At the gates, a small crowd of children had gathered in anticipation. Mr Hopkin removed a small pouch from his pocket and gave it to his daughter who pulled on the string and tipped dozens of ha’pennies all over the floor, sending the waiting children into a scramble to see who could collect the most.
Once the pavement was clear she made the short walk from the gate flanked by her family. Mrs Hopkin kissed her on the cheek, and then she, along with Howell, Teddy and I went inside to await Nellie's entrance. Teddy and I took a stand alongside Dylan and stared towards the back of the church as the organ began to play and Nellie, holding on to her father, began her march down the aisle, with Nan and Betty close behind her.
I caught sight of Gwyn amongst the congregation and he gave me a wink and that huge gorgeous smile, and I began grinning back at the crowd, flushed with excited embarrassment. I’d still had no chance to talk with him about my intentions to stay so had resolved that I would do it at the reception before I had the chance to get drunk. Seeing him there, unable to take his eyes from me, just solidified my decision further.
As Nellie took her position in front of the vicar I, along with her father and the other groomsmen, seated ourselves in the front row and watched her become Mrs Ellen Evans.
At the reception, I was seated at a table near the bride and groom alongside Mair, Gwyn and a chap called Zachary, who I’d never met before. We took our seats and watched as Mr Hopkin, and then Gethin gave speeches to the crowd, and Gethin revealed that he’d booked a secret honeymoon to Tenby, eliciting much excitement from Nellie and gossiping in the crowd.
Once the formalities were over the party got into full swing and it wasn’t long until the wine was flowing.
“What a lovely day it’s been,” Mair said, arriving back at the table with a plate of food. She’d made a beeline for the buffet table as soon as Mrs Hopkin brought the food out and made sure to stack her plate high enough that she wouldn’t need to return for a while. “Didn’t she look beautiful?”
“I think everyone looked really good,” Gwyn said, rubbing his knee against mine under the table.
“So, what do you do, Zachary?” I asked the stranger at our table. In our few opportunities to speak so far, he’d seemed funny and charming but had mostly been showing a keen interest in Mair.
“Please, call me Zack,” he said with a friendly smile. “I’m a blacksmith. Well, an apprentice, but I’ve nearly completed my training.”
“Oh? We could do with one of those up at the house,” Mair said. She put her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand, flashing her big eyes at him. They’d been flirting for much of the day and since the wine was opened she'd gotten worse at disguising it.
“What do we need a blacksmith for?” Gwyn asked. “We haven’t got any cattle or equipment anymore.”
“Ow! Watch it,” I shouted, as the boot that was meant for her brother connected with my shin, causing me to raise my knee into the table and making everything on it jump. I shot an angry look at Mair who sent the same face toward her brother, who in turn burst out laughing.
“That thing needs mending,” she said, waving a pastry and indicating at nothing. “The one out the back.”
“Oh, yeah,” Gwyn replied, with exaggeration, “The thing.”
I couldn’t work out if Zack was too clueless to notice the situation, or just smart enough to take advantage of it, but he nonetheless agreed to escort Mair home that evening and take a look at whatever it was that she needed fixing. Gwyn and I, having the minds of school children, burst into laughter at the innuendo, causing more looks of disdain from Mair.
“Would you like to dance?” Zack asked, offering a hand to Mair, who rose to her feet and accompanied him to the centre of the courtyard.
Off to the side, in an area kept clear of tables, three people from the village sat with instruments playing music. The sounds of the violins, flute and pipes kept the spirits of the guests up, some of whom were filling the space with dancing, and all seemingly knowing the correct moves to each new piece of music. Men created arches with their arms that women danced under, and they bowed and curtsied and spun, all in time and rhythm with each other. The elegance of it seemed in stark contrast to what I normally saw when people danced at a wedding back home.
“Gentlemen,” Nan called out as she approached the table with Betty. “I’m quite sure it would be improper for us to ask you to dance,” she said with a smile, “so please do us the honour of not letting us stand alone.”
Gwyn rose immediately from his seat and took Nan by the arm, escorting her with a smile.
“I don’t know how to do it,” I said, causing a laugh from Betty. “I don’t dance.”
“I’ll show you,” she said. “Come on.”
Apprehensively I took her hand and stood from the table. Although I was just another body in the crowd, I couldn’t help but feel like all eyes were on me and I began to sweat.
“Relax,” she said. “Just watch what everyone else does.”
She lined me up down the row of men and stood opposite me with the other women. Any concerns about her health had seemingly disappeared and as the music began she started, along with all the other women, to skip on the spot, tipping her feet in and out with every other jump. A second later the men began to move, imitating what the women had done, and I tried to keep up.
The couple at the end began dancing forward and met at the centre of our lines. They joined hands and did a spin before dancing their way to the other end, the rest of us moving forward a turn and repeating the moves over and over. By the time I got to the head of the line, my confidence was up and I reached out for Betty and spun her around as we danced in front of everyone.
“See, I told you it was easy,” she said with a huge smile before pushing me off and sending me to the back of the line. I made it to the end without falling flat on my face and when we stopped and bowed to the women the onlookers gave us all a round of applause for our efforts.
“Are you ok?” I asked her as I took her by the arm and led her to her table. I was feeling pretty winded so I could only imagine how out of breath she must have been feeling.
“I’m fine. Thank you, Tom,” she said with a smile. “That felt good.”
I tipped my head to her and went to find Gwyn. He was standing over at the food table picking at it rather than just putting it on a plate and taking it to the table like everyone else.