Wedding Bells
The wedding date was set and the day had finally arrived. There was so much to do! The manor was scrubbed top to bottom. Originally, Captain Peacock and Mrs. Slocombe considered a wedding date during the slow season, when the manor would not be occupied with guests. But they wanted to have fresh flowers for their wedding and Mavis convinced them that the most beautiful flowers grow wild in the back meadow.
The guests assembled in the lounge after breakfast.
"May I have your attention, please?" Mr. Rumbold bellowed, "Today is a very special day at Millstone Manor. Two members of our staff are to be married!"
The guests clapped their hands and there began a din of hushed conversations.
Mr. Rumbold continued, "We would like to extend our invitation to you all to join us in the Manor Chapel for the wedding ceremony at 1 pm and return here for a reception dinner."
The guests applauded loudly and retreated to their rooms to prepare for the afternoon's festivities.
Mavis and Mr. Moulterd sprang into action, setting up buffet tables, spreading tablecloths and bringing out the food.
Miss Lovelock and the local huntsmen bagged 10 pheasants for the wedding feast. They were plucked and gutted. The pheasant feathers made a welcome addition to the compost heap. Mavis and Mrs. Humphries prepared roast pheasant, potatoes, pheasant liver pâté, and fresh garden greens.
The pheasants were roasted with some fatty bacon and stuffed with a traditional seasonal herb stuffing.
The reception hall was elegantly decorated with candles, paper wedding bells, crepe paper streamers. Mavis and Mr. Humphries smoothed the table linens and stacked the dinner plates. They polished the silverware and lit the chafing dishes. Everything was set and looked wonderful.
Mr. Rumbold warmed up the chapel's old pipe organ; it coughed and belched dust and the sour notes moaned painfully. After several tries, the organ cooperated, just in time for Mrs. Slocombe to march down the aisle with Miss Brahms accompanying her. Captain Peacock stood at the altar awaiting her. He was in awe at how stunning she looked in her cream-colored skirt suit. Mavis wove a headdress of Queen Anne's lace in lieu of a veil.
Mr. Thorpe, the solicitor for the Grace Brothers' estate presided over the ceremony.
It was a lovely ceremony and the guests quickly made their way to the Manor lounge to partake of the wedding feast.
Afterwards, a trio of elderly women equipped with a pianoforte, a cello and a violin provided dancing music. It was a beautiful wedding and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.