Chapter 39
Thirty-Nine
Maddy stood in the gardens of Hawthorne Manor, her heels sinking slightly into the soft ground, her dress already picking up damp at the edges while her mother picked out bits of plaster from her hair and veil.
She was desperately trying not to read anything into this.
She’d never believed in fate. She didn’t think today was the day to change that policy.
Around her, the wedding had dissolved into clusters of people trying to make sense of it all. Wait staff had appeared and were handing out canapés and wine as if this were an intentional interlude rather than a near-miss with a falling ceiling.
Hannah was trying to brush plaster dust from her and Mary’s dresses while also reliving the moment with increasing exaggeration.
Mary, as Maddy had come to expect, had two glasses of red wine in her hands.
Maddy wasn’t sure what had happened to her this year.
Had she always been an alcoholic? Or was it something about being around weddings?
Adam stood nearby, talking to his father. ‘I grabbed Maddy out of the way, of course. I wasn’t concerned for myself.’
Maddy felt removed from all of it. She could still feel the moment before the crash. The question hanging in the air. The words she had been about to say.
I do.
She would have said them. Right?
She exhaled slowly, pressing her fingers into the stem of her bouquet. It was looking a bit worse for wear, petals wilting, bits of plaster stuck in it.
This didn’t mean anything. Things went wrong. Buildings had faults. Handymen did bad jobs. That was all this was. Not fate.
‘Maddy.’
She turned.
Ralph was approaching her, his expression vigorously reassuring. Eva stood a few steps behind him, arms folded. She didn’t look at Maddy.
Maddy tried not to look at her either. But she was so bloody tall, you couldn’t miss her. Like a giant red beacon sending out a signal. Warning. Danger ahead.
Maddy focused on the venue manager and not her racing heart.
‘Firstly,’ Ralph began, ‘I am so, so sorry about what’s happened.’
Maddy nodded automatically. ‘Hmm.’
‘We’ve had the structure checked,’ he continued quickly. ‘The banquet hall is completely safe. No issues there at all. The damage is isolated to the ceremony room ceiling.’
Maddy nodded again. ‘Okay…’
‘So,’ he said, with a small, hopeful smile, ‘we can still go ahead with the wedding today.’
Maddy became aware of people nearby subtly leaning in.
‘We’ll relocate the ceremony,’ he went on. ‘Given the weather is dry, we can set up in the garden. Chairs, archway, everything. We’ll have it ready very quickly.’
Maddy glanced around at the open stretch of lawn, the scattered guests, the grey skies. A garden wedding.
‘There is just one small technicality,’ Ralph added, his tone shifting slightly, more careful now.
‘Under UK law, the legal part of the ceremony has to take place within a licensed structure. So what we’ll do is position you and Adam in the archway of the French doors—technically inside the building—while your guests remain seated outside. ’
‘So I’d be… half inside?’ she asked. ‘And everyone else is outside?’
‘Exactly,’ Ralph said. ‘Just within the threshold. The officiant will stand with you, and everyone else can enjoy the garden setting.’
Maddy almost laughed. Behind him, Eva’s eyes met hers briefly. Maddy looked away first.
‘And we can do that… quickly?’ she asked, her voice steadier than she felt.
‘Very quickly,’ Ralph assured her. ‘My team is already setting up. We’ll have you married in no time.’
Adam appeared at her side, casually joining the official conversation about the rest of his life.
‘Hey,’ he said gently. ‘This’ll make a hell of a story.’
Maddy looked at him. He was smiling. A little shaken but rolling with the punches. She really did appreciate that about him.
‘Yeah,’ she said, because it was the right thing to say. ‘A great story.’
He squeezed her hand. ‘We’ll laugh about it later.’
Across the lawn, staff began moving with purpose. Chairs were being carried, an arch positioned.
She glanced at the French doors, the place where she would now get married. A threshold. Not quite in. Not quite out.
Her grip tightened on the bouquet. This was still happening. And this time, there would be no collapsing ceiling to stop her.
‘How long?’
‘About twenty minutes?’ Ralph said.
She nodded. ‘I don’t want the to do the walk this time. Let’s just get it started without the faff.’ She turned to Adam. ‘If that’s okay?’
‘Whatever you want,’ Adam said with a shrug and a smile.
Yeah. Whatever she wanted.