Page 44 of The Scottish Island Wedding

‘I’m glad she’ll be okay. But she did say some very hurtful things.’

‘Like what? I think the “over my dead body” thing was just the heat of the moment, or the freezing cold, like I said.’ Matty passed Heather a croissant from a plate he’d brought up with the coffee.

‘Hm. Well, she said that I’d have to stop working after we get married. I made it clear that I will stay at my job. She also wants me to go fox hunting, and thinks I should learn to ski.’

‘Oh. Well, I think you can ignore the fox hunting thing. I’d never do that either. And skiing isn’t essential, but it is quite fun. Plus, the ski lodges have hot tubs, and private caterers: I was thinking that we could take all your family, maybe? And if we had kids, little ones learn to ski really fast. They’re devils on the slopes.’

‘Yeah, I wouldn’t mind that. I’m sure Mum and Dad would love a holiday.’ Heather kissed Matty’s cheek. ‘But I’m more concerned that Elizabeth really thinks I’d give up my job the minute we got married. Oh yeah – and then she implied I was a gold-digger. I don’t know how she made that make sense, actually. But she still said it.’

‘Oh, that’s rubbish. You have to ignore some things she says, Heather. I know you don’t care about money. That’s one of the reasons I love you: I knew you wouldn’t care about the family fortune.’ Matty took a bite of croissant.

‘I don’t care about it. In fact, I’d rather there was no money, quite honestly. The Campbell money and fame are proving more of a nuisance than anything else right now.’

‘I know. My advice with Mum is just sort of let things go over your head. It’s better that way. She can still be quite lovely when you get to know her.’ Matty frowned. ‘However, I would say, about the having kids thing… we have talked about having a family, right? I mean… you would probably have to give up work.’

‘Um. Why? Plenty of women work when they have kids.’ Heather blinked in surprise. ‘I’d go back to work after maternity leave.’

‘You wouldn’t have to, baby. You could just stay at home. I’d look after everything.’ Matty stroked her fringe away from her eyes, but she caught his hand.

‘I don’t want to just stay at home. I’ll stay at home until the baby’s old enough and then it can go to nursery, and you can work flexibly as well. Men can take parental leave nowadays, you know. And you don’t even have to work full time anyway.’

Heather was realising that, although they’d spoken in general terms about having a family, they both seemed to have made certain assumptions – and they didn’t match. She thought back to the Christmas party at the Inn, where Angus had been Santa, and he and Elizabeth had ended up handing out presents to the local kids together.

That had been such a lovely moment; Heather had stood in the lounge of the house she’d grown up in and felt so thankful for the community around her and for the love that Matty and she shared. She’d thought about her future, with a family of her own: she’d assumed that she and Matty were on the same page. That she would continue working with the charity, or doing something else to help animals, and that they’d co-parent blissfully, like a modern family.

She thought about Aunt Chrissie and how she had given up modelling. That had been a long time ago. The world was different now. Wasn’t it?

Wasn’t it possible for women to work and have children now? Heather thought that it was. She thought about Blossom, working on the farm with her two children. She thought about her mother, Catriona, at the Inn with six children. In both cases, it was difficult to do without support, but they’d done it.

I can work and have children. I know I can, Heather thought. It might be tough sometimes, but it’s doable.

Aunt Chrissie’s situation had been different to hers, but both were questions of other people’s expectations. Aunt Chrissie had stopped modelling because her father disapproved. In Heather’s case, her new mother-in-law – and, it seemed, her fiancé – disapproved of the idea of her being a working mother.

I suppose the question is, how much do their opinions matter? Heather thought. I know what I want to do. I also understand the feeling of wanting to keep the peace, and keeping a good relationship with my husband and my mother-in-law. But, ultimately, if I have to give up something that’s important to me to do that, is it worth the cost?

‘What about when you have the second baby? And the third?’ Matty asked. ‘And, no, I don’t work a nine-to-five, but my work is unpredictable. I might get called away at any time or have to go to a board meeting, deliver a report, that kind of thing. I can’t commit to being around for childcare every day.’

‘Um… but you can be flexible, and we could agree at least a couple of days a week where you could look after the children so I could work, or just have a break,’ Heather said. ‘And how many children do you think we’re going to have? One might be fine. Two at the most.’

‘I thought you wanted a big family. You come from a big family. I mean, you’re a twin, to begin with.’

‘Yes, I am a twin. Twins are possible, but if we had twins, we probably wouldn’t want many more children.’

‘We might.’

‘Yes… I suppose we’re both going into this a little blind, because neither of us has had children,’ Heather said, discomfited by the fact they were having this conversation – that Matty didn’t share her vision for the future in the same way – but relieved that they were, at least, talking about it. ‘But I do want to continue working, Matty. I might have to work part time for a while, but I want to have something for me outside of being a wife and mother.’

‘Being a wife and mother is still for you.’ Matty frowned. ‘You’re making it sound like it’s something you don’t even want.’

‘Of course I want it! I’ve wanted my own family since I was a teenager. Maybe before that. I’ve seen my own future, in visions and dreams. I know what it will look like. Raising a family on the island, close to my parents and my sisters, in a lovely big farmhouse, with dogs.’

‘I dunno… I feel like we always spoke about traditional values, families… I thought we agreed on that.’ Matty’s expression was confused.

‘We do agree,’ she argued. ‘But me keeping my job isn’t about traditional values. Plenty of people fall on the more traditional side of seeing the world, and can still appreciate why it’s important for a woman to work. I don’t think “traditional values” means “women should be barefoot and pregnant”. To me it means that I value a close family, raising children with kindness and community and love, that I believe in supporting the people who need it, that we should both be focused on creating stability and a loving home for each other. How we achieve that is up to us.’

‘Okay. I agree with that, but I guess I’d just assumed you would stop working.’

‘I think maybe what you haven’t thought about is that I have to think about my independence, if the worst happens and we split up. If I haven’t worked for years, how am I supposed to support myself and the children? And, anyway, I love my job. I love the charity. I don’t want to stop doing that,’ Heather added.