Chapter 6: The Making of Lady Camille Poole
A/N: Short chapter to wrap things up and set up for part 3. I didn't expect to finish it the same day as Chapter 5 or I would have posted them together!
When Camille found out about the birthday party "cover up", there was no dramatic argument about lying to her and the wedding did not get called off. Only a very, very small part of Richard had thought that to be a possibility anyway. Early the next morning his parents had called him. They had decided to leave telling anybody for a day, so they could enjoy the rest of their anniversary undisturbed, and as a consequence they were unaware of his engagement. Before he had the chance to tell them though, his mother had burst out excitedly that they were coming to visit again in 3 months' time. Rather than have them delay their vacation by a couple of months, which Richard thought was perfectly sensible, Camille declared she would pull the whole thing together in time. It was made clear to him by the behaviour of Camille and Catherine that though he may be a key participant in the wedding, he would be lucky if he was even allowed to choose what he was going to wear.
A month into the planning a spanner got thrown into the works. Richard received a call from the production company informing him that HRH Prince Edward would be coming to Saint Marie to film the documentary about the history of the Caribbean colonies. This would also be an official visit, meaning he would be representing the Queen and bringing the Countess of Wessex and their two children with them. Naturally the dates they would be on Saint Marie coincided with the wedding. Camille had looked so devastated when he suggested delaying the whole thing that he decided to forget that idea and push on ahead.
Good manners meant that they had no choice but to invite the Prince and his family to the ceremony. Richard was pleased when they accepted the invitation – though Camille's nerves increased tenfold. The attendance of His Royal Highness meant he would not struggle to arrange security for that day – since nearly the entire Saint Marie police force would be at the wedding. They were bringing a few security officers with them anyway. It did mean he had to ask Fidel politely to refrain from drinking, and decided to do so himself. A week before the wedding, when Camille found out his intentions, she vowed not to drink either.
He was ready an hour earlier than he needed to be, so proceeded to spend that hour convincing himself Camille was going to change her mind and not turn up. Dwayne and Fidel had to practically drag him into the car, as he was so convinced she was not going to go through with the wedding, he didn't want to go to the church only to be humiliated. One of them must have called his mother when he was distracted because she was waiting when they arrived. She gave a significant look to the junior officers who promptly disappeared, slid into the back of the car next to him. He then proceeded to receive the pep talk of his life.
Richard was glad he had previously learnt how to pronounce Camille's middle name for the proposal that never was, as it meant no stumbling at the time of the vows. The same could not be said for Camille. Having completed his vows with what he felt were minimal nerves showing the priest turned to Camille and smiled kindly at her, "Now repeat after me, I Camille Quanesha, take you Richard George Martin Douglas Arthur…"
Camille's response was to stare at Richard in alarm. "What is it?" He asked quietly.
"I didn't realise you had so many middle names…"
He smiled and told her gently, "Yeah it's sort of an aristocracy thing." She continued to look mildly horrified. "You haven't changed your mind, have you?" He asked, wondering if multiple names somehow tipped the balance out of his favour.
"No, it's just, uh, well, I'm a bit nervous and sort of forgot some of the names…" She blushed, and Richard couldn't help letting out a small laugh, which Camille, the Priest and the majority of the congregation joined in with. After that it felt like the tension had been lifted completely and he was much more relaxed for the rest of the ceremony.
At midnight, the party showed absolutely no signs of breaking up. Richard was exhausted, even though he had only done the minimum amount of dancing required to be polite. His father had probably spent more time on the dance floor then him. Camille had been particularly nervous when formally introduced to HRH and his family, and he thought he had seen her visibly start at being referred to for the first time as "Lady Camille Poole". She remained tense after accepting the invitation to dance with His Highness, clearly fearing she was going to mess up in some way that caused deep and unforgivable offense. Richard and the Countess of Wessex had found it particularly amusing – later on she and her mother had taken Camille aside, probably to offer advise on how to cope with her new 'status'. Richard's favourite dance partner of the evening, besides Camille, had been Rosie – even though she deliberately stepped on his toes.
The fact he was ready for bed led Richard to begin to worry he was getting old, but couldn't help but notice his new wife looked quite tired as well. Tired, but incredibly beautiful. His parents, old enough to get away with leaving early, appeared to be heading over to say goodbye. Their flight back to the UK was tomorrow evening, and at this rate is was unlikely Richard and Camille would see them again before they left because they'd still be at their bloody reception.
"Camille, my dear, you have done so marvellously to arrange this wedding in 3 months!" His Mother cried, embarrassing Camille enthusiastically. Richard noted his father take a small step back, clearly afraid that Camille may expect the same treatment from him. Camille had learnt from the last time she hugged him though, and instead just smiled at her new Father-in-Law. He gave a rather formal bow and said gravely, "Welcome to the family, Lady Poole." After a suitable pause to acknowledge the drama of that little moment, his mother turned her affections on him, hugging him so tightly he feared he may lose consciousness due to lack of oxygen. He opted to simply shake his father's hand.
As his mother was leaving she paused to add, "Just think, perhaps next time we come to Saint Marie it'll be to meet Viscount Ipswich!"
Richard more than a little embarrassed by his mother's comment, but Camille was smiling politely and nodding. Once his parents were out of ear shot (about 5 metres given how noisy the party was) Camille turned to him and asked, "There is some sort of Viscount coming to live on the island?"
Oh, well, that explained her lack of embarrassment – she hadn't actually understood what his mother had been saying. He smiled, somewhat ruefully, and told her, "No, my mother was taking the opportunity to remind us of her desire for grandchildren. Viscount Ipswich would be the title given to our first born son."
Camille gave him a long look, before saying firmly, "I don't like that."
A/N: The third part of Succession, titled "Issue" will be published…at some point…