‘What did you think of my parents?’ I asked when we had been walking a while.
‘They were perfect,’ he smiled.
I found myself frowning over his choice of words. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Just that they were everything I hoped they would be.’
I glanced at him, wondering if he was being ironic, as my parents had hardly gone out of their way for us. But then I remembered him telling me that his own parents, who had died some years before, had been extremely distant, and decided it was why he had appreciated my parents’ lukewarm welcome so much.
We walked a little further and, when we arrived at the bandstand where he had danced with Millie, he drew me to a stop.
‘Grace, will you do me the honour of marrying me?’ he asked.
His proposal was so unexpected that my first reaction was to think he was joking. Although I’d harboured a secret hope that our relationship would one day lead to marriage, I’d imagined it happening a year or two down the line. Perhaps sensing my hesitation, he drew me into his arms.
‘I knew from the minute I saw you sitting on the grass over there with Millie that you were the woman I’d been waiting for all my life. I don’t want to have to wait any longer to make you my wife. The reason I asked to meet your parents was so that I could ask your father for his blessing. I’m glad to say he gave it happily.’
I couldn’t help feeling amused that my father had so readily agreed to me marrying someone he had only just met and knew nothing about. But as I stood there in Jack’s arms, I was dismayed that the elation I felt at his proposal was tempered by a niggling anxiety, and just as I’d worked out it was because of Millie, Jack spoke again. ‘Before you give me your answer, Grace, there’s something I want to tell you.’ He sounded so serious that I thought he was going to confess to an ex-wife, or a child, or a terrible illness. ‘I just want you to know that wherever we live, there will always be a place for Millie.’
‘You don’t know how much it means to me to hear you say that,’ I told him tearfully. ‘Thank you.’
‘So will you marry me?’ he asked.
‘Yes, of course I will.’
He drew a ring from his pocket and, taking my hand in his, slipped it on my finger. ‘How soon?’ he murmured.
‘As soon as you like.’ I looked down at the solitaire diamond. ‘Jack, it’s beautiful!’
‘I’m glad you like it. So, how about sometime in March?’
I burst out laughing. ‘March! How will we be able to organise a wedding in such a short time?’
‘It won’t be that difficult. I already have somewhere in mind for the reception, Cranleigh Park in Hecclescombe. It’s a private country house and belongs to a friend of mine. Normally, he only holds wedding receptions for family members but I know it won’t be a problem.’
‘It sounds wonderful,’ I said happily.
‘As long as you don’t want to invite too many people.’
‘No, just my parents and a few friends.’
‘That’s settled then.’
Later, as he drove me back home, he asked if we could have a drink together the following evening as there were a couple of things he wanted to discuss with me before I left for Argentina on Wednesday.
‘You could come in now, if you like,’ I offered.
‘I’m afraid I really need to be getting back. I have an early start tomorrow.’ I couldn’t help feeling disappointed. ‘I’d like nothing more than to come in and stay the night with you,’ he said, noticing, ‘but I have some files I need to look over tonight.’
‘I can’t believe I’ve agreed to marry someone I haven’t even slept with yet,’ I grumbled.
‘Then how about we go away for a couple of days, the weekend after you get back from Argentina? We’ll take Millie out to lunch and after we’ve dropped her back at school, we’ll visit Cranleigh Park and find a hotel somewhere in the country for the night. Would that do?’
‘Yes.’ I nodded gratefully. ‘Where shall I meet you tomorrow evening?’
‘How about the bar at the Connaught?’
‘If I come straight from work, I can be there around seven.’
‘Perfect.’
I spent most of the next day wondering what Jack wanted to discuss with me before I went to Argentina. It never occurred to me that he would ask me to give up my job or that he would want to move out of London. I had presumed that once we were married we would carry on much as we were, except that we would be living together in his flat, as it was more central. His propositions left me reeling. Seeing how shocked I was, he sought to explain, pointing out what had occurred to me the day before, that in the three months since we’d known each other, we’d hardly spent any time together.
‘What’s the point of getting married if we never see each other?’ he asked. ‘We can’t go on as we are and, more to the point, I don’t want to. Something has to give and as I hope we’ll be having children sooner rather than later …’ He stopped. ‘You do want children, don’t you?’
‘Yes, Jack, of course I do,’ I smiled.
‘That’s a relief.’ He took my hand in his. ‘The first time I saw you with Millie I knew you’d make a wonderful mother. I hope I won’t have to wait too long before you make me a father.’ Overwhelmed by a sudden desire to bear his child, I found I couldn’t speak. ‘But maybe you’d rather wait a few years,’ he went on, hesitantly.
‘It’s not that,’ I said, finding my voice. ‘It’s just that I don’t see how I can give up my job, not while Millie is still at school. I pay her fees, you see, so I won’t be able to give up work for a year and a half.’
‘There’s absolutely no question of you working for another eighteen months,’ he said firmly. ‘Millie can move in with us as soon as we come back from our honeymoon.’
I looked at him guiltily. ‘Much as I love Millie, I’d really like us to have a little time on our own first. And she’s so happy at her school it seems a shame to take her out a year early.’ I thought for a moment. ‘Can we speak to her school and ask them what they think?’
‘Of course. And maybe we should ask Millie what she thinks. I, for one, will be delighted if she chooses to move in with us at once. But if everybody thinks that it’s best to leave her where she is for the moment, I insist on paying her fees. After all, she’s going to be my sister soon.’ He took my hand in his. ‘Promise to let me help.’
I looked at him helplessly. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘Then don’t say anything. All you have to do is promise to think about handing your notice in. I don’t want to never see you once we’re married. Now, what sort of house would you like? I need to know because, if you’ll let me, I’d like to buy you the house of your dreams as a wedding present.’
‘I’ve never really thought about it,’ I admitted.
‘Well, think about it now, because it’s important. Would you like a big garden, a swimming pool, lots of bedrooms?’
‘A big garden, definitely. I’m not bothered about a swimming pool and as for the number of bedrooms, it depends how many children we’re going to have.’
‘Quite a lot then,’ he smiled. ‘I’d like to live in Surrey, near enough to