Free The Back of Beyond by Doris Davidson

enough to be his daughter.
    Shaking her head at the morbidity of her thoughts, Lexie straightened her back and went through to the house.

Chapter 4
    Marjory Jenkins had been waiting, somewhat impatiently it must be said, for her eighteenth birthday, on which day her father had more or less promised, with one provision, to agree to her marriage, but time was just crawling past. One month before her dream would come true, she decided to make sure that all would run smoothly.
    â€˜I was thinking,’ she said to Dougal the following evening, ‘you’re having Alistair as groomsman, and I’m having Gwen as bridesmaid, and they’ve never met yet, so why don’t we get them to come out with us some time soon?’
    â€˜You’re sure your father’s going to let us …?’
    â€˜I’m positive … as long as you ask him for my hand in the approved way. He’s a bit old-fashioned – says a suitor should show proper respect.’
    Dougal expelled a silent breath through pursed lips. ‘I’m not looking forward to this, you know. I’ll likely make a right muck-up of it, but I’ll do my best.’
    â€˜I know you will, my darling.’
    The endearment, plus the radiance of her smile, made him take her in his arms to tell her how much he loved her – serious sweet talk did not come easily to him but it was well known that actions spoke louder than words – and her earlier suggestion that they should introduce her sister to his pal was forgotten until they were saying good night some time later. ‘Bring Alistair with you on Saturday,’ she murmured, ‘and I’ll bring Gwen. The hotel’s never busy at weekends – most of the reps go home to their families and we’ve only a couple of tourists booked for bed and breakfast – so Mum’s giving Peggy the chance to be on duty on her own, to fetch drinks and things like that.’
    He had to gird his senses together to take in what she was saying. ‘Oh … yes, yes. I’ll bring Alistair with me, even if I’ve to lead him by the nose.’
    She giggled at that. ‘Is he really so shy?’
    â€˜Maybe not quite as bad as that, but he is shy with strangers, especially girls.’
    â€˜That’s funny. Gwen’s the same … with boys, I mean. She was let down badly a couple of years ago, and she’s scared to trust anybody now. Did someone let Alistair down?’
    â€˜No, it wasn’t that. This girl was making a pest of herself, that’s what scared him off.’
    â€˜Oh gosh, I hope they’re not awkward with each other. I don’t want anything to spoil our wedding day.’
    â€˜Nothing will, they won’t want to upset you. No matter how they feel about each other, they won’t show it.’
    â€˜Dougal, I could slaughter you for this!’ Alistair fumed as they made their way to the meeting point. ‘It’s going to be bad enough on your wedding day, if it ever comes off, without having a rehearsal.’
    â€˜It’s not a rehearsal,’ Dougal soothed. ‘It’s just for Marge. She wants to make sure everything’ll be plain sailing. Any road, maybe you’ll like Gwen.’
    â€˜Have you ever met her?’
    â€˜No, but she’s Marge’s sister so there can’t be that much difference.’
    Alistair had known several instances where sisters or brothers had entirely different personalities, but he deemed it best not to argue. He didn’t want to worry Dougal, whose mind was bent on making things perfect for his perfect fiancée.
    It turned out that, apart from their sylph-like figures, the sisters were almost exact opposites. While Marjory was a curly-headed brunette with a creamy skin, Gwendoline had straight blonde hair and a fair skin; Marge was outgoing and bubbly, effervescent as a shaken bottle of beer, whereas Gwen was quiet and reserved. Despite this, despite