Chapter 42
Archer
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” Reverend Sprite said in the family chapel.
Cheers went up from the small crowd assembled for the wedding. Archer looked to his aunt, who was tight-lipped and sat still where everyone else stood and hugged. He didn’t give a shit. He’d married Erica Taylor for love and not because his aunt blackmailed him into it.
“Come here, Mrs Turner,” Archer said and snaked an arm around her back to bring her in for a kiss. He dipped her back and kissed her soundly, keeping it decent for the vicar and his aunt.
“Can you come and sign the registry, and then you can join the others to celebrate your marriage?” Reverend Sprite asked.
Archer led Erica by the hand into the tiny room on the chapel’s side. Archer took a seat first, signed his name, and then Erica followed. Next, their witnesses, Yanny and Jason, came and put their signatures on the marriage’s official documents.
“Until I saw you two say your vows, I would’ve put money on the fact you were conducting an arranged marriage for the sake of the Turner legacy,” Reverend Sprite said.
“What makes you say that?” Archer asked.
“Something Reverend Chivers had said when I met him. He said to watch out for the Turner children if they marry. He said only one Turner had married for love, and it had gone badly wrong.”
“Let’s not talk about the past,” Jason commented when the rest of the group fell silent.
Archer clutched his bride’s hand and squeezed. “We’re going to break the mould, honey,” he whispered.
“You have another document to sign, Archer,” Jason reminded him.
“I’ll be back in no time. My aunt said she would sign over the business as soon as the ink was on the marriage certificate,” Archer said to Erica.
“Okay, I’ll be over with the punch bowl, getting drunk with Yanny,” Erica said.
Archer was thrilled she had got on so well with his siblings, and they loved her too.
“Teddy, are you staying or coming with me?” Archer said to the dog, who wore a fetching bow tie for the day.
Teddy moved to Erica and sat at her feet.
Erica laughed that the dog Archer saved was now loyal to her. Archer kissed her cheek. “I saved you both, and now you’re both mine forever.”
“Damn straight,” she whispered back and kissed his cheek .
Archer left the chapel, noting his aunt was nowhere to be seen. Walking towards Turner Hall, Jason, Luke and Daisy fell into step.
“Do you think she’ll go back on the deal?” Jason asked.
“No, not a chance. She is many things, but she doesn’t break a deal,” Archer said.
They rounded the corner of Turner Hall at the rear and saw Bailey standing at the doors into the conservatory. That room linked to the morning room where he knew Aunt Cynthia would be.
“Congratulations, Sir,” Bailey said as they reached him.
He held a tray with four tumblers and a single whiskey measure. The four siblings took a glass each, necked the liquid, and placed the glasses back on the tray.
“She’s waiting for you,” Bailey advised, meaning not to hang around.
Archer led the way into the large room filled with the entire history of the Turners and went to the opposite end to where Aunt Cynthia sat at his grandfather’s writing desk with a stack of papers.
“Only you sign, Archer. The business will be yours and yours alone to take on,” his aunt warned.
“Understood. I wanted Jason, Luke, and Daisy here to know the cottages, hotel, and wedding business can give us jobs and an income,” Archer said.
His aunt grunted and flipped to the back page where she’d already signed her name. Archer scribbled his signature on two copies with an ancient fountain pen he thought had been used in his great-grandfather’s time.
Aunt Cynthia collected the documents, sliding one into an envelope and sealing the end. She turned it over to show Archer the address .
It was the family’s solicitors.
“This will go off on Monday morning so he can re-do my will,” she said.
“Of course,” Archer replied. “Are you coming back outside for the party?”
“No, I’ll let you all enjoy yourself. All the standing around has left me tired.”
“Thank you for standing by the arrangement. I won’t be staying in Turner Hall now I’m married and own the cottages. Erica and I will live in the cottage she’s been staying in.”
A flash of regret washed across his aunt’s face for a second or two, and he felt guilty for leaving her on her own in the main house. But then, she’d been on her own in Turner Hall for some time, and it was her own doing. Neither he nor Erica wanted to eat at set times. Or be under any scrutiny. The cottage was perfect for their needs, and they would have good memories of how they came together in the first place. Shaking off the guilt, he picked up the papers and rolled them into a tube.
“Goodnight, Aunt,” Archer said.
The four of them walked out of the morning room and then to the conservatory. Bailey wasn’t there. He hoped that meant he’d gone to his rooms to change to join the celebrations. It was a small gathering with a simple food menu Jason had designed and enlisted a couple of chefs to prepare to give Maggie the day off.
“What do you think the catch is?” Luke asked as they crossed the lawns from Turner Hall into Edward Hall.
“I don’t know, but let’s go and chat with Stan Myers. I think he should be able to tell us. I have a hunch I know what’s going on. ”
They reached Stan, and he shook hands with them all, offering his congratulations to Archer.
“It was a grand ceremony,” Stan said.
“Yes, and it all came together so easily. You must be well-practised. You’ll be a great asset to the business,” Archer said, holding up the rolled legal document.
“What’s that?” Stan asked, paling.
“I own the wedding business, Edward Hall, and the cottages. Aunt Cynthia signed them over to me as a wedding present.”
Archer wasn’t going to tell the man the real deal. He wasn’t a Turner.
“I see. Well, that makes you my boss.”
“I guess it does. Tell me, Stan, how many weddings have you done for Cynthia Turner at Edward Hall?”
Stan grew silent, eyes wide as he thought about Archer’s question. Archer knew weddings had taken place when his grandfather was alive as he’d witnessed them, but he was dead six years.
“How many, roughly over the last six years? I don’t need an exact number.”
“Um,” Stan said, scratching his head, seemingly holding a phantom fishing hat.
“Or to the nearest ten, just give me an idea?” Archer pushed. Jason, Luke, and Daisy looked on, bemused at Stan’s discomfort.
“The thing is Archer. Can I still call you Archer?”
“Sure, I don’t want to be Mr Turner. What’s the thing?”
“Your aunt enlisted me to be the event organiser as I do all the events on Copper Island. She hired me when your grandfather passed away.”
“That makes sense. I remember you saying my aunt paid you per event rather than keeping you on salary. How many fees have you earned in the last six years?”
“Including your wedding?” Stan asked.
Archer was losing patience at Stan’s stalling.
“Yes, Stan, how many?”
“One, well, none as you haven’t paid me. You bought the business, so you are now responsible for paying my fee,” he muttered.
“No weddings?” Jason asked.
“She never called on me to arrange a wedding. Everything was in place, and advertising was happening. There is a website and email, but no weddings took place.”
“So there is no wedding business up here?” Daisy asked.
“Not since your grandfather left this earth. When he went, your aunt let everyone go who looked after Edward Hall as soon as the last event took place. She honoured the bookings already in place, but there weren’t many as old man Turner was in his nineties when he passed. Miss Turner didn’t take any interest in the hotel operations or the events.”
“And you’re only telling me this now?” Archer said.
“I figured now you own the business, and you’ll find out soon enough. I was under oath not to tell anyone what your aunt was doing. She ran the business into the ground. So there is no business,” Stan said.
Archer felt for the guy who looked like he wanted to run away.
“It makes sense why the kitchens were empty of anything useful,” Jason said.
“And why the chairs and tables needed to be sorted in storage. Thick layers of dust were all over them,” Daisy said.
“Thanks, Stan,” Archer said, dropping his head back, looking skyward. “Stay for the party, won’t you? ”
Stan shook his head. “I need to get back into town. My wife needs to get to work, and I’ll take overlooking after the kids.”
“Okay. How many events do you organise for the island?”
“About forty a year, give or take.”
“That’s a lot for one man,” Luke said.
“I have an assistant. She is amazing. We do it together.”
“Do you pay her?”
“We take a fee from each event. My wife earns the main salary in the household.”
“We are going to resurrect the wedding business, Stan. Would you prefer to be on salary or paid by the event?”
“Can I still organise the events on the island?”
“If you can handle both, then yes.”
“I’ll take the salary,” Stan said without any hesitation.
“Let’s talk in a couple of weeks after I’ve come back from my honeymoon, and we can iron out the details.”
“Thanks,” Stan said, looking more relieved as the minutes ticked by. “Have a great honeymoon.”
Stan Myers hurried away, leaving the siblings alone.
“So there is no business. You went and asked for a Turner business, and she knew it wasn’t operational,” Luke said.
“I’m sure she would call it a life lesson. I should’ve pushed for the books for you to look at, Daisy,” Archer replied.
“What’s done is done. We need to come up with a new plan,” Jason said.
“I’ll work one out when I’m on honeymoon.”
“Sounds romantic,” Luke said and snorted. “Where are you going?”
“To London. Erica is filming immediately for her movie. While she’s on set, I’ll draw up plans of what the fuck we’re going to do. When I have that, I can let you know how we’re all going to fit into the plans.”
“You said you’re moving into the cottage with Erica. What about us?” Daisy asked.
“I thought we could take a cottage each. The fifth one can be for guests when we have friends come and visit. Turn Edward Hall back into a hotel as well as a wedding venue. I also thought we could expand the events to endurance training. The grounds are vast enough and I did a mini endurance test course to prepare Erica for her film role.”
“When you didn’t know she was a movie star,” Jason quipped.
“All right,” Archer said good-naturedly. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
“No, not a chance,” Luke said, throwing an arm around his shoulder. “You come up with the plan, and we’ll fall in line.”
“I need a drink, and I need to find my wife,” Archer said as they walked to the wedding party.
“If The Dragon ran the business into the ground, why did she let the cottages to Archer?” Daisy muttered.
“She probably needed to make it look like there was a business. Erica booked last minute after we were given notice on the rigs,” Luke said.
“She’s a shrewd old dragon,” Daisy said.