A Country Marriage Read Online Free PDF Page B

At the roar of approval, she couldn’t help smiling. Clearly, her father-in-law was practised at this. And popular, it seemed, too. ‘So with no more ado and in honour of the newlyweds, let’s feast and drink unsparingly. And then later tonight, for those of you so minded – and those of you still able – we’ll partake of some song an’ dance!’ His welcome finished, he landed heavily back in his chair, his teeth bared in a grin. ‘Aye, go to it lads,’ he shouted above the press of bodies surging towards the trestles laden with food.
    ‘Can’t remember when I last ate,’ she became aware of George confessing to her and watched as he reached to the trays in front of them for roughly torn hunks of grainy bread and thickly cut wedges of cheese. ‘Fair starving,’ he added, making room on his plate for a portion of pie, its gamey innards spilling from its crumbly, pastry case. ‘What about you? You hungry?’
    She nodded her agreement, realising that she couldn’t remember her own last meal either. Oh yes: a single mouthful of porridge at dawn; that would have been it.
    She scanned the trays. In front of them sat a particularly sumptuous-looking tart. She would take a slice – but only the smallest slice – because no doubt a good many eyes were still upon her and, as she knew from her mother, first impressions mattered greatly. Lifting it from her plate, she bit into the golden pastry, discovering that it was ham and leek and enjoying the way that it melted on her tongue. Chunks of ham and buttery leeks. And cheese, too, if she wasn’t mistaken. If only her mother could have been persuaded to come. Slow by nature to praise, even she would have commended this. Discreetly, she licked crumbs from her fingertips. Well, Ma may have refused the Strong’s invitation but she would still want to hear details of the affair; to judge it against her expectations; determine the measure of the hosts’ generosity and the quality of their provisions. She glanced around her. It was a bountiful spread but how would she do it justice without seeming disloyal to her mother? Oh well, that was a bridge she would cross when she came to it. For now she would just eat and be grateful. After all, there was no way of knowing how long it would be before she saw her mother again anyway.
    ‘Now come on there, young Richard, it ain’t like you to hold back when someone else’s ale is flowing,’ she heard her father-in-law teasing loudly, his merriment infectious, even more so when she turned to discover that the young Richard in question was a fellow of considerably advanced years.
    She smiled. Further along, she could see George’s mother holding court with an endless stream of flush-faced women coming to offer congratulations and comment on the spread.
    ‘Most generous of you to invite us,’ seemed to be the general consensus.
    ‘You’re most welcome,’ Hannah’s unvarying response.
    Further along still, she could see that Ellen and Will were bent together in quiet conversation, whereas at the other end of the table, Tom and Annie were behaving in a manner that made her want to avoid looking in their direction altogether. Nevertheless, something about the two of them together continued to draw her gaze.
    ‘Wo-ho-ho,’ Tom’s laughter was ringing out as he beckoned for more ale. And alongside him, Annie seemed to be making what Ma would no doubt have called a shameful exhibition of herself, feigning fatigue by extending clasped fingers above her head and elongating her neck, the effect of which was to place the neckline of her blouse under considerable strain. She looked away, thinking that it would be nothing less than mortifying to be caught watching such a display.
    With night now closing in, guests had begun to settle into smaller groups; the women seeming to prefer to sit and chat apart from the men, their hair bright with coloured scarves and their blouses bearing embroidery or ribbons at the neckline as befitted a