In order to keep Robert and his branch of the Family from becoming a laughingstock, a marriage had been hastily arranged that would serve the dual purpose of establishing Robert in society and help close the gap between the Campbells and the Shrecks. Mostly because it was so damn embarrassing. Robert's father had been the Campbell's younger brother, who died three months previously in an accident the Family still didn't like to talk about. The groom, Robert Campbell, was currently being supported and encouraged by his cousin Finlay's brothers, William and Gerald Campbell. Her intended prey didn't even realize she was coming. She stalked off through the crowd, opening up a path for herself through sheer strength of personality. He didn't get out much, but he meant well, and occasionally surprised people with his firm grasp of politics. Fortunately William found numbers both more interesting and easier to deal with than people, so he was perfectly suited to the job. It was a job that couldn't be trusted to an outsider, but which most members usually avoided like the plague, on the grounds it was far too much like hard work, and if they'd wanted to work they wouldn't have been born an aristocrat. William Campbell was tall, thin and intense, and the bookkeeper of the Family. Sometimes I think we're getting a little too inbred. You'd be surprised how many people forget that.
Remember you have to lift the veil first, though. Just say the words, kiss the bride, and it'll be all over before you know it. "You've been through the rehearsals," said William reassuringly. "Did you want to say something, William? No? I didn't think so. Robert looked at her and then at Adrienne with something like shock.Īdrienne rounded on him, and he fell back a step. The long white wedding gown made her look very fragile, like a delicate porcelain figure standing alone on a shelf. She was sixteen years old and very pretty, with hints of a more mature beauty to come.
She jumped up the moment they entered, then stood quietly with eyes modestly downcast. And there, among the antiques like a single flower in a garden of weeds, sat Letitia Shreck, his bride-to-be. They passed through the outskirts of the crowd, followed all the way by scandalized whispers, and then through a side door that led into a quiet sitting room decorated with antiques of considerable age and complete hideousness. It seemed like the safest thing to do, if he ever wanted his hand back.
"Something to look forward to, eh? Eh?Īnd she took him by the hand in a viselike grip and led him off through the crowd. "And then you can settle down to getting to know your bride," said Gerald. Fortunately for you, they couldn't keep me out of a wedding this important. Personally, I've never been embarrassed in my life. Mostly they try and keep me away from public functions on the grounds I embarrass them. I'm the one you've probably been warned about, and you should believe every word. "This is a wedding, after all, not the dentist's." "Do try and at least look cheerful," said William to young Robert. anything you want to ask me before the ceremony? I mean, I am a married man." It's not entirely his fault that he's about as much use as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. He means well, but he should have been dropped on his head as a baby. Gerald blinked a few times and then moved away in the general direction of the punchbowl, looking just a little confused.
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