Maddy’s Christmas Wedding (Little Duck Pond Cafe #37)

CHAPTER THREE

I pulled into the car park of the Moonbeam Castle Hotel, switched off the engine and smiled across at Maddy. She smiled back, which I took as a good sign.

The fairytale-style ‘castle’, a silvery-stoned triumph – complete with lofty spires and intricate turrets – had been built in the 1930s by an eccentric millionaire for his young family. But having stood empty for the past half decade, it had recently been undergoing renovations to turn it into a venue for weddings, and as soon as Maddy had seen the artist’s impression in the local paper, she was smitten.

Ours would be one of their first weddings – on Christmas Eve – and although she was excited, I could tell Maddy was worried they wouldn’t be ready in time. Maybe seeing it for herself would set her mind at rest and tick one important item off her list.

Usually on Saturdays, after working long hours during the week, I liked a lie-in. And if Maddy wasn’t working at the café, we’d go out for a late breakfast at our favourite ‘greasy spoon’ café. I liked our usual routine. But if this visit to check out our wedding venue would cheer Maddy up, I was all in.

‘Oh, Jack, it’s so magical.’ Maddy sighed as we got out of the car. ‘It’s just like a castle from a fairytale picture book.’

‘If you say so.’ I grinned at her, thinking how very beautiful she looked when her eyes were shining like that. ‘I was always more into books about diggers and trains myself.’

She flicked her eyes upwards. ‘Honestly, you boys are so boring.’

‘What’s with the scaffolding?’ I peered at the side of the building. ‘I thought all the structural work had been done.’

Maddy nodded. She’d been in regular communication with the weddings co-ordinator so she knew about these things. ‘It’s finished. They’re painting the exterior now.’

‘Ah.’ Sure enough, a figure on the scaffolding dressed in white overalls was working away on the side of the building.

Maddy was far more clued up than I was on the details of our wedding arrangements, and I felt a twinge of guilt. Maybe I should try to get more involved from now on. I’d been happy to leave all the minor details to Maddy, mainly because I knew she was enjoying the whole palaver and she obviously had a far better eye than I did for which flowers would look perfect and which wedding cake was best.

Cake was cake, as far as I was concerned. I liked all cake. But apparently some sponges were better than others for weddings. Maybe they kept longer. I’d no idea, and that was the point. Maddy had investigated all of these little details with enthusiasm, and I trusted her completely.

She’d seemed more stressed lately, though, and I couldn’t get to the bottom of it. When I broached the subject, she’d just laugh and brush it off as nothing. But the dark shadows under her eyes worried me and I knew for a fact she wasn’t sleeping. She normally went out like a light but the other night, I’d woken up and she wasn’t there and I’d found her sitting in the semi-dark at the kitchen table, staring at her laptop. When she heard me come in, she slammed it shut, turned and beamed at me. ‘Just checking the guest list, seeing who hasn’t replied yet,’ she’d said, getting up and yawning. ‘Come on. Back to bed. I’m knackered.’

She’d taken my hand and led me up the stairs.

But I’d known a fake yawn when I saw one . . .

If she really was worrying about guest lists in the middle of the night, it was clear she needed me to be shouldering the stress with her. And that’s why I’d suggested we visit the venue, to make sure the renovations were on schedule. I didn’t doubt it myself. It was a business and weddings were booked there from the beginning of December. Even if they had to work through the night and hire more people to get the work done, I knew they’d be ready on opening day. And certainly by Christmas Eve.

We’d revisited once before – back in September – and I’d been amazed to see just how much work had gone on since Maddy and I first did the tour of the castle in August. We’d made a provisional booking at a local hotel, but as soon as Maddy had seen the story in the paper about a small castle in the area being turned into a hotel and a venue for weddings, she’d set her heart on us having our reception there instead.

‘Oh, look at it, Jack!’ She’d snatched up the newspaper to show me the pictures. ‘It’s so pretty and it’s got actual turrets.’ Her eyes had shone. ‘A proper fairytale castle. Can we go and see it, Jack? Please?’

Since I found it pretty much impossible to refuse Maddy anything (within reason), of course I said yes. And I could see from the plans that it was going to be spectacular when it was finished. So we went along to see it and found that the interior of the Moonbeam Castle Hotel was as outlandishly spectacular as the exterior. The main doors opened onto a huge tiled hallway, dominated by a grand staircase that rose up and then forked into two, the arms sweeping left and right, and leading to the bedrooms, where guests could stay the night. (Maddy, her bridesmaids and her mum were booked to stay at the hotel the night before the wedding.)

The reception would be held in several imposing rooms on the ground floor, with long windows looking onto a lawn at the front and a lake and trees at the back.

We’d booked our wedding reception for Christmas Eve that same day.

Now, as we walked around with the very efficient weddings co-ordinator, Jeanette, I couldn’t help but notice the areas that still needed attention: grubby skirting boards here and there, and a wall that had been taken down but the job not finished off. Slightly nervous of the small fortune we and members of our families were paying out, I asked if she was sure they’d be ready by the time of their first wedding in December. (They were due to open in less than a month’s time.)

But Jeanette smiled and with a confident shake of her head, she said, ‘Nothing to worry about. Just a few little tweaks and then we’ll be up and running, all ready for our first wedding in a few weeks’ time. I’ll be posting photos from our couple’s big day on the website, so you’ll be able to get a wonderful idea of how everything will be for your wedding day.’ She checked her phone. ‘On Christmas Eve. Wonderful!’

I nodded. ‘We’ll make sure to have a look at the pictures of that first wedding.’ I turned to Maddy for her agreement, but Jeanette was already on a different subject.

‘Have I mentioned we can organise napkins embroidered with the names of your guests?’ she said with a bright smile.

It sounded a bit naff to me but it was the sort of thing Maddy might like so I left it to her to answer.

‘It’s a nice idea,’ she said.

Jeanette smiled. ‘It is, isn’t it? Of course, your guests would then be able to take them away as a souvenir of your big day.’

I cleared my throat. Maddy didn’t seem overly keen, so we could save some money here! ‘I think we’ve decided on sugared almonds as favours?’

Maddy looked at me and nodded. ‘That’s right, Jack. We won’t need embroidered napkins as well.’

Jeanette gave us another dazzling smile. ‘Of course not. Now, would you like to have a little wander down to the lake? The landscape gardeners have been hard at work since the last time you were here when the grass was all . . . well, like it needed a smart haircut, shall we say?’ She gave a little tinkly laugh and I thought how good she was at her job. It would drive me nuts being forced to be happy and smiley all day, with people you’d never met before. I’d learned from observing Maddy that brides-to-be could be quite demanding, wanting every little detail to be absolutely perfect. But Jeanette was the sort of calm person who could ease their worries with a smile and a reassurance that everything would indeed be perfect on their big day. (Was any wedding ever perfect?)

I glanced at Maddy. ‘Shall we?’

She was staring out of the window and seemed lost in thought. ‘Sorry?’

‘Do you want to go outside? Have a look at the grounds before we go?’

‘Oh. Yes, that would be great.’ She smiled at Jeanette.

‘Brilliant!’ Jeanette nodded eagerly. ‘It’s such a lovely day today, isn’t it? Right, if you’d like to follow me, I’ll take you through?’

She unlocked the back doors and we stepped out onto the elegant patio then walked down some wide stone stairs to the gravelled area below. The view across to the lake was quite stunning.

‘I’ll be leaving when you do,’ called Jeanette. ‘But there’s absolutely no hurry. No hurry at all. Just take your time and soak it all up!’

‘Thank you,’ I called back and Maddy gave her a little wave.

We walked hand-in-hand across the lawn and down to the lake, which was fringed with trees on the far side.

‘You did well spotting this place.’ I squeezed her hand encouragingly. ‘It’s great, isn’t it?’

Maddy nodded. ‘We can get some photos down here with the lake in the background. That’s if it ever happens.’

‘What?’ I shot her a bemused look. ‘That’s not funny Maddy. What do you mean, if?’

She shook her head. ‘I was . . . I was just thinking about that bloody snow machine going astray.’

‘Hey, don’t worry about that. We can still get married without fake snow.’

‘I know. But what if it’s a sign? That everything’s starting to go wrong?’

I gazed at her, struggling to understand. She looked genuinely anxious.

I squeezed her hand. ‘I’ll chase it up when we get back, okay?’

‘Will you?’ She looked at me and I saw a mixture of sadness and worry in her lovely eyes.

‘Of course I will. Come on. Let’s go home. I’ll make us a fry-up when we get back.’ I grinned. ‘Even better than our greasy spoon caff.’

She laughed at that. ‘Not possible. Those greasy spoon breakfasts are the best. Shall we go tomorrow morning, since we missed today?’

‘Excellent idea.’

We walked across the lawn and found Jeanette putting on her jacket at a table in the grand entrance hall.

She smiled brightly. ‘Well, lovely to see you again, and if you change your mind about the embroidered napkins or you have any queries – anything at all – you’ve got my number.’

I couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief as we walked out to the car. We’d actually managed a visit with no more ‘little extras’ to bump up the final cost! Maddy’s parents, Barry and Val, had insisted on paying for the wedding venue and the flights to Lapland, and my own parents were footing the bill for the flowers, the bridal party’s dresses and the men’s suit hire. Marcus – Maddy’s other (biological) dad – was paying for the fancy menu we’d chosen, but I didn’t want them overburdened with too huge a bill. They’d all been so generous. Apart from one or two little extras, all Maddy and I had to pay for was our honeymoon.

Antigua!

I was looking forward to getting away on honeymoon even more than the wedding day itself. Two weeks. Just the two of us. We’d be spending Christmas Day with our families, then flying off on Boxing Day. It was like a little beacon of hope shining through all of the chaos!

Before that, though, I wanted Maddy to have the wedding of her dreams. It just all seemed a bit over the top sometimes when I stepped back and thought: All this expense for just twenty-four hours!

But it was Maddy’s big day and I knew how important it was for her that every little detail should be organised to perfection. Going along with most of the little ‘extras’ was a no-brainer for me.

So far, I’d gone along with personalised wine bottle labels, a ‘Magic Mirror’ photo booth and – because Maddy had always dreamed of a winter wonderland wedding – an actual snow machine (just in case there wasn’t any of the real stuff).

There was a slight problem with the snow machine, though. Maddy had ordered it a week ago and it still hadn’t arrived and I could tell she was worried. The reason I knew this was because she’d woken me at three in the morning to mention it.

‘What if it’s been nicked?’ she’d fretted, sitting bolt-upright up in bed. ‘Seriously, you can’t trust anyone these days.’

‘That’s a bit harsh.’

‘It’s sad but true.’ She dug her hands in her hair. ‘If it’s not coming, we’ll need to get a refund so we can buy another one. I’ll have to phone the company and see if they actually sent it,’ she’d muttered, reaching for her phone.

Gently, I’d removed the phone from her hands. ‘It’s the middle of the night, love. No one’s going to answer. And you’re on an early shift tomorrow, remember?’

‘But what if it doesn’t arrive in time?’ She’d stared at me like it would be the complete end of human life as we knew it. ‘We really need snow!’

‘Hey, come here and snuggle down,’ I’d murmured. ‘It’s the festive season. Parcels are always late in the run-up to Christmas.’

Nestled into my shoulder, she’d sighed. ‘I just want everything to be perfect. Does that make me crazy?’

‘No, of course not.’ I grinned. ‘Well, maybe a little bit. But hey, I’m rather fond of crazy.’

She’d grunted in reply.

‘You might want to stop the middle-of-the-night phone calls to customer services, though.’

The only thing I’d drawn the line at was hiring a celebrity supergroup to entertain us. I had nothing against Keith Duffy or Brian McFadden. I was certain they were great guys. But was it really necessary when we’d already contacted a great local band to find out if they were free? (They were. And their rates were very competitive.)

‘Oh, isn’t it lovely?’ sighed Maddy, pausing beside the car before getting back in. She gazed at the castle and tears glistened in her eyes as she turned to me. ‘A proper castle. Thank you, Jack.’

‘Hey, why are you thanking me?’ I murmured, putting my arm around her and giving her a gentle squeeze. ‘Your parents are paying.’

‘Yes, but you’ve let me have my own way in just about everything – the flowers, the table seating plan, the outfits for the ushers . . . and this place, which is going to be the most romantic, perfect place to celebrate our wedding ever. I want you to know that I really appreciate it. I appreciate you!’

A tear escaped and she laughed and brushed it away.

‘The feeling’s mutual,’ I said, planting a kiss on her lips, and she smiled. But the faint sadness still lingered in her eyes. She looked tired.

I suddenly wondered if she was still worried about her dad.

Barry had ended up in A no having to get trussed up like a Christmas dinner turkey and wear a purple ‘cravat’ (what was wrong with a tie, anyway?); and no little ‘extras’ that seemed innocent enough at the time but just kept pushing that gasp-inducing total ever upwards. The idea that the average cost of a wedding in this country had recently passed the ￡20,000 mark (over ￡25,000 if you included the engagement ring and the honeymoon) was quite mind-boggling to me. I wasn’t a mean person. It’s just I was brought up by parents who worked hard but were forced to be thrifty, and old habits tended to die hard.

But Maddy had been dreaming of her perfect wedding day since she was a little girl, so I was hardly going to complain (too much) about the cost. Seeing Maddy happy and glowing on our big day was more important to me than anything right now, so I would grin and bear every single bit of fuss. Even the thought of my embarrassingly flirty Great-Aunt May getting wallpapered on the champagne and winking at Maddy’s dad didn’t faze me. Well, not too much. (Great-Aunt May said Barry reminded her of Cary Grant, who’d been ‘a bit of all right’ apparently in her younger, cinema-going days.)

I was a sucker for Maddy’s happy smile, and for that alone, I knew I’d be prepared to pay a small fortune – which had actually been a bit of a revelation for a guy who was generally fairly protective of his wallet. I guessed it was because I’d never met anyone quite like Maddy and I was properly, deeply in love for the first and last time.

I just wished I could cheer her up.

I glanced across at her. ‘How about we go to that Christmas fair you were telling me about? Next weekend? Or maybe one night after work? We could have something to eat at Carlo’s first then head along to the fair and you could do some Christmas shopping?’

She didn’t reply immediately and when I looked, she was just staring ahead, lost in thought.

‘Sorry?’ She turned. ‘What did you say?’

‘The Christmas fair? Fancy going sometime soon?’

She smiled. ‘Good idea. Yes. Let’s do it.’

‘We could do some Christmas shopping. Maybe pick out something really special for your mum as a thank you for helping you so much with the wedding arrangements?’

But Maddy was back to staring at nothing through the windscreen.

We drove for a while, then I broke the silence by saying, ‘Do you fancy swinging by your parents’ house to show them my photos? The ones I’ve just taken of the castle interior? It’s looking so much better than when they first saw it a couple of months ago.’

Maddy nodded, brightening at the idea.

Now, driving over to Maddy’s parents, I was hoping the photos I’d taken were all right. Maddy was the photographer as a rule. She was always snapping the weirdest things and sharing them on social media. So I’d been a bit puzzled when she hadn’t even got her phone out earlier when Jeanette was eagerly showing us the (actually tremendous) blue and gold colour scheme they’d picked to decorate the newly-revamped main banqueting rooms. I’d taken out my own phone eventually and start snapping away myself.

When we arrived at Hartwell House, Maddy scrambled out of the car first and was already being greeted at the front door by her parents as I switched off the engine and got out. I followed her inside and when I went into the kitchen, they all looked round at me as if I’d caught them in the act!

‘What’s going on here?’ I joked. ‘Planning what to get me for a wedding present, Maddy?’

They all laughed and Maddy made a guilty face, so I assumed I’d hit on the truth. I’d already bought her a special gift, with a little advice from Ellie, and I was planning to give it to her when she got back from Lapland.

Seeing her parents seemed to cheer Maddy up. We chatted to Barry and Val over cups of tea in the big country kitchen overlooking the garden, and they were both impressed with how the castle interior was shaping up. Then Maddy and her mum started talking about Lapland and the hen party, and I watched with relief as colour surged into Maddy’s cheeks and made her eyes dance with excitement.

When they started a serious discussion about how they’d have their hair styled on our big day, my attention wandered a bit, and Barry and I started talking about something just as important – our team’s chances for the current season.

‘Happy?’ I asked, on the way home.

‘Of course. How could I not be happy! I’m marrying you in less than two months’ time, aren’t I?’

‘Well, there is that.’ Grinning, I reached over and squeezed her hand.

But I wasn’t entirely reassured. She was clearly tired and in need of a treat. And luckily, I’d just thought of the most brilliant way to cheer her up.

I felt quite excited myself, thinking about it. And nostalgic as well.

Maddy was going to love it . . .

Maddy