Mattie shook her head in disbelief.
‘He must have told you more than that.’
‘I shouldn’t need to remind you how closed Dad could be, Mattie.’
She knew. But, still, it didn’t entirely make sense.
‘And you did it? Just like that? No questions asked?’ She recognised that expression. Knew that lock of his jaw. ‘What aren’t you saying, Hayd?’
He still didn’t answer.
‘Please?’
He eyed her a little longer, still not speaking.
‘I don’t know, Mattie.’ Hayden shook his head eventually. ‘Dad was never exactly clear, but I got the impression that he wanted to make amends. And...maybe he thought that you didn’t really love George.’
‘And you didn’t think to tell me?’ Her voice rose an octave, and she had to fight to bring it back down. ‘To pass on this information.’
‘I thought about a million things,’ Hayden declared at length. ‘You were getting married, Mattie. To a guy who seemed perfect for you and who you said you loved. I didn’t want to rake up the past at what was supposed to be such a happy time for you. Plus, I didn’t know how much of what Dad said was accurate and how much was the Alzheimer’s playing tricks.’
He had a point. A part of her could see that, even with her head whirling like she was some kind of mad, spinning-top ride.
‘But what about afterwards?’
‘Afterwards?’
She didn’t mean to cluck her tongue.
‘After George and I called it off?’ she pressed irritably. ‘After Kane had come up that night?’
‘How was I to know that you hadn’t spoken to him, Mattie?’ Hayden shrugged. ‘When you didn’t say anything, I assumed you just didn’t want to talk about it.’
She balled her hands into fists, trying to slow her racing mind. And heart. Yet slowly, slowly, even now, certain things were coming into focus.
‘I didn’t speak to him. I didn’t even realise he had really been there. I thought I’d...conjured him up in my head or something. Until I saw him at Operation Strikethrough and he told me about being there that night.’
‘You saw him? Out on exercise?’
‘Yeah. He’s a WO2. Percy Copperhead’s CSM.’
‘Ah.’
There was so much sentiment loaded into that one syllable that it lifted the tiny, fine hairs on the back of her neck.
‘Ah, what?’
‘Ah, so that’s why you’ve been in such a weird mood ever since you got back.’
She opened her mouth to deny it but then snapped it shut. This was Hayd. What was the point in lying to him?
‘You still should have asked me about him at my wedding rehearsal,’ she said instead.
He leaned against the surface, arms across his chest, assessing her carefully.
‘Maybe,’ he conceded at last. ‘But ultimately what difference would it have made? Would you be with Kane now if I had said anything?’
‘How would I know that?’