Chapter 14

As I hinted, the weeks flew in and we were not only in the midst of exams but preparing for our wedding in July. Lord Harry and Lady Sylvia came up several times in this period but each time they made the journey by train because we were in the throes of studying for our exams and then in the midst of taking them, By the time we finished them in the third week of June everything was in place and we were ready for the nuptials. All we had to do was turn up on the day.

The week before the wedding her parents had come up again and stayed with us for a few days. They then moved to the hotel they had booked some time before and they took their daughter with them. Katy was to stay at their hotel the night before the wedding so that I would not to see her until she arrived at the chapel.

It was supposed to be bad luck for the groom to see the bride on her wedding day until she would arrive the grooom's side on her father's arm as he waited at the altar.

This meant I was on my own on the Friday but Robbie and Paul came to keep me company. We did not have a stag night as such. I had no wish to turn up on the day of my wedding hung over. I have never been a person who could see the sense in getting intoxicated even in my previous existence so I did not see the point in behaving otherwise this second time around. We went out to a nice restaurant and had a meal with a couple of bottles of wine and then Pam collected us and ferried me back home.

Next day Robbie turned up at my place with his wedding outfit and after a light lunch we got dressed and waited for the taxi which would take us to the chapel. Once there the chaplain took us through the church to his vestry to await the arrival of the bride. When it was almost the time Katy was due to arrive at the church he took us out of the vestry and stood us before the altar so that we were in position to await her arrival at my side for when she walked down the aisle on her father's arm.

When I got a chance to look around I expected to see a sort of lopsided seating arrangement with the bride's family and guests on one side of the church and a handful of people whom I had invited sitting on the groom's side. However, unknown to me, Sylvia had given instructions to the ushers to sit a portion of the guests whom she had invited on the groom's side of the church so that it wouldn't look so scantily occupied. I have to say I was quite pleased about that and reminded myself to thank her later.

You would think that having lived with a girl for over a year I would have experienced little in the way of nerves. However that proved not to be the case. I was actually feeling quite tense as I awaited the arrival of my bride. I knew in my heart she wouldn't fail to turn up but my though my head acknowledged that, this was always a possibility. Grooms had been left standing at the altar before now.

I felt a great sense of relief when the organ began to play the bridal march and I knew Katy was on her way down the aisle to join me. I glanced around as she approached my side then stretched out and took her hand.

"You are absolutely Beautiful" I whispered as she took my proffered hand and gave me a radiant smile.

"I'm finding it difficult to believe this is actually happening," she whispered back,

Coming from where all this had started, I was having a hard time believing that it was actually happening too. Little did I know when intervened that night to help someone who was being attacked, that I was on my way to living a new life with the years rolled back, never mind marrying such a beautiful young girl. What surprised me more in the light of my previous existence, was the fact that I was so deeply in love with this young woman who now stood beside me. I had never felt like this with any of my wives in that past.

Once she reached my side, however, I calmed down and together we made the necessary responses. We were then led to a table where we were joined by Katy's family and signed the necessary documents which confirmed we were now man and wife. The minister then sorted us into the order necessary for our procession down the aisle.

In place of my father, Paul acted as Sylvia's escort and Lord Harry took the arm of the second bridesmaid instead of my mother's. We emerged from the church, thankfully into the sunshine and as man and wife. The next part of my new life was about to begin.

Once we had posed for the obligatory photographs and the unofficial ones taken by family and friends it was off to the reception. After the meal was over we had the speeches. I told everyone how happy I was to have found Katy and how lucky I felt to be the one whom she had accepted to be her life partner. I thanked my best man and the bridesmaids for the help and support they had given us on the day. I did not mention the early difficulties with her father, but was happy that I could now thank them truthfully for the way they had received me into their family and given their blessing to our nuptials.

The best man thanked me on behalf of himself and the bridesmaids for the kind words I had said to them and spoke about our generosity as a couple and how much he and the bridesmaids valued our friendship. He also made a few witty remarks about how fortunate I was to find such a beautiful and talented young woman to agree to be my wife.

The speeches then concluded with my father in law welcoming me into his family. He went on to say that as he had come to know me in the months since we announced our engagement and he had grown to value my friendship. He declared that he was more than pleased that his daughter had found such an agreeable and pleasant young man whom he felt sure would make her a loving, loyal and faithful husband.

As we had promised, once the speeches were over and the evening festivities began, we did what we had told Harry we would do. We performed the opening ritual of leading off the dancing before being joined by the others who had participated in the ceremony, the best man and the bridesmaids accompanied by their partners, then Katy's mum and dad. Then the rest of the guests followed them onto the floor.

As the dancing proceeded we made our way round the tables at which our guests sat and thanked them for their presence and the presents we had received. Once we had completed these semi official duties we slipped up to the room which the hotel had made available and changed into more informal clothing and came back downstairs to join the others at the Ceilidh which was now in full swing.

The buffet, which was served around ten in the evening, gave us another opportunity to speak with our guests and we were pleased to learn that those from south of the border were enjoying their introduction to Scottish Country Dancing and the vigorous energy many of the dances required. Once the dancing had resumed Katy and I slipped away and made our way to the hotel room where we would spend our first night as a married couple.

Because of the events of the day, the tension of the service and our hectic participation in the dancing we were tired by the time we undressed and got into bed, We did not talk about our feelings, but it seemed we were both on the same wavelength since we just snuggled up to each other and fell asleep.

The next day we made our way to the airport and took off for our destination in France. We had already made arrangements to land at a local flying club near Samur. We had also booked a hire car which was waiting for us on our arrival. We passed through customs easily, picked up our car and made our way to the house I had purchased when I first returned.

In some respects it was like the home we had bought near St Andrews. It had been part of a small farm with barns and stables in the middle of a meadow which belonged to, and surrounded the house. There was also a twenty metre kidney shaped swimming pool with its pump mechanism in a shed which had been built on the side of the nearest barn.

The caretaker who had been looking after the cutting of the grass and the maintenance of the pool was waiting to greet us on our arrival. He gave us a run through the maintenance required for the pool during our stay. He also gave as instructions on the operation of the sit on mower which was needed because we had such a large expanse of grass. Katy and I had a bit of fun with that once we got the hang of it.

When he was sure we had a handle on everything, he wished us a happy holiday and left. Before he went he said that should we have any trouble with the machinery or anything else on the property, we should give him a phone at home. He let us know he would be happy to come back if we needed him during our stay.

On our instructions the lady who looked after the house had stocked the fridge and the freezer with the groceries she felt we would need for the time we would be there. She had left the receipts on the kitchen table and I took note of the amount and reminded myself to pay her for anything over the amount of the cheque we had sent her and to do so speedily.

We brought our stuff from the car and put our clothes away in the wardrobes in the master bedroom. When we came back downstairs we put the kettle on and fired up the Aga stove since this was what we would mainly cook on, though we also had a gas stove fuelled from a tank in the garden. When we finished our refreshments we changed into our swim wear and headed for the pool.

The sun was shining but there was a fair bit of cloud around. There was little in the way of wind so even when the sun dipped behind a cloud it was still warm enough for things to remain pleasant, We swam a good few lengths in the pool to get rid of our travel stiffness then I went to the kitchen a poured a beer for myself and a glass of wine for Katy before settling down onto one of the loungers.