Part 12 (2/2)

'Ill always need you, I said.

'No, he said sadly. 'No, you wont.

Dont ever get married.

Seriously.

Dont ever get married.

Forget the Archbishop of Canterbury deploring the decline of traditional marriage. Forget whichever politicians are currently lauding family values in an effort to distract attention from their own upcoming, exclusive tabloid expose. Forget any of the rose-tinted idiots banging on about your wedding being the happiest day of your life. Weddings are a long, rain-drenched nightmare when the only sounds are your relatives venomously hissing in dark corners. I dont know how anyone who doesnt have a giant, golden horse gets through them.

It started with my hair. Never before a cause of disagreement, it was propelled into the front line because, given the simple nature of my dress, I wanted a simple French pleat.

Aunt Julia wanted virginal ringlets.

I coped by simply shaking my head every time she spoke, thus signifying disagreement and rendering it impossible for the poor hairdresser to get stuck in. Eventually, she got the message, and possibly lost a long-standing customer, but she didnt look too unhappy and I got my way.

Not like Aunt Julia.

I felt quite sorry for her because she obviously didnt want to dignify the occasion by looking as if shed made any special effort, but she was const.i.tutionally incapable of appearing in public looking anything other than her best. She compromised with a pearl-grey silk suit that only whispered 'funereal occasion, rather than what Im sure was her first choice deep, heavy black, closely veiled, and clutching a handkerchief to the corner of one eye.

We met at the bottom of the stairs where Uncle Richard was anxiously consulting his watch at five-second intervals. She looked at me for a while and then started down her list.

'Its not white. What will people think?

'No one is attending apart from family members, soothed Uncle Richard, unsuccessfully trying to get her to the door. 'No one will see. Now, come along, we mustnt be late. Well, not more than fas.h.i.+onably late, he ended with a weak laugh.

'Where is your veil? You must have a veil. No flowers, either. Jenny, Ive held my peace, but I have to say ...

'Tune her out, said Thomas. 'Its not important.

I tried. I also tried not to dwell on the fact no one had said how nice I looked. And I did. I really did. In addition, I was the bride, so even if I didnt, they should have lied. I was a little hurt.

'I think your dress is beautiful and so are you.

'Thank you, but youre prejudiced.

'Not today. You look elegant and sophisticated, Jenny. A real cla.s.s act. Russell Checkland is going to be blown away. Good for you.

Feeling slightly more cheerful, I climbed into the car. Fortunately, it was only a few minutes away.

The next thing was the weather. It was raining slightly when we left, and the sky had that rather ominous grey-yellow look. Just as we pulled up, the heavens opened.

Uncle Richard did what he could with an enormous golf umbrella and I was pretty well protected, Aunt Julia less so, so her already bad mood worsened considerably, and by the time we actually got inside, she was smouldering nicely.

We were shown into a very pleasant room where Andrew and Tanya were already waiting with Mrs Crisp and Kevin. I was so pleased to see them. Kevin was wearing what was obviously one of Russells jackets. It was far too large and he peered out from between the shoulders, rather like a tortoise.

Aunt Julia threw one scathing look at the people who not only had the temerity to be related to the man who was marrying her niece, but brought his staff to the wedding as well, and withdrew to the little cloakroom to repair some damage.

The atmosphere lightened a little.

Russell wasnt there. I noticed Andrew quietly fis.h.i.+ng out his phone, hitting redial, and then stuffing it back in his jacket pocket. In so much as he ever could, he looked angry.

I felt a cold hand on me. Had he changed his mind? After everything, had he bottled out? Was I going to be left at the altar? I stared at Andrew who shrugged. Tanya smiled slightly, but she looked very tense. Theyd lost him.

Daniel Palmer wasnt there, either, and hed promised. Was it at all possible that Russell had finally persuaded Francesca to leave him? And she, unable to accept his marriage to someone else, had gone with him? Had that been his plan all along? It seemed a very, very likely scenario.

We all waited in silence. Even Thomas seemed to have nothing to say.

The doors opened again and Daniel Palmer walked in, shaking his umbrella. Alone. He looked up and scanned the room. Not finding Francesca present, his mouth set in a thin, hard line that vanished as he saw me.

'h.e.l.lo, Jenny. You look very pretty. Im sorry Francescas not here yet. We were supposed to meet here, but you know what shes like. Im sure one day sh.e.l.l be late for her own funeral.

It was a good effort and Andrew rose n.o.bly to a.s.sist.

'Dont feel too badly, Daniel, were missing the bridegroom too, so were nowhere near kick-off yet.

You could see him regretting the words as soon as they were out of his mouth.

'Good grief. This foot in mouth thing is obviously genetic. Its probably best if the two of you dont have kids.

At that moment, however, the doors crashed open and Francesca chose to make her entrance. Jaws dropped. She posed in the doorway, giving us all the benefit of her flawless profile. She was furious. All the old childhood signs were there the flas.h.i.+ng eyes and flushed cheeks. She jerked her gloves between her hands. Something or someone had upset her.

Ignoring the convention that said you dont wear white or black to a wedding, shed done both. She wore a figure-hugging white gown with black accessories. A tiny veiled hat nestled amongst her curls. Either accidentally or not she looked far more bride-like than the actual bride herself.

There was rather a nasty pause. Daniel said, 'Francesca?

She snapped, 'What?

Just when I thought it couldnt get any worse, Aunt Julia walked back into the room. Any benefits she may have gained from a quiet ten minutes in the cloakroom were completely dispelled by the sight of Bad-Tempered Bridezilla glaring at her fiance.

She drew breath, but before she had time to utter, the doors opened again and Russell Checkland was among us.

He was very, very, drunk. Swaying slightly, he fixed his eyes on Francesca and said, 'I didnt mean ... and immediately everyone in the room realised that although they may have made separate entrances, theyd been together. And it hadnt ended well.

'Jesus, muttered Andrew under his breath. Tanya nudged him, none too gently, but the real star was Daniel Palmer, who, ignoring the fuming Francesca, moved forward and gently took my arm.

'If youre ready, Jenny, shall we go in? True, he had his own agenda, wanting Russell Checkland married off as quickly as possible, but I appreciated it, none the less.

Russell pulled himself together, enunciating very carefully. 'Thank you, Daniel, but Ive got it.

Daniel ignored him and we entered the marriage room together, followed by Russell and Francesca and the rest of the guests.

We dealt with the very natural confusion arising from the bride and groom having entered separately and with other partners, and the ceremony pa.s.sed off without anyone disgracing themselves too much.

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