Faith blew out all the candles, there was a cheer.
‘And now you’ve got to shut your eyes and make a wish,’ said Molly.
Faith’s gaze connected with Chris. She shut her eyes and wished.
‘And you mustn’t tell anybody the wish or it won’t come true.’
She wasn’t going to. She was hoping there would be no need.
‘Happy Birthday’ was sung, cake was distributed. Full of food and starting to get sleepy, Molly wanted to go and see Fairy Maple’s tree.
‘Good idea,’ said Chris, putting his arm around Faith’s waist.
They strolled along the path to the tree, Molly skipping a little way ahead of them. ‘And then we’ll go to Faith’s house and then to our house,’ she said.
‘It would be much easier,’ Chris said casually, ‘if Faith came and lived with us all the time, really.’
‘All the time?’ Uncertainty crept into Molly’s voice.
‘Yes. I think it would be lovely.’
Molly pondered, the giant oak tree at her back, then turned suddenly tragic eyes on him. ‘But would she stay for ever?’ she said in a small voice. ‘Mummy didn’t stay.’
Faith hugged her, tears in her eyes, her heart melting.
‘Oh, that’s easy to fix,’ said Chris. ‘We just have to do a very special magic spell. I would have to look into Faith’s eyes and say, “Dear Faith, Molly and I love you very much. Please will you marry me and live with us always?” Just like that. See?’ His eyes were intense and very green and his hand hanging by his side gripped Faith’s.
Molly looked at Faith and put a small hand on her leg.
Faith took it, clasping Chris’s fingers with her other hand. Around them the trees rustled in the tiny breeze and the woodland scents coloured the air. Her heart filled up. She had never before known such love as she experienced right at this moment. ‘Wow,’ she said. ‘That’s powerful. And then I would have to look into Daddy’s eyes and say, “Dear Chris, I love you and Molly very much too. I would very much like to marry you and live with you both always.”.’
‘Does that mean yes?’ asked Molly.
Faith smiled. ‘Yes, darling. It means yes.’
‘And there’s one more thing,’ said Chris. ‘We have to seal the spell with a ring.’ He let go of her hand, felt in his pocket and took out a box, murmuring, ‘I’ve been carrying this around for days.’
Faith gazed mesmerised at a diamond-studded circle of gold. ‘Yes,’ she croaked, ‘that would seal the spell all right.’ There seemed to be something constricting her throat. She watched as he slid the beautiful ring onto the wedding finger of her left hand. It felt warm. It felt right. She cleared her throat and tried again. ‘Of course, you could both come and live with me instead, if you like. Or perhaps we could find a new house for all of us?’
Chris swept them both into his arms, hugging her and Molly together. ‘Love you,’ he said softly in her ear.
‘Love you too,’ she replied.
Molly sighed. ‘I knew this was a magic tree.’
‘It is,’ said Chris, smiling at Faith. ‘It really is. Magic for ever.’
EPILOGUE
The overnight rain had cleared to leave a softly washed Lake District morning.
Beautiful, thought Faith, looking out of her window at the empty, peaceful hills. She was careful not to glance down the length of her garden in case Chris was also looking out of his window and they saw each other. That would never do. Not this morning. Not until roughly eleven o’clock, give or take a bride’s prerogative.
Then movement caught her eye and she looked at the garden anyway. It was Molly – still in her pyjamas – scampering around the marquee in Chris’s garden, through the gate and up across her lawn.
Faith ran downstairs. ‘Molly – why did you ...?’ She stopped, because Molly was reporting to Hope, also in pyjamas, standing at the boiling kettle.
‘Daddy is all waked up and he’s having toast and tea with Jared. Look, he gave me some toast. And he says to tell Faith that they were very good last night and he hopes we were too. And I said we were.’
It suddenly hit Faith that she really was marrying Chris this morning. She and the girls – including Molly – had had a silly evening here with wine, chocolate and girly films. Chris – in time-honoured fashion – had been down to the Earnshaw Arms with his friends.
Hope saw her. ‘Tea,’ she said firmly, ‘and boiled eggs and toast all round, just like you used to make for us before school,’
Faith sat down, pulled Molly up onto her lap. ‘Sounds perfect. And then we’ll all have showers and be ready for the hairdresser when she arrives. Then we can put on our beautiful dresses and go down to the church to knock Daddy’s socks off.’
Molly laughed and wriggled round to give Faith a hug. ‘I love you, Faith.’
Faith felt her heart melt. She squeezed the little girl hard. ‘I love you too, poppet.’
Outside, the church bell chimed the hour. Normally, Faith barely heard it. Today, it assumed significance. The vicar, Susan Easton, had discussed the situation with them when they said they would like to get married in St Martin’s church. Chris was divorced, so before she agreed, Susan had had to satisfy herself that he had done all he could to save his previous marriage, but failed. She had also seen for herself the genuine depth of attachment between Chris and Faith, and also the way Molly loved her new stepmum-to-be.
And with Molly thoroughly enjoying all the preparations of a wedding morning, it was impossible for Faith to feel apprehensive for more than just that tiny moment when she took the white silk sheath off the hanger and felt it slide fluidly down her body.
The looks on both her sisters’ faces told her they had lumps in their throats.
‘Oh don’t,’ she said. ‘You’ll set me off.’
Downstairs again, the flowers had arrived: shades of dark and light pink for Charity and Hope to contrast with their pink silk sheaths; a pale pink and white mixed basket for Molly to go with her first ever long pink dress; and whites and pinks for Faith to complement her colouring and her bridesmaids’ outfits. The scent of roses and freesias in the cottage was overpowering!
The photographer arrived, closely followed by Faith’s old consultant Freddie Myers, in splendid morning dress, who was to give her away. Her parents had sent congratulatory messages, but hadn’t thought it was necessary to take time away from their work to come and see their eldest daughter married. There was just so much to do, you see. They knew she would understand.
St Martin’s was only two hundred yards away. Most of the guests would walk between the church and the reception marquee in Chris’s garden, but two horse-drawn open carriages stood ready at the gate for Faith, Freddie and the bridesmaids.
There were more photos, then Freddie tapped pointedly on his watch. ‘Time to go. Brides may be late, but not doctors.’
The horses clip-clopped slowly down the main street. The villagers had turned out to see her, all smiling and waving. It was like her birthday picnic all over again. Faith wondered how many times that day she would be on the verge of tears.
Then they were outside the church and she was being helped down from the carriage. As Charity and Hope fiddled with her veil and arranged her train, Faith could hear organ music inside and the low murmur of the congregation.
Rev. Susan Easton stood waiting in the porch in her ceremonial robes. She smiled as she greeted her.
More photos, then the vicar turned to lead the way inside. Faith took a deep breath, rested her arm on Freddie’s and entered the church. The soft organ music stopped – and in its place sounded the Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. ‘It’s the music you deserve,’ Chris had said when they’d discussed the ceremony with Susan.
As Faith walked slowly down the aisle followed by her bridesmaids, Chris turned around from his place at the front. Faith’s heart almost stopped again at the sight of him dressed as splendidly as Freddie, with a white rose to match her bouquet in his buttonhole. Then he smiled at her,
telling her with his eyes that he had never seen anyone as gorgeous as her, and she moved towards him as if there were only the two of them here.
Love you, he mouthed silently.
Love you too, she replied.
She barely noticed Charity take her bouquet and Hope lift her veil. All she was aware of in the whole world was the man by her side, the fluttering in her body and Rev. Susan as she stood beaming before them.
‘Dearly Beloved, We are gathered here ...’
Medical Romance from
Gill Sanderson
For more information about
Gill Sanderson
and other Accent Press titles
please visit
www.accentpress.co.uk
Published by Accent Press Ltd 2016
ISBN 9781786152985
Copyright © Gill Sanderson 2016
The right of Gill Sanderson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The story contained within this book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers: Accent Press Ltd, Ty Cynon House, Navigation Park, Abercynon, CF45 4SN
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