Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters nor the original Inspector Lynley Mysteries – they belong to Elizabeth George and the BBC. I have borrowed the characters from the TV-Show and only own the ideas of my stories.
A/N and summary: (Emerald Series, Part2) The weekend is over but the planning is not. Today they will tick off another few things for their wedding. They have to go to 64, Victoria Street. Enjoy...
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Give Notice
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On Monday morning after their wonderfully lazily busy weekend full of wedding planning, Tommy already was on his way to the car and Barbara still munched on a toast, walking from study to kitchen and back and being busy with collecting things. He almost was out of the door when he turned back to her.
"Oh, and if you meet Denton when he comes home, feel free to tell him of our wedding plans."
"Me?" she asked confused and stopped chewing.
It confused Tommy in return. "Yes, why not?"
"Because..." She shrugged. "Well, he's your butler."
"Barbara, he is the butler of this household. You're a part of this household for quite a while now, so he's also your butler. And he's the good soul who keeps this household running excellently, with two police officers having irregular and long working hours. He should know of our plans. And there is no reason why it should not be you who tells him that these officers plan to marry and build a family." He winked, blew a kiss in the air and left a baffled Barbara behind. Then he nodded towards a man on the pavement who walked his tiny dog. "Good morning, Mr Fergusson."
Since Tommy had stood in the open door on the top landing of the outer stairs, their neighbour, a usually only grumpy old man, had shuffled by, greeted friendly and wished them all the best after he had heard Tommy talking about marriage.
Straight after her soon-to-be husband had closed the door, Barbara typed a text message into her mobile phone.
SHOCK! she wrote. I always thought he has nothing to rejoice about in his life but he actually SMILED and it looked GENUINE!
Nobody can resist YOU! Tommy answered later. Not even Fergusson :-*
Charlie Denton returned from his holiday weekend on Monday morning. Tommy already had gone to work but Barbara had another appointment with her doctor for a few more blood tests. She would meet Tommy at Westminster City Hall and only go to the Met with him afterwards so she still was at home when Denton arrived. After he came in through the front door he announced loudly that he was back, just in case there would be someone, although he expected no answer.
Barbara came out of the living room.
"Oh, hello Ms Havers." she was greeted by the slightly surprised butler. He placed his travel bag next to the stairs. "You're not going to work today?"
"Hello Mr Denton." she replied. "Yes, but later. I have some appointments prior to work."
"I see." Denton nodded. "Did you have a nice weekend?"
"Yes, we had, and I hope yours was fine too."
"Yes, thank you. The weather was brilliant. Any occurrences I should know of?"
"Actually yes." Her answer and the happily sparkling way she said it made Denton raise his eyebrows instead of asking further. Like she had agreed on with Tommy, Barbara told Denton of their wedding plans. Now she was blushing but smiling. "And it... umm... has to be sooner than we thought."
Denton's face widened with a smile. He clearly understood why it had to happen quickly and looked honestly happy. "Oh, these are wonderful news. Congratulations, Ma'am."
Now Barbara raised her eyebrows and frowned. He instantly knew that she did not like how he had addressed her.
"If I might explain, Ma'am?" Denton smiled. "You are officially his Lordship's fiancée now, and you will be his wife soon. You are now the future Countess of Asherton. So I can hardly keep calling you Miss Havers." Barbara blanched. Only then it sunk in what laid ahead of her in about three months. "Can I get you a cup of tea, Ms Havers?" the butler asked sympathetically.
"That'd be more than welcome, Mr Denton, I..." she looked at him with wide eyes and he understood that she had not really thought about that countess matter for a while and only now realised, or realised again but with full force this time, what a partnership, what a marriage with his Lordship truly meant.
"I see." he smiled gently and recognised that she followed him into the kitchen.
Barbara plonked down on the bench at the table while the butler put on the kettle. Ignoring that she already had one cup of real tea she let him prepare a second one for her.
The appointment with her doctor had to be postponed, because over a nice conversation with Mr Denton she simply forgot it. They had a good heart to heart talk and at this moment its mental effect was more important than the taking of some blood samples which she could as well have tomorrow.
In the end Barbara was in a hurry for the eleven o'clock appointment at the register office.
She went there by taxi. When she climbed out of it a man near the entrance whistled appreciatively and she reddened. She only was in her usual, almost baggy jeans but maybe her sandals and the tastefully decent and well-fitting blouse with a light shawl around her shoulders was a tad above her usual appearance. Tommy, the man who stood near the entrance, was in his suit for work but he wore his beloved green tie and a pocket square of the same colour. Barbara had given both to him after a nice shopping day with Yazza. It matched the colours of her shawl, she recognised.
"Mmmh." he hummed with ongoing appreciation. "You've dressed up for today. I think we have to go home afterwards, my sexy Lady."
"Oh, shut up- mmmh." Barbara was silenced with a brief but juicy kiss. "Stop that, Thomas. We're almost late. Come, we still have to find the office."
That was easier than she thought. The man at the information desk in the entrance hall knew what the couple had in mind in the moment they had come through the huge door. He gave them the floor number and the description of how to get there.
It could not be missed. Several direction signs also showed the way.
A similarly happy couple came out of the office a few moments before Tommy and Barbara were called inside. They were bid to sit and Barbara put the black folder onto the table.
After a few words of greetings, the registrar told them what she needed if they wanted to give notice. Barbara opened the folder and placed a small stack of papers between them.
"I see you are prepared perfectly well, Ma'am. I assume my next question is superfluous, because you seem to have planned it for quite a while, haven't you?" She smiled, looking from one to the other.
Barbara only blushed but Tommy sheepishly smiled in return. He admitted that the proposal actually only was a fortnight ago and they had made their first planning only the previous weekend and today's appointment here on Saturday evening via the online booking tool.
The way the couple smiled so sheepishly made the registrar understand immediately that they 'had' to marry.
"Ah, the sooner the better, I suppose." she said with an encouraging nod. Hasty appointments were nothing new to her. "But you know that you can marry only after 29 days from today, don't you?" The couple on the other side of the desk blushed a bit more and nodded. "Well, then, what I need from you..."
All required papers were shown and some were copied, and the registrar filled out some forms on her computer.
"Oh, Lord Asherton, I..." the registrar looked up from her monitor. "Err... it's optional but you might know... well, do you have the... umm..."
"Ah, yes, you mean the licentia regia? Yes, I have it." Tommy reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and fetched a folded paper. It looked thick and soft and obviously was laid paper.
"The what?" Barbara asked while Tommy handed the folded licence over to the registrar who only gave it a brief look and then went to make a copy.
"Licentia regia. It derives back to the... ah, probably somewhere around 1780 or so. English peerage asks the sovereign for permission to marry." Barbara's eyes went wide. "It affects the Royal family by law, but for the lower nobility it's just a formality nowadays. I write a letter and someone from the Royal office will send this back to me."
"Say it isn't so." Barbara uttered.
"Yes. But it's really only optional. I only found out when the wedding planner has told me. Quite amusing, isn't it?"
He got the paper back but Barbara literally whipped it out of his hands to have a closer look. "Time that someone sweeps thoroughly through this monarchy rules." she muttered under her breath while she examined the royal coat of arms and read her name somewhere. "Oh, I meet Her Majesty's approval. Lucky me." she sarcastically commented it. "This is so outdated... When did you get it?"
"After you've said yes on Wednesday, I've sent my request," Tommy explained while he put the paper into their black folder. "and I got this on Thursday, after we've told our colleagues. By the way, I agree with you. It's about time to stop this silly habit, even though it's only optional and I like it somehow. Although you'd be officially recorded anyway after our marriage. As the new Countess of Asherton."
"Hmph." Barbara grunted.
The registrar had waited smiling until the couple had finished their conversation. Now she called for attention again. "Now for the venue. Where do you want to have your ceremony?"
A brief look was exchanged between the two and Tommy spoke. "Well, since the planning was in such a short notice and we had no real choice for a date we only found a place for our reception that doesn't provide marriage ceremonies. It's not on the list of certified venues. So we've planned to have the wedding ceremony here. At Westminster City Hall."
"Oh, that's fine. And have you made an appointment already?" The registrar opened another form on her computer.
"Unfortunately not." Tommy admitted and earned a slightly reprimanding look from the registrar. "We've hoped that it's possible to make it now."
"Well, let's see what I can do for you then. Which date do you have in mind?"
"The second of September." Barbara answered.
A few clicks and the registrar looked onto her monitor for a moment. Then her eyes went to the couple again. "Umm... that's a Thursday?!"
Tommy nodded. "Yes, we are aware of that. We just have to know if there's still a vacant time slot for us. Middle of the week might be of help here."
"Fortunately you're right, Sir." the registrar replied. "There even are a few: 8 am, 11 am, 2:30 pm and 4:30 pm. You still have a choice."
Barbara and Tommy had a short discussion about the pros and cons of each time and the registrar behind the monitor was amazed how effective they were. In less than two minutes they agreed on the time slot for 2:30 pm.
"And that was that." Tommy grinned when they stepped into the sun outside Westminster City Hall.
"I'm still shocked about that Royal... nonsense." Barbara shook her head but smiled when he took her in his arms and kissed her.
"I've told you, it's optional." he explained laughing. "In fact it's just a bonus and shortens the procedure of getting your name into the peerage roll."
"It doesn't have to be in there."
"But it will be, whether you like it or not, my love." Silencing her answer before she was able to give it, he gave her another kiss. "Care for lunch before we go to work, my approved future wife?" he then asked laughing.
"I'm not sure." she winked, her earlier conversation with Denton still on her mind. "Do you have the permission to take me out?"
They went to the traditional pub nearby to have a quick bite and as chance would have it, afterwards the couple even was able to tick off the location for their first reception from their list of things to organise.
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A/N: Yes, I know, only a few Royals have to report or ask the Queen for permission if they want to marry, but I think the idea of a licentia regia is too funny (and could very well be true ;-) ) and it fits in. And the small part with it was already written, so...
