Page 92 of Forgive Not Forget
They scooped up their bouquets from the hall table. Rebecca had outdone herself with the flowers this time. Dusky-pink roses were mixed with white dahlias, thistle, and eucalyptus, all tied with rattan string. Had these come from her mysterious contact at the Covent Garden flower market?
Katherine kept to the newly laid path around the edge of the drive as they made their way across. It was a welcome change not to lose her heels to the gravel. Anna didn’t seem to be having any trouble as she walked across it.
“How on earth are you managing that gravel?”
Anna flashed a pair of white Dr Martens from under her dress.
Katherine laughed. “Trust you.”
“I wanted to be comfortable, and I can reuse them. What could be better? I might even paint them.”
“That I have to see. The registrars are waiting for us in Carrie’s office to go over the legal formalities, so we’ll head there first.”
* * *
Heads turned as Anna and Katherine made their way hand in hand across the car park towards the visitor centre. Some of the staff appeared from inside and clapped as they passed, drawing the attention of the visitors nearby, who joined in.
“Embarrassing,” Anna groaned, hoping Laura’s expertly applied make-up would cover her blush. She didn’t know what she would have done without Laura’s assistance with last-minute dress shopping. Her insistence on applying her make-up and curling her hair had no doubt prevented Anna from, at this moment, looking like she was going to work in a wedding dress.
Katherine squeezed her hand and spoke through gritted teeth. “Just smile.”
Anna whipped a smile of gratitude onto her lips and flashed it at the crowd until they could turn away down the path to the barn. With only a small number of people attending the wedding, and thankfully no invitations required, an audience was something she wasn’t prepared for.
A side glance at Katherine distracted her from her blushing as a lump formed in her throat. She swallowed it down, hoping it would crush the butterflies when it reached her stomach. How could she be so lucky as to be marrying this beautiful woman?
“Carrie said her husband would take some pictures for us. Apparently, he’s a photographer.”
“Yes, I know.” Katherine smirked. “A scene-of-crime photographer.”
Reaching Carrie’s office door, Anna held it open. “Oh. Still, nice of her to volunteer him.”
Once the legal formalities were dealt with, they left Carrie’s office via the external door and walked around the side of the barn to find Harry beaming at them from his wheelchair, a rose in his lapel. Abigail wriggled with excitement beside him in her dusky-pink dress, swaying her smaller bouquet of white roses. Rebecca, with a matching bouquet, stood very much in watch over the two of them.
Dan clicked his camera and walked backwards as Anna and Katherine came towards him.
Leaning down together, they placed a kiss on each of Harry’s cheeks.
“You both look… I’m lost for words.” He wiped his eye with the back of his shaky hand.
Katherine was quick to extract a tissue from her jacket pocket and assist.
“Thanks, Dad. Ready, Abi?” Anna turned her attention to the young girl.
“You look like a princess.” Her already wide smile widened further as she took in Anna’s dress.
“Thank you, Abi.” Although she was sure it was purely thanks to the dress, her cheeks still warmed at the compliment.
Dan let his camera hang from his neck strap. “Looking lovely, ladies. If it’s okay with you, I thought we could take some shots around the abbey after the ceremony?”
“That’s more than okay, thank you.” Katherine flashed him a smile. They had only met once before, at the New Year’s party, and then it was only fleeting. For him to offer — or at least to have been offered by Carrie — was very generous. Otherwise, it would have been left to Rebecca to snap some photos.
“It’s my pleasure. Two beautiful ladies and one beautiful abbey, what more could a photographer ask for?”
Anna’s stomach lurched a little as she spied Laura, Tom, Mabel, and Carrie through the glass window of the barn.
This was it. The moment she’d been dreaming of since she was a little girl, a moment she had thought would never come: her wedding day and the life that lay beyond. The journey that had brought them here hadn’t been smooth sailing, yet they had arrived in one piece. She thought of the struggles they had overcome together. Katherine having lost her job for her. Margaret — a shiver ran up Anna’s spine at the very thought of her. Then Katherine finally deciding to face her grief in the hope it would make carrying it more manageable. She’d given up so much, put herself through hell just to be with her, to get them to this moment.
Harry interrupted her thoughts as he scrambled to get himself out of his wheelchair.
