‘Remind me what you said about the couple you interviewed on Monday.’
‘They were boring.’ She pulled a face at the thought of them; they’d actually been the king and queen of boring. The prospect of having to spend her days in their company was just too awful to contemplate.
‘And have there been any more applicants since then?’
‘None.’ For goodness’ sake, where were her car keys?
‘Well that’s probably because they fell asleep reading the advert. What’s that noise?’ said Seth.
‘Sorry, just dropped the biscuit tin. I’m looking for my keys. Oh Glenda, no, that’s naughty . . .’ But she was too late: the little dog had already snaffled up two digestives and was racing out of the kitchen, her tail helicoptering with joy at the unexpected gift.
‘You need to rewrite the ad,’ Seth advised. ‘In your own words. Say what you’re really looking for and let the applicants know what they’d be getting themselves into.’
‘Ha, they’d run a mile.’
‘Just be chatty and informal and honest, like the way you used to write to me when I was at school, remember?’
‘Of course I remember.’ Warmed by the memory, Majella nodded. ‘Yes, you’re right. Thank you, darling, I’ll do it tonight. Now, d’you have any idea where I might have left my car keys?’
‘No, but the last time you couldn’t find them, you’d put them in your bra for safe keeping.’
It was ten to six. The plan was that at six o’clock, Wyatt would suggest to Penny that they go for a stroll around the grounds of the chateau before dinner. Along the way, they would ‘accidentally’ discover a tiny stone crypt tucked in amongst the trees with its old wooden door standing slightly open. Wyatt would wonder aloud what might be inside, and they would venture towards the building to find out. Then, as they entered and closed the door behind them, Penny would be greeted by the sight of dozens of candles burning like tiny stars inside glass holders, silver heart-shaped helium balloons bobbing from the ceiling and hundreds of crimson rose petals strewn on the ground.
Lainey hadn’t been so sure about the heart-shaped helium balloons, but Wyatt had insisted. Nor had she been entirely convinced by the music he’d chosen to start playing as soon as the door was closed, because in all honesty he didn’t have the best singing voice and ‘My Heart Will Go On’ was a demanding song at the best of times. But apparently it was ‘their’ song and he’d made the recording specially. And as Bill had stressed several hundred times, Wyatt’s every wish was their command.
At six on the dot, showered and changed into smart evening clothes, the couple arrived downstairs and headed outside for their pre-dinner stroll in the grounds. As soon as they’d made their way out through the front entrance, Lainey and her friend and fellow employee Kit collected together the silver ice bucket, the chilled vintage Bollinger, a silver tray and two crystal champagne flutes. Having filled the bucket with ice, they slid out through the side door of the kitchen and raced over to the crypt.
‘This bottle cost eight hundred euros,’ Kit murmured as he positioned it at an angle in the ice bucket. ‘I didn’t believe Bill when he told me. But then I googled it.’
Lainey had spent the last hour pulling petals off roses, which had made her feel like a murderer. Now she took them out of their bag and scattered them across the flagstoned floor. Above them, the helium balloons swayed in the faint breeze coming through the open door. She made sure the phone was set up on the docking station and slipped the remote control into her pocket. Right, all done. Time to escape and silently lurk behind the handily positioned stone wall to the left of the crypt.
They were joined there by Bill and Biddy. A few minutes later, they heard Penny and Wyatt making their approach. Biddy beamed excitedly at Lainey.
‘Oh hey, look at this place,’ Wyatt exclaimed. ‘Wonder what’s inside?’
‘We shouldn’t go in there.’ Penny sounded concerned. ‘It might be someone’s home or something.’
‘Honey, it’s fine, we’re not going to get into trouble. Come on, let’s take a look. Give me your hand . . .’
The group hiding behind the wall heard the door close with a heavy clunk, and Lainey pressed play on the remote control. The walls of the crypt were thick, so they couldn’t hear the music nor whatever else might be happening inside.
‘It’s so romantic,’ Biddy whispered gleefully. ‘She’s such a lucky girl! When Bill and I got engaged, we’d missed the last bus back to Swindon and were walking home in the rain. Bill said, “Oh, by the way, my mum wants to know if we’re getting hitched. What d’you reckon I should tell her?” And that was it! That was my proposal!’
Bill was laughing quietly. ‘Did the trick, though, didn’t it? You said yes. And we haven’t done too badly, have we?’
Seven minutes later, Kit said, ‘They’re taking their time. I thought they’d be out by now.’ His task was to take lots of photos when the couple emerged into the sunshine in a daze of just-engaged happiness, whilst Bill, Biddy and Lainey provided the enthusiastic applause and congratulations.
Another few minutes went by, then they heard the unmistakable sound of a champagne cork being popped.
‘At last!’ Lainey exhaled with relief, because the relatives were all assembled in the main hall back at the chateau for the next stage of the surprise.
The heavy wooden door creaked open and they launched into a frenzy of clapping and cheering, until the look of absolute horror on Penny’s face and the fact that Wyatt wasn’t with her made them realise there might not be much call for congratulations after all.
‘Oh God,’ Kit muttered. ‘Don’t say she’s shot him.’ They’d all heard the pop.
Penny’s pallor was startling. ‘Have you been waiting here the whole time?’
‘Um, yes. But we weren’t listening. We couldn’t hear anything,’ Lainey added hastily.
‘Now I know why he didn’t want me to come outside.’ She shook her head. ‘Wyatt asked me to marry him. I said no.’
‘But why?’ Biddy’s voice rose as she spread her hands. ‘He loves you!’
‘And I like him.’ Penny squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. ‘He’s a really nice guy. But I don’t love him and I can’t marry someone just because I don’t want to hurt their feelings.’ She shook her head. ‘If I’d known he was going to do this, I’d never have agreed to come here. I should leave.’
‘His family’s here too,’ Bill blurted out. ‘All waiting to celebrate.’
‘Oh God, please no! Are you serious?’Aghast, Penny began to back away. ‘They’re going to hate me. I need to get out of here right now.’
Lainey’s heart went out to her, and to Wyatt too. All that careful planning and no expense spared. It just went to show, sometimes a perfect proposal turned out not to be so perfect after all.
Chapter 2
At midnight, Lainey climbed out of bed and went over to the window. From her tiny room high up in the south-facing turret, she had a view over the wooded border of the grounds on that side of the chateau and she could definitely hear noises. Something was happening out there.