Page 95 of Forgive Not Forget
“Katherine, Kat,” Anna corrected, placing a gold band around her finger. “I offer you this ring as a symbol of my love and devotion.”
Andie turned to Katherine and nodded.
“Anna, I offer you this ring as a symbol of my love and devotion.” Katherine pushed the ring over Anna’s finger and stroked the back of her hand before letting go.
“Anna and Katherine, you have now both made the declarations required by law and have made a solemn and binding contract with each other in the presence of your witnesses, guests, and the registrar of marriages. It therefore gives me great pleasure to pronounce you are now wife and wife. Congratulations! You may now kiss.”
The joy on Anna’s face and in her moist eyes melted Katherine’s heart as she leaned forward and, wrapping an arm around Anna’s waist, pulled her in. Their lips finally joined as a married couple.
CHAPTER37
The sun was beginning its descent by the time Dan had finished photographing them. Having been to the site the previous day, he’d scoped out various suitable spots for photos. This was above and beyond the call of duty, considering he’d been roped in at the last minute. He confessed he was trying to move into wedding photography and was hoping Katherine and Anna might allow him to use their photographs as a showcase. They agreed he could.
They added an additional spot to his list, requesting a photograph in the chapel window. Dan was more than happy to oblige and extracted a sheet from his roller case. He placed it in the window for them to sit on, arranging it as well as possible so that it wouldn’t show, though he promised to edit it out if needs be. He couldn’t have been more attentive. They then left him to it in the chapel; he wanted to catch some pictures of the sun setting over the abbey.
“What do we do now?” Anna asked, kissing the back of Katherine’s hand.
“I thought we’d all head back to Abbey House and open a bottle of champagne. I’m sure we have a crate or two in stock.”
As they approached the barn, crowds of people were making their way into it.
“Why does it appear half the village are heading into the barn?” Anna asked.
“Perhaps because they are. There are some of my Pilates ladies.”
A group of older ladies with their husbands all turned to wave at Katherine.
She smiled and waved back. “This is a little strange.”
Gloria met them along the path, her garish, magenta dress boring into their retinas.
“It seems the villagers got wind of a wedding and decided they were going to throw you a party.”
“And I wonder how they got wind of that?” Anna smiled at Gloria, then narrowed her eyes over her shoulder. “Is that Chris wheeling a roast hog? I wondered why the village smelt so tasty all day.”
“Yes, and I’ve laid on a buffet inside, my gift to you both.”
“Gloria, I don’t know what to say.” Anna scooped the small woman into a hug.
“There we were thinking we didn’t have anyone to invite to a wedding, and the whole village turns up.” Katherine chuckled. “Thank you, Gloria.”
“You’re both very well regarded, you should know that,” Gloria replied. She smoothed her clothing back down after her overzealous hug from Anna. “You’ve done a lot for our little village. It’s only natural everyone would want to share in the happiness of your special day. I think the staff from the abbey are coming over, too, now the abbey has closed.”
Moose wandered over to greet them, snuffling his wet nose into Anna’s dress.
“Moose! Manners, please.” She pushed the bear-like creature’s head away.
“Oh, that reminds me. I have a gift for you in your office. We should check on it,” Katherine said, taking Anna’s hand.
“It?” Anna questioned. When Katherine kept mum, she turned to Gloria. “We’ll join you all shortly,” she called.
“Take your time, darling. We’re not quite finished setting up yet.”
Anna let Katherine guide her around the corner of the barn to her office door.
“Go on, in you go,” Katherine gestured.
Anna entered her office cautiously, a mix of excitement and trepidation. She hadn’t thought to get Katherine a wedding gift; they hadn’t even discussed it. She’d been explicitly told she wasn’t to buy a gift for her fiftieth birthday. Yet she did have something she had planned to give Katherine at some point. She hadn’t bought it, so it fell within the rules. Now would be the perfect time to give it to her, and thankfully she’d hidden it away in her desk drawer.
