Page 61 of Highlands Summer Wedding

That was an Easter egg clue for Mom, but we could tell she hadn’t worked it out yet.

The road was long, narrow, and winding… and full of sheep. Every so often we had to pull over into a “passing spot” and let another car pass through, as it was essentially a single-lane road.

We chatted about the wedding, the rehearsal dinner, and what everyone was wearing. As we rounded a sharp bend, the landscape opened without warning. A river cut through the green valley below us, its surface dull silver under the overcast sky. A stone bridge stretched across it, old and solid, leading toward a small parking area tucked into the trees.

We spilled out of the cars and headed toward the ticket house.

Then I saw it.

A castle rose in the distance, gray against the sky, its turrets sharp and unmistakable.

“Balmoral!” I gasped. “It’s the Queen’s summer home!”

“It’s the King’s now,” Caitlin corrected.

“That will forever be the Queen’s summer home in my mind,” Mom said, still staring up at the stone walls.

Caitlin clapped her hands lightly, drawing our attention. She gathered everyone near the ticket office and waved her envelope of group passes. “Everyone got their outdoor shoes?”

Angus’s mother, in a windbreaker and tartan scarf, nodded. The rest of them shuffled their feet, checking laces and straps, ready to tramp through whatever mud the grounds had waiting for us.

“Aha! Like in that movie about Diana coming to Balmoral for the first time,” said Mom, finally putting it all together.

“The Crown!” Caitlin supplied, and Mom nodded. “But before we start taking any selfies,” she added. “I have a special gift. It’s for the wedding, but I thought you might enjoy having them today.”

Melissa popped open the hatchback of her silver Volvo, revealing stacks of elegant cream-colored hatboxes tied with satin ribbons in shades of blue and purple. How they’d managed to Tetris that many bulky containers into the cars was beyond me. She handed one to each of us.

We lifted the lids in unison.

“Fascinators!” Melissa announced. “Quintessentially British andveddy veddyroyal. We got them for the wedding, but thought they might be fun to try on today.”

One by one, we secured them to our hair with the hidden combs.

Mine was navy blue with delicate mesh netting that swept dramatically across one side of my face. I felt like a character in a film noir. This was gonna be fun!

“Let the selfie taking commence!” said Caitlin, and we all started snapping photos. The estate sprawled before us like a movie come to life. It was hard to believe we were really there.

Then we saw her.

A little white-haired woman with a kerchief over her head and sensible Hunter boots, and the sight of her took our breath away. “It looks just like the Queen,” I murmured to Mom, who nodded. “Could it be Princess Anne?”

“Not this time of year,” Flora said, shaking her head. “I’m sure she just happens to dress like Her Majesty.”

“Can’t you just imagine how much Queen Elizabeth must have loved getting away from the city and the media and just living a relatively normal life out here in the woods?” said Melissa.

“In this huge castle, you mean?” I said.

“She could ride her horses, let her dogs run around…,” said Caitlin, trailing off. She turned to see Sydney and Elspeth recreating the famous picture of Lady Diana and Prince Charles leaning up against a bench.

“OMG, I see what you did there!” yelled Kara, snapping pictures, thrilled. “Look—Elspeth has a dark green sweater and rolled-up olive pants, and Sydney has a pink Fair Isle sweater with brown pants…”

“… and green Hunter boots! Well done!” said Flora, clapping her hands.

“Well done, indeed,” Lindsay said.

“We thought it could be our Christmas card,” said Sydney, blushing.

“Lovely.” Flora beamed at her daughter and Elspeth.