Candle To Candle (7)

On the eve of the wedding day, Father entered Vincent's room--Vincent and Catherine's now, really. The outer room seemed little changed from the day long ago when Vincent finally accepted that Devin would never be back to share it, and began to make it his own. A new door, however, now led to the chamber beyond. As yet it held little but the magnificent old bed that mysteriously appeared there one day when Vincent was away in the house he and Catherine shared. No one knew yet, except the perpetrators, whose gift that had been. There hadn't been time to add much else, but Father was sure the newlyweds would deal with that task in short order when they returned from their honeymoon.

Sensing his father's presence, Vincent lifted his eyes from the task before him and smiled. "I'm glad you came, Father. I thought you might like to see this finished. I have to wrap it soon, Catherine will be here within the hour."

Father stood next to Vincent, contemplating the gift his remarkable child was about to present to his bride. "It's beautiful, Vincent; it turned out exactly as you had hoped."

Vincent shook his head ruefully. "It never turns out as well as I hope, Father, but I pray Catherine will be pleased." "I guarantee she will be." Father laid a hand on his son's shoulder. "And very touched, as well."

Vincent's smile of gratitude was fleeting. "It pains me that since her father's death, Catherine has no real family left at all ... only some distant cousins she's never even met."

Father sat on the bed beside Vincent, resting both hands on his cane. "Vincent, tomorrow Catherine will become part of our family--if truth be told, she is already. Those Below could not love her more if she'd been born to us--for herself, and for the happiness she brings to you."

Vincent put an arm around Father's shoulders and kissed the top of his head. "Thank you. That means a great deal to me. To both of us."

Father rose and moved toward the door. "Now, I shall leave you to await your bride-to-be. If you two have any last-minute discussions ..." he smiled mischievously, "don't forget to curtain the door." Vincent suddenly began wrapping Catherine's present with great concentration.

He finished with only minutes to spare. Catherine must have left work early or found a cab driver whose speed had endangered every pedestrian along the route home. Vincent just stood there looking at her. She couldn't stop smiling; her eyes shone with happy anticipation. He held out his arms, and she flew into them--after carefully depositing the package she carried on the daybed. Swinging her around, Vincent kissed her firmly, or as firmly as he could manage despite her giggles.

Setting her down, Vincent smiled in return. "Well, you're early. Does this mean you still want to marry me?"

Catherine slipped her arms around his waist and hugged him so hard for a moment he couldn't breathe. "You bet! You have to make an honest woman of me now, or I'll sue you for breach of promise. I'm a lawyer, you know, and I've got witnesses." Suddenly serious, Catherine laid her cheek against Vincent's chest. "Oh, my dear love--it's only twenty-four hours, and I can hardly bear to wait."

Their second kiss was deeper, more passionate; Vincent was almost ready to suggest putting down the curtain when Catherine broke away with a reluctant little sigh. "I guess we'd better restrain ourselves until bedtime, we've got a lot to do yet tonight." Catherine picked up the package she had brought and handed it to Vincent. "Starting with this. The bride's gift to the bridegroom ... thank you for loving me. Every time you look at this, I want you to remember just how much I love you, and always will. Body and soul."

With trembling hands and a full heart, Vincent carefully unwrapped Catherine's present. When the beautifully written poem and its painted border were first revealed, Vincent drew in his breath sharply; when he finished reading the words, he turned to Catherine with a look that made her weak.

"Catherine--this is magnificent, perfect. You found something you knew I would truly love."

Catherine sat down next to him, kissing his cheek. "Actually, I think it found me." As they both looked down at the words and colors, she told Vincent the story of its provenance. When she finished, nothing would do but another kiss, and another. Then Vincent pulled away, took a deep breath, and handed Catherine her present.

Unwrapping the back first, Catherine realized it was a painting. Elizabeth had told her that Vincent was an artist of no mean talent, but he didn't seem to agree. Catherine had seen little of his work, except some humorous sketches that he often made to amuse the children. She turned it over with anticipation. When Catherine saw what he had done she gasped, and then began to cry. "Oh, Vincent, I can't believe you did this--I can't believe you even thought of it. You are the most wonderful, amazing man ..." She buried her face in his shirt, turning it damp almost instantly. Vincent put his arms around her as best he could, which was a bit difficult since she still held the painting.

After a moment, Catherine regained control of herself and raised her head, looking at the painting again and wiping her eyes with her free hand. "So this is why you had my old photo album down here." Looking out at her from the frame were four people, painted in blacks and whites and grays to resemble a photograph. It looked like a typical wedding picture, with the bride and groom in the center. Vincent must have had to guess at their clothes, since he wouldn't see his completed for the first time until tonight. The bride's dress wasn't exactly accurate, but close enough that Catherine wondered if Jamie had squealed, just a little. Both her portrait and Vincent's were good likenesses, although he had made her much more beautiful than she actually was and himself less so. Flanking the wedding couple, all smiles, were the bride's parents.

Vincent had made Caroline Chandler look a little older, although nowhere near the twenty years she'd never had the chance to live. Her father looked so alive Catherine couldn't believe it was a whole year ago she'd lost him. Looking at this picture, it seemed for a moment she hadn't really lost either of them at all. No matter how truly she believed they would be there in spirit, Catherine knew Vincent had sensed her sorrow that her parents couldn't be at their wedding in a more tangible way. This was his way of giving her that, creating a little world within the boundaries of this frame; a little world where the impossible was real.

Catherine laid the picture gently against the wall and sat there looking at it a long while as Vincent held her. Finally they rose and took both presents into their bedchamber, having agreed without the need for words that was where they belonged. Steeling themselves to ignore the bed for now, they went out to meet the evening's fate hand in hand.

For once, William didn't seem to mind that everyone was too excited to give his dinner the attention it deserved. His head was too full of plans for the wedding feast to even notice. After dinner, Mouse, Devin and Vincent were dragged off by Mary and Sarah for the final fitting of their wedding clothes. Catherine and Jamie took advantage of their absence to go meet Jenny at the entrance under Catherine's old building. Jenny had decided to come Below the night before so she could be on the spot in the morning, doing her duty to get the bride properly decked out for the occasion.

When the female contingent of the wedding party returned, they were dragged off in turn to try on their dresses and pronounce them satisfactory. Following that, Father had insisted on a brief wedding rehearsal, even though the ceremony was going to be neither long nor complicated. Nigel Atwood muttered something which sounded like "O ye of little faith," and Peter prescribed a good stiff dose of brandy for purely medicinal purposes. Catherine and Vincent were too amused at this byplay and too wrapped up in each other to notice how much time Devin and Jenny spent off by themselves in earnest conversation.

Finally there was nothing left to do until the day arrived. After escorting Jenny to her guest chamber not far from Jamie's, Catherine and Vincent were able to return to their own chambers at last. Vincent pointedly pulled down the tapestry over the outer door and the inner for good measure. As he began the always pleasurable task of undressing Catherine, he said softly next to her ear, "I'm glad you don't believe the superstition about the groom not seeing the bride before the wedding."

Catherine smiled as she methodically unlaced Vincent's complicated garments. She was getting much faster at this with practice. "Who says I don't believe it? I don't think it says how long before the wedding the groom's not supposed to see the bride, does it?" Vincent nuzzled her neck as he slid the blouse off her shoulders; her slacks soon joined it over the back of a strategically placed chair. Having quickly disposed of Vincent's shirt, Catherine pushed him onto the bed so boots and jeans could follow. All impediments removed, she joined him on the bed, slowly running her hand through the soft fur of his torso. As the back of one furry hand slid sensuously down her backbone, Catherine purred in Vincent's ear. "If we don't want to take chances, you don't have to see me. We can always turn out all the lights. Even you can't see in complete darkness."


***


They day of the wedding dawned clear and beautiful, but the only ones who saw it were the Helpers who would be coming Below later for the evening ceremony. The groom didn't see a thing, since the bride had decided to take no chances after all and extinguished every light and candle. After making love one last time that morning before it became sanctified and more or less legal, Catherine made Vincent promise to keep his eyes closed while she stumbled toward the door in the dark, muttering a very un-bridelike remark when her knee banged into the chair. Dressing quickly in the outer chamber, she made her way to Jenny's room. She wouldn't see Vincent now until the wedding.

Catherine found Jamie already in Jenny's room. Looking guilty as sin, the two broke off their excited conversation the minute Catherine popped her head in the door. A light breakfast was laid out, with a pot of tea kept warm by something that looked like one of the fifty percent of Mouse's inventions that worked.

"All right--what are you two up to?" Catherine eyed them both suspiciously as they offered her tea and muffins. Jenny looked mysterious as she slathered a bagel with cream cheese. "I was just telling Jamie about your wedding present," she informed Catherine. "You and Vincent will just have to wait to find out what it is." In between bites of bagel, Jenny laid out the day's schedule. After breakfast, Vincent would be spirited away by his groomsmen to supervise final preparations in the Great Hall. During their absence, the bridesmaids and the bride would help put the finishing touches on the decoration of Father's study, where the actual ceremony would be held. It would be a bit of a squeeze, but the spiral staircase was perfect for grand entrances.

"After lunch, presuming any of us feel like eating by then, men and women go to their respective pools for the ritual bath. I like that," Jenny asserted, "it sounds very Jewish."

"You must like the ceremony, too," Catherine replied. "We borrowed bits from everybody."

"Except the yams," Jenny corrected.

Catherine groaned. "God, does everybody know about the yams?"

Jamie nodded. "Pretty much. Vincent must have told Father. Brooke overheard Father tell Peter, and she told Stephen, and he told ..."

"Never mind," Catherine interrupted. "I don't think I want to know. Back to the schedule ..."

"Right." Jenny licked her fingers. "Well, after the ritual bath comes the ritual robing. First we do our hair with the flowers and all, then we start to get dressed. With all the buttons and ties and laces and whatever, that should kill the afternoon."

"Then Rebecca lights all the candles--Kipper and Samantha are going to help." Jamie's face was alight with excitement. "After that, we just wait for the signal."

"And then," Jenny said softly, "you and Vincent get married."

Catherine reached out to Jenny, clutching her hand. "Oh, Jenny--it's really happening, isn't it? It's really coming true."

Jenny squeezed Catherine's hand. "That it is, Cath. It really is. Are you getting nervous?"

"No, not really. Excited yes, but not nervous." Catherine pondered a moment. "I guess it's because I've been married to Vincent in my heart ever since that night I left Nancy's. But I'm still glad we're making it official," she smiled. Jenny stood up and put an arm around her friend. "Well, c'mon--let's go get you married."


***


Later that afternoon, Devin enjoyed the temporary respite as he relaxed in the baths with his brother and a remarkable aquatic mammal named Mouse. Right about now, Devin thought Otter might be more appropriate. Watching Mouse's antics, Devin turned to his brother in amazement. "Are you sure you only taught him to swim last year?"

"Yes." Vincent shook his head as one of Mouse's more energetic maneuvers splashed them both. "Unfortunately, he still seems unclear on the difference between a swimming pool and a bathing pool."

Watching Vincent watch Mouse, Devin was quite happy to sit still himself. It had been a hectic week, between the wedding preparations Below and the even more elaborate preparations he and Jenny had made. At one point, he was convinced they'd never pull it all together in time, but Jenny was adamant. He thought the hardest part would be keeping Vincent and Catherine in ignorance of their plans, considering they'd had to bring Father in on it and a few others. That had turned out to be surprisingly easy--or maybe not so surprising. After all those two had been through, they were entitled to be wrapped up in each other for awhile.

Vincent turned his head to meet Devin's eyes on him. "What are you thinking?"

In all his travels, Devin had never encountered eyes like that. "About the fact that my little brother is actually getting married. Although you're not so little any more, are you?"

"No," Vincent agreed. "Nor so innocent."

"In more ways than one, from what I've heard." Devin turned his eyes to Mouse again. "There's another way I let you down. If I'd stuck around, things wouldn't have been so hard for you. You wouldn't have had only Father's opinion about what was possible for you."

Devin turned again as his brother's hand came to rest on his shoulder. "Devin," Vincent said earnestly, "don't do this. How can I wish anything had been different, if my life led me to the joy I know now? Perhaps no other path would have brought me here--and I could not be happier than I am at this moment."

Devin put his hand on Vincent's gratefully and then grinned. "Oh, I don't know--I'll bet you'll be even happier in about ten hours or so." He gave Vincent a long, speculative look. "Cathy really likes that furry carcass of yours, does she?"

"She does indeed," Vincent emphatically, squirming a little. "And if we pursue that line of conversation I won't be able to stand up for some time. We can't afford to linger; you remember how long I take to dry."

Devin laughed in delight. "My, my, little brother, you have grown up! OK, I'll be good. I'd be drummed out of the Best Men's Union if I made you late to your own wedding."


***


Maybe Catherine wasn't nervous, but Jamie was becoming increasingly anxious at the idea of being the first of the bride's party to go down the stairs. Even knowing that Mouse had the unenviable position of leading off the whole show didn't make it any easier. She kept telling herself that even if she fell all the way down, no one in the audience would remember it after they saw Catherine. Jamie had always thought Catherine was beautiful, but tonight she looked like a princess out of a fairy tale--which, Jamie decided, was pretty appropriate after all.

Jenny seemed to agree. "Cathy, I've never seen you look more gorgeous--and I've seen you look plenty gorgeous before. Vincent's going to just melt."

Catherine adjusted one of the flowers in her friend's hair. "Jenny, it wouldn't matter to Vincent if I were dressed in a sack. One of the many reasons I love that man so much."

"He's a paragon, no argument." Jenny looked at Catherine with a critical eye. "OK, final checklist. Something old?"

Catherine touched the crystal lovingly. "Probably a few million years."

"Something new?"

"My present from Peter." Catherine held up her wrist to display the delicate crystal-and-silver bracelet.

"Something borrowed--must be those attractive pearl earrings belonging to your Maid of Honor." Jenny shook her head in mock amazement. "Even though the idea of Cathy Chandler borrowing earrings is like Imelda Marcos borrowing shoes. And something blue ..."

"You've already seen that, several layers ago," Catherine said firmly, "and I'm not showing you again. Besides, Peter will be here any minute."

"Alas," Jenny mourned, "the most beautiful lingerie in Victoria's Secret, and only Vincent gets to see it from now on."

"Yes," Catherine agreed. "Isn't that wonderful?"

Jenny hugged the bride and agreed. "You bet."


***


"Well, Mouse," Devin asked, "ready for your grand entrance?" Mouse was pale but determined. He would face death and torture for his beloved hero and friend, but right now either seemed preferable to the prospect of walking down that staircase first.

"I have every confidence in Mouse." Vincent clasped the young man's shoulder. "He'll do fine."

As Mouse gazed at Vincent in grateful adoration, Devin turned his attention to the groom. "And how are you doing? I expected you to be a basket case by now."

Vincent was quiet for a moment, then began to speak in a wondering tone. "For most of my life, getting married was something I never conceived of in relation to myself. Even when I fell in love with Catherine, and knew she loved me, it seemed no less impossible. Now that we've decided to marry, it seems as inevitable as moonrise. How could I ever have thought otherwise?"

Devin clasped his brother's arm, the smile temporarily absent from his face. "For twenty years, I carried your pain with me as an undertone to everything I did. Seeing you happy at last is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Amen to that." Father entered quietly and looked on his two sons with fondness. "Vincent, you look elegant. Catherine will be quite overcome."

Devin moved to put an arm around his father, the smile returning. "You know, Mary wanted to dress him in gray, but had to settle for all those tawny colors because Vincent insisted on wearing that Puss-in-Boots footwear of his--and I can't get him to tell me why."

Father smiled in response, reveling in the camaraderie of his two unique children. "Vincent? Surely you'll tell your poor old father?"

Vincent raised his eyes to heaven and prayed for strength. Perhaps grooms were made to suffer this way as a final trial before winning the fair maiden. A nice fire-breathing dragon would have been better. "Catherine," he sighed in resignation, "is extremely fond of these boots."

Devin gave the thigh-high boots a long look. "Is that what she said? 'Extremely fond?' Somehow that doesn't sound like her."

Vincent ducked his head so the golden mane obscured his face. "Actually, if you must know, he admitted grudgingly, "she said they were 'unbelievably sexy.'"


***

Part Eight

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