Amy and Dan, along with Dylan and Rob and Liam, who were all wearing dark shades, were standing surrounded by their friends, laughing and enjoying themselves.
‘I think we should be making a move to Wicklow,’ suggested Paddy. ‘Eve will be expecting us.’
Ronan and Rob and Liam were instructed to get everyone moving as the bus they had booked for travelling to Glebe House pulled into the car park. Amy and Dan drove off to cheers and much honking of horns in the Bentley as everyone set off for Wicklow.
Chapter Sixty-six
Helen and Paddy O’Connor couldn’t believe how well Glebe House looked as they turned up the avenue and approached the old house. The place was magical, bathed in sunshine, the lake sparkling in the distance, the borders and flower beds in full summer bloom. They checked in with Trudy and made their way to their room, then quickly freshened up before joining their guests downstairs. Eve had set tables and chairs and parasols out on the terrace surrounded by beautiful herbaceous borders and the first guests to arrive were laughing and chatting, sipping mojitos and Pimms and champagne. Ronan’s friend Paul was playing his guitar, and music filled the air as people introduced each other.
Krista called the family and the bride and groom down to the lake for a few photos.
‘Oh, Helen, this place is stunning,’ declared Carmel as they posed for photos, ‘far nicer than any castle! Do you see the swans on the water? It’s so romantic here.’
Helen looked around. Having a summer family wedding here in Glebe House couldn’t be more perfect!
She watched as Krista, serious and in complete control, photographed Amy and Dan, and then the bridesmaids and Liam and Rob, before turning her attention to the family groups: the O’Connors and the Quinns. Sheila insisted on a big group photo of her family, her children and grandchildren. ‘Might as well, as they are all here, before I kick the bucket,’ she said.
‘I need the bride and groom for a few more shots,’ demanded Krista, as the rest of them returned to the garden to top up their drinks.
‘What a great place for a wedding, sis,’ said Helen’s brother, Tim, coming up to give her a hug.
‘Thanks for the car.’ She smiled at him.
‘It’s the least an uncle with an old Bentley can do!’ he joked.
He and his wife were tanned after ten days in the South of France, at their apartment near Cannes.
‘You and Paddy should go down for a break there after the wedding,’ he offered. ‘The place is sitting there empty, and the pool is lovely. After all you have been through in the past few months you deserve to put your feet up and laze. You’ll be near everything and can walk most places!’
Helen was tempted by her older brother’s offer. A wealthy publican, he was extremely generous to all the family.
‘Tim, I’ll talk to Paddy, try to persuade him,’ she promised. ‘A break in France would be lovely.’
Carmel Quinn took her by the arm and insisted on introducing her to her brother, James, and to Eddie’s older brother Donal and his wife. They were lovely people and were full of praise for the wonderful wedding setting!
Eve came over to Helen to check that she was satisfied with everything, and to tell her that they would be ready to get people into the dining room in about ten minutes.
Helen and Paddy had eaten in the dining room at Glebe House many times over the years, but seeing it dressed up for a wedding Helen couldn’t believe how beautiful it looked with its long white linen tablecloths, and magnificent arrangements of flowers in matching glass vases on the mantel over the big fireplace and on the giant mahogany sideboard. Every table was bedecked with three or four antique glass vases filled with pretty garden flowers with a white or pink ribbon tied in a neat bow around them. There were candles everywhere, and each place held a place card tied with ribbon to a bunch of lavender and rosemary from the garden.
‘Eve, it’s beautiful,’ murmured Helen, ‘absolutely beautiful.’
‘We aim to please,’ smiled Eve as she helped people to find their tables.
Everyone rose and cheered as Amy and Dan, arm in arm and eyes shining, entered the dining room and made their way to the top table to sit down. They had decided to have the speeches first, conscious that Paddy might get overtired, and that Eddie Quinn hated speaking in public and only did it under duress.
Helen noticed Ciara talking disdainfully to Liam; and that Dan’s brother, Rob, seated beside Jess, seemed totally smitten by the glamorous bridesmaid and was lavishing attention on her. Jess’s face glowed as the two of them talked. They have hours together, thought Helen as she and Eddie chatted.
Liam Flynn stood up to introduce the proceedings, as the waiters went round the tables filling everyone’s glasses.
Helen could sense Paddy’s nervousness as he fiddled with his linen napkin and glanced at the paper he had his speech written out on.
‘You’ll be fine,’ she whispered as Paddy stood up to do his Father of the Bride speech. The room went quiet as everyone turned to listen to him.
‘On behalf of my wife Helen and myself I would like to warmly welcome you all today to our daughter Amy’s wedding to Daniel. I would like to thank Eve Hanlon of Glebe House for her magnificent hospitality and to thank head chef Sean Delaney, his beautiful wife Trudy, and the staff here for the wonderful meal we will all enjoy in a short while. Glebe House is renowned for its food! I would also like to thank Father Tom Doorly, a family friend, for marrying Amy and Dan on this very special day. I should also mention and thank Carmel, Dan’s mother, for making the wonderful flower arrangements in the church today and the beautiful bouquets for Amy and the girls. Ciara and Jess looked so stunning walking up the aisle today ahead of us. I’d also like to thank Tim Hennessy for driving Amy and Dan today, and Bibi Kennedy for making the most beautiful wedding cake. Amy and Dan wanted this day to be special, and by joining us here you have all helped to make their wedding day one they will always remember.
‘Helen and I and Ronan and Ciara are delighted to see both families united and to welcome Daniel to the O’Connor fold. The first time I met Daniel he’d fallen asleep on our living-room couch after walking Amy home from some charity ball. I went to read the Sunday papers and found this stranger asleep in a tuxedo. We became friends, and I soon discovered that he is a perfect gentleman, and is now considered so much like another son in our house that I even heard Helen asking him the other night to put out the bins!
‘Now, to Amy! Amy, as most of you know, is a wonderful girl, a very special daughter, and it would always take a very special man to win her heart. From the minute Amy was born she has brought joy and happiness into our lives; from her first word, first step, first day in school, and first day in college she has brought sunshine to everything she has done. She is kind and thoughtful, and has a bright clever mind that is always interested in the world around her and the people she meets. She is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.
‘When she was six years old she told me that she would marry a prince and live in a castle and eat honey on toast every day. I’m not sure that she still wants to live in a castle or eat honey on toast every day, but I do know that today Amy married her prince . . . Daniel. I could see it in the shine of my daughter’s eyes when she walked up the aisle and Daniel took her hand. Amy has been a wonderful daughter, a wonderful sister, a wonderful granddaughter, a wonderful friend to all those who know her, and now will be a wonderful wife and life partner for Daniel.’
Paddy stopped for a minute and took a few sips of water from the glass on the table. Helen held her breath, hoping that he was OK.
‘A good marriage is very special,’ he said, beginning again. ‘Sometimes we take it for granted, but when life gets rocky or we get ill, like I did a few months back, then we realize the importance of having the person we love by our side. I want to thank my own lovely bride, Helen, for still being at my side, and I wish Amy and Daniel a lifetime of happiness and joy together, always being at each other’s side. Woul
d you please all be upstanding as we toast Amy and Daniel!’ asked Paddy. ‘To the bride and groom!’
The whole room rose, and Helen could see tears in Amy’s eyes as she came over and gave her dad a big hug and whispered ‘thanks’. Everyone loudly toasted ‘the bride and groom’ before sitting back down again.
Paddy, relieved that his duty was over, sat down as Liam took the microphone and began to introduce Eddie.
Poor Eddie was almost shaking as he stood up, keeping his speech very short and simple as he warmly welcomed his new daughter-in-law Amy to the Quinn household, and mentioning that he and Carmel had two more single sons who needed wives if there were any takers. Helen noticed Jess, who was sitting beside Rob, turn bright red as Rob laughed heartily at his father’s remark. Eddie thanked Paddy and Helen for the reception and wished Amy and Dan long life and good fortune in their marriage.
Daniel was up next. Standing tall and proud beside his bride, he spoke from the heart: ‘I love Amy and always will. I knew practically from the minute I first spoke to her that she was the girl I wanted to marry. There may have been a few ups and downs getting here . . .’
Everyone yelled and stomped and laughed and Dan had the good grace to look embarrassed.
‘But I promise, Amy, my beautiful wife, that I will love her till the end of time.’
Helen smiled, listening as he thanked everyone.
‘There is another lovely lady in Amy’s family who has also stolen my heart,’ he continued. ‘And that is Sheila Hennessy, Amy’s wonderful grandmother.’
Eighty-four-year-old Sheila stood up to take a little bow as everyone cheered her, and then she sat back down beside Ciara.
‘I want to say a big thanks to my gorgeous sister-in-law Ciara and Amy’s best friend Jess, the two beautiful bridesmaids who helped with organizing the wedding and look like a pair of supermodels in their purple dresses,’ said Dan, finishing up with the traditional toast to the bridesmaids.
Amy, taking her courage in hand, stood up, holding the microphone firmly.
‘I want to thank you all for giving us the most beautiful day in our lives, a day that Dan and I will always remember. Thanks, Mum and Dad, Ciara and Ronan and Gran, for just being you, the best family ever. Thanks to Carmel and Eddie and Rob and Dylan, my new family, for the great welcome. Thanks to Jess for being the very best friend a girl could ever have. From holding my hand on our first day at school to organizing my hen weekend, Jess, you have always been there for me!
‘I want to say to Dan that I love him and always will. I’m so lucky that I went to that charity ball that Jess and Tara helped to organize and was put sitting beside him at the table. My dinner date got drunk, and so did his, and we ended up talking for most of the night. There was a taxi strike and so we walked home together. My dad didn’t know what had happened when he found Dan on our couch the next day. But the rest, as they say, is history. Dan, you make me laugh and you’re obsessed with teaching me to surf, and almost from the night we first met I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.’
Amy couldn’t believe the huge applause she got and could see Jess and Ciara and the two mums had been very moved by her words. Dan, all emotional, hugged her close as Liam, the best man, got up to speak.
Liam’s dark eyes flashed as he began by telling a load of stories about various mishaps and fun times shared at school and college with his best friend Daniel Quinn. Helen cringed, not really wanting to know so much about Daniel’s drunken exploits as a teenager and a student.
‘I knew when Amy arrived on the scene that Dan’s single days were numbered. At great expense Dan and I had worked and scrimped and scraped and saved to get tickets to see Liverpool play against Barcelona. It was going to be the weekend of a lifetime, drinking and watching our favourite team play in Spain. However, it was also the weekend of Amy’s birthday, and Dan suddenly refused to go, saying that he had to take his girlfriend out for her birthday. I couldn’t believe it, and we actually had a punch-up! I was so annoyed with him for choosing Amy over Liverpool! Despite me giving him a bloody lip two years ago, Dan still asked me when the time came to be his best man. My friend has picked a beautiful girl to be his bride, and I know that Daniel will be a wonderful husband. I wish them both luck and happiness, and on behalf of all the guests thank the O’Connors for the wonderful wedding reception. I’d now like to call on Father Tom to say the Grace before the meal.’
‘Well done, Liam!’ said Paddy, shaking his hand and passing him a pint. ‘We can all relax now and enjoy the food and the wine.’
Helen looked around the table, glad that the formalities were out of the way and that she didn’t have to worry about Paddy making a speech later. Amy and Dan only had eyes for each other. She smiled to herself when she saw Paddy, animated, telling Carmel all about his operation. Her husband looked handsome and well again. His colour was good and he had finally lost that worried expression he’d had since the surgery. His grey hair was a little longer than usual, and he had trimmed down, losing his bit of a paunch. All those walks with Barney, along with the healthy heart diet regime, were paying off.
Eddie was beside her, and was great company. He and Father Tom enjoyed Sheila’s stories as the waitresses began to serve the seafood starter. At the other side of the table she caught Carmel watching approvingly as Rob and Jess laughing together. Carmel had been telling Helen earlier about Rob’s job in UCD, where he lectured in the science department.
Outside, the sun was beginning to set over the lake, and a flock of birds took to the sky as the evening slipped away.
The candles were lit, and they flickered on tables all around the room as everyone finished their meal. They drank coffee as Amy and Dan got up to cut the beautiful wedding cake. Everyone gave a cheer when they saw the two marzipan surfers with their boards that Bibi had made to go on top of the cake, with its iced waves and breakers.
As the staff cleared away some of the tables to set up the dance floor, Helen and Paddy slipped away out to the terrace to get some fresh air. The night was still warm, with a slight breeze coming in off the water. Amy was outside, laughing away with all her girl friends, and Sarah, Nikki and Aisling were all begging Tara to keep away from womanizer Liam, who’d been eyeing her up all day. Helen, smiling, searched for Ciara, and saw her engrossed in conversation with Paul, the young guitarist, who was telling her about some concert he was playing in. She looked so pretty and young as she and the young man laughed and he tried to show her some chords on his guitar.
Helen and Paddy turned to go back to the bar, where their friends were, and Maeve’s husband Andy insisted on buying them drinks.
The music started and Rob and Jess came to find Helen and Paddy and tell them that the first dance was about to begin.
As the band began to play Amy and Dan stepped out on the wooden floor, taking each other’s hands as they began to dance to ‘You’re Just Too Good To Be True’, the Burt Bacharach classic, as everyone watched and cheered and Jeremy filmed them.
‘Come on, Mother of the Bride, let’s show the lovebirds what we can do,’ teased Eddie, leading Helen on to the floor as Paddy and Carmel began to dance, too. Ciara was dancing with Liam, and Jess and Rob were laughing away together on the far side of the floor as the rest of the wedding party joined in. Ronan was up dancing with Krista, who was finally able to relax and enjoy herself.
‘Great day and a great night!’ said Eddie, twirling Helen around the floor as the band went into another Bacharach song followed by a little Sinatra. ‘What a wonderful wedding!’
It had been a perfect wedding, Helen thought, far better than they had ever imagined or planned it to be.
Amy and Dan’s eyes said it all as they danced together in the centre of the floor.
Helen changed partners, moving from Eddie back into Paddy’s waiting arms. Carmel and Eddie danced together near them.
‘Love you,’ said Paddy, nuzzling her hair.
‘Love you, too,’ she said, resting
her head against his shoulder as they danced and moved to the music.
‘You do realize we got married again!’ he said, tilting her face to his.
‘Yes.’ She smiled, kissing him, taking in the candles and the flowers and the music and the friends and family gathered around them.
‘That Father Tom is a wise man!’
‘Yes,’ she agreed. ‘Definitely.’
‘Amy and Dan are having a fantastic time. They’re a great young couple with their lives ahead of them.’
‘This old couple aren’t doing too badly either,’ she teased.
‘The night is young . . .’
Helen laughed, Paddy’s heart beating close to hers, their children and their children’s friends and their family and close friends all dancing around them on this perfect moonlit night as the music echoed across the lake.
Marita Conlon-McKenna is one of Ireland’s favourite authors and her books are enjoyed by readers around the world. Her previous novels include The Matchmaker and the number-one bestseller The Magdalen. She is the winner of the prestigious International Reading Association award and is a regular contributor on radio and TV. She lives in Dublin with her husband James and their family.
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