Chapter 15

The Montford wedding was a success, with Judith finally becoming another Mrs Montford, legally as well as in practice. Her parents had sat in the front pews, carefully observing their daughter's nuptial ritual with pride. They were now accepting of her being one of three wives of George Montford, when she had told them how happy she was to be joining that loving household. George had promised them that she would be dearly loved, and remain one of his three loves for as long as he lived. Mrs O'Hara was specially delighted to hear that George was to be a Director in another company. "Our daughter's husband is not only a respected scientist, but a Company Director as well." She gushed.

The Montfords' day had started in the same manner that they had established over the last few weeks, all four of them together in the one bed. Judith liked sleeping on top of George, except when he started snoring in her ear. Even then, she enjoyed his man smell, and just got him to reposition himself for her. Marina, once her menstrual flow had ceased, had insisted on George making love to her first each evening. Pregnant Georgina still had no trouble with lovemaking, and indeed had no visible indication of her pregnancy. She had expressed a preference for the doggy style of lovemaking, reckoning that it would be the only option as she neared birthing. Judith was still exploring various positions that she was learning. Her inclination was wavering between cowgirl and missionary, but any way George wanted to make love to her was fine by her.

Her love for the trio was undiminished, and she deferred to the other two ladies with their greater knowledge, experience and understanding of the difficulties of any marriage. She was overwhelmed by the beauty of the wedding dress that Mary Kempe had financed. George had insisted on paying for the flower bouquets for all three ladies, so that he was able to show SOME of his love for them, but otherwise permitted Mary to finance the wedding as part of her apology. The audience for the ceremony was mostly a family affair, with Judith's family and the Defreitas family there to cheer them on.

The Montford sisters (George and Marina's daughters, married to Trevor Defreitas), now had a new stepmother who was younger than the oldest daughter, and almost the same age as the two younger ones. By this time all the Defreitas wives were at the bulging stage of their pregnancies, and happily looking forward to the births. The two wives who had jobs were now on maternity leave, and the two still at school were spending most of their time at home, being tutored by their ex-teacher husband in the evenings, with the school prescribing the material they had to learn. The school had been very willing to cooperate, when they learned that Trevor was a trained teacher.

Trevor was adamant about education. His latest dictum was, "Being pregnant is not an excuse to avoid your schooling. It is an imperative to further your education towards becoming a good parent."

Annabel now sought out her father at the first opportunity, which was at the wedding reception. "Daddy, it turns out our calculations about your impending grandchildren were wrong. There will be one more to add to the number: It has been confirmed that I am expecting twins!" George was delighted, and congratulated his eldest daughter. "I presume your husband already knows?"

"Of course, Daddy. Trevor was astonished. The poor man started out excited at the prospect of twins, then moved to worrying about the costs. I told him to stop worrying, and just love all of his children. We wives always seem to have to reassure our man, but he is a wonderful husband in every other way."

George had more to worry about than another grandchild. He had been forced to apologise to his wives in advance, for not being able to have a honeymoon right after their wedding. He explained to them, "John and I are up to our eyes in work at the moment, but as soon as I can see a chance, we shall go wherever you ladies want, forget for a while about all our concerns, and just enjoy ourselves as a family. It will certainly be before Georgina gets too big for comfortable travelling."

The kelp had proved to be a winner, once they had confirmed the Malan children's assessment that complete drying was not the answer for box making. That made it too brittle for the manufacturing process. One needed to leave a small percentage of moisture in the material, which helped it retain the flexibility they needed for bending at edges. Doing that still left it with enough of the rigidity needed for the protection of the box contents. As expected, they had to face the double-skinned structural material with a thin waterproof coating to prevent moisture making it slimy. The coating had to be absorbed sufficiently to prevent minor cracks from sabotaging the integrity of the material. This forced the manufacturing into either a slower process, or get a coating that was absorbed faster. As usual, the solution was a compromise of the two, and the work progressed. Not all the kelp material was useful. Some was more gelatinous, without sufficient structural strength.

The rejected parts of the kelp were easily chopped up small, and then combined with shell sand from the beaches, to make a lime-rich organic fertiliser. That product was passed on to the fertiliser company for selling to those farmers whose land would benefit most from the lime in this fertiliser.

By the time of the Montford wedding, the box company was starting to mass produce their range of boxes, and inevitably there were some hiccups. Damaged boxes from the production line were simply added to the kelp chopper, and the chopped material added to the fertiliser production process, so that there was no waste left; merely a reduced number of boxes being produced.

Plans on pricing had included a figure for production losses, and the losses slowly reduced as the faults were sorted. As well as George's frustration at having to postpone their honeymoon, John had less time than he wanted to pursue his amour, but Angelina was patient with him at the times when they could get together.

"John, dear, we both have responsible jobs. We have to perform to our best ability, to ensure that our companies achieve their financial and production targets. If we can do that, we shall then deserve some time to ourselves. That is what you want, is it not?"

"You know that it is, my angel. To take it a bit further, I also want to find out if you and I have enough compatibility to become husband and wife."

Angelina's jaw dropped. "John, my love, is that a proposal of marriage?"

John reddened as he realised what he had said. "Angelina, that idea – of a proposal - was not my intention at this point in time." He reversed his position. "I didn't mean no. It was that I didn't think we were ready for that step yet, but if you wish to consider it as a proposal of marriage, then please do so, provided you have a positive view of me. If you want me to retract it and instead see what develops between us, feel free to say that, but I would be UTTERLY delighted if you said "yes"".

She looked him in the eyes, appearing to be considering the idea, then said slowly, "Well, John, I am afraid that the answer has to be... "yes".

He was preparing for the worst, then when the unexpected happened, he went ballistic. "Wow! You wonderful, wonderful woman! You have made me the happiest man in the world." He grabbed her and planted an enthusiastic kiss on her ready lips. Next he enveloped her in his arms for a grateful hug, swinging her around in his excitement. "Thank you, Angelina. I will make sure you are not disappointed in me. I will do my damnedest to make you a happy woman for the rest of our lives. When can we get married?"

He ran his hands down her lovely back and moved them slowly over her delectable posterior. She shivered, then stiffened up, saying, "Don't be in such a rush, John. There is no hurry. We first have to announce our engagement to the world; or at least to our families."

John became a little hesitant before asking, "Are you willing to have children, Angelina my darling? I would like to have someone - our own offspring - to teach how to live; a child to love and watch growing up and accepting responsibility."

"How nice, John. Yes, I am fine with that. I fancy a couple of children at least, if we are blessed in that way. I want to stay on with my new job, though, if I can manage to juggle things. This company needs a woman's touch, to steer it in the right direction."

"I agree, dear Angelina. I am sure we can make arrangements for babysitting while we are at our work duties. Now, are you still of a mind not to start making a baby before we get married?"

She laughed, and pushed him away, playfully. "You are a persistent bugger, John. And yes, I insist: no jumping the gun."

"Pity." He pretended to be a leering lecher, then sighed. "Never mind." He changed the subject.

"You said you had parents back on Earth. Will they be able to come to our wedding? Mine might, but I am not sure. They are divorced, and it is a long way to come for a wedding."

She put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, I should have thought of that. Can we find out how much it would cost to bring them to Rehome for the wedding?"

John was blasé about this question. "According to George, immediate close relatives can come at the Colony's desire, for the Personalia do not make charges for bringing people here, except as official tourist visitors. They just have to get themselves to the departure site. Apart from parents, do you have any brothers or sisters we should invite?"

"As I think I told you over dinner the other night, I have three married brothers and one unmarried sister. I suspect you were not really listening at the time, were you?"

"I was simply enjoying the sound of your voice, as I admired your hair, your face, your lips, and the way your body moved. I apologise, my sweet."

"Very well. For that peccadillo, you are forgiven, but pay attention in the future, John, if you want me to be your wife."

John tried to appear humble, and said dutifully, "Yes, dear." Then with a grin added: "Just practising my yes dear response, for future use." Angelina playfully tried to swat him, declaring, "men!", then leaned forward to give him a tender kiss, to show that all was forgiven.

The next morning Pam Humbert and Mary Kempe arrived at the company offices and made some announcements. First, they declared that the company would be changing its name to: "Rehome Fertilisers". They secondly announced to the company employees that henceforth Miss Angelina Bellini was the new Managing Director, and that a Board of Directors would be formed to oversee the company. Mary and Pam would be on the Board, and Miss Bellini would also be there, along with George Montford and John Frederickson, and that a director to represent customer interests would be added later.

This was a surprise to Angelina, so afterwards she asked Mary and Pam about it, saying first: "I have no objections to that appointment; in fact, I think it is a great idea. Is this Director going to be a farmer, though? Most of them would not want to be a company director, I would imagine. It might be difficult to get a good director from their ranks."

"We have a person in mind, Angelina," said Mary. "A former diplomat from Earth. He decided to take early retirement and start growing fruit and vegetables here instead. There were some suspicions that he was a spy, but they proved unfounded, and he is now a responsible farmer. We think his previous experience in the diplomatic service might be useful to bring to an expanding company – which is what we hope this will be."

"Has he been asked, then?" Angelina enquired.

"Not yet. We wanted to get all the rest of the details sorted before inviting him to join us."

"Sounds a reasonable choice. We need someone who is an innovator but also a team player."

"Very well. I shall ask him shortly, and see what he says. You can come with me, to meet him, if you wish."

Ebenezer de la Torre was indeed interested. "I have not ordered any fertiliser as yet, because my acreage is very fertile, but I would certainly be looking for supplies in the near future, so being involved with the company would be a useful exercise in determining what type of fertiliser is most appropriate for a particular piece of land. I expect the PH of each local soil would give us a lead into what type and amount of fertiliser would suit best."

"So?" urged Mary.

He agreed. "Most certainly, I would like to be on the board, looking after the interests of we farmers. I would hope there would be a survey of the soil conditions of all the farms, and an advisory service to suggest the best fertiliser and how much to spread, in what conditions – like time of year – and whether the fertiliser should be spread just before ploughing, or simply spread on the surface for the rain to wash it in. There are many aspects to consider. Perhaps the Colony might pay to provide such an expert advice service."

Mary was suitable impressed at Ebenezer's recently-acquired knowledge. "May I enquire, sir: do you have a wife? Angelina tells me they normally make arrangements for spouses of senior personnel to meet socially; she proposes to make that also with Board members from time to time. It is a practice I would like to encourage."

"Ah, yes, I see. Currently, I am not married, nor in any formal relationship here. I have a ... lady friend ... on Earth, who refused to come with me when I moved to Rehome. Our continuing correspondence suggests she has not found another gentleman since then. I am hoping to persuade her to come here for a more permanent liaison, but she still does not wish to endure the hazards of frontier life. Once I can guarantee her a more comfortable lifestyle on the farm, I expect she will be more amenable to immigrating here."

Angelina intruded, to show she was flexible. "I quite understand, Mr De la Torre. You do not even have a bed warmer at your farm – what Sye Lownie apparently calls a "bidie-in"?" She was nonchalantly mentioning this, as if it was an everyday occurrence.

Ebenezer was cautious in his reply. "I would not care to suggest that a female of the species was regularly occupying my bed, as that might become an occasion for rejection by my intended life mate."

Mary retorted, "That remark is a fascinating circumlocution, Mr De la Torre. Perhaps I should remind you that multiple spouses are acceptable in this colony."

Angelina went on, "I was venturing to suggest that in the absence of a spouse, another female in a close relationship with you may be just as acceptable for such occasions. These events are not negative in approach, but try to be all-encompassing in their nature, and extremely welcoming. These gatherings should enhance and contrast with the more formal nature of Board of Directors meetings. As to spouses, etc., this colony has a wide variety of valid interpersonal arrangements. One of the other new directors has three wives, I understand; the Governor has four: me being one of them."

Ebenezer saw the route to take. "Oh, I see what you mean. If it is expected that a director has a companion of one sort or another, then I shall be able to attend with a personable young lady, provided nothing gets back to my prospective bride."

Angelina gave a short laugh of delight. "My dear sir, we shall all be delighted to meet the lady, with no such threat. I shall be attending in my new capacity as the fiancée of another director, John Frederickson."

"Oh, my dear, please accept my hearty congratulations." Mary looked on, smiling broadly at how the encounter was proceeding.

The next few days found John Frederickson spending more and more of his time around Angelina, to the point where George Montford was becoming annoyed.

"John, you may be the titular head of this company, but I have to say, as a friend, that you are not pulling your weight. You are distracted by Angelina all the time. What is the matter with you and this woman?"

"Sorry, George. I am perpetually randy around her, and she won't put out until we are married. It is damned frustrating!"

"Well, go for the jugular, old boy. If she won't let you in her pants until you are married, then GET married, A.S.A.P."

John was unsure of himself. "Uh, I understood that we needed a period to get to know each other better, as an engaged couple, before venturing to marriage."

George had had enough. "If you both are pretty certain of your feelings for each other, why wait? Judith was in my bed, by her own choice, almost immediately. The wedding came later. Judith was still a virgin and wanted to learn how to please a man before we married. Is your Angelina a virgin or not?"

"Dammit, I never asked! It is not the sort of fact you enquire of your intended, is it?"

"Let's put it another way. John, are YOU a virgin?"

"George! What a thing to ask a friend!"

"Well, are you? Your current behaviour suggests you are."

"Perhaps you are correct, George. I have never felt this strongly about any woman before. Possibly I previously set my standards too high, and should have tested the field instead."

"In the circumstances, John, I think you should ask her to set a date with you, probably within the month, and get it over with. Insist that an early date is forced on you by her reluctance about sex before marriage. Put the pressure on. Families can get here from Earth in a day or so. They can make their other arrangements within a week, I am certain."

That evening, at dinner, John broached the idea with Angelina. "Darling, you have insisted that we do not have sex before we marry. Does that mean – as I take it to mean – that you are still a virgin?"

"John! You rake! I didn't expect you to be so forthright, but I can confidently say that I will be a virgin on our wedding night."

John hesitatingly announced, "So will I, my darling." He went on after a moment, "In that case, as being married will be the only way we can learn to enjoy each other sexually, might I suggest that we set our wedding date for a short time ahead, like, say, within a month?"

A relieved smile broke over Angelina's face. "I thought you would never ask, darling. Of course we can. It was not my place as the woman to ask for such an abrupt period from engagement to wedding. I would be delighted to get married as soon as we can get all the arrangements settled."

"Arrangements? But it is simple: we shall share everything once we are married. You can even get it in writing if you wish."

Angelina laughed at the typical male viewpoint. "No, silly. I meant things like a wedding dress, getting a date for the wedding chapel, seeing a priest about our vows; sending invitations to our relatives and friends, and so on. For afterwards, I need to know if your present home is adequate for a married couple intending to start a family."

"Ooops. Sorry. I forgot about how organised you are, sweetheart. I can take you to my house whenever you want, darling, to get your opinion. Shall I leave the rest in your capable hands, and you can simply check with me that I can be where and when I am supposed to be? Do I have to dress up for our wedding, or will a standard suit be acceptable?"

"We shall not dress you up, John. I don't want everyone admiring YOU when I want them admiring ME! Leave things with me, then, my darling man. That would be the simplest option. However, do let me know if there are any dates that might be awkward for you."