A Vintage Wedding (46 page)

‘Oh!’ said Beth suddenly. ‘What’s your blue thing? I know you’ve got Mum’s veil, which is old and borrowed, and new everything else, but what’s blue?’

‘Oh come on, love,’ said her dad. ‘It’s only superstition! You don’t really need anything blue.’

‘Yes she does!’ said a chorus of women.

‘Lindy?’ said Vivien.

‘Um – I’m sure I’ve got a bit of blue ribbon I could sew—’

‘’S’all right!’ said Sophie, having burrowed in her huge tool chest full of make-up. ‘Blue nail varnish. On her toes. It’ll only take a second. Oh, she’s not wearing sandals, is she?’

‘Ballet flats,’ said Rachel. ‘From Anello and Davide. One of Beth’s eBay finds.’

‘Well, do hurry up!’ said Ted, looking at his watch.

‘Chill, Dad!’ said Helena, who was having her toenails painted. ‘We’ve got ages!’

‘Actually, we haven’t,’ said Vivien. ‘Can you get a hairdryer on to those toes? I know no one’s going to see them, but it would be better if they didn’t smudge. And we do have to leave. Oh! Darling! Your hair looks amazing. Let’s just put on the veil.’

‘Where’s the fire, Mum!’ said Helena.

‘You know your father is a stickler for punctuality.’

‘Is he?’ Helena seemed surprised to hear her laidback dad described as a stickler.

‘I’m not normally,’ he said, ‘but in this particular instance, could I get you all outside?’

Rachel went to the front window. ‘Oh my God!’

There, outside Rachel’s front door, on the village green, was what Georgette Heyer would have described as an equipage, Rachel realised: a horse and cart in other words. But one so beautifully polished and gleaming and elegant in every way.

Two black horses, easily as glossy as Beth’s hair, stood like statues waiting for orders. Up on the box were two men dressed, as far as Rachel could tell, as Colin Firth in
Pride and Prejudice
only with bowler hats. One of them jumped down when he saw the front door open. It was Raff.

Rachel knew perfectly well how much she fancied Raff but seeing him in tight breeches and a well-fitting coat, looking as if he’d been born to wear such figure-flattering clothes, was a shock. She really did feel her knees weaken.

‘I’d like to say “Your carriage awaits”, but actually it’s Helena’s carriage,’ he said, having bowed and touched his whip to his hat.

Rachel couldn’t speak; she was still getting over the shock. What could she say that wouldn’t reveal exactly how gorgeous he was? Did he need his head turning any more than it was already turned? Probably not. She cleared her throat. ‘I’ll tell her,’ she said and then added, ‘You’re rocking the breeches, Raff.’

He made it to the front gate in two strides and swept her into his arms. When he stopped kissing her he said, ‘That’s better.’

Fortunately for Rachel, he steadied her as he released her. Unfortunately for Rachel there was a round of applause from most of the wedding party as she came to. And she rather thought Chrissie had got a good few shots too.

‘Hey! Who’s getting married here?’ called Nancy.

‘Is that for me?’ said Helena, hardly able to speak from emotion. ‘Oh, Mum! It’s always been my dream to go to my wedding in a horse and carriage.’

‘I know, darling,’ said Vivien. ‘I saw the scrapbooks.’

‘I just never thought it would happen!’

‘Well, come along and get in!’ said Ted, who also looked, Rachel now noticed, very good indeed in his striped trousers and tailcoat.

Rachel and Lindy watched the carriage depart and the rest of the wedding party hasten across to the church on foot. Chrissie was jogging alongside the carriage, and also taking pictures of the bride’s mother, holding her magnificent wide-brimmed hat and talking to Beth.

‘Sorry to be vulgar,’ said Lindy, ‘but doesn’t Raff look, well, phwoar is the only way to describe it, in his coachman’s outfit?’

‘He does. I didn’t even know he knew anything about horses.’

‘He has a lot of skills,’ said Lindy. ‘And one of them is being able to dress up like Mr Darcy and not look a complete plonker.’

‘Indeed,’ said Rachel, thinking of other things he was good at although she was trying not to.

‘I’d better scoot, to make sure I’m there to adjust the dress and veil and things,’ said Lindy. ‘Are you coming?’

‘I will if I have time. I need to go over to the venue to make sure everything is OK there.’

Lindy looked at her watch. ‘I reckon I’ve got about five minutes before I dash to the church. Did you manage to speak to Beth? I didn’t get a chance. How is she?’

Rachel sighed, coming down from her private cloud. ‘Not great, frankly. She’s heard the band are doing the gig tonight and not tomorrow, but nothing from Finn. He was livid with her apparently. She’s gutted, obviously, but determined not to spoil Helena’s day.’

‘Oh, poor love!’ said Lindy.

‘She said to tell you but she didn’t want to talk about it.’

‘God, I totally understand. Nothing worse than people being sympathetic when you’re trying to stay in control. Oh, look, the carriage is going round again. And look at Beth, she looks stunning. She might be unhappy but she’s not showing any signs of it. Good girl. And see, loads of locals have turned out. It’s all so amazing. We have done well.’

‘We’ve done lots of things well, you and the dresses mostly, but if Vivien hadn’t suddenly unlocked the chequebook it wouldn’t have been quite so lavish.’

‘We could have done the horse-and-carriage thing though,’ said Lindy. ‘But, sadly, Beth’s ex Charlie would have been driving, which would not have been good!’

Rachel nodded. ‘Hey, they’re slowing down. You’d better dash.’

Rachel nipped in ahead of the bridal party, just so she could see what the church looked like. It was amazing. The flowers were just what anyone would have wanted: generous, original and all looking as fresh and springlike as possible. The smell of them was quite something. Helena and, even more importantly in some ways, Vivien would be thrilled. And the church was packed, echoing with excited voices as the guests waited for the arrival of the bride, together with a slightly nervous-looking Jeff.

She popped out again. She knew the service sheets were perfect – she’d checked them herself a hundred times – and the ushers were busy handing them out to the last stragglers hurrying embarrassedly into the church. She met Vivien and Lindy in the porch, ready to make sure the bride was as perfect as she could be. Helena, Nancy and Beth arrived with Ted and as he and Raff handed them gently down from the carriage she saw Vivien dab at her eye. Raff winked at her and she felt her heart turn over.

‘You all look beautiful!’ she whispered and then she dashed home to collect her car and head for the marquee.

It was hard, she realised, trying to be a wedding co-ordinator while suffering from sexual obsession. Of course Raff couldn’t have guessed the effect turning up like that would have had on Rachel but he didn’t have to kiss her. It was true they hadn’t seen each other for a few days but still. She’d never felt like that before with anyone. Sex in her marriage, when it was going well, was pleasant and companionable, but it wasn’t like it was with Raff. That was completely different: passionate, unrestrained and left her exhausted with happiness. With a huge effort of will she turned her mind to the reception.

She parked her car next to the row of rather disreputable vehicles that defined them as belonging to ‘staff’. There was an area of the field designated for guests, which would be fine as long as it didn’t rain and get muddy. Rachel had lined up a friend of Raff’s to be on hand with his tractor in case anyone needed pulling out. Fortunately it didn’t look as if he would be needed today. It hadn’t rained for a few days and was unseasonably warm now. She set off towards the catering kitchen, which was next to the marquee, and spotted Angus with Lindy’s two boys. She called and waved and they changed direction to meet her.

‘Hi, Rachel!’ said Billy.

‘Hi, Billy!’ she replied. ‘Ned. How’s the arm?’

‘This is our Uncle Angus,’ said Billy, pulling Angus forward. ‘He’s our other daddy.’

Taken aback, Rachel spoke without thinking. ‘Oh. Something happened to the old one?’

‘He’s still our daddy,’ explained Ned. ‘Billy has got it wrong. Uncle Angus isn’t our daddy but he does sleep in Mummy’s bed sometimes.’

Angus shrugged and laughed, obviously not knowing what to say in the face of this.

There was worse to come. ‘When Mummy and Uncle Angus are married,’ said Billy confidently, ‘Uncle Angus will be our daddy then.’

‘Cool!’ said Rachel, giving Angus a sympathetic smile.

‘Boys, why don’t you check they’ve got the tables up in the marquee?’ said Angus.

‘OK!’ the boys called and ran off, his broken arm not seeming to slow Ned down by much.

‘So, Angus, anything you’d like to tell me?’ Rachel knew she had to see Belinda in a very few minutes but she couldn’t resist teasing Angus a little.

‘They’re great kids and I love them, but talk about embarrassing.’ He became more serious. ‘I really hope that eventually Lindy will consider making an honest man of me but it’s early days yet.’

‘Great!’ said Rachel. ‘You’re a very lucky man. So are you and Lindy going to live here?’ Rachel indicated the large dilapidated mansion a little way away.

‘Eventually. It needs to be habitable first – for a family, not just me.’

‘Well, let me know if you want any help with your colour scheme when you get to that stage,’ said Rachel. ‘I love a paint chart! I can recite lots of them by heart.’

‘Um …’

‘Of course if I have anything to do with it, it will be Fifty Shades of White.’

Angus laughed. ‘Are there that many shades of white?’

‘Oh yes, and the rest. And I’m not even joking. Now, I’d better make sure Belinda’s coping all right.’

‘The last time I saw her she had everyone running round her as if she was the centre of the universe.’

‘Perfect!’ said Rachel and went off to see for herself. It was only then she remembered that Angus was an architect and probably had ideas about colour schemes himself.

Belinda was indeed holding court in the catering tent. She was delighted to see Rachel. ‘Darling! How lovely. I can’t tell you how much fun I’m having in this adorable little space. And the ovens! Everything cooks so quickly.’

As one of the courses was slow-cooked pork, this gave Rachel a stab of anxiety. ‘So, how’s it all working?’

‘Everything is cooked. We just need to crisp up the top of the pork – crackling, you know – and the spuds. And the veg will all be refreshed once the starter is served.’

‘Which is …?’

‘Smoked salmon. We’re doing the bread and butter now and keeping it fresh. And there’s masses of bread and cheese for later. Ken brought round enough for a couple of armies and their camp followers.’

Rachel’s brow furrowed. ‘Goodness, I didn’t know there was going to be an evening do. It’s never been mentioned. I hope that hasn’t put you to too much trouble?’ Rachel felt decidedly uncomfortable not being in full control but then that’s what happened when you had a slightly loose cannon like Vivien involved.

‘I think it was all last minute, but Ken’s a marvel and a saint and came up with the goods. Obviously we’ve known each other for years.’ Belinda frowned. ‘It’s all going to be fine, no need to worry.’ Then, possibly to distract Rachel from the parts of the event that had escaped her control, she said, ‘Did you like Raff in his groom’s outfit?’

As a distraction, it worked. Rachel nodded. What did you say to the mother of your boyfriend about the effect his costume had on you? However much you liked her, you couldn’t talk to her about sex – especially if it involved her son. ‘It did suit him. It came as a wonderful surprise to the bride to see that beautiful carriage waiting for her.’

‘Raff was able to get a good deal for Mr Scott. Sadly the happy couple won’t be able to come here in it. It’s only about fifteen minutes by car but would take ages in a horse-drawn vehicle. But nice to have the carriage for the journey to the church.’

Rachel nodded. ‘Apparently it had been Helena’s dream since she was a little girl.’

Belinda opened an oven and peered at the contents over the top of her reading glasses, then she closed it again, obviously satisfied. ‘And what have you dreamt of having at your wedding since you were a little girl?’

‘Oh, I’ve been married before.’ She sighed. ‘I suppose now I dream of it working out better second time round.’

Belinda chuckled. ‘I think you can rely on Raff for that.’

‘Belinda! It’s far too early to start saying things like that. We’re not engaged or anything. We haven’t even been going out very long.’

Belinda was not remotely embarrassed. ‘I know and I shouldn’t try to rush you but I’ve a feeling … well, if you want a very expensive dress, for example, you should start saving.’

‘Honestly!’ said Rachel, blushing and laughing and leaving the kitchen before Belinda became more outrageous.

The marquee looked magnificent. It had been shaping up very nicely when she and Lindy had been doing the flowers, but now it was as beautiful as any venue could be, given it was basically a tent. For a moment Rachel wondered if her dream location for her fantasy wedding shouldn’t be in a marquee and not the hall. Not that she was planning it or anything. Of course she wasn’t. Then she allowed her imagination to picture her and Raff in Regency costume, her in a bonnet, him in his tight breeches. Then she shook her head sharply. She was not, not, not thinking about her own wedding! And certainly not now when she had Helena’s to pay attention to. She looked around the marquee, searching for possible imperfections. She couldn’t see any.