Page 213 of Storm of Bells
‘The groom goes next,’ she added.
Thegroom?
The sense of calm vanished in an instant.
‘Accompanied by the bride’s mother. Or, inyour case, aunt.’
Calm? Had I just been calm a moment ago? Whatdid that word even mean? Did it even really exist? ‘I-is thatso?’
Just then, a familiar tall, dark figure,silhouetted against the arched windows above the altar, appeared inthe doorway of the church. My mouth went dry. I started to moveforward, and—
‘Out of the way, you!’ Pushing me aside, AuntBrank stalked past me and marched towards my bridegroom. Panic onceagain surged up inside me, and I hurriedly tried to estimate thedistance to the altar. Twenty yards? Twenty-five? Surely, shecouldn’t be awful enough to scare him off that fast?
With the valour of the truly brave, MrAmbrose took my aunt by the arm and started his way down theaisle.
‘Now we wait until they’ve reached thealtar,’ Lady Samantha whispered. ‘And then, when the musicstarts…’
‘Yes? Yes? What then?’
She smiled. ‘Then it’s your turn.’
From somewhere deep, deep inside the churchcame the first, long-drawn-out sound of a church organ. Soon, thetune swelled up into a beautiful symphony of sound, forming anelegant, sedate march.
A march.
A march I was supposed to be marching to.
‘Shall we?’ Uncle Bufford stepped up besideme, offering his arm for one last time. I used to think I couldn’ttake a helping hand, especially not a man’s. I used to think I hadto do everything on my own, that I was strong enough by myself. Butnow I knew that together with the people I loved, I was ten timesstronger.
Behind me, something tugged at the train ofmy wedding dress. Glancing back, my jaw almost dropped in surprisewhen I saw Mrs Delaney’s little girls healthy, happy and well,clutching the hem of the train. My eyes flew to Mrs Delaney in thecrowd. Her eyes were teary, and beside her, Tom was jumping up anddown, trying to wave at his sisters over the top of the crowd.Before me, another village girl started skipping down the aisle,chucking flowers in the face of anyone she didn’t like.
I grinned. This truly was my kind ofwedding.
‘Let’s go.’ Straightening my back, I took myfirst step forward.
When stepping out of the bright noon sunlightinto the shadowy interior of the church, I almost felt as if I hadgone blind at first. But, after a moment or two, the world changed,and I felt as if I could see for the very first time in my life.Through the high, arched windows, a kaleidoscope of gentle coloursfell onto the floor, lighting up the entire church and the peoplefilling the pews in a mysterious atmosphere. The light was asbeautiful as a rainbow, and at the end waited my pot of gold.
The instant I entered, a storm of cheers andapplause rose into the air. Together with the organ music rising toever new heights, it made me feel like a queen on my own triumphalmarch. I raised my eyes until they fell on the tall figure in frontof the altar. It was Mr Rikkard Ambrose, wearing a tuxedo with theprice tag still on so he could return it later.
My man.
Grabbing Uncle Bufford by the arm, I draggedhim after me towards the altar, huffing and puffing like an antiquesteam engine. At the very end of the aisle, we came to a stop.Gazing up at Mr Ambrose, I stood there, my heart pounding like asledgehammer. Any moment now, he’d step towards me. Any momentnow…
Yet he didn’t move an inch.
‘Well?’ I demanded, keeping my voice low.‘What are you waiting for?’
‘You,’ he told me, stepping forward andreaching up to touch my cheek. ‘You’re the only thing worth waitingfor.’
‘Be sure not to change your mind about that,young man.’ Narrowing his eyes, Uncle Bufford took my hand off hisarm and held it out to Mr Ambrose. His gaze bored into my groom,and Mr Ambrose retaliated with ocular drilling of his own. Theystood like that, continuing their staring contest, for about twofull minutes, until the vicar cautiously stepped out from behindthe cover of the altar and cleared his throat.
‘Um…may we proceed?’
‘Hm.’ With a grumble, Uncle Bufford inclinedhis head and stepped back. ‘I suppose so. He’ll do.’
Taking a deep breath, I took up my place tothe left of Mr Ambrose. From the crowd, I saw Lady Samantha, myfriends and Captain Carter beaming at me.
Above us, the wedding march ended in a final,triumphant chord. Silence fell over the church. Wonderful,blissful, promising silence. Mr Ambrose squeezed my hand.
