Wedding Bell Blues
Chapter 7
They had reserved a suite in which to get ready, and later to spend their wedding night before leaving in the morning for Montreal.
William arrived first. He checked that all their luggage had arrived. Thinking he had time for a quick bath, he ducked into their bathroom and drew a hot tub. When he came out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist, he found Julia had arrived. However, she was lying across the bed, snoring. He wrinkled his brow, wondering if her cold had gotten the better of her. But as he approached he smelled the distinct odor of wine.
Lifting her up, he shook her gently, "Julia, wake up! You must wake up now!"
As she slowly opened her eyes, she gave him a stupid smile. "William. You look wonderful."
He realized he was wearing only a towel.
"Yes, dear. But you have to wake up and get ready. I'll call room service for some coffee. You'll like that."
"Is my dress here?"
"Not that I've noticed. I'll call the shop."
"What time is it?"
William reached for his watch, "2:15. You need to start dressing. Shall I draw you a bath?"
"Oh, yes. Let's bathe," she slurred.
"I've already bathed. I think a nice cool bath is just the ticket for you."
He wondered how she managed to get drunk, and right before the wedding. With much difficulty he got her undressed and into the tub.
"Oh, William! This is too cold."
"You'll get used to it. Can I leave you here alone for a minute?"
"Of course. I can take a bath by myself."
He stepped back into the room and called room service and then the dress shop.
"Hello. May I speak to Madame Marie?"
"Mais non, Monsieur. She has gone to deliver a dress."
"Is it the dress for Dr. Ogden, I hope."
"Oui, Monsieur. She said she was going to the Queen's Hotel."
"Thank god. Good day, Mademoiselle."
At that moment there was a knock at the door. He couldn't very well answer it with just a towel on.
"Yes, who is it?"
"Room service, sir."
"Come in and leave the tray." He stepped into the other room of their suite.
To himself, "I'd better get some clothes on before Madame Marie arrives."
He had no sooner gotten his trousers and shirt on before there was again a knock at the door.
"Madame Marie, at last."
"Mr. Murdoch, I have the doctor's dress. Is she here?"
"Yes, but I'll take it." He grabbed it from her and quickly shut the door.
"Julia, are you alright?" he called at the bathroom door.
"Yes."
"Your dress is here."
"Oh! You didn't look at it, did you?"
"No, dear."
Again there was a knock at the door. This time he answered it to Emily.
"Dr. Grace?"
"I came to help Julia dress. I hope she's alright. We may have had a little too much wine at lunch."
"So that's what happened. I think she'll be fine. She's in the tub right now. You go see if you can help and I'll finish dressing and get out of your way. Tell her I'll see her at the theatre. She doesn't want me to see her in THE dress until the ceremony."
William paced as he looked at his watch. It was a quarter to four. He had not worn his sling and was sure Julia would let it slide this one time. The guests had arrived, but he had not seen Julia or Emily. And George wasn't there with the ring either.
"You'll be fine, me ol' mucker. She's not going to stand you up." Brackenreid tried to assure William as they waited for the ceremony to begin.
And at that moment Emily entered the room like a whirlwind.
"She's here. She's ready. She's beautiful."
William smiled and sighed. But he still had no ring. And he hadn't seen Judge Logan either.
"Come along," urged Brackenreid. "We better take our places." They moved to the flowered arch that had been erected.
"But..." And then George arrived, panting.
"I've got it, sir." He pulled the gold ring from his pocket, handing it to William.
"How can I thank you, George?"
William looked and the engraving inside was perfect. The ring itself was even prettier than he remembered. He slipped it into his pocket. Suddenly the violinist began to play a Vivaldi piece and the room got quiet. Again William looked around for the judge, but instead saw his own priest there.
As he opened his eyes wide in surprise, Thomas leaned over, whispering in his ear, "The Doctor knew how much marrying within the church meant to you, so she made a little switch." Father Bennett nodded and smiled at William, who smiled back.
Emily entered and took her place as the violinist changed to a Bach piece. William's breath stopped when he saw Julia enter. She had never looked more beautiful. Truly, the dress she wore was worth the wait, but the woman in it, even more. She took her place beside him as his heart hammered. They both smiled, holding hands, facing Father Bennett.
George was standing in the back of the room near the door with the biggest grin on his face when he felt someone enter and shove him aside.
"What the...!" Looking up he saw Leslie Garland staggering toward the couple. "Bloody hell," said George, mimicking the inspector. "Where did he come from and what's he up to?"
Garland was stumbling forward waving a gun at the oblivious wedding party. He reeked of liquor.
"Henry! Henry!" George whispered loudly as he pursued Garland.
"I see him, George!"
The two constables approached from either side, pinning Garland's arms, relieving him of his weapon. George clapped his hand over the interloper's mouth as he and Henry dragged him out the nearest exit. They quickly tied and gagged him, leaving him in the ally, and hurried back inside just as the priest said, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride, William."
He pulled Julia to him, "I love you, Mrs. Murdoch." Then he kissed her long and lovely.
The guests broke into a vigorous applause. George had never smiled so hard before. He was just glad that Leslie Garland had been waylaid before he could ruin everything.
The reception went smoothly. A lovely dinner was served and the cake was completely consumed. The violinist was joined by four others, playing soft music for dancing. William and Julia, of course, danced first. They could barely take their eyes off one another.
"You are so beautiful, Mrs. Murdoch, and so is your dress."
"And you are even more handsome than usual, Mr. Murdoch." Julia kept staring at her new wedding ring, enchanted with the roses engraved on it. "I'm never taking it off, William. Never!"
He laughed. So much for agonizing over the engraving inside it.
"What's so funny?"
"I'll tell you later, much later." He laughed more.
At last the party wound down, guests departing quickly.
"Shall we return to the hotel, my dear?" asked William as he gave Julia his arm.
They reached their suite to find that the hotel had left flowers and a chilled bottle of champagne for them.
As William uncorked the wine Julia said, " I know we've been living together for some weeks, but now everything seems different, official, perfect."
"Yes, I agree. I'm married. We're married. I can hardly believe it." They drank some of the champagne, then fell into each other's arms.
"I have something for you," William said as he reached into his pocket.
"And I for you," she replied as she took a small package from her bag.
William's gift was not wrapped, so he just held the locket out to her.
"William! It's lovely, exquisite. And it matches my ring." When she opened it and saw the picture, she laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"Open yours and see."
He quickly unwrapped the small box to reveal a small rectangular locket engraved with his initials, intended to hang from his watch fob. Opening it he found the identical picture.
Together they both said, "George!"
As they undressed, the process seem to go better than their first time. When they were both naked, they embraced. Their temperatures rose as their bodies melted into each other. It would be a long passionate night, and just one of many, many more.