Tears of the Moon - Di Morrissey [194]
Inside, his exuberance was more subdued and he took his place next to Ahmed at the front of the church, nervously fingering his high buttoned collar. Spotting Mollie and Stan with their little girl, he gave them a broad wink. The interior of the church was plain but Maya and Mabel had festooned it with candles and masses of flowers and branches of flowering trees. Floor to ceiling windows along the sides, normally shuttered, were thrown open to flood the church with golden light and dappled shadows of the nearby palm trees. Above the quiet murmur of the wedding guests drifted in the croak of frogs and call of a curlew.
Olivia arrived in Toby’s shiny Ford motor car which he pulled up with a flourish and opened the door to help Olivia step down.
Maya moved forward to fuss about her. ‘Olivia, you look a dream.’
She wore an ankle-length ivory guipure lace dress over mother-of-pearl silk. Matching silk roses were pinned to the side of her head and she carried a bouquet of native orchids. But what caught the eye of the crowd was the strand of pearls that gleamed against the lace. This was Tyndall’s ‘collection’, strung by Toby, who was astonished that Tyndall had managed to keep these to himself for so many years.
‘I started it for Niah and continued for Olivia in the hope I might one day give it to her as a wedding gift,’ he told Toby.
Maya, in a turquoise dress that matched the clear brightness of the waters of the bay, followed Olivia as she walked the final steps to be united with the man she’d always loved.
The romantic atmosphere of the wedding changed to jovial exuberance at the Continental Hotel. There was a champagne reception in the gardens for what appeared to be most of Broome. Then the guests were ushered into the dining room for the official dinner. Toby, dressed in formal suit, his dark skin glistening from the heat, a smile constantly in place, made the toasts. Mabel, glittering in a red and gold sari, leaned across to Olivia. ‘I have a feeling my usually staid and sensible husband is going to over-indulge tonight.’
‘Most of the master pearlers are already well away,’ sighed Olivia.
‘There’ll be a lot of sore heads about tomorrow. But, goodness me, we all do have something to celebrate, yes?’ Mabel lifted her glass of lemonade and clinked glasses with Olivia and Maya. ‘Here’s to you and John. I am so happy to see my dearest wish come true.’
‘Thank you dear Mabel for being such a good and true friend.’
‘To new beginnings,’ added Maya. ‘For all of us.’
As Olivia and Mabel had foreseen, the night turned into a spree of uproarious drinking and outrageous storytelling once the master pearlers dragged Tyndall into the Lugger Bar and began challenging and betting each other on who could kick the ceiling fan from standing on top of the bar. Tyndall with his height and long legs won, but at the cost of crashing into several chairs and breaking them.
The women had deserted the festivities as soon as ‘nightcaps in the Lugger Bar’ was suggested. Olivia, Maya and Mabel sat in Olivia’s kitchen, brewing tea and laughing over their stories of the evening’s events. Maya had won the attention of several pearlers and the Inspector of Pearl Fisheries himself had requested two dances.
‘This is not how you should be spending your wedding night, Olivia,’ said Mabel. ‘I thought you had the best room at the Conti set aside.’
‘We do, and I hope someone pours John into it. When they started singing and talking of going round for drinks at the Star and the Roebuck … ’
‘And the Governor Broome … ’
‘Yes, I thought I’d rather sleep in my own bed. John and I have the rest of our lives together,’ she answered.
‘You’re not mad at him?’ asked Maya.
‘How can you be.