‘I think you’re a little overdressed, my darling,’ Emma said, as she slipped off his jacket and let it fall to the floor. Next she undid his bow tie before unbuttoning his shirt, and both joined the jacket. Two shoes and two socks followed, before she slowly pulled down his trousers. She was about to remove the one remaining obstacle in her path, when he gathered her up in his arms and carried her across the bedroom.
As he dumped her unceremoniously on to the bed, the towel fell to the floor. Emma had often imagined this moment since they’d returned from Rome, and assumed that her first attempts at making love would be awkward and clumsy. But Harry was gentle and considerate, although he was clearly every bit as nervous as she was. After they’d made love, she lay in his arms, not wanting to fall asleep.
‘Did you like your birthday present?’ she asked.
‘Yes I did,’ said Harry. ‘But I hope it’s not going to be another year before I can unwrap the next one. That reminds me, I’ve got a present for you too.’
‘But it’s not my birthday.’
‘It’s not a birthday present.’
He jumped out of bed, picked his trousers up off the floor and rummaged around in the pockets until he came across a small leather box. He returned to the bedside, fell to one knee and said, ‘Emma, my darling, will you marry me?’
‘You look quite ridiculous down there,’ said Emma, frowning. ‘Get back into bed before you freeze to death.’
‘Not until you’ve answered my question.’
‘Don’t be silly, Harry. I decided that we were going to be married the day you came to the Manor House for Giles’s twelfth birthday.’
Harry burst out laughing as he placed the ring on the third finger of her left hand.
‘I’m sorry it’s such a small diamond,’ he said.
‘It’s as big as the Ritz,’ she said as he climbed back into bed. ‘And as you seem to have everything so well organized,’ she teased, ‘what date have you chosen for our wedding?’
‘Saturday, July the twenty-ninth, at three o’clock.’
‘Why then?’
‘It’s the last day of term, and in any case, we can’t book the university church after I’ve gone down.’
Emma sat up, grabbed the pencil and pad from the bedside table and started to write.
‘What are you doing?’ asked Harry.
‘I’m working on the guest list. If we’ve only got seven weeks …’
‘That can wait,’ said Harry, taking her back in his arms. ‘I feel another birthday coming on.’
‘She’s too young to be thinking about marriage,’ said Emma’s father, as if she wasn’t in the room.
‘She’s the same age I was when you proposed to me,’ Elizabeth reminded him.
‘But you weren’t about to sit the most important exam of your life, just a fortnight before the wedding.’
‘That’s exactly why I’ve taken over all the arrangements,’ said Elizabeth. ‘That way Emma won’t have any distractions until her exams are over.’
‘Surely it would be better to put the wedding off for a few months. After all, what’s the hurry?’
‘What a good idea, Daddy,’ said Emma, speaking for the first time. ‘Perhaps we could also ask Herr Hitler if he’d be kind enough to put off the war for a few months, because your daughter wants to get married.’
‘And what does Mrs Clifton think about all of this?’ her father asked, ignoring his daughter’s comment.
‘Why should she be anything other than delighted by the news?’ Elizabeth asked him. He didn’t respond.
An announcement of the forthcoming marriage between Emma Grace Barrington and Harold Arthur Clifton was published in The Times ten days later. The first banns were read from the pulpit of St Mary’s by the Reverend Styler on the following Sunday and over three hundred invitations were sent out during the next week. No one was surprised when Harry asked Giles to be his best man, with Captain Tarrant and Deakins as the principal ushers.
But Harry was shocked when he received a letter from Old Jack, declining his kind invitation because he couldn’t leave his post in the current circumstances. Harry wrote back, begging him to reconsider and at least attend the wedding, even if he felt unable to take on the task of being an usher. Old Jack’s reply left Harry even more confused: ‘I feel my presence might turn out to be an embarrassment.’
‘What is he talking about?’ said Harry. ‘Surely he knows that we’d all be honoured if he came.’
‘He’s almost as bad as my father,’ said Emma. ‘He’s refusing to give me away, and says he’s not even sure he’ll come.’
‘But you told me he’d promised to be more supportive in the future.’
‘Yes, but that all changed the moment he heard we were engaged.’
‘I can’t pretend that my mother sounded all that enthusiastic when I told her the news either,’ Harry admitted.
Emma didn’t see Harry again until she returned to Oxford to sit her exams, and even then not until she’d completed the final paper. When she came out of the examination hall, her fiance was waiting on the top step, a bottle of champagne in one hand and two glasses in the other.
‘So, how do you think you got on?’ he asked as he filled her glass.
‘I don’t know,’ sighed Emma, as dozens of other girls poured out of the examination hall. ‘I didn’t realize what I was up against until I saw that lot.’
‘Well, at least you’ve got something to distract you while you wait for the results.’
‘Just three weeks to go,’ Emma reminded him. ‘That’s more than enough time for you to change your mind.’
‘If you don’t win a scholarship, I may have to reconsider my position. After all, I can’t be seen associating with a commoner.’
‘And if I do win a scholarship, I may have to reconsider my position and look for another scholar.’
‘Deakins is still available,’ said Harry as he topped up her glass.
‘It will be too late by then,’ said Emma.
‘Why?’
‘Because the results are due to be announced on the morning of our wedding.’
Emma and Harry spent most of the weekend locked away in her little hotel room, endlessly going over the wedding arrangements when they weren’t making love. By Sunday night, Emma had come to one conclusion.
‘Mama has been quite magnificent,’ she said, ‘which is more than I can say for my father.’
‘Do you think he’ll even turn up?’
‘Oh yes. Mama’s talked him into coming, but he’s still refusing to give me away. What’s the latest on Old Jack?’
‘He hasn’t even replied to my last letter,’ said Harry.
47
‘HAVE YOU PUT ON a little weight, darling?’ asked Emma’s mother as she tried to fasten the last clasp on the back of her daughter’s wedding dress.
‘I don’t think so,’ replied Emma, looking at herself critically in the full-length mirror.
‘Stunning,’ was Elizabeth’s verdict as she stood back to admire the bride’s outfit.
They had travelled to London several times to have the dress fitted by Madame Renee, the proprietor of a small, fashionable boutique in Mayfair, thought to be patronized by Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. Madame Renee had personally supervised each fitting, and the Victorian embroidered lace around the neck and hem, something old, blended quite naturally with the silk bodice and empire bell skirt that was proving so fashionable that year, something new. The little cream tear-drop hat, Madame Renee had assured them, was what women of fashion would be wearing next year. The only comment Emma’s father made on the subject came when he saw the bill.
Elizabeth Barrington glanced at her watch. Nineteen minutes to three. ‘No need to rush,’ she told Emma when there was a knock on the door. She was sure she’d hung the Do Not Disturb sign on the doorknob and told the chauffeur not to expect them before three. At the rehearsal the previous day, the journey from the hotel to the church had taken seven minut
es. Elizabeth intended Emma to be fashionably late. ‘Keep them waiting for a few minutes, but don’t give them any cause for concern.’ A second knock.
‘I’ll get it,’ Elizabeth said, and went to the door. A young porter in a smart red uniform handed her a telegram, the eleventh that day. She was about to close the door when he said, ‘I was told to inform you, madam, that this one is important.’
Elizabeth’s first thought was to wonder who could possibly have cancelled at the last moment. She only hoped it wouldn’t mean reorganizing the top table at the reception. She tore open the telegram and read the contents.
‘Who’s it from?’ asked Emma, adjusting the angle of her hat by another inch and wondering if it was perhaps a little too risque.
Elizabeth handed her the telegram. Once Emma had read it, she burst into tears.
‘Many congratulations, darling,’ said her mother, taking a handkerchief out of her handbag and beginning to dry her daughter’s tears. ‘I’d hug you, but I don’t want to crease your dress.’
Once Elizabeth was satisfied that Emma was ready, she spent a moment checking her own outfit in the mirror. Madame Renee had pronounced, ‘You mustn’t outdo your daughter on her big day, but at the same time, you can’t afford to go unnoticed.’ Elizabeth particularly liked the Norman Hartnell hat, even if it was not what the young were calling ‘chic’.
‘Time to leave,’ she declared after one more look at her watch. Emma smiled as she glanced at the going-away outfit she would change into once the reception was over, when she and Harry would travel up to Scotland for their honeymoon. Lord Harvey had offered them Mulgelrie Castle for a fortnight, with the promise that no other member of the family would be allowed within ten miles of the estate during that time and, perhaps more important, Harry could ask for three portions of Highland broth every night, without a suggestion of grouse to follow.
Emma followed her mother out of the suite and along the corridor. By the time she reached the top of the staircase, she felt sure her legs were about to give way. As she descended the stairs, other guests stood aside so that nothing would impede her progress.
A porter held open the front door of the hotel for her, while Sir Walter’s chauffeur stood by the back door of the Rolls so the bride could join her grandfather. As Emma sat down beside him, carefully arranging her dress, Sir Walter placed his monocle in his right eye and declared, ‘You look quite beautiful, young lady. Harry is indeed a most fortunate man.’
‘Thank you, Grandpa,’ she said, kissing him on the cheek. She glanced out of the rear window to see her mother climbing into a second Rolls-Royce, and a moment later the two cars moved off to join the afternoon traffic as they began their sedate journey to the university church of St Mary’s.
‘Is Daddy at the church?’ asked Emma, trying not to sound anxious.
‘Among the first to arrive,’ said her grandfather. ‘I do believe he’s already regretting allowing me the privilege of giving you away.’
‘And Harry?’
‘Never seen him so nervous. But Giles seems to have everything under control, which must be a first. I know he’s spent the last month preparing his best man’s speech.’
‘We’re both lucky to have the same best friend,’ said Emma. ‘You know, Grandpa, I once read that every bride has second thoughts on the morning of her wedding.’
‘That’s natural enough, my dear.’
‘But I’ve never had a second thought about Harry,’ said Emma, as they came to a halt outside the university church. ‘I know we’ll spend the rest of our lives together.’
She waited for her grandfather to step out of the car before she gathered up her dress and joined him on the pavement.
Her mother rushed forward to check Emma’s outfit one last time before she would allow her to enter the church. Elizabeth handed her a small bouquet of pale pink roses as the two bridesmaids, Emma’s younger sister Grace and her school friend Jessica, gathered up the end of the train.
‘You next, Grace,’ said her mother, bending down to unruffle her bridesmaid’s dress.
‘I hope not,’ said Grace, loud enough for her mother to hear.
Elizabeth stepped back and nodded. Two sidesmen pulled open the heavy doors, the sign for the organist to strike up Mendelssohn’s Wedding March, and the congregation to rise and welcome the bride.
As Emma stepped into the church, she was taken by surprise to see how many people had travelled to Oxford to share in her happiness. She walked slowly down the aisle on her grandfather’s arm, the guests turning to smile at her as she made her way towards the altar.
She noticed Mr Frobisher sitting next to Mr Holcombe on the right-hand side of the aisle. Miss Tilly, who was wearing quite a daring hat, must have come all the way from Cornwall, while Dr Paget gave her the warmest of smiles. But nothing compared with the smile that appeared on her own face when she spotted Captain Tarrant, head bowed, wearing a morning suit that didn’t quite fit. Harry would be so pleased he had decided to come after all. In the front row sat Mrs Clifton, who had clearly spent some time selecting her outfit because she looked so fashionable. A smile crossed Emma’s lips, but she was surprised and disappointed that her future mother-in-law didn’t turn to look at her as she passed.
And then she saw Harry, standing on the altar steps next to her brother as they waited for the bride. Emma continued up the aisle on the arm of one grandfather, while the other stood bolt upright in the front row, next to her father, who she thought looked a little melancholy. Perhaps he really was regretting his decision not to give her away.
Sir Walter stood to one side as Emma climbed the four steps to join her future husband. She leaned over and whispered, ‘I nearly had a change of heart.’ Harry tried not to grin as he waited for the punch line. ‘After all, scholars of this university cannot be seen to marry beneath themselves.’
‘I’m so proud of you, my darling,’ he said. ‘Many congratulations.’
Giles bowed low in genuine respect, and Chinese whispers broke out among the congregation as the news spread from row to row.
The music stopped, and the college chaplain raised his hands and said, ‘Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this Man and this Woman, in holy matrimony …’
Emma suddenly felt nervous. She had learnt all the responses by heart but now she couldn’t recall one of them.
‘First it was ordained for the procreation of children …’
Emma tried to concentrate on the chaplain’s words, but she couldn’t wait to escape and be alone with Harry. Perhaps they should have gone up to Scotland the night before and eloped at Gretna Green; so much more convenient for Mulgelrie Castle, she’d pointed out to Harry.
‘Into which holy estate these two persons present come now to be joined. Therefore if any man can show any just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace …’
The chaplain paused, to allow a diplomatic period of time to pass before he pronounced the words, I require and charge you both, when a clear voice declared, ‘I object!’
Emma and Harry both swung round to see who could possibly have uttered two such damning words.
The chaplain looked up in disbelief, wondering for a moment if he had misheard, but all over the church, heads were turning as the congregation tried to discover who had made the unexpected intervention. The chaplain had never experienced such a turn of events before, and tried desperately to recall what he was expected to do in the circumstances.
Emma buried her head in Harry’s shoulder, while he searched among the chattering congregation, trying to find out who it was who had caused such consternation. He assumed it must be Emma’s father, but when he looked down at the front row he saw Hugo Barrington, white as a sheet, was also trying to see who had brought the ceremony to a premature halt.
The Reverend Styler had to raise his voice to be heard above the gro
wing clamour. ‘Would the gentleman who has objected to this marriage taking place please make himself known.’
A tall, upright figure stepped out into the aisle. Every eye remained fixed on Captain Jack Tarrant as he made his way up to the altar before coming to a halt in front of the chaplain. Emma clung on to Harry, fearful he was about to be prised away from her.
‘Am I to understand, sir,’ said the chaplain, ‘that you feel this marriage should not be allowed to proceed?’
‘That is correct, sir,’ said Old Jack quietly.
‘Then I must ask you, the bride and groom and the members of their immediate family to join me in the vestry.’ Raising his voice, he added, ‘The congregation should remain in their places until I have considered the objection, and made my decision known.’
Those who had been bidden were led by the chaplain into the vestry, followed by Harry and Emma. Not one of them spoke, although the congregation continued to whisper noisily among themselves.
Once the two families had crammed themselves into the tiny vestry, the Reverend Styler closed the door.
‘Captain Tarrant,’ he began, ‘I must tell you that I alone am vested by law with the authority to decide whether this marriage should continue. Naturally I shall not come to any decision until I have heard your objections.’
The only person in that overcrowded room who appeared calm was Old Jack. ‘Thank you, chaplain,’ he began. ‘Firstly, I must apologize to you all, and in particular to Emma and Harry, for my intervention. I have spent the past few weeks wrestling with my conscience before coming to this unhappy decision. I could have taken the easy way out and simply found some excuse for not attending this ceremony today. I have remained silent until now in the hope that in time any objection would prove irrelevant. But sadly that has not proved to be the case, for Harry and Emma’s love for each other has in fact grown over the years, and not diminished, which is why it has become impossible for me to remain silent any longer.’
Everyone was so gripped by Old Jack’s words that only Elizabeth Barrington noticed her husband slip quietly out of the back door of the vestry.