by Sk Quinn
‘That is good news.’
The priest steps forward and clears his throat.
‘Are we finally ready? Shall we begin?’
106
I mean to listen to the ceremony words. But I can’t.
As I look at Patrick, everything else fades away.
The priest gives a loud cough.
‘Seraphina?’
‘Oh. Sorry. Um … did I miss something?’
The wedding guests burst out laughing.
The priest laughs too. ‘Ah, young love! Shall we try again then? Do you, Seraphina Harper, take this man to be your husband, and promise to be true to him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. And to love and honour him all the days of your life?’
I look at Patrick.
‘Yes, definitely. I mean … I do.’
‘And do you, Lord Patrick Mansfield, take this woman to be your wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do you part?’
Patrick smiles. ‘I definitely do too.’
Everyone laughs again.
Grey steps forward with the rings, and the priest says some more words that we’re supposed to repeat.
Patrick slips the ring on my finger and my knees go weak when he says ‘With this ring, I thee wed.’
But when it’s my turn, I slip up again. As soon as I push the ring on his finger, my brain goes and I can’t remember what I’m supposed to say.
Finally, I manage to remember: ‘With this ring I thee wed. With my body, I thee worship. And from herein, I pledge thee my troth.’
The priest doesn’t say anything about kissing, but he doesn’t need to – Patrick leans down and plants his lips against mine.
He kisses me long and hard until my knees go weak again, and then scoops me up into his arms and spins me around.
The church claps and cheers.
Patrick carries me down the aisle, my long train flowing on the floor.
‘Would you care to tell me about the delay this morning?’ he asks.
‘Not now,’ I say. ‘It doesn’t matter now anyway. Everything is fine now. In fact, everything is fantastic.’
‘I’m glad to hear it, Lady Mansfield. Now. Shall we go meet our public?’
107
Outside the church, the bells are ringing and the crowds are cheering.
Everyone waves Scottish flags, shouting congratulations and throwing confetti.
Patrick carries me to the wedding car and places me gently inside.
‘Back to your castle, Mrs Mansfield?’
‘My castle?’
‘Your castle.’
When we get back, Mansfield Castle is lit up with huge, beautiful lights and decorated with yards of bluebells.
It looks like a princess’s castle. A princess’s castle that’s ready for a party.
We start the festivities with a five course meal of Scottish favourites, including haggis, wild salmon, grouse and treacle toffee.
Then a seven-tier wedding cake is brought out and champagne poured.
Tables are cleared, and Gregory and his musician friends set up in the corner and play jigs and Scottish folk songs.
We drink whisky and dance on the tables until late into the evening.
At 9pm, Patrick tells me to say my goodbyes.
‘Why?’ I ask. ‘Where are we going.’
‘To the wedding car.’
‘That’s not an answer.’
‘Just trust your new husband. And say your goodbyes.’
I roll my eyes. ‘Is this how married life is going to be? You order and I obey?’
‘Exactly right.’
‘I might have something to say about that.’
‘You usually do.’
I say my goodbyes, giving Bertie an extra big hug and telling him I’ll be back soon.
‘So where are we going?’ I ask Patrick as he leads me out to the wedding car.
‘Honeymoon.’
I laugh. ‘But I haven’t packed. And I’m still in my wedding dress. And what about Bertie? I can’t be away from him.’
‘Anise and Daphne will take care of Bertie. And I’ve arranged video link ups while we’re away. I’ve packed a bag for you. And as for your wedding dress … don’t worry. I’ll soon have that off you.’
‘You’re all charm, aren’t you?’
‘Not charming. Honest. Just honest.’
‘Can I be honest with you too?’
‘Of course.’
‘I love you Lord Patrick Mansfield.’
‘And I love you too. Lady Seraphina Mansfield.’
Epilogue
After the craziness of the wedding, life just gets better and better at Mansfield Castle.
Anise divorced Regan Mansfield and made sure he could never set foot in Mansfield Castle again.
She also testified against her father in court. Her testimony was enough to send Dirk Mansfield to prison for a lifetime. And now Bertie doesn’t have to be afraid.
Anise now devotes her life to Bertie – she’s there for him 24 hours a day. They live at Mansfield Castle with Patrick and me. So I still see Bertie every day. And Anise and I tuck him into bed every night.
Zara and Anise are still friends. In her own mixed up way, Zara was trying to show Anise what sort of man Regan was. And she succeeded in a way no one else could.
She comes by the castle sometimes to see Anise. But only every so often. And she certainly doesn’t flirt with Patrick anymore. I think that splash in the hot tub taught her a lesson.
Wila is back in London and doing great. The teacher who got her pregnant has been divorced by his wife, and he’s now on the child protection register. But Wila doesn’t really care about him any more. She’s moved on. She has lots of friends and is an amazing ballerina.
Dad is back on the road again, but he’s promised to visit as often as he can. He’s fixed things so he can make a lot of deliveries in Scotland this year, so we’ll be seeing more of him.
Mum’s doing okay. She stayed at the castle for a little while. Then she decided to go back to London and ‘get on with things’ as she put it. She’s been on a few dating websites and I’m trying to help her pick men who are decent and honest for a change. Only time will tell how that will work out.
Danny and Anise got together on our wedding day. They’ve become so inseparable that Danny has moved up to Scotland with my nephew. He’s got himself a job in a pub and Danny junior goes to a village school nearby.
Grey and Vicky are engaged and will be getting married this year. Grey keeps trying to whisk Vicky off to Vegas for a quickie wedding, but Vicky won’t hear of it. She wants a wedding at the castle so she can help cook the wedding feast.
Regan and Riley Thornburn are still in the area, but they know better than to cause trouble with the Mansfields. There was a fire at their farm a month back, which they claimed was an accident. But the police think it was an insurance job, so it looks like they might both be going to prison soon.
Blake Thornburn moved out of the area, but he still keeps in touch with Zara. The two of them meet up in Manchester and I think maybe one day they might even settle down. When they both stop being so wild.
Dan Dan still comes to see us. I see him sometimes at the edge of the woods. He won’t come on the castle lawn, but if we go walking he’ll run around us chirruping and sniffing our hands.
And Patrick and me? Well. We’re living happily ever after. He still tells me what to do sometimes. And I still tell him where to go. But we’re crazy in love and growing more in love by the day.
This year, I want to get the castle in order. Slowly but surely I’m changing the décor. Making it light, bright and warm. Somewhere people want to come and visit. And somewhere we can have our first baby. And then, if Patrick has his way, five more of them. Because guess what? Patrick did convince me to succumb to him on our wedding night. And yes – I’m pregnant with our first child. And do you know
what? I couldn’t be happier.
Seraphina xx
Remember Marc Blackwell and Sophia Rose?
Get ready for part IV of the Ivy series: Ivy and Roses.
Ivy and Roses will be released in Summer 2015.
And guess what?
The first 10,000 copies of Ivy and Roses will be on sale at HALF the list price – for the readers who get there fast enough!
Friend me on Facebook
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and I’ll tell you when the 10,000 half-price copies go on sale.
Exclusive Pre-Release Sample: The Bad Housewife’s Diary
I know many of you are mothers doing an amazing job. So I’ve written a romantic comedy called the Bad Housewife’s Diary that I hope will make you laugh, cryand fall in love.
I don’t know if it will be your sort of thing, or whether you prefer just straight romance. Turn the page for your exclusive pre-release sample – and when you finish, let me know if you’d like to read more …
The Bad Housewife’s Diary
Thursday 1st January
New Year’s Day
By the time I had a baby I thought I would:
Have a proper grown-up wardrobe – chiffon scarves, satchels with owls on, riding boots etc.
Have given up bad habits (drinking a whole bottle of fizzy wine in one go).
Have a proper family home full of organic vegetables and tasteful wooden board games.
Know how to make pastry.
I did not think I would:
Be living in my future mother-in-law’s spotlessly clean London apartment.
Be unmarried, and not that excited about my wedding.
Saturday 3rd January
New Years Resolutions
Buy sophisticated mum wardrobe (navy stain-free skinny jeans, knee-high brown riding boots) like the mums I see at nurseries, playgroups, school gates etc. Get rid of all pre-baby clothes (lycra and neon especially).
Learn how to fold up the Maclaren without slicing my fingers open and find out what those black cushiony things are for.
ADJUST the Maclaren straps. I went to university for goodness sake! Why are they so complicated?
Do proper facial cleansing routine and stop using Daisy’s wet wipes.
LOSE BABY WEIGHT!! And stop eating rusks – they’re not even that nice.
Try REALLY hard to like Nick’s horrible mum and stop making jokes about her nose.
Always carry tissues and stop wiping Daisy’s nose on my hand and her/my clothes.
Feel grateful for our swanky apartment, even though aluminium/glass shows every spec of dirt.
USE BAGS FOR LIFE!
Try to remember why I agreed to marry Nick. And not just focus on his bad points.
Sunday January 4th
Sunday lunch at Mum and Dad’s.
It’s great having parents who run a pub. Not only do I get a choice of chicken, beef or pork for lunch, I also get a pint of Guinness.
Nick wouldn’t come.
He said he had scripts to read, but the truth is he hates the countryside.
Mum said I should give Daisy a teaspoon of beer for her runny nose.
I told her there was no way I’d give alcohol to my precious tiny baby.
Mum said, ‘Don’t be so paranoid. You lived off Guinness when you were her age. And you turned out just fine.’
The ‘just fine’ argument.
According to Mum, Laura, Brandi and I crawled around on broken glass eating lumps of raw chicken. And turned out ‘just fine’.
Mum asked about Nick’s mum. She said, ‘How’s big nose?’
I said she was as interfering as ever. She came round this morning to check the aluminium windowsills for dust.
Mum said, ‘Did she find any?’
I said ‘Of course she did. I have a four-month old baby. I couldn’t give a shit about dust.’
Mum and Brandi told me off (again) for letting Helen come round unannounced.
I said, ‘I don’t let her in. She has her own key and it’s her apartment.’
Brandi pointed out that Nick and I pay rent. Which is true. But it’s low rent for London and it’s a nice executive flat on the Thames, full of shiny glass and aluminium.
I wish my family would leave me alone about that apartment.
It’s not like Helen lives with us or anything. She only uses the place when she stays in London.
I said, ‘Helen probably won’t be around so much after the wedding. She only comes over to nag us about place settings and colour schemes.’
Mum said, ‘So the wedding’s still on then?’
I said, ‘Of course it is.’
We had the usual family ‘discussion’ (row) about me marrying Nick.
I mean, yes – his acting career has never really taken off. And he wears clothes that are too young for him. But he’s Daisy’s dad and I love him.
I told everyone I was dieting for the wedding, and Mum said, ‘Righty-o. I’ll just give you five then. Don’t you worry. I’ve cooked this whole roast in olive oil.’
Mum thinks olive oil is like a health food.
I showed her the calories on the Aunt Bessie’s roast potato packet.
She said, ‘200. Is that a lot?’
I said, ‘It is if you add olive oil. And eat five of them.’
Considering Mum is overweight and has type II diabetes, it’s pretty shocking she knows nothing about calories.
She had eight roast potatoes on her plate, a mountain of buttery mash, oven chips, potato smiley faces and three huge slices of beef.
Mum muttered about me ‘being obsessive’ and warned about getting an eating disorder.
She said, ‘Men like a bit of something to hold onto. Isn’t that right Bob?’
Dad said, ‘It certainly is!’
Mum still dresses in boob tubes and skin-tight leggings. And Dad still wolf whistles at her.
Dad asked me if Nick and I had ‘any joy’ looking for houses.
I told him no – everything in London is way over our budget. And Nick doesn’t want to move back to the village.
It’s too near his parents (I didn’t admit he’d said it was too near my parents too) and there are too many muddy fields for his shiny leather shoes.
Dad said, ‘You can’t rent his mum’s place forever you know.’
I know.
Monday 5th January
Was too tired to get the train back yesterday, so ended up staying in Great Oakley.
Went to the play park with Laura and Brandi.
Alex Dalton was there.
His black and silver Rolls Royce was parked, two wheels on the curb, by the public toilets.
I know you’re supposed to grow out of schoolgirl crushes, but I still get all silly and flustered when I see him.
It doesn’t help that he has this look. Like he’s seeing right inside you.
Plus he dresses like James Bond, drives a Rolls Royce and is … well, a Dalton. So it’s fair to say I’m not the only girl with a crush on him.
Zach Dalton was there too.
He and Alex were looking after their (very) little sister, Jemima Dalton, who’s seven and has a modelling contract with Gap Junior.
Quite an embarrassing thing happened, actually – re: Alex.
It looked like he was smoking a cigarette, and Brandi went marching over to him.
(She smokes herself, but she gets angry when other people do it near Callum.)
She yelled, ‘Oi! Rolls Royce. This is a kids play park, you know? You’re not on your bloody yacht now, put your cigarette out.’
Me and Laura went running after her. You can’t stop Brandi when she’s on the war path, but sometimes you can ease the fall out a little bit. Apologise for her. Tell people she’s premenstrual.
Alex held up his cigarette and said, ‘You mean this electronic cigarette?’ He opened his palm and showed Brandi a vial of liquid.
Brandi mumbled about how fake cigarettes shouldn’t look so realisti
c.
Then Alex said, ‘Hello Juliette’.
I never know what to say to him, so I went all red and rambled on about the weather. Then I said it was ‘nice to see him’ (arg! Embarrassing!) at the play park.
Alex frowned and said ‘Zach thought it was a good idea for Jemima’ – adding, ‘Personally, I can’t stand the place.’
I stood all awkward for a minute.
Then he said, ‘You do realise your daughter is trying to eat that swing?’
So I went back to Daisy, who was in a bucket swing gnawing at the chain.
Brandi said, ‘Stuck up wanker. I can’t believe you fancy him.’
I said, ‘I don’t fancy him.’ But it was a lie. My stomach was all fluttery.
While we were pushing Daisy and Callum on the swings, Zach came bounding over.
‘What ho Duffy family!’
Zach and Alex are so different. Like night and day, the two of them. Weird that they’re brothers.
Zachary is like a big sunshine – round face, blond hair, always smiling. Comes to all the village parties and pub crawls. Has a bit of stubble, goes travelling.
Alex looks like a cross between an evil businessman and a pirate – wavy dark hair, black suit. Always frowning and smoking.
Zach asked Laura how her teacher training was going. (God knows why Laura is retraining as a teacher. She has a law degree for goodness sake. She could get a REALLY good job)
Laura went all silly and flustered.
Brandi and I grinned at each other.
After Zach had chatted up Laura, he asked me if ‘that scoundrel Nick Spencer’ had made an honest woman of me yet.
I told him not yet.
Zach and Laura ended up sitting on the bench together and talking for ages. Awww…
Then Alex shouted, ‘One more minute Jemima. Then Zachary and I need to take you back.’
Zachary said, ‘Oh come on Alex. Let her have a bit more of a play.’
Alex said, ‘There’s broken glass here.’
Our play park isn’t THAT bad. Okay, so the springy bumblebee toy was set alight a few months back. And there’s cat poo in the sandpit. But there are far worse places … he should see the play parks in London.
