Lexie laughed. ‘This is Nadia we’re talking about, not some kind of axe murderer!’
‘Okay, well, if you’re sure my services aren’t needed, I’m going to hide out in the MG, can’t take all this excitement! It’ll give me chance to do a bit more research for a pet project I’m working on as an antidote to all the heart and flowers stuff, but if I’m not mistaken, Nadia’s bedroom window overlooks the car park. I’ll keep a lookout and if you need my help, just wave at me and I’ll come running. Okay?’
‘You’re crazy,’ smiled Lexie, shaking her head. ‘This wedding reporting gig has completely scrambled your brain!’
For one fleeting moment, Lexie saw Theo hesitate before turning around and making his way to the car park to stake out Nadia’s window. She experienced a warm surge of appreciation that she had a friend who had her back, even though she knew it was totally unnecessary. She was organising a wedding ceremony not the Mafia’s summer ball! Nevertheless, she was grateful and as she took the stairs two at a time, her whole body felt lighter. Maybe Jasper was right, maybe she should start the search for a new job down in Cornwall.
Lexie rapped on the door to Nadia’s suite, one of the plushest in Dalston Manor, but which Nadia had announced was barely adequate, not having her favourite Pellegrino mineral water or hand-made Swiss chocolates on the nightstand.
‘Nadia? Are you in there? It’s Lexie?’
‘I’m not taking visitors at the moment.’
Visitors?
‘I just want to make sure you have everything you need? If there’s anything I can help you with…’
‘No thank you,’ came the curt reply.
Lexie decided to try once more and then leave Nadia to her own devices. She was about to speak again when Rachel appeared at the end of the corridor, her hair and makeup done, but her body still wrapped in a Chinese silk peignoir.
‘Lexie, what are you doing loitering around outside Nadia’s door? I’m sure she’ll give you her autograph once the ceremony is over,’ giggled Rachel, tightening the strings of her gown.
‘Nadia’s the only person I’ve not ticked off my list.’
Lexie shook her clipboard in the air as explanation, but to her surprise, Rachel pushed her aside and started to hammer on the door as though it was a police raid.
‘Nadia! Nadia! Open up! Lexie needs to see you!’
Lexie’s jaw gaped. Now there was a lesson in assertiveness she needed to tuck away in her armoury for later use. She could do with Rachel being around when she eventually got round to having the dreaded conversation with Elliot. Oh, God, don’t think about that now!
Rachel’s strategy worked and Nadia cracked open the door.
‘I told you, I don’t need any help…’
Before Lexie knew what was happened, Rachel had shouldered open the door and bowled into the room, exclaiming at the view and the resplendent furnishings and artwork.
‘Wow! You hit the jackpot with this room!’
‘Rachel, dear, I’d be grateful if you’d…’
‘What’s this?’
Rachel scooted to the super-king-sized bed and picked up a brown envelope, scrutinised the postmark, then snatched up a bunch of paperwork before Nadia could lunge forward and stop her. Suddenly Lexie realised that Rachel hadn’t been passing Nadia’s door by accident. She’d been on a mission and Lexie had simply got in her way.
‘It’s nothing that concerns you, Rachel.’
‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that! Zara is my best friend and if anyone is thinking of destroying her happiness then they’ll have me to deal with.’
Rachel scanned the documents in her hand and then stared at Nadia. If looks could kill, Nadia would be pushing up the daisies.
‘How could you!’
‘It’s a matter of legality…’
‘Legality? Legality? Don’t give me that. You’ve never liked Zara, have you? Never accepted that your precious son adores her and that she makes him happy? I thought you were just a bitter, middle-aged woman who couldn’t relinquish her attachment to her son, but this? This is pure evil!’
‘As I said—’
‘What’s going on?’ interrupted Lexie, her heart hammering so hard against her ribcage that she thought it might just break free of its restraints and perform a canter around the room.
‘Nadia, here, is going to object at the wedding!’
‘Object?’ Lexie gasped. ‘Why?’
‘Want to explain your motivation behind this dastardly deed?’
‘I’m not ashamed, Rachel,’ said Nadia, drawing herself up to her full five-foot-four and squaring her shoulders as though she was in the position of righteousness. ‘After all, bigamy is a criminal offence.’
‘Bigamy…’ gulped Lexie.
‘Oh, and you are suddenly an expert on that, are you?’
‘I’m simply looking out for my son’s interests, like any mother would.’
‘By tearing down his bride on her wedding day? Words fail me!’
By now the two women were face-to-face, their fingers jabbing at each other’s chest, their eyes alight with the fire of fury, both absolutely convinced they were on the side of truth, and Lexie knew that if she didn’t step in soon, they would come to blows. What kind of wedding photographs would Zara and Jason have if the bridesmaid and the groom’s mother were both sporting black eyes? And how was she going to sort this out? Nothing she had ever handled for Pierre came close to this can of worms.
Bigamy? She wasn’t even sure she’d heard the word spoken out loud before.
Lexie checked her watch and realised that if she was going to perform a miracle, then she had to do it in the next ten minutes otherwise the wedding would not be going ahead, or if it did, the ceremony would be missing two of its most important guests because the wedding planner, with her journalist accomplice, had bound and gagged them and locked them in the bedroom closet until after the vows had been exchanged and Jason had sealed the wedding contract with a kiss.
‘Okay, ladies…’
‘You know what women like you are—’
‘Ladies!’
There was a brief pause as the two women remembered there was someone else in the room apart from them.
‘Why don’t we all calm down and talk about this?’
‘I have no intention of…’ began Nadia, before seeing something in Lexie’s expression that changed her mind about continuing, so she snatched the paperwork from Rachel and went to sit in one of the Louis XIV-inspired chairs next to the window, a look of pure hostility on her face.
‘Thank you. Now, Nadia, why don’t you tell me as succinctly as possible, what on earth is going on?’
‘With pleasure. Rachel’s right. I am intending to object to Zara’s marriage to my son.’
‘I told you—’
‘And on what grounds?’
‘That she’s already married!’
Nadia flung the document in her hand onto the coffee table in front of her and Lexie stepped forward to scrutinise it carefully.
‘It’s a marriage certificate.’
‘Ten points for observation,’ said Nadia sarcastically, sending Rachel a malevolent stare.