Chapter 12 #2
This should be the happiest moment of Natalia’s life but she was looking as though fate was about to snatch the joy away.
Sophie only hesitated for a heartbeat. ‘Would you like to borrow this?’ She touched her necklace with her fingertip.
‘Your necklace? Oh… I couldn’t. It looks like it’s very special to you.’
‘It is,’ Sophie agreed quietly. ‘But the person who gave it to me was the kindest man in the world. It’s just the sort of thing he would have done.
’ She reached to unclasp the necklace and she put it around Natalia’s neck.
She was blinking back her own tears now.
Tom had never seen her wearing this gift.
It had been Hannah who’d given it to her, the day after the funeral.
She had fastened it for Sophie because her own hands were shaking too much.
‘He’d want you to remember,’ Hannah had said, through her tears. ‘Wear it to always remember that he loved you. So much. And that he’d want you to be happy.’
She had been wearing it for almost ten years now.
It was hard taking it off because her hands were shaking a little but she’d been sincere in saying that it was just the sort of thing Tom would have done for someone.
He’d be proud of her doing this, just as much as he’d approve of her taking care of Luc – if he would ever let her close enough to do so.
‘Wear it with joy,’ Sophie whispered to Natalia. ‘And be happy. You have all the charms now but you’re already lucky. You’ve found your love.’
* * *
The ceremony was everything it needed to be. Uninterrupted, private and tearjerkingly romantic.
Luc stood to one side, focussing on capturing the depth of emotion that both Henri and Natalia couldn’t hide as they shared the heartfelt vows they’d written to share their promise that they would be together forever.
They exchanged rings, having chosen not to do that during the ceremony at the mairie and then they lit a candle together and Luc managed to catch them gazing into each other’s eyes with the glow of the candlelight on their faces.
‘The past is the past,’ Henri announced.
‘This light symbolises our future,’ Natalia added.
‘Even if we can’t see the flame,’ Henri said, ‘we will always be able to feel its warmth in our hearts.’
‘The light represents our love,’ Natalia finished softly. ‘It will never die.’
More than one person was wiping away tears.
Luc didn’t dare glance in Sophie’s direction.
The fact that any story of forbidden love could resonate with him was something that needed to stay hidden because, if Sophie saw even a hint of it, she might guess the reason why and that would snuff out the tiny glow he could feel flickering like an echo of that candle.
The glow of hope that he shouldn’t allow himself to acknowledge, but there it was.
Because if he was ever going to let someone close enough to be a real friend again, the only person it could possibly be was Sophie Spencer.
Because she was the only person who had ever seen into his soul and had – for a brief moment in time – accepted him for exactly who he was.
It had taken only the time to blink once as he kept his gaze on that candle, through the viewfinder, taking photos of the symbolic ending to the ceremony as Henri and Natalia shared a kiss.
Their guests started clapping and, as if the world was echoing the applause, there was a deep rumble of thunder in the distance.
A gust of wind came from nowhere, ruffling Natalia’s veil and making the candle flame flicker wildly and then go out.
Luc did look towards Sophie now and he saw her looking skywards.
Just the top of first blooms of the cauliflower-like clouds could be seen over the roofline of the house – blindingly white where the sun was catching them, but he knew there would be a threatening darkness beneath and behind these storm clouds.
The lightning that they were capable of delivering might be spectacular but it could also be life-threatening.
He needed to make the most of the limited time they had to take some photographs outside.
He knew Henri loved the idea of taking their more intimate shots amongst the craggy rocks at sea level, but would Natalia be up for the drama of doing it with the element of danger an approaching storm presented? What would Sophie think?
She clearly thought it was reckless when it was mentioned as the small group of guests filtered back into the house to where chilled champagne and delicious canapes were waiting as a token culinary celebration.
Luc could see more than a hint of alarm in Sophie’s face.
Natalia, however, could see the sparkle in Henri’s eyes and she was smiling with the delight of being able to give her new husband what he desired.
‘What are we waiting for?’ she asked. ‘We don’t have much time.’
* * *
This was crazy.
Sophie could see her own concern reflected in the way Tilly’s eyes widened when she explained what was happening.
She was happy to supervise the catering inside the largest reception room and look after any needs the guests might have, but another rumble of thunder – closer, this time – made her shake her head at what was about to happen outside.
‘What is he thinking?’ Her whisper was urgent as she followed Sophie on to the terrace.
‘You know how fierce these summer storms can be. You know you’re not supposed to be anywhere near the sea.
Lightning can travel across the surface of the water and you only need to be standing on wet rocks to be electrocuted. Don’t go down there, Sophie. Please!’
‘I have to,’ Sophie whispered back. ‘If it’s looking too dangerous, I have to be there. To make it stop.’
She almost ran down the long stretch of narrow stone steps through the lush greenery of the garden.
She knew as well as Tilly did that this was unacceptably risky.
Jetties, as well as rocks, became slippery.
A sea could change its mood within seconds and a rogue wave or wind gust could knock someone off balance, especially if they were distracted.
She wasn’t just frightened for her bride and groom, either.
A photographer was likely to be even more distracted than a couple so in love they were only aware of each other.
Luc would be on the jetty or climbing those jagged rocks to find the best angles for his photographs.
And yes… they would be dramatic. As she reached the lowest terrace, Sophie could see Natalia and Henri on the rocks, with a sea that was as dark and unforgiving as gunmetal as it reflected a sky full of the approaching clouds.
Ominous, roiling clouds with flickers of lightning inside them and an unearthly glow on their outer edges – shades of fire as the sunset refused to be completely hidden.
Luc was higher on the rocks, nearer the bottom of the rougher steps that led down from the pavilion terrace.
He was crouched, so that his view was of the couple standing, gazing at each other and holding hands, with an apoplectic scene unfolding, out to sea, behind them.
As Sophie paused for just long enough to catch a breath, she could see that this was going to be an astonishing black-and-white image with no manipulation of its natural colouring.
The white wedding dress was actually glowing against the sombre shades of the sea and sky.
The wind was lifting the veil like a kite and the bride’s head was tipped back.
It looked as if she herself could be blown away at any moment.
That the handholds of the groom, in a tuxedo as black as the base of the clouds above, were the bride’s only anchor to earth.
And then it happened.
Sophie could swear that she felt the jolt of electricity in the sky as the biggest bolt of lightning she’d ever seen was fired from the bowels of a cloud.
One jagged white line was bright enough to sear a lasting image of itself onto her retinas but it wasn’t alone.
Another fork was close by, and surrounding both of them was a network of finer lines.
It looked like a massive diagram of blood vessels or tree roots and it unfolded with a crack of sound that was almost a sizzle.
There was only time to suck in a single breath before the roll of thunder began, rapidly becoming loud enough to be felt rather than simply heard – as vibrations ran right through her body and made her instinctively reach for the rail on the edge of the terrace so she could keep her balance.
She wasn’t even aware of her fingers folding themselves around the metal. She was watching what was happening below her so fast she could only capture it without thought of its implications.
Natalia’s scream came in the moment between the sizzle of the lightning strike and the start of the thunder.
Henri was still gripping her hands, trying to pull her higher, towards the steps and an escape, but the ripples of fabric that had looked so fabulous at the base of the gown in earlier photos were now snagged on sharp rock, threatening to pull Natalia backwards, into the waves of a suddenly angry sea.
Henri lost his grip on one of her hands and his expression was one of horror, underlaid with the sheer determination that he was going to save the woman he loved.
Luc leapt towards them, dropping his Nikon camera, which thumped against his chest as he jumped from one crag of a rock to another, caught by the strap around his neck.
He reached out to catch the hand that Natalia was desperately stretching towards him and, as he did so, the thin strap of his old Leica camera that always hung over his shoulder slipped, caught on his bent elbow and then his wrist.
He could have lifted his arm and caught the strap.
Instead, he lowered it further towards the terrified bride and the strap slipped over his hand.
From the corner of her eye Sophie could see the case bouncing against the top of one rock and then vanishing into the foam of a wave breaking over another.
What she was focussed on, however, was that both Luc and Henri had hold of Natalia’s hands now.
They were already at the base of the steps and, within moments, would be on the terrace.
The first fat drops of rain were beginning to fall as they raced up the next set of steps towards the house, and another blinding flash of lightning behind them illuminated the wedding archway and chairs blown over on the main terrace, flower heads ripped free and scattered like confetti.
Tilly and all the shocked guests looked as if they were holding their breath, standing in the open doorways watching for their safe reappearance.
Not a moment too soon and they were all safely inside.
Everyone, especially the newlyweds, was caught up in an atmosphere that was a mix of disbelief, relief and the joy of the occasion.
Flutes of champagne were refilled and laughter rang out as jokes were being made that Mother Nature, with this spectacular show of her power, was adding her own applause to the finale of a wedding that had defied the odds. Love had triumphed.
It was only then that Sophie’s brain began to process what had just happened.
The narrow escape from tragedy that would have made this far too much like the original story of Romeo and Juliet.
And the fact that Luc had sacrificed his beloved camera in order to help save Natalia.
He was coming towards her, his professional camera in his hands.
‘Look at this,’ he said quietly.
It was the last image he’d taken on the beach.
Somehow, in the split second before he’d dropped this camera, he’d caught that astonishing arterial network of lightning in the sky and the light it created had made a silhouette of Natalia and Henri at precisely the moment their lips had touched in that soft brush of a kiss.
It was the most extraordinary photograph Sophie had ever seen. She had no words that could do it justice but, when she looked up, it felt like Luc could read her thoughts.
‘Sophie?’ The voice came from behind her.
It was an effort to drag her gaze away from Luc’s but Sophie turned to find Natalia beside her.
‘Sophie… I’m so sorry…’ Natalia’s hand was pressed to her neck. ‘I don’t know how it happened – it must have been when we were climbing those rocks so fast. I knew I’d torn my dress but I had no idea that the necklace had broken.’
She lifted her hand, her neck bare beneath it. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she repeated. ‘We’ll replace the necklace for you, of course.’
Sophie knew she would have to find the words that could hide how she was feeling but it would take a moment.
The precious link to the man she had loved enough to marry was gone.
There was no way on earth it could ever be replaced.
Without any conscious direction, her gaze shifted. Seeking comfort? Or had she felt that Luc was watching her?
Had she known that she would see, in his eyes, that he knew exactly how devastating a loss this was?
Of course he did. He was the only person in the world who could.