The Garden of Hopes and Dreams by Barbara Hannay

Author:Barbara Hannay [Hannay, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781760899424
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia

The crowds outside the church were even bigger than Vera had expected, and a loud cheer exploded as her father got out of the car. Vera remained seated and she was grateful for the veil over her face.

‘If you wouldn’t mind fetching Pandora,’ she said. ‘I’ll wait here.’

Her father gave a stiff nod. ‘Very well.’

The bridesmaids were lining up, ready to process ahead of Vera just as they’d rehearsed. She watched their surprised faces as her father approached them, saw him step closer to Pandora and lean in to whisper in her ear as he delivered the message.

The sudden terror on Pandora’s face was unsettling, as was the vehement shake of her head, not to mention the looks of intense curiosity from the other bridesmaids. Murmurs ran through the crowd gathered on the footpath, rising to a high buzz as Vera’s father took Pandora’s elbow and steered her towards the car with its waiting bride.

‘I’m sorry,’ Vera said, as soon as Pandora came to the window. ‘But I need to know what you meant when you asked me that question about Felix’s farm.’

The poor girl’s face drained of all colour now, and her lipstick and rouge stood out like clown’s paint.

‘Pandora,’ Vera persisted between tightly clenched teeth. ‘Just tell me.’ She nodded towards the church’s grand entrance. ‘I’m not going in there till I know. Has something happened? Something terrible?’

Pandora nodded. ‘He’s lost it.’

A bomb exploded in Vera’s chest. ‘Lost the farm?’

‘Yes. I don’t know the whole story, but it was a racing bet. At Ascot.’

Oh, dear God. Vera was so suddenly dizzy she thought she might faint, but even as the shockwaves pounded through her, she knew it wasn’t so much the loss of the farm that bothered her as Felix’s lack of honesty. Surely, she couldn’t possibly marry a man who would hide such an important truth from her?

Leaning through the window, she called to her father who was waiting at a discreet distance. ‘I have to speak to Felix.’

‘For God’s sake, Vera.’ Lord Glenbrook looked every inch the haughty aristocrat now as he stared at her in disbelief. ‘It’s far too late.’

‘It’s supposed to be bad luck,’ Pandora said faintly, but the other two ignored her.

Coming closer, Vera’s father hissed, ‘You can’t march into the church and demand to speak to your bridegroom.’

‘No,’ Vera said calmly. ‘But you can take a message to him. Tell him I need to speak to him. I’ll stay in this car and I’ll meet him at Glenbrook Bridge.’

For a long, fraught moment, Vera was sure her father was going to refuse this incredible request. But she sat very still with her head high, willing him to cooperate.

Years later, Vera wondered if her father had remembered all the fairytales they’d read together – stories in which so many fathers had tried to impose unfair demands on their daughters. Whatever the reason, Lord Glenbrook now marched off without another word, around the side of the church to the vestry door, and the waiting crowd was totally dumbstruck as Vera asked Benson to drive her back to Glenbrook Bridge.

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