Mr. and Mrs. Charles Swan
Request the pleasure of your company
at the wedding of their daughter
Angela Swan
to
Benjamin Cheney
Saturday, the fifth of November
Two thousand and sixteen
at eleven o clock
Masen House, Kent
Reception to follow
The grey brown branches above made an almost solid tunnel as Bella guided her red pick up truck round the tight country lanes. As she came to the end of the cover, the winter sun warmed up the cabin and the landscape revealed itself. Green and brown arable hills, divided by hedgerows and boundary walls with almost clear blue skies above. The turning to the hotel came up fast and Bella signalled to drive through the tall gates and turned on to the long driveway through the grounds. The driveway was paved with the odd speedbump and pothole but nothing her beast of a truck wasn't used to.
She pulled in the gravel car park to one side of the building. Masen House was a refurbished mostly 18th century stately home, the home of Sir John Masen in the Elizabethan era and handed down the family line to be expanded upon extensively as the family fortune grew and eventually sold on to the nouveau riche in the early 1920s and finally the Elizabethan Hotel Group in the 1980s. The grey stone walls and red roof was covered with autumnal ivy. The house sat atop a large ornate garden. Jumping out of the truck and grabbing her case she pulled the wheels behind her over the stones and walked towards the entrance. Two things hit Bella the second she crossed the threshold. The temperature difference between the frosty car park and the inviting reception area and one of the other bridesmaids.
"OOF! Hi Jessica, good to see you too..?" Bella huffed out as she struggled to resist the rugby tackle like hug she'd just received. Jessica was a blur of brown-blonde curls, her rounded face and snub nose making her look a few years younger than 24. She was dressed for the icy winds too, in a red cable knit jumper dress, thick tights and ankle boots.
"Oh Bella, isn't it just beautiful here! It's going to be an absolutely perfect weekend! I cannot wait! Have you checked in yet? Have you seen Ang? What are you wearing to dinner tonight? Can we go to the bar for some pre-dinner cocktails?" Jessica was almost bouncing on the spot she was so hyped up. Jessica was one of Angela's friends from school but she had spent so much time around the Swans house that often the three girls would hang out together, almost like another sister in the tribe. Bella being the eldest, often played chauffeur and babysitter to the girls just a couple of years younger than her.
"Umm…" Unsure which question to answer first, Bella was relieved to see her mother gracefully walking towards them.
"Bella! You made it finally! I thought I told you to be here for lunch too? Nevermind, you're here now. Have you checked in? Did you bring the navy dress I told you to wear tonight?" While her mother's pace was more measured, Bella still found the list of questions had her on the back foot and decided to tackle the easiest first.
"I'm just about to check in, mum." She answered and turn to the receptionist to give her name and hand over a credit card.
"Room 213, second floor. Enjoy your stay, Miss Swan" Bree (as per her name badge) smiled across the desk handing Bella her key card.
"Well that's not as close to the bridal suite as we are but at least we're all under one roof now" sighed Renee.
"I'm sorry mum. I lost track of time catching up on some work. Besides Angela said I wasn't needed until just before dinner. Why don't I go check in and I'll meet you in the bar once I'm ready for dinner for a catch up? And yes, I brought the dress." Bella tried to smooth things over with her mum, knowing that her feathers would be ruffled with the wedding. Renee was mostly calm and collected but being on display in front of her in-laws could bring out the worst in her. While Grandma Swan had never been rude or entirely cold towards Charlie's wife, she was a tough nut to crack. Hardly anything met with her complete approval and a wedding would be under extreme scrutiny.
"Come on Bella. I'll show you to your room. It's just down the hall from mine. Then you can show me the dress you're wearing. I've got three and I'm totally undecided." Jessica took Bella's arm and led her towards the bedrooms.
"No later than 5!" Renee called after them.
Bella took in the blend of 18th century decor and easily interchangeable luxury hotel features as they moved through the hallway toward the lifts and up to the bedrooms. In Bella's room, Jessica immediately made herself comfortable in the wingback armchair by the window and Bella began to unpack her suitcase, hanging the satin navy wrap dress up ready to steam in the bathroom. The bridesmaids dresses had arrived with the wedding delivery so other than some casual clothes and toiletries there wasn't much to sort out. Jessica had made her way over to the door where Bella's dress was hanging.
"Okay definitely the pink, the colours will contrast nicely for any pics tonight. Red or green wouldn't do." Jessica decided. "Did you need some help with your hair?"
"No thanks Hun. I think I'll go casual with the hair tonight. The updo tomorrow will probably be giving me a headache all day." Bella grimaced at the thought of the number of pins that had stabbed her scalp during the hair trial a month ago.
"Okay, I'll leave you to it then." Jessica started to walk out of the room and then turned around. "Ooh try and get to the bar early though! I was talking to one of the waitresses at lunch and she said there's a whole doctors' conference staying this weekend too. Can you imagine?" Jessica left with a salacious smile on her face.
Bella shuddered. She couldn't think of anything worse than trying to pick up a stranger at a family wedding. Even if she disregarded her aversion to small talk and flirting, it would be just her luck for her family to interrupt if she did miraculously catch anyone's eye.
A little later in the day Bella popped a few last things into her handbag for the evening. Red lipstick, room key and a paperback. Looking in the mirror above the desk, she pinned a loose curl back in the open clip of her half updo. A quick brush of the skirt and slipping on her ballet pumps and she was out the door on a mission with an hour to spare until the appointed pre-dinner cocktails.
Sweeping down the hall and calling the lift, her skin warmed at the thought of her destination. On the tour she had spotted it and immediately pictured herself there. When Angela had suggested an Autumn wedding her daydream became a possible reality. Boarding the lift and making her way to the Library as it was called in the hotel's brochure, Bella's skin was tingling in anticipation of her stolen time. The stone door arch, large dark wood doors lead to a vaulted room with shelves lining the walls. Bare floorboards were covered in thin but detailed pattern carpets strategically placed to break up the room. Finally to her left was the fireplace, a large stone hearth matching the pillars lining the room filled with a roaring fire. In front of the fire a dark polished wood coffee table set out with some magazines, water bottles and snacks and next to that an oversized burgundy well worn chesterfield sofa.. with someone already on it! Bella could not help the irritated sigh that escaped her. One hour was all she had today to take in the perfect reading spot. She had been dreaming of this moment since her sister had booked her wedding. Now some other bugger was sitting in her seat! Not once in all her daydreams of curling up on this very sofa in front of the fire had she had company. The solitude was kind of the point, especially with the socially arduous weekend she had ahead of her. The plan was to take as many breaks here as possible to balance out the stress of a family gathering of this size.
The man sat on the sofa hunched over the coffee table peering at his laptop turned at the sound of irritation escaping Bella's mouth and frowned in her direction at first. Then a look of recognition and surprise dawned on his face as he stood and strode towards her.
