Chapter 17: Post Wedding

Gertie becomes Dowager Lady Standhope

Relaxing and reflecting on the event in the hours afterwards, Gertie thought the wedding between her grandson Jake and Gill his bride went off perfectly. With very few exceptions, everybody who was expected turned up at what was penned in the society pages of the national broadsheet press as “the Powerhouse Wedding of the Decade”, that anybody who was anybody had no wish to miss, and there were no dramas that arose to spoil the day. The weather was cool and cloudy for mid-August, with the range of temperatures between 15 and 18 degrees through the day but at least the rain held off during daylight.

The formal elements of the wedding in the Manor ballroom and the more private blessing held in the local parish church, as well as the breakfast that followed went off without a hitch. Sir Michael’s illustrated Best Man’s speech was informative, the slideshow images were selected not to shock or embarrass, was entertaining and, while some unavoidable elements were inevitably sad, it was an overall uplifting and funny Best Man speech. Gill’s daughter Jenny gave a tongue in cheek speech about her highlights of her mother’s parenting and included her brother and her’s long and happy relationship with her now step-father, which was both amusing and heartwarming. Gertie spoke on behalf of her departed daughter, the groom’s mother, ending with telling family and guests how proud she was of her only grandson and how delighted she was in welcoming her new granddaughter and great-grandchildren. Sid Moorhouse stood up and told the large assembly how proud he and his wife were of his eldest daughter, telling amusing stories how she bossed her younger sisters, keeping them on the straight and narrow and how well she brought up her own children were and, he was sure, even though his new son-in-law was the head of more than one multi-million-pound organisation, that Gill would keep him on his toes, while confident in the young man’s undoubted integrity that will continue to make him proud of his family.

After the wedding breakfast was over, Gertie thoroughly enjoyed meeting Jose Perez and his wife Maria, the head of the Perez family, her family’s distant cousins. They were both in their early seventies, confident in their position and wealth in their society but seemed unaffected and friendly. Gertie thought they were charming and keen to repair any supposed rift between the two families. After all the formalities were out of the way and while the youngsters occupied themselves enjoying the loud music and dancing, Gertie was able to find a quiet corner with several of the Perez family and start to get to know them on a personal level.

The honeymoon for the happy couple had been itinered several weeks earlier, so that while the newlyweds would honeymoon in the Americas for a whole month as guests of the Perez family, their children would also visit with and be entertained by the Perez family for a three-week period, with Gertie as their guardian and accompanied by servants as necessary.

Mrs O’Reilly insisted that Gertie take an experienced lady’s maid with her for her comfort and care, and a 22-year-old Spanish girl, Liliana Garcia, who had worked part-time in Gertie’s London home in the kitchen about three years earlier while studying as a student nurse, was given an intense course in how to be a lady’s maid in three months and was hired to accompany Gertie to the Americas. Lili was a quick study and, although she was now a Band 6 qualified nurse specialising in child care, working at the Standhope Hospital in the East End of London, she was able to arrange a four-month leave of absence without losing any seniority. No doubt Sir Michael had a hand in smoothing the arrangements. As Gertie was a regular visitor to the hospital, she had often spoken with the young girl who worked for her part-time during her three-year nursing degree course; Gertie liked the girl and was happy to have her accompany her and the children to America.