Page 116 of Merrily Ever After
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Emily
19 DECEMBER
‘I love your cottage,’ said Merry the following afternoon, after Emily had given her a tour of the downstairs of her cottage. ‘I knew I would.’
‘Thank you,’ Emily beamed.
It was a ‘pinch me’ moment. A sister to share secrets with and hang out with. Also … she gulped … unpick the seams of her wedding dress and mess about with it days before the big day.
‘Come on, you can get changed in my room,’ she said, leading Merry up the staircase.
‘What a pretty room.’ Merry made straight for the dressing table and examined Emily’s collection of perfumes. ‘It’s very you.’
‘Pink, you mean.’ Emily smiled. ‘So, tell me everything. How are things with Harley now?’
Merry sat down on Emily’s bed and unzipped her boots while she filled her in on the chat she and Cole had had with Harley and Lydia late last night.
‘We’ve agreed that he’s going to work for me on Saturday mornings from January for a few hours,’ said Merry, ‘and from now on, his parents are going to be more flexiblewith weekend arrangements and check that he and Freya are happy to go where they are sent.’
‘So it sounds like you did the right thing after all, by not betraying Harley’s secret.’ Emily removed the wedding dress from Merry’s bag and shook it out to get rid of the creases. ‘I told you so.’
‘You did,’ said Merry, tugging at her boot. ‘Knowing you were on my side really cheered me up.’
‘Of course I am,’ said Emily staunchly. ‘I spend every day with young people. I know how demoralised and powerless they feel when they’re not being listened to. You were there for Harley when he needed you. If you’d gone running to Cole, he’d never have trusted you again. Your instincts were spot on, you’re a great parent.’
Merry’s face lit up. ‘That’s the nicest thing you could have said, thank you. I’ve struggled to find my role in the family, but now I feel more confident about being a stepmum. Anyway, all’s well that ends well. And apologies to you, again. I can only imagine how you must have felt after the party last night.’ Merry winced. ‘I felt awful about it.’
Devastated, thought Emily. She had barely said a word as Will drove them home. Then they had sat on her sofa, in front of the log fire with only the glow of the flames and the twinkle of the Christmas tree lights to see by. It should have been romantic, but Emily had been too distraught to take advantage of the mood. When Merry had texted her late last night with an update about Harley, Emily had wept with relief into Will’s shirt.
‘Nothing to apologise for,’ Emily insisted. ‘It was a horrible situation, everyone was tense, and I should have kept my mouth shut. Here, let me help.’
She took hold of the heel of Merry’s boot, tugged a bit too hard and toppled backwards onto her bottom.
‘You OK?’ Merry pressed her lips together trying not to laugh.
‘Aren’t you glad you’ve got such a cool sister,’ she said, pulling a face.
‘Aren’tyou?’ Merry replied with a snort, wiggling her toes in Emily’s face to display her fluffy socks which had sloths all over them.
Emily’s heart soared; she adored this woman so much.
‘It wasn’t your fault,’ Merry continued. ‘I should have told you that Harley didn’t want his parents to know. If I’d thought for one second that it would have come up in conversation, I would have.’
‘Listen,’ Emily said, pulling off the other boot, using less force this time. ‘We’re new to this. From what I know of sibling relationships, they are rarely a smooth ride. We’ve just had our first bump, that’s all.’
‘You’re right.’ Merry nodded. ‘Let’s put it behind us.’
‘Agreed,’ said Emily. ‘Like the new bruise on my bum.’
The two sisters laughed, and Emily was overjoyed that they were back on track again. ‘The most important thing now is to get you to the registry office on time, and in a dress that clings in all the right places.’
‘I’ve brought my wedding underwear too,’ said Merry, unfolding some white tissue paper and lifting out a lace body. ‘So we can get the fit right.’
Emily touched the delicate fabric. ‘Good idea, the boning in this will probably make you look even slimmer.’
Merry started to slip her bra straps over her shoulders. ‘Could you, er … turn away?’
