Casey gave up trying not to laugh. Sam laughed, too, as Tom glared at both of them, pointing sternly at Sam. “There is a room for you at Dunallon, sir. It is your home as much as it’s ours. When you tire of a solitary existence, do give us a call.”
Sam agreed to do that.
The day before the wedding was spent at Ardara, finalizing preparations. Most of the family was staying over, to get an early start in the morning, with the wedding scheduled for eleven. After lunch, the new couple would be sent on their way amid the usual Andrews tumult.
Tom’s brothers and sister were appalled that Tom and Casey were spending their honeymoon camping (camping!) at a private, rented cottage outside of Rostrevor, rather than a week or two in the best hotels on the Continent. Nevertheless, they went all out to help Tom stock the cottage with supplies for fishing and hunting. They arranged for ice to be dropped off every morning at the dock. Nina and Jessie talked to the cottage owner, who would make sure there was plenty of food for the week, and fresh linens and towels. This was all they could do to help a young maiden begin her married life in such rough conditions.
After dinner, as preparations wound down and children began to be put to bed, Casey and Tom escaped into the garden, sitting on the grass where, in the morning, they would exchange their vows. In the quiet night, with crickets for background, Casey made a promise to Tom.
“I can’t say this in the ceremony, but this is as much a vow as anything else I’ll say tomorrow,” she told him, her face serious and lovely in the dim light from the house. “I will always stay with you, Tom. Even if Sam or anyone else figures out how to get us back to the twenty-first century, I would not go. My life is with you.”
He touched her face, overwhelmed and unable to respond, except to kiss her. When he could speak, he promised to always honor her for that vow, and in all his ways, to give her his life in return.
The wedding day dawned bright and warm, and the sun quickly burned away the layer of dew that covered the flowers, grass, and chairs in the garden. Sam, like all men through the centuries, railed silently against formal clothing traditions in the summer heat. At least, he thought with some amusement, in this day and age, the women weren’t running around in spaghetti straps and short skirts, cool enough to dance with abandon, while the men sweltered in tuxedos.
No, in this day and age, they would all be hot.
Irish weddings, by law, had to held before noon, and never on Sunday. Sam could figure out the Sunday part, but not even Tom could adequately explain the law about timing. It’s just the way it was. So after an early breakfast, everyone scattered to dress, and the servants, resplendent in clean, white uniforms, finished setting up tables and arranging flowers. By ten-thirty, the first guests had begun to arrive.
The guest list for Tom’s wedding included politicians of all stripes, the entire management of the local shipping industry, a few sea captains, and many wealthy merchants from the area. Not to mention, members of the aristocracy and landed gentry from as far away as Dublin. As the bride’s guardian, Sam was required to meet and greet all of them, and after shaking the hand of the Lord Mayor of Belfast and bowing solemnly to the Lady Mayoress, Sam reflected that this was not what Dr. Riley had in mind on that morning over a year-and-a-half ago, when he advised Sam and Casey to “melt into the woodwork.”
No matter. He and Casey would always be considered odd. There might be those who were curious about gaps in their history or dissatisfied with answers, but there was little chance that anyone would suspect they were time travelers from the twenty-first century!
At eleven, they all took their places, and Sam went to fetch Casey, pausing for a moment to take delight in her appearance. He couldn’t have been prouder if he were actually her father: her dress was Pure Romance, with hand-worked lace over the full, silk skirt and blouse, and a bow in the back nearly hidden beneath the lace veil. Penny had succeeded in getting Casey’s hair up in the popular Gibson style, although he had heard anxious whispers that it might not be long enough to hold well. The red spots high on her cheeks revealed her excitement but he didn’t miss the tears she blinked away as she took his hands in hers. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I will write a long entry to your father in my journal tonight, telling him everything about this day, and how honored I am to stand in for him.”
She squeezed his hands and kissed his cheek in gratitude, then with a deep breath, she saucily took his arm and let him “bring” her to her waiting groom. Whatever the opinions about this marriage, there was no denying Casey was a sight to behold, and the spectators were suitably impressed. Sam caught Mrs. Herceforth’s broad wink as they passed her, standing jauntily on the bride’s side of the aisle, and wearing the special corsage Casey had made for her. The Yenta of Belfast.
He was grateful to her, too, and as he handed Casey off to a joyful Tom, he knew also, that whatever the opinions about this marriage, these two people loved each other completely. He didn’t try to analyze the relief that he felt, as he stepped back to his seat, that the innocent victim of his botched experiment was going to be all right.
After lunch, Tom’s siblings presided over speeches, toasts, and the formal dances. After shaking many, many hands, they left their guests to the musicians and the dancing, and escorted the bride and groom to the dock across from the house. There, amid much fanfare, they set about helping Tom load the last of their luggage on the family’s most reliable boat. Tom carefully stowed the boxes for the trip, and began to set the sails.
Casey, who had changed into her boating outfit of black skirt, white blouse and straw hat, stood at the top of the pier to say a last few words to Tom’s parents and Sam. At the boat, Willie handed Tom the last box and stepped onto the dock, while the others tossed the ropes onto the boat. John and James gave it a hearty push and they all began waving enthusiastic farewells and good wishes to their brother. Tom fell over at the boat’s sudden movement, then sat down and roared with laughter. Casey’s startled scream ripped through the air when she saw the boat floating away, and she raced frantically along the dock.
“Come back here! What are you doing? Thomas, bring that boat back right now!” Tom stood, laughing helplessly as he tried to toss the ropes back to shore. Casey’s cries and panic, mingled with the laughter and shouts of her in-laws, attracted the attention of the guests in the yard, who wandered down to lend advice.
“Bye, lad! Have a good time!” James waved, then cupped his hand behind his ear in an effort to hear Tom’s shout. “What?” He pointed at Casey yelling behind him. “Oh you want her?” He turned to his brothers. “Seems he wants Casey with him, but I don’t know what to do about that, now.”
They shook their heads in solemn bewilderment as Casey gave James a shove and rounded on John. “Bring him back! You swim out there right now and bring that boat back!”
“Ah lass, I can’t swim out there,” John started to protest, then whooped in delight as Casey, a determined look on her face, began removing her shoes with the obvious intent of swimming out there herself. This was more than they could have hoped for. Tom began a stern rebuttal to this idea, while once again attempting to throw a rope to shore. Casey’s action brought protests from her sisters-in-law while the wedding guests seemed evenly divided between encouraging her to push John in, or to jump in herself. Her new brothers-in-law actually let her get both shoes off before Willie had a firm arm around her waist, and John and James stood at the edge of the dock to shout encouragement to Tom.