“
Of course they
’
ll be happy. It
’
s all so romantic,
”
Ellie replied, as she watched the newly married couple wave to the crowds.
Marie-Noelle looked at her youngest daughter with concern. Ellie was so trusting and soft-hearted that people often took advantage of her. She tried to please everyone
and was a sucker for lost causes. As a child she
’
d constan
tly arrived home with stray kittens, dogs and even a couple of birds with broken wings.
She couldn
’
t pass a beggar or collection box without helping out. She was so naïve and
such a hopeless romantic that
Marie-Noelle worried abou
t her
.
The same couldn
’
t be said
of her older daughter, Sandrine
,
now
an accountant, who had bossed poor Ellie mercilessly all her life. A hard-nosed career woman, intent on making her way in the world of finance
,
Sandrine had no time for such nonsense as romance and love
.
Marie-
Noelle had no fears that anyone would try to take advantag
e of Sandrine. Let them just try, she often chuckled to herself. No, Ellie was the one she worried about most.
“
It takes more than romance and a fairytale wedding to make a marriage work
,
you know,
”
she said now
.
Ellie had never thought much further than the
wedding
.
She was in love with the idea of getting married. She
’
d never much considered what came after the ceremo
ny
.
She hoped fervently that the royal couple would live happily ever after, as they always did in fairytales
,
if not necessarily in real life
.
“
David has booked a table in Bon Appetit for this evening, to celebrate
,”
Ellie told her mother. She
’
d been
surprised and delighted when he
’
d suggested it as he
’
d shown absolutely no interest in the wedding up to that point.
“
That
’
s very
nice of him. He
’
ll make some girl a wonderful husband someday,
”
Marie-Noelle remarked, looking slyly at her daughter.
“
Mmmm
,”
Ellie replied nonchalantly
. “
How about a cup of tea?
”
She jumped up, not wanting to continue with this conversation
.
“
Lovely,
”
Marie-Noelle replied, aware that she
’
d hit on a touchy subject.
“
I have some chocolate éclairs in the fridge. Let
’
s have them now.
”
When they arrived at the restaurant that evening
,
Ellie was surprised to find that David had ordered a bottle of champagne
.
“
How fabulous
!”
she exclaimed, pleased with this romantic gesture.
The wine waiter poured it and handed her a glass
.
He was grinning like a Cheshire cat and she noticed that David was beaming inanely too. As they clinked glasses she spotted something in the bottom of hers
.
“
I think there
’
s something in my glass,
”
she said, peering into it
,
afraid it might be a piece of broken glass.
“
There is indeed,
”
David replied, seemingly not too worried.
Ellie looked more closely and gasped aloud. She couldn
’
t believe her eyes. There at the bottom of the glass was a glittering diamond ring. She fished it out and looked up at David enquiringly.
“
Will you marry me, Ellie?
”
She looked at him disbelievingly
.
“
As today was such a special day for you, I thought it might be a good time to ask you to be my wife. Please say yes.
”
Ellie was a great believer in fate and if this wasn
’
t fate – being proposed to on the day of the Royal Wedding – then she didn
’
t know what was.
She was deeply touched and her heart went out to him
.
He hadn
’
t exactly swept her off her feet but she did love him
,
and this was so romantic. It was the most romantic thing that had ever happened to
her. She burst into tears
.
“
Please say yes,
”
he begged, taking her hand in his, a worried look in his dark eyes.
“
Oh yes, David, yes,
”
she answered him
,
smiling through
her tears.
Reaching across the table, he put the ring on her finger and kissed her as the other diners in the restaurant, aware of what was happening, broke into a round of applause. She smiled back at them. She held her hand out in front of her to admire the ring. It was the biggest diamond she
’
d ever seen. Obviously she
’
d seen photographs of massive knuckledusters on celebrities like Maria Sharapova and Kim Kardashian but never one as big as this in real life. It was fabulous
!
“
David, it
’
s beautiful. Exactly what I would have chosen
myself,
”
she told him, her eyes shining as she moved her hand this way and that.
“
I
’
m glad you like it, darling.
”
“
I can
’
t believe it. It feels like a dream.
”
“
It
’
s not a dream,
”
David replied.
“
Any time you doubt i
t, just look at your ring.
”
He smiled at her fondly
.
“
It
’
s beautiful. Thank you, David.
”
She kissed him again
,
thinking how handsome he was. She knew she was a lucky girl
.
David was happy that Ellie had agreed to be his wife. They
’
d been together three years and he reckoned it was time they named the day. For a moment there, when she
’
d burst into tears, he
’
d been afraid that she was about to say no
.
He
’
d been with his brother in Gibneys the first night he
’
d set eyes on her. She had the face of an angel and was, without doubt, the most enchanting woman he
’
d ever seen
.
She had luminous, almost translucent
,
skin
,
which glo
wed with freshness. Her eyes were a very unusual violet blue under long dark curly lashes and her mouth was a perfect cupid
’
s bow which gave her a very sweet smile. Her long, dark, glossy hair swung as she spoke animated
ly and he was instantly smitten and longed to get to know her
.
He found himself back in Gibneys every Friday night after that and to his delight she was always there, with the same two friends. For a couple of weeks he watched her surreptitiously, wondering how best to approach her.
She had an innocent and vulnerable air about her
that made him long to take care of her and protect her. When eventually he screwed up the courage to ask her out, she
’
d turned him down. He was gutted but he persevered and finally won her over. Now this beautiful girl had agreed to marry him
,
making him a very happy man indeed
.
Ellie
was on cloud
nine all the following day. Her parents
were delighted for her and everyone in the beauty salon where she worked congratulated her on hearing the news. She received many envious glances from both staff and clients when they saw the stunning ring she was sporting. They all tried it on
,
ooh-ing and aah-ing as it sparkled in the lights. Ellie was on a high
and unprepared for the avalanche of cards and engagement presents that flooded in during the following weeks. She felt like a real princess. It was all so exciting
.
She couldn
’
t wait to be a bride!
2
Wednesday was
‘
Pamper Rachel Day
’
. This was the one day of the week that Rachel Dunne kept solely for herself. Every other day was manic, a whirlwind of committee meetings, charity lunches, formal dinners and all the other functions that the glamorous wife of a successful politician had to perform. But she tried hard to keep Wednesdays free. She needed this day for herself
.
This was the day when she recharged her batteries and chilled out. She also needed it to maintain the glossy appearance that was the envy of all the women she encountered. She, more than anyone, knew the effort it took to look good all the time, so this one day per week was essential to her well
-
being.
She dropped the children
–
Jacob who was almost eight and Becky
who was six
–
to school in her
BMW X6 before heading into Dublin city. She hummed to herself as she pulled away from the private school
,
waving to the other mothers who looked enviously after her.
Even though things had taken a terrible downturn in Ireland
,
they luckily hadn
’
t affected her or her family. Her husband, Carl, had been very savvy with his money
,
unlike many of their friends who had lost everything in the Celtic Tiger crash. Now he was riding high as a newly
elected TD – or
‘
Member
of
Parliament
’
as Rachel
joking
ly called it – and everyone predicted that he was destined for higher things.
Rachel parked the car in the RAC car park and strolled down Dawson Street to the beauty salon on South Anne Street where she was a favoured client. The owner greeted her effusively and the other clients in the waiting room, recognising her, smiled warmly
at her
.
Now that Carl was a public figure, her photograph featured constantly in the newspapers and society magazine
s. She and Carl were the new glamorous young couple
in Irish politics and she was still trying to come to terms with this new-found fame and the attention that went with it. It was ridiculous really but people treated her differently now that she was a recognisable face. She was still the same person after all.
She was whisked immediately into the luxurious inner sanctum where she succumbed to the tender ministrations of Chantal, the masseuse.
Utterly relaxed as she lay on the bed, lulled by the soft music and candlelight, she felt the stress drain away. She was constantly being told how lucky she was to have such a wonderful life and she was grateful for her blessings
,
but it wasn
’
t all quite the plain sailing people thought it was
.
Rachel was the only
child of wealthy parents and had indeed sailed through her early years
,
admired and petted
,
lacking for nothing
.
Nothing, that is, except siblings, which she had wanted very badly
,
but the idea of which her parents had refused to contemplate. She had worried that it was because she was a disappointment to them that they didn
’
t want another baby. She had a lonely childhood and envied her friends who had sisters and brothers.
She was very beautiful and no one was surprised when, shortly after she left college
,
she
attracted the attention of the successful, debonair
,
ambitious Carl Dunne
.
He came from a middle-class family and had worked his way up from nothing to become a big player in the lucrative property market of the Celtic Tiger years. He had made a lot of money during the boom times and was one of the few clever enough not to overstretch himself and to get out before things started to disintegrate. As a result he was financially sound and that
,
coupled with her father
’
s money
,
meant that Rachel would never want for anything in the future. As a wedding present her father had built her a beautiful house on Howth Hill, overlooking Dublin Bay.