The Almost Wife: An absolutely gripping and emotional summer read Page 30
‘Sometimes you just have to admit you are wrong. People just need to be loved, appreciated and to know that you care and… and… that’s the message I’m going to take into this marriage with me.’
She’s choking out that last bit and the effect is being felt all around me. The groom is about to explode with admiration, as is Helen, and there is such deep pleasure on the face of the other older woman on the top table, it suggests this might have been a long time coming. Whatever, the crowd is loving it. Only one girl isn’t clapping. A haughty-looking type, who looks like her horse might be parked outside. But judging by the way her eyes are fixed on the groom and the speed with which she is necking the fizz, there is a lot more to that story.
The afternoon disappears into a blur of cake-cutting, bouquet-tossing and a truly hilarious moment when the bridesmaid changes into a shocking orange dress and attempts to teach the groom’s mother the art of the slut drop. The two of them loll around the dancefloor together, the Philip Treacy long since discarded, laughing so hard and loudly that the whole room wishes they could join in. Even the bride looks a little envious.
By the time it’s midnight I can barely feel a thing any more. I’m going; it won’t be much longer. Everything is pixelating, the room waltzing away from me. Am I ready? I feel a futile stab of panic lurch through me – but even that is diluted by all the manic emotion filling the room. Sally is telling Mark their taxi is here and it’s time to go. As he walks towards her, she holds out a hand, face smiling protectively towards him. She’s as proud of him as I am – he made it, got through it. He takes it and as their fingers lace through each other, I feel the fragile, tentative connection of his flesh on hers, him responding softly to her grip. Almost as soon as it happens, they both let go again, perhaps sensing the eyes that might be on them. But I feel it, the faintest flicker of his heart warming, like the dullest ember in the fire coming to life again. I take one last look at my darling nearly-husband, overwhelmed with one final wave of emotion, all the love I still feel for him draining me completely. There is no anger in his face tonight. The warm, gentle man I fell for all those years ago is slowly returning as I so desperately hoped he would.
As they step out into the darkness of the night, I surrender myself to its inky embrace. And I’m gone.
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Author’s note
While the vast majority of the brand names and known personalities in this book are real, the characters I have created are entirely fictitious. The village of Little Bloombury is based on Lower Slaughter in the North Cotswolds, a place I love so much I moved as close to it as I could. It has a beautiful nineteenth-century church which is also where I imagined my characters would marry.
The Slaughters Manor House sits just next to the church and is what I based the fictional Willow Manor on. Its beautiful drawing rooms are also where a lot of this book was written, accompanied by a stream of hot tea and toast. Swell Park estate – Camilla and Henry Coleridge’s property – is based on the Abbotswood Estate near Lower Swell in the Cotswolds. This magnificent property sits in the grounds behind my home (believed to be the original chauffeur’s residence to the main estate) and is where I walk with my children at the weekends. I couldn’t imagine anywhere more fitting for Jessie’s first proper meeting with her future parents-in-law.
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A Letter from Jade
I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read The Almost Wife. If you enjoyed it and want to keep up-to-date with my latest releases, just sign up at the following link. Your email address will never be shared with anyone else and you can unsubscribe at any time:
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I have met thousands of engaged women over the years. I’ve shared champagne with them, helped them in to wedding dresses, advised them on cakes, flowers, underwear and just about everything in between. I’ve eavesdropped on secret live marriage proposals and seen firsthand what happens when it doesn’t go the way you hoped. I’ve sat front row at more bridal fashion shows than I could possibly count, attended the wedding days of perfect strangers and ok, I admit it, even slipped into the fashion cupboard when everyone had gone home and tried on a few of those incredible gowns myself.
But it’s always the women behind the wedding dates that have fascinated me most. Because while weddings can bring all the glamour and excess, there is so much more to any woman than the diamond ring she’s wearing. It’s about uniting two (sometimes very different) families, meeting – surpassing even – expectations, putting your love, taste, finances and style out there for everyone to judge. And all that while still attempting to be a great friend, daughter, mother and, if all goes well, wife.
Every woman has a different take on it, a different way of coping. But when she’s re-telling her engagement story for the tenth time this week, what is she really worrying about, trying to gloss over, concealing from the people she loves most? Does she always really want to be married?
The women I meet and work with are so clever and capable and impressive – but even the ones that appear to have the most fabulous, together lives are usually hiding something they’d rather you didn’t know. That’s what interests me. And that is ultimately what inspired The Almost Wife. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it.
And if you did, please get in touch, let me know what you think, write a review if you like. I would be thrilled to hear from you on Instagram on Twitter or via my website. Everyone knows someone who is planning a wedding and as well as being a bittersweet emotional read, this book is also chock full of inspiration for the big day – so spread the word! And remember, I am always looking for beautiful weddings to feature in Brides magazine so tell me all about yours!
Thanks,
Jade Beer
Acknowledgements
To every bride-to-be who ever bought Brides magazine or came to say hello at one of our events. Your stories, worries, victories and momentary insanities have made The Almost Wife what it is – a bittersweet look at the challenges facing some women whose day-to-day lives don’t stop the second a diamond slides down their finger. And to my super-talented team at Brides, for whom I have so much pride and respect, and especially my assistant Sophie. The LOLs are always loud and long when you are around.
To all the bridal fashion designers whose dresses I have spent several years fantasising about. Sitting front row at your shows has been one of the great privileges of the day job. To David Bell FRCS (SN) consultant neurosurgeon at King’s College Hospital London for clarifying all the medical details that would make Emily’s story credible; Stuart Hodges from The Slaughters Manor House for allowing me to creep in early morning before guests were awake and write a chapter or two before breakfast. And to the photographer Hugo Burnand who was gracious enough to let me include him in Jessie’s mad rants. Thank you, thank you.
To Anne Hamilton who lavished me with kindness and encouragement when I needed it most and for those endless reminders to ‘show don’t tell’. Finally, I got it! To the novelist Erin Kelly for pointing out all the shortcomings so brilliantly, every one of your suggestions made the story better. And for never getting snarky about the sheer number of emails that came your way all hours of the day and night. Your confidence in this story was more inspiring than I’m sure you could possibly know.
Thank you also for the brilliance of my agent Alice Saunders who immediately understood the real heart of this book and shouted very loudly about it. And to my lovely editor Kathryn Taussig at Bookouture for saying such wonderful things every step of the way. Both women are the best medi
cine for self-doubt there can surely be.
People say you have to be highly motivated to write a book. Others, me included I think, might call it selfish. Sacrifices have to be made. So as the contents of the ironing basket skimmed the ceiling of the utility room and the children were whisked away again so Mummy could attach herself to the laptop, one man picked up all the slack. There is a running joke in my house that by rights this book should have a joint byline on it, that of Stephen Beer, which would be no less credit than he truly deserves. I spent so many hours hoping a book deal would come simply so I could share the good news with you. As I always say sweets, you’re lucky to be here!
And finally, to the one couple above all others who have shown me the power and importance of a strong marriage. I wonder if even you knew how good it would be when you said ‘I Do’ on 8th March 1966, Mum and Dad?
Published by Bookouture
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An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
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www.bookouture.com
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Copyright © Jade Beer 2018
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Jade Beer has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
ISBN: 978-1-78681-391-6
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.