybe nobody would ever have been good enough.’
‘Tell me about him.’
Adam turned to look at her. ‘What do you want to know?’
‘The dad stuff. Not the laird stuff.’
She saw his face relax slightly. ‘Well he loved books and science and natural history. Happiest in his…’ Adam paused. ‘His garden.’
‘Was it him that got you into gardening?’
Adam’s face tensed. ‘He loved walking and other things as well. There was a hint of absent-minded professor about him. Darcy’s more outgoing. I think she sort of balanced him out. My mother did too, for a while at least.’
They fell silent. Bella found she wanted to keep the conversation going. The back of this car was a bubble, a tiny echo of that hotel suite in Spain. ‘Why aren’t you wearing a kilt?’
‘Sorry?’
‘I thought a Scottish laird would kilt up for this type of thing.’
He rubbed a hand over his plain black trousers. ‘I might for the actual service, but…’ He shook his head. ‘It’s stupid.’
‘Tell me.’
‘I haven’t worn the full traditional business for years and I’d kind of thought that the next time would be when I got married.’ He paused. ‘When we get married.’
