Page 38 of Wedding Games
‘And I’m sorry for how I have acted this week. I know how passionate Bradley can be, and I have no doubt he roped your husband into this hare-brained scheme.’
‘Arnold has been waiting for this opportunity for nearly thirty-five years,’ replied Mary with a rueful smile. ‘I don’t think much persuading was needed.’
Mary reached across the gap and took Barbara’s hand.
‘I’m sorry, Barbara, for being so badly behaved this week. It is extremely out of character for me. I’m so grateful for all your hard work in bringing this wedding together and for welcoming Zoe into your family despite what you may have thought of me.’
Barbara clasped her other hand around Mary’s.
‘Your daughter is a wonderful woman and a credit to you and Arnold. I couldn’t be happier with my son’s choice of wife.’
Zoe had only just been holding it together hearing her mother and Barbara baring their souls, but with those words, her emotions overran and she started to ugly cry.
‘Oh darling, don’t cry!’ said her mother. ‘Your dad will be fine I promise!’
Barbara pressed tissues into her hand. ‘Your mother is right, Zoe, dear. I have absolute faith in my son. He will bring them home.’
‘It’s not that,’ Zoe wailed. ‘I’m just so happy you made up.’
She pulled both women into a hug. However, neither of them seemed to relish the close contact.
‘Darling girl,’ her mother began. ‘When was the last time you bathed?’
Zoe disengaged, and her mother and Barbara looked at her clothing as if noticing it for the first time.
‘Be kind to animals,’ her mother read out loud, her brow furrowed in confusion. ‘Stroke my—Oh!’
‘Please tell me you didn’t wear that last night in Inverness?’ Barbara asked.
‘I didn’t start the evening wearing it,’ Zoe began.
‘Have you even been home?’ interrogated her mother.
‘My goodness me!’ Barbara added. ‘Where did you spend the night? Not on the streets?’
Zoe was beginning to wish their détente was over.
‘Um, no. In the interest of full disclosure, I spent it in a police station.’
* * *
The castle diningroom was full of people dressed in outdoor clothes. They were clustered around an Ordnance Survey Explorer map on the table.
‘We know they set out from the GlenWyvis Distillery here,’ Rory said, pointing at the map. ‘Around 16:00. They can’t have gone south or they would have hit the A834 or A835. There are plenty of farm tracks in the area so I’m assuming they either accidentally went due north, or—’ He broke off to check that Zoe wasn’t in the room. ‘—They’re injured.’
Jamie entered the room with a sheaf of papers containing pictures of Arnold. He handed them out.
‘This is Arnold Maxwell,’ said Rory to the room. ‘He’s mid-sixties and about six feet. Relatively fit. We didn’t think any of you needed a photo of Brad Bauer?’
Everyone shook their heads. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he could see the excited glint in the eyes of some of the volunteers. Everyone wanted to be the person who found and rescued the Hollywood star.
Rory turned to the woman next to him. She had the air of someone who could scale Everest single-handedly to bring back a casualty.
‘Allison, are your teams all good to go? I want to leave from here with Charlie, and have Duncan and Jamie go to the distillery with Bandit to see if they can retrace their steps.’
She nodded. ‘We’ve got you set up with comms, and we’ll cover the north.’ She glanced up as more people eager to help entered the room. ‘Any extras we can send to Rogie Falls, Castle Leod, and other sites along the south road.’ She indicated a man to her left. ‘Ryan will stay here and coordinate.’
Rory nodded. ‘Okay, let’s go. Good luck everyone.’
