The Wedding

[fiery_ring]

Mrs Frances has done as good a job as she can, preparing for the wedding. She and her daughter Libby have been cooking at top speed since the couple came home.

Mr Frances is outside, decorating the horse-drawn cart for the bride to ride to the church in, and for the couple to ride back. Will has been out arranging with the local vicar, and telephoning any guests within reach.

Carlotta brings her guests out of a portal concealed by a caravan. She holds a finger to them and looks around, to check if they are observed.

"All right, the coast is clear. Follow me towards the house after a couple of minutes, and tell them you were dropped off by taxi. If asked, you are circus folk I have worked with or been cared for by, but your circuses also disbanded due to the war, and I telephoned you at home."

Comments

[fiery_ring]

"Carlotta, go and get changed." Mrs Frances says, waving her out of the kitchen.

Carlotta goes upstairs to change in Libby's room.

[ostro_goth]

Teja approaches the kitchen door, with Demeter on his arm, and tells the people in the kitchen the story Carlotta told him to.

[wheatencrown]

Demeter smiles at everyone and asks if she can help.

[52-dropoff.livejournal.com]

Charlie just keeps quiet, his Midwestern accent probably a liability. He just looks around and tries to act circusy.

[fiery_ring]

Mrs Frances introduces herself and Libby.

"Perhaps you'd like to help Carlotta get ready?" she suggests to Demeter. To the men. "You two can either help me in the kitchen, or help my husband with the cart outside."

[ostro_goth]

"I'm sure I'd be much more useful with the cart, and the horses," Teja says.

[wheatencrown]

"I'd love to. Where will I find her?"

Demeter's made her accent slightly more English than it normally is, but with a hint of foreign still in it.

[52-dropoff.livejournal.com]

"Kitchen," Charlie mumbles.

[fiery_ring]

Mrs Frances sticks a cake tin in the oven and turns back to them.

To Demeter: "Up the stairs, first on the left."

To Charlie: "Thanks, you can start chopping up salad over there."

To Teja: "You'll find my husband outside in the yard, out that back door."

[ostro_goth]

Teja nods, and goes.

There is always something that you can do to help with horses. He just says he's an old circus friend of Carlotta's, and gets to work.

When asked, he says his name is Theobald. That's what it was the last time, if he remembers rightly.

[wheatencrown]

Demeter goes upstairs and knocks, "Can I help you, dear?"

[52-dropoff.livejournal.com]

Somewhere along the line, Charlie learned how to chop lettuce and cucumbers with the best of them. Even if he has to use a knife and not, he thinks coyly, his bare hands, as a master martial artist should.

[fiery_ring]

Pretending to be from the circus, Charlie could probably get away with that. Mrs Frances keeps the kitchen team busy.

"Planning a wedding in three hours, whatever next!" she jokes.


Upstairs, Carlotta gladly accepts Demeter's help. She's wearing a fairly simple white dress, hand sewn, with tiny orange flowers running down.

"Do I look all right?" she asks. "I didn't get as far as making a veil but I don't think it matters."


Outside, Mr Frances gives Teja a load of flowers and ribbons to tie on the cart, most of which seem to have been picked from the garden or pulled out of sewing baskets respectively.

"Fern, have you made the banner yet?" he calls towards the open window on the other side of the house. A pretty young woman peers out the window.

"I'm just painting the last three letters." she says.

[ostro_goth]

Teja looks up; he remembers the months when Carlotta had been full of tales about Fern, and the problems of that time. But he will not remark upon it today.

He does as he is told, and ties flower on the cart with ribbons. Even when one improvises so hastily, some things have to be done right.

She should have flowers, and she gets them.

[wheatencrown]

"You look beautiful. Do you have flowers to put in your hair?"

If not, Demeter will find them to match her dress.

[52-dropoff.livejournal.com]

The hustle and bustle around Charlie is interesting. Talk of the wedding. Talk of the war, vague enough that he can't be sure it's the Nazis. Talk of Carlotta being too young, or just young enough.

[fiery_ring]

"I don't, I think they went on the cart." Carlotta says to Demeter. "And they weren't orange."


In the kitchen, the women make mention of Hitler, which should answer Charlie's question.


Outside, Fern tosses the banner out the window. Mr Frances picks it up.

"Fern, you spelled 'Marryed' wrong!" he yells. "Stop messing around!"

There isn't time for another banner; soon, the bride and her guests are hustled into the cart, and the groom and his guests get ferried to the church in the car.

[ostro_goth]

Teja has finished his work, misspelled banner and no, and now wonders where Demeter and he should walk among the other guests and family members.

[wheatencrown]

Demeter smiles and looks into the purse that matches her suit before pulling out a comb that could almost be Spanish with swirling flowers on it and a shine that hints at gold,

"I think this will match the flowers, Carlotta."

[52-dropoff.livejournal.com]

Having done what he thinks is enough chopping of veg, Charlie smiles, mumbles something, and goes to wait with Teja.

And to worry that Will is in for a rough time. As is all of England.