‘Do I look okay?’ Madeleine asked as she studied her appearance in the free-standing mirror that stood in the corner of her room, beside the window.
‘You look great, honestly,’ Jess said as she sat on the floor. She was leaning back against the wooden four-poster footboard, where Poppy had insisted she sat while they played.
Jess had been there for the past six days, taking care of Poppy, and being a constant sounding block for Madeleine, who’d cried, shouted and screamed at every opportunity about the unfairness of losing her father. Her distress had turned to rage and she now felt nothing but anger towards him. How could he have done this? She had no idea how to run a hotel, nor did she know about antiques, laundry orders or Victorian shaped taps.
The house had been full of people for the past two days. Hannah had sent emails out cancelling all guest bookings for the week, in the hope that the pressure of not being around people would help. But then, one by one, members of Josie’s family had arrived. There were aunts, cousins and a sister, all, of course, that that Madeleine had never met. Most had travelled from the south and, even though they hadn’t been invited to stay, they’d seen it as their right and moved into the rooms, making full and free use of the hotel.
Looking back in the mirror, Madeleine turned to look herself up and down from each angle, just to be sure she looked okay. Her father had died and she looked every part the grieving daughter, but she barely knew him, and felt such a fraud.
Even though she’d spent just a few days in his company, rather than the years that she should have had, she really had loved him. Yet she still felt as though she was the ringmaster at the circus. The centre of a show that was to be put on for all the people expected to attend and, as his daughter, his next of kin, she was expected to lead the procession.
‘Are you sure you don’t mind staying with Poppy?’ she asked Jess who now lay on the floor playing doll’s house with her niece.
‘Of course I don’t. I barely knew him, I only really met him the once, so I’m hardly a mourner, am I?’ she said as Poppy dropped her doll down the chimney of the doll’s house and began laughing hysterically as it crashed into the kitchen below. ‘Besides, it’s no place for Poppy. I’ll take her out with Buddy. We’ll go for a walk in the grounds and before you say it, I know, we won’t go near the greenhouse.’
Madeleine smiled. If nothing else, Jess was always protective of Poppy and she was right, a funeral was no place for a three-year-old. Even if she had been his granddaughter.
‘Right, I’ll be off then,’ she said, taking one last look in the mirror.
Jess jumped up and hugged her before Madeleine headed down the main staircase.
The day was all about grandeur, but even though she was putting on the show that was expected, she became overwhelmed by the crowds of people who fell silent as she walked down the stairs. Lilies and white roses were displayed along the hallway, their scent infiltrating the room with a powerful aroma that caused her to pull a tissue from her pocket in case she might sneeze. They were the biggest lilies she’d ever seen and they stood alongside the biggest church candles ever. Everyone was dressed in black, drank gold liquid from crystal glasses and, for some reason, reminded her of that very first night she’d looked in through the window, watching guests congregate for the murder mystery weekend.
Her eyes drifted across the room. She looked towards the library door. Her eyes became fixed on one man.
Bandit.
He stood tall and proud, wearing his military uniform. His green beret carefully tilted, the badge of a crowned lion sitting on a crown above a crest pinned to it, clearly displayed above his left eye. Everything about him looked different. It was not only his clothes that had changed, his hair was shorter, he was clean shaven and for the first time Madeleine could see the pure chiselled symmetry of his jawline. He was a striking and handsome man, making her wonder why he’d been hiding beneath the overgrown look that she’d fast become accustomed to.
He walked towards her, held out a hand. ‘May I?’
She took his hand and felt him tremble as he escorted her through the crowd to the black limousine. The hearse stood in front, her father’s solid oak coffin within, covered in so many flowers that it could barely be seen.
‘Thank you,’ Madeleine whispered to Bandit, grateful for his gesture. She climbed into the car and looked back to where he stood, head bowed waiting for the car to depart before he moved. Her eyes were captivated by his new look, and she stared at him long after the limousine door was closed.
Madeleine watched as the hearse made its way into the village. The streets were lined with people, all bowing their heads. Some removed their caps, held their hands to their heart or drew imaginary crosses in front of their faces, making a sob catch in her throat.
They eventually pulled up outside the church and she stepped out of the limousine and straight into the arms of Liam O’Grady.