Page 66 of The Scottish Island Wedding

Thank you, Heather looked up to the ceiling of the ballroom, where the ancient mural of the stars, thistles, unicorns and roses glowed in gold against the dark blue, to whatever ancient powers have protected this family and this castle, thank you. To the spirits that guide me, thank you. To my ancestors, thank you. To the powers of love, thank you.

Finally, she looked up and saw Matty, who reached out his hand for hers.

TWENTY-EIGHT

When it was time for the speeches, Heather waited her turn nervously.

After the ceremony, Heather and Matty had led everyone out into a large marquee that had been put up outside the ballroom, where everyone was served drinks and nibbles. A string quartet played classical music in the corner, and a couple of roving photographers snapped casual photos of the wedding guests.

I’m married, she kept thinking to herself. I am a married woman.

From now on, she was part of a team. She and Matty were one in the eyes of the law; a sacred union, a two-person entity that everyone now recognised as united, merged, together. It was a strange feeling. She’d dreamed about it all of her life, and now it was here, in the sudden blink of an eye.

The ceremony had been so quick. That was what she remembered most about it. The celebrant had tied their hands together with a green ribbon and they’d said their vows to each other. She’d rehearsed hers, and when she’d heard her own voice repeating them in the hush of the ballroom, she’d almost felt as if it was someone else. She heard her own words echo against the cavernous walls: I promise to love you. I promise to listen to you. I promise to be your peace when the world is chaos.

Heather had meant those words. She hoped that she would always mean them as much as she did in that moment. She hoped that Matty would always mean what he’d said: I will always consider your feelings. I will always hold you and keep you safe. I will be faithful to our love.

She wondered if she would ever have thought about hoping their vows remained true if it wasn’t for Blossom and what she was going through with Tom.

Heather didn’t resent knowing about her sister’s situation in the slightest; she only felt sad for Blossom. But the knowledge did somewhat colour the way she thought about marriage in general – not that Blossom and Tom had ever got formally married.

Marriage was an act of faith, it seemed. And Heather was realising that it might take strength to maintain in the long term. As Heather watched Matty move among the crowd, talking to guests, posing for pictures, and as she looked at their parents, she thought, I hope we have what it takes.

She thought that they did. She had faith. That was what she kept coming back to.

After an hour, everyone came back into the ballroom, which had been reconfigured by Elizabeth’s event planning team to a sit-down dinner layout.

‘I never intended tae be the father o’ six daughters,’ Angus Balhennie began, standing up and addressing the room. ‘Much less, the father o’ the bride. I hope I can keep it together.’ He was tearing up already: Heather knew that her dad was a crier. There were a few gentle laughs from the attendees, many of whom also knew that about Angus.

‘I’ll keep this short. First, I want tae welcome Matty intae the Balhennie clan. He’s a good fella, an’ I know he adores Heather. That’s the main thing for me. Second, to say thank you all for comin’ to the weddin’ o’ the year!’ he chuckled, and there were more laughs from the crowd. ‘Ah, but seriously. There’s been a bit o’ kerfuffle over this weddin’, but I couldnae be happier wi’ the way it’s all worked out. Many thanks go to my cousin, the laird, James Balhennie, for lettin’ us have the castle for Heather’s special day. I appreciate it.’

Angus raised a glass to his cousin, who looked surprised and pleased; James raised his glass back.

‘Slainte Mhath,’ James toasted; the crowd followed suit.

‘Finally,’ – Angus’s voice wavered, and he wiped his eyes with his sleeve – ‘I want tae tell all my daughters how much I love them. Not just Heather, even though it’s her special day. But all o’ you.’ Angus blew his nose. ‘Sorry. Waterworks have started, aye. I’m so very, very proud o’ you all, my wonderful girls. Bein’ your dad has been and will continue to be the highest honour of my life. The biggest challenge, an’ the biggest honour.’

‘We love you too, Dad,’ Bluebell called out, from further down the table where all the family were seated. Angus blew her a kiss.

‘An’ Heather. My sweet girl. Let me tell you a little bit about Heather.’ Angus met his daughter’s eyes, mistily. ‘From the time she was a tiny girl, my Heather cared about animals. She wanted tae save every snail and worm in the garden. We built bug hotels for the beetles, we fed the birds, we saved stray cats an’ sponsored monkeys an’ elephants. She cares. She’d cry her heart out if she heard about an animal bein’ mistreated. So, when she got tae be old enough tae start workin’, we knew that it was goin’ tae be animals, somehow.’

Angus paused for a moment.

‘But what I also want tae say about Heather is how strong she is. Ah, she may seem like a gentle soul, an’ she is. She wouldnae hurt a fly. However,’ – Angus tapped the table in front of him for emphasis – ‘never think that the gentle souls aren’t ready to fight for what they believe in. Heather will stand up for what she believes is right, an’ I admire that more than I can ever say. To Heather!’ He raised his glass, wiping tears from his eyes.

‘Heather!’ the ballroom of people toasted her, and she felt herself blushing.

‘Now, we have a speech from the bride,’ Angus added, tapping his glass before sitting down. ‘Go on, sweet girl.’

Heather had prepared some notes for her speech; they sat on the table in front of her. She’d written notes to herself to compliment her sisters and thank everyone who had helped with the wedding, and, most of all, tell Matty how much she loved him in front of everyone. That was all customary, and it was definitely important.

But what her dad had said about standing up for what she believed was right was true, and there was something else that she needed to say.

She stood up, to a cheer from the room. She smiled, shyly, and gave everyone a little wave.

‘Hello, everyone. Thank you for coming,’ she began. ‘Thank you, Dad, for such a lovely speech. I have a lot of thank-yous to get to, and I will in a moment, including to you and Mum for literally everything in my life so far.’ The crowd laughed affectionately and clapped. Heather waited for the quiet to return.

‘You may all have seen some stories in the press about the Campbell family and the Balhennies, leading up to the wedding.’ Heather put down her notes and looked out onto the sea of faces, both familiar and unfamiliar, before her. ‘I wanted to talk briefly about my great-aunt Chrissie. As you may have read in the papers, Auntie was a model in the 1970s, and as part of that she engaged in some topless modelling.