Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed them, every single one of the people they had invited to witness their special day. And, realizing that not a single invitation had gone unanswered, she felt a weight lift from her shoulders.
It wasn’t until she stood before her husband-to-be that she finally dared to take a breath, her uncle passing her hand over to George with all the surety that he would care for her and be kind to her and see that she was looked after for the rest of her days.
The look that passed between the two men was one that Cecelia thought could only have been matched by that of her father, and again, she sensed him with her as if he were standing right beside her uncle, offering every blessing in the world to the man he had chosen as her chaperone when he thought so carefully upon his will.
Thinking back on the day when that very will had been read aloud, she suddenly couldn’t help thinking how foolish she had been to ever believe her father didn’t know exactly what he was doing.
It was almost as if he had planned this very moment in his mind a million times over.
And the realization caused a brilliant smile to spread across her face.
When George leaned in and whispered, “You are the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes upon,” she noticed there were tears in his eyes.
Remembering how he had always loved her mischievous nature, she responded quietly, “And you scrub up well also, Your Grace.”
His laughter was little more than a snort, but it was enough to make Cecelia’s heart race.
And as the ceremony started, and George promised to honour, cherish, and love her for the rest of their days, she felt as if the world around her were changing entirely.
No longer did she believe she was in a dream after one final pinch, but that she was at the very beginning, standing upon the precipice of what was to be a marvellous life with the man she had always loved with all her heart.
The emotion that shone in George’s eyes as he placed the wedding band upon her finger was almost more than she could bear.
Her own hand trembled with anticipation as she too slid his band onto his finger. And when he caught her hand afterwards, she felt all of the love and affection he placed there in that one simple touch.
“You may now kiss the bride,” the archbishop announced, and Cecelia’s heart raced.
She had been so caught up in everything, so caught up in the planning of the wedding, that she had almost entirely forgotten about this very moment, the moment when they were finally able to share their love and devotion with the world, all wrapped up in one single kiss.
She did not dare to move, did not dare to breathe, as George leaned down.
When his hands came up to cup her face, her heart skipped a beat, and in the next, it raced like the speediest racehorse on the track as their lips connected.
The chapel erupted with such cheering, such applause, that it almost deafened her, and when their kiss finally broke, George remained close, his nose tip brushing affectionately against hers.
They smiled as if they were staring into a mirror, all the emotions of the last several weeks coming to a head as George whispered, “We made it.”
All the hard work, all the stress, all the rituals and planning that had to be done suddenly all felt so worthwhile, and Cecelia thought, if she could have done it all over again, she would have.
They were seen from the chapel on a wave of further cheering and applause, showered with petals and rice and blossoms and praise, all manner of smiling faces about them in a magical whirlwind of noise and colour.
And as George helped her into the white barouche, Cecelia felt the weight of the world fall off her shoulders.
When he sat beside her and laid a white cotton blanket over their laps, she snuggled down into his waiting arm, only to chuckle when he whispered, “I do believe you are forgetting something.”
When he inclined his eyes to the bouquet in her hand, she jumped up with eager anticipation at the thought of who might be the one to catch it.
All the men were already standing back, all the young and eligible young women crowded forward, their eyes wide with excitement as they awaited their moment to shine.
George leaned back in his seat, and she sensed him watching her as she turned her back on the crowd and threw the bouquet high over her head.
Even before she turned, she knew well who had captured the bouquet and the hope that they were the next in line to walk down the aisle.
“I got it! I got it!” Mary screamed, and Cecelia turned to see her sister jumping for joy, the bouquet clasped in both hands, her own forgotten on the floor at her feet.
A short way behind her, standing with the other gentlemen, Walter blushed with pride.
“Come here, you,” George said then, sweeping her up into his arms, and all the crowd cheered as he planted another kiss upon her lips.
