Page 80 of Watch For Me By Candlelight

Kate shook her head — she didn’t know if Cat had received anything or not but seriously doubted it, otherwise why would she have agreed to marry Edward? Unless . . .

She became aware of an uncontrollable sobbing, and looked over at her aunt, who was a sickly, pale colour and pressing her handkerchief to her mouth. ‘Oh, why did you do it? Why?’ she was repeating hysterically.

‘Damn you woman!’ That was her uncle, on his feet and almost apoplectic with rage. ‘Can’t you keep your mouth shut?’ He gestured wildly to Cat. ‘To stop something like this damnable aberration occurring! If she’d had the letter, then she would have been off, and how the hell would we have explained that to her damn parents? Damn and blast it!’ He stared across at Cat, then pointed. ‘Don’t think it’s going to happen. I’ll see him laid out before it does—’

‘Please! This is a church!’ the vicar had clearly had enough of people blaspheming in there today.

Kate just shook her head, her gaze returning to Will. She knew it was all an empty threat. Her uncle could bluster all he liked, but Will was here. Will was with her. And he hadn’t travelled all the way back to be told they couldn’t be together. May the vicar forgive her, but she didn’t give a damn about being party to such an aberration. In fact, she looked forward to it. she realised with a wicked little shiver of anticipation.

Oh, Will!

‘Were you outside? Just before the ceremony?’ She was breathless, her voice trembling with excitement and delight. He was back, and he was standing in the church, holding her hands. Will was back!

Will looked a little perplexed, a frown creasing his dear, dear face. ‘No, my love — I just arrived a few moments ago. I was dropped off by the cooper’s cart outside and raced straight in. He told me what was happening. I’m sorry I look so dishevelled. I—’ His expression changed and he suddenly looked horrified and embarrassed, all at the same time. ‘Oh, no — tell me I’m not too late. Or please, God, tell me you won’t do it now? You won’t marry him. Or have I just made the world’s biggest fool of myself? Do you still love me, in fact? Have I still got a chance? If not, I’ll walk out of here and walk out of your life. I’ll—’

‘Shhh. No. Stop it.’ Kate stood on tiptoe and kissed him, to a chorus of astonished gasps from the congregation. He responded hungrily, the outpouring of so many months of sadness and longing crystallising in that kiss.

He drew her closer and laid his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. She could feel he was shaking, but he was real and warm and solid — and alive! Cat was the luckiest woman on the planet, she really was. ‘Oh, Cat. How I’ve missed you.’

‘I thought you were dead! I don’t know how I’ve made it this far without you,’ Kate murmured, her own voice breaking. It seemed as if she wasn’t even speaking the words; they were coming straight from Cat’s consciousness, straight from her heart.

‘Catriona!’ Edward’s voice was sharp. ‘This is ridiculous.’

His hand came down on her shoulder and she stiffened.

‘No, Edward,’ she replied. This time it was all Kate — and maybe she was superimposing her experiences of Chris onto this nineteenth century rake, but whatever it was, she said her piece. ‘What is ridiculous is you being unfaithful before we’re even married. It’s ridiculous that you think I could ever trust you in marriage or in anything else. You charmed your way back into my life and my affections, and all the time you were secretly seeing another woman. Oh, don’t look so surprised — I saw you, Edward. I saw you by the dovecote and I saw everything. I’m really not willing to tie myself to someone like you for life. I need a man I can trust and who will — look after me.’ Okay, maybe that bit was for Cat’s benefit. It sounded kind of appropriate for a Victorian girl to say.

‘Cat!’ Edward was scarlet, apparently holding his temper in, but not very happy to have been called out like that on his wedding day.

‘I don’t love you. I thought I did, but you were second best. It’s Will I want to marry.’ There was a rumble of disbelief from the congregation. It was, quite clearly, out of character for a girl in 1886 to specify such things. But in for a penny, in for a pound. Kate cast a quick glance at Charles. He was sitting on the edge of a pew bent double now. His shoulders were shaking, and she knew on some level he was laughing silently at her. It was probably a laughter born of embarrassment, but she had never been particularly compliant anyway. And neither, it seemed had Cat. Wild and adventurous? Well, what she had done was quite wild and adventurous for a Victorian girl anyway. It was a start; and incredibly liberating, actually.

‘Can we go, Will? Would you take me out of here?’

‘Certainly, my love.’ He kissed her again. She leaned down and picked her bouquet up. There was something very special she needed to do with it, before she left this little scenario behind. Will lifted her hand to his and kissed it, and their eyes met. Yet his eyes were so familiar and so very — Theo — that Kate’s heart skipped a little beat.

Surprisingly, as they turned their backs on an astonished vicar and a scarlet-faced, shouting bridegroom, a cheer broke out from Cat’s cousin and his friends, and Kate couldn’t help but dip her head and smile as she walked out of the church on Will’s arm. It was probably the best entertainment the young men had had in ages.

Kate looked up at where she had seen the shadow in amongst the yew trees. It flitted into view again as it passed behind a cluster of shrubbery.

For a moment, the shape wavered into focus and she saw Theo — the real Theo of this last weekend, sunburned, dressed in his shorts and an open shirt with a white top beneath it. She blinked and they stared at each other. Her stomach somersaulted as she held onto Will’s arm and the church bells began to chime midday.

‘I should probably tell you that I saw Millie,’ she heard Will say. ‘She was out here, waiting. She told me to hurry. I’m so sorry.’

Kate had no words. She bit her lip and nodded, and just had time to place her bouquet on Millie’s grave, and whisper some private words to her before she pitched back up in her own world, on the path outside the church.

She was alone — no congregation hurrying out after her, no jilted bridegroom. No Will. No wedding bouquet on Millie’s grave, which was now weathered and, although still well-tended, very obviously old. The posy of wildflowers she’d left on it seemingly moments ago was nothing but a bright memory of the girl she had once known. The blue flowers next to Kate’s posy shone out from the grass. Kate needed nobody to tell her that Tom had left those — but how or why he knew about his connection to Millie was probably not something he would elaborate on any time soon. It was enough for her to know he had grasped it. Hartsford looked after its own; the Hall made sure everyone who mattered understood their place in its history.

Instinctively, Kate looked up at the group of yew trees. Theo Kent was still there, hands in his pocket, dressed exactly the same as she’d seen him just before. Perhaps the ever-present veil had dropped a little in Cat’s world for them both; because Theo was looking at her very curiously indeed.

* * *

Kate and Theo were staring at each other as if, Theo thought, they’d each of them seen a ghost. He wasn’t sure what he had seen to be honest. It was Kate, but for a moment as she’d stepped out of the shadows of the porch, she’d looked different. Her clothes were different, and she seemed to have been suffused with some sort of light. It made her long, white dress glow and then it just faded into nothingness; and there she was in her denim skirt, her black top, her black leggings and her ankle boots. Her cheeks were still tinged pink from yesterday’s sun and her freckles stood out.

‘It’s you!’ she exclaimed. She took a couple of steps towards him, then pulled herself up short. ‘I mean, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.’ She dropped her head and mumbled, ‘I thought you’d gone back.’

‘I stayed an extra night. I’m here. I spotted you over there, but I didn’t want to disturb you. Listen, Kate—’

‘No! Please Theo. No.’