Four Weddings and a Funeral
The CBB -> Ste Therese's House
#1: Four Weddings and a Funeral Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:20 am

This story was first published in the FOCS Christmas Annual and FOCS mags back in '99, I think.... Enjoy.

Part 1
A year or so after Prefects of the CS
David Russell watched dawn break over the Paris-Basle Express. He was not an experienced traveller, unlike the rest of his family, and had found it difficult to sleep on the train. In fact, he had hardly been away from Britain since leaving Austria (where he had been born) at the age of 5. The rest of the Russell family were widely travelled; his parents and younger sisters had lived in Canada and Australia, all the girls had been to school in Switzerland, and even his youngest brothers, the family afterthoughts, had spent time overseas. But not David. Somehow, his education had been considered more important than his sisters’ had. They had travelled, missing terms and changing schools, but David had always been left behind, almost casually, in the care of his uncles and aunts.

Consequently, he felt that this journey was more important than most. It stood for something. It was his opportunity to prove a point, to himself and to his parents, Sir James and Lady Russell. And what had happened? His mother had landed him with a travelling companion – and not just any old person, but the most super-capable, super-efficient person he knew. It was typical, he thought bitterly.

 

#2:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:25 am

Ooooooh looks interesting - thanks Caroline Very Happy

And poor David - being left behind like that so often.

Liz

 

#3:  Author: Ann, Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, England PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:42 am

Interesting start, Caroline, more whenever possible please!

 

#4:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 9:05 am

Here's a little more to whet your appetites...

Just then, there was tap on the door of his sleeping compartment. His travelling companion, Mary-Lou Trelawney, now a 24 year-old Oxford graduate and the last word in capability, stood there smiling, with the early morning sun glinting on her brown-gold curls. She handed him a mug of coffee and announced that they would be in Basle soon, so he’d better get a move on. David took the coffee, and wished she wouldn’t treat him like a schoolboy. After all, he was four years older than she was, and a fully-qualified doctor. But being a well brought up young man, he thanked her just the same. Mary-Lou smiled again, and nodded brightly, before disappearing down the corridor whistling like a blackbird.

David sighed, and went back to the window. He had been nervous about this journey ever since the letter offering him the job had arrived. And the journey was easy compared to telling his parents that he didn’t want to work at the Welsh San and live at home, and that he’d got another job, in Switzerland with his Uncle Jack.

 

#5:  Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 9:05 am

Looks good. And I feel most sorry that David isnt thought to be capable to travel alone. The question remains, *who* is he traveling with?

Thanks Caroline

 

#6:  Author: Kat, Location: Swansea PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 10:18 am

Looks good Caroling - please update it again soon!

 

#7:  Author: Carolyn P, Location: Lancaster, England PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 10:29 am

I like the start of this, it looks very interesting, thanks for posting it.

 

#8:  Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 10:45 am

Hmmmm - must remember to check that I havn't double posted! lol. Thanks Caroline - now why am I not surprised that it's Mary-Lou who is the competant fellow traveller... Looks good so far!

 

#9:  Author: Helen P, Location: Crewe, Cheshire PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 10:52 am

Thankyou Caroline, this looks wonderful.

Poor David - I never really thought before about how he'd been left behind.

 

#10:  Author: Pat, Location: Doncaster PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 11:21 am

Thanks Caroline. Please keep posting.

 

#11:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 11:45 am

Thanks Caroline

Surely good CS girls didn't whistle in public! Shocked at Mary-Lou Wink

Liz

 

#12:  Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!! PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 12:39 pm

Oh I remember reading this before and loved it then, Im so glad you are posting it now. So thats two thank you's Caroline Very Happy

 

#13:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 1:06 pm

LizB wrote:
Surely good CS girls didn't whistle in public! Shocked at Mary-Lou Wink Liz


Ahh - but it's Mary-Lou! She can do anything and get away with it.

Here's the next part.

David thought back to that day: his father’s disappointment, his mother’s hurt look. They had waited all through his medical training for the day he would come home to work alongside his father, and he knew that he had let them down badly. But they had never actually asked him if that was what he wanted, and he couldn’t imagine anything worse – just like it had been for the girls at their mother’s school: being judged all the time, having so much to live up to, so much more expected of them.

He was pretty sure that he would go back eventually, of course, but he had to it his way, so no one could say it was just because of his father’s position. Consequently, he had been interviewed for the position at the Gornetz Platz Hospital, just like any other candidate, at his own request by someone other than his Uncle Jack, and knew that he was lucky to get the job.

His mother was the most upset, he mused. Ailie, his youngest sister, was still at the Chalet School - and hoping to be Games Prefect this year - and the elder two, Sybil and Josette, were settled in Australia with their husbands and children. His mother had been looking forward to having her First-Born (as she always referred to him) living at home. It wasn’t to be, though, and she would just have to get used to it.

 

#14:  Author: Helen P, Location: Crewe, Cheshire PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 1:19 pm

Good for David. It is nice to see him determined to stand on his own two feet rather than take advantage of his father's position.

Thanks, Caroline, I'm really enjoying this.

 

#15:  Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 1:27 pm

And just why should he 'live at home' when he is a grown man? If he wants his independence then he should be allowed to have it. Well done David - if you can't tell them one way, you will another.

Thanks Caroline

 

#16:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 4:27 pm

Thanks Caroline

*wonders if he will be allowed to be independent on the Platz or if he will have to stay with Jo & Jack*

Liz

 

#17:  Author: Lyanne, Location: Ipswich, England PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 9:24 pm

As Squirrel wrote
Quote:
And just why should he 'live at home' when he is a grown man?

It's not as if they've been desperate for his company all his life is it? Don't suppose he really feels the Round House is home.

 

#18:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 10:57 pm

Thanks Caroline - this looks great. I wasn't lucky enough to read it the first time round so I'm making the most of this opportunity to ask for "more" please!

 

#19:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 7:15 am

Just at that moment, the train began to slacken, and in a very few minutes, they had collected their trunks, were through Customs and sitting down to an early breakfast. Whatever David might think about having Mary-Lou as a travelling companion, he had to admit she knew what she was doing.

Breakfast over, Mary-Lou Trelawney picked up her attaché case and led the way across the station. She had done this journey so many times, with the Chalet School and alone, that it was almost second nature. She did wish that David wasn’t so slow though – they might miss their connection to Interlaken. When they were finally settled in their compartment, she produced a book and her knitting and settled down for the penultimate leg of the journey. David was still gazing miserably out of the window. It was all he seemed to do, and she was beginning to despair of ever getting him to talk.

‘Honestly,’ she thought, ‘I wish Auntie Madge had never asked me to travel with him.’

It was not in Mary-Lou’s nature to give up on someone, though, especially when they looked as low as David did.

 

#20:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 7:40 am

Thanks Caroline

Will David be grateful if she butts in?

Liz

 

#21:  Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 8:07 am

Oh dear - what is Mary-Lou planning. I wonder what she would think if he told her the truth! Thanks Caroline

 

#22:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 11:15 am

‘I say,’ Mary-Lou said, suddenly breaking the silence that hung between them, ‘is there anything wrong? Can I help?’

David dragged his eyes away from the view and looked at her properly for the first time in what seemed like hours – days, even. He knew from his aunts and cousins that Mary-Lou was good at helping – always knowing what to say and how to sort things out, but he had always found her rather intimidating and bossy. When she had visited Josette at the Round House, he had avoided her - and not just because the noise and mess caused by half a dozen girls four years younger than himself was exceptionally irritating to a slightly awkward sixteen year old boy who enjoyed quiet and solitude.

No, there was more to it than that. There was the way she had of addressing everyone as an equal, and of appearing to expect the world to revolve around her, as if it were her right. And then there were those bright blue eyes, eyes which were looking at him so directly now, still just as disconcerting as they had been then in the face of the bumptious twelve year old she had been. As always, he found himself blushing and felt like a fool.

 

#23:  Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 11:17 am

Oooooh! I wonder... A very interesting little peice. Thanks Caroline

 

#24:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 12:45 pm

Thanks Caroline

*sits down to wait for David's reply*

Liz

 

#25:  Author: Helen P, Location: Crewe, Cheshire PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 1:23 pm

I wonder too Squirrel....!! Smile

Thankyou Caroline - I do hope David will decide to confide in Mary Lou, and that she will react in an appropriate way.

 

#26:  Author: Fatima, Location: The Middle East PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 2:48 pm

The idea of Mary-Lou with someone as sensitive as David sounds here....I hope she doesn't seek to dominate him as she did Verity.

 

#27:  Author: MaryR, Location: Sale Cheshire PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 6:53 pm

Thanks, Caroline, enjoying this so far. Very Happy

 

#28:  Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW PostPosted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 1:27 am

Very interesting. Poor David, but at least he has been able to distance himself from his family's demands.

 

#29:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 7:07 am

Here's the next bit.

As his blush subsided, David suddenly remembered various family rumours about how Mary-Lou had sorted his triplet cousins out, that year when everyone had been so worried about them. Since then they had become much nicer girls. Another thing: a twenty four year old graduate, who had been through what she had been through – the deaths of her father and step-father, mother and grandmother, supporting her stepsister – who had made her way on her own in the world, and been successful, too, was an entirely different being to the guileless child who had had the ability to unnerved him so. Maybe Mary-Lou would understand, or could at least listen – and surely she would be sympathetic to his determination to do suceed on his own merits rather than because he was Sir James Russell's son. Maybe he should take a risk.

David looked at her with more hope and, after not much more coaxing on her part, began to tell her slowly about the job, his parents’ hopes and expectations and his own guilt, but determination to do things his way. As he spoke he became more confident and fluent, and Mary-Lou began to see a David she had never met before either...

 

#30:  Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline PostPosted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 7:11 am

Oh I am glad that David is able to open up - and show Mary-Lou a side to him she has never seen before. Thanks Caroline

 

#31:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 7:42 am

Thanks Caroline

Liz

 

#32:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 9:01 am

Mary-Lou had spent many happy hours at the Round House throughout her schooldays– Sybil and Josette Russell were both friends of hers, and her old family home, Carn Beg, was nearby. But during those visits David had always been conspicuous by his absence. The distant and (to a lively twelve year old) apparently dull older brother had been rather overshadowed by his noisy sisters and cousins – especially the young Bettanys and the Maynard triplets– retreating to his own room rather than joining in their fun and games. Thus, the articulate and thoughtful man in front of her was a revelation, and she listened to him with growing respect and considerable interest. As he spoke she began to realise she didn’t know him at all – and that maybe he was someone who was worth getting to know.

As David finished his story, and apologised for thinking of her as a nuisance for the last few days, she laughed, apologised in her turn and produced some chocolate for them to share. They began to talk over his situation, Mary-Lou often startling him with some unlooked for insight or inspiration; to his surprise, she made no effort to judge or criticize or even tell him what to do – and her warmed to her frank, open sympathy immeasurably.

‘Honestly,’ she concluded, ‘if that’s the way you feel, I don’t see what else you could have done. If I were you, I would explain it all to Auntie Madge just as you have done to me, and maybe speak to Aunt Jo as well. That’s what I’m planning to do – I need her advice, and Madge says she could do with some diversions at the moment.’

 

#33:  Author: MaryR, Location: Sale Cheshire PostPosted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 9:45 am

Are we going somewhere rather *interesting* with this, Caroline - or am I jumping the gun here? Laughing

Thank you.

 

#34:  Author: Helen P, Location: Crewe, Cheshire PostPosted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 11:52 am

Quote:
As he spoke she began to realise she didn’t know him at all – and that maybe he was someone who was worth getting to know.


Oooooooh!

Thankyou Caroline Very Happy

 

#35:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 12:44 pm

Thanks Caroline Very Happy

Liz

 

#36:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 2:16 pm

oooh thank you Caroline

poor David was often rather forgotten by EBD - it's nice to see him as an adult

 

#37:  Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans PostPosted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 5:51 pm

It's nice to see them both learning a new side of each other. Thanks Caroline.

 

#38:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 6:40 am

MaryR wrote:
Are we going somewhere rather *interesting* with this, Caroline - or am I jumping the gun here? Laughing

I think, given the title of the story, gun-jumping is entirely justified....

Here's the next bit.

Mary-Lou explained to tell David that Mrs Maynard – their Aunt Jo – wasn’t very well and was feeling lonely since her eldest daughters were in England at university and the youngest three had just started at St Nicholas, the Chalet School kindergarten.

Mary-Lou was also at a bit of a loose end. Her whole life had been dedicated to archaeology thus far, and she had gained her degree, after several interruptions, about a year before. After spending time with several digs in various places around the world to gain some experience, she had to decide what to do next, and for once in her self-assured life, she wasn’t at all certain. The logical step, she told David, was to go all out for a position at Oxford which would allow her to do field work along with teaching, but she wasn’t convinced that that was for her: living in Oxford didn’t really suit her – she never felt well there and had few friends in the area. A few months up at the Platz, helping Joey and doing some teaching at her old school, the Chalet School, would help her to decide. She thought it would be good to get back into the swing of the scholarly life.

As the train pulled into Interlaken, their conversation had to end, but they had reached an understanding that neither had thought possible a few short hours before. David felt his old feelings of vague dislike for her slipping away; and it was nice to know that she had doubts about things too. The next few months up at the Platz would be interesting, and as they crossed the station towards the train up to the Platz, Mary-Lou could even be heard promising to teach David to ski.

 

#39:  Author: Ray, Location: Bristol, England PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 7:16 am

Caroline wrote:
Mary-Lou could even be heard promising to teach David to ski.


You know, I'm never sure if offering to teach someone to ski is a promise or a threat... ;)

I'm really enjoying this, Caroline; thank you for posting it Smile

Ray *eager for more*

 

#40:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 7:39 am

Thanks Caroline

Glad they've connected Very Happy

Liz

 

#41:  Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 8:43 am

Ooooh looks great this does Very Happy Thanks Caroline

 

#42:  Author: Nell, Location: London, England PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 9:50 am

Thank you Caroline. Looking good and pleased that permission has been given to gun-jump!

 

#43:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 11:06 am

Six Months Later
‘Just fancy,’ said Len Maynard. ‘Mary-Lou is going to be our cousin!’

Her sisters Con and Margot giggled as they arranged their bridesmaid’s dresses - ivory silk with jade-green sashes - with careful fingers. They collected Ailie Russell, the fourth bridesmaid, and ran downstairs to the waiting car.

Everyone had been surprised when David and Mary-Lou had announced their engagement; Mary-Lou had always declared that archaeology was her life, and David had never seemed particularly interested in girls or marriage. But now they had had a few months to get used to the idea, it was surprising how natural and right it seemed.

The only person who wasn’t totally happy was Madge Russell: although she adored both groom and bride, she had been disappointed to learn Mary-Lou had decided that teaching was for her, and was to stay at the Chalet School on the Platz, so there was no prospect of the happy couple living in England in the near future. Still, said Jo Maynard – with a philosophical attitude she would not have been able to maintain had they been talking about her own children – Madge should stop complaining, at least one of her children was living on the same continent as her, and besides, it was another excuse for her to come and visit the Platz and the School. Joey always declared that they didn’t see enough of her.

Mary-Lou had also voiced her determination not to give up teaching, even when she had children. She said it was silly and unnecessary for a woman to give up her career, and knowing Mary-Lou, in all probability it would all work out just as she predicted. Some people were saying she would be Head Mistress eventually, but for the moment, she was quite happy teaching history and archaeology, and sharing her life with one of the most promising doctors at the Gornetz Platz Hospital. And the Chalet School was thrilled to welcome a second Mrs Russell onto the Staff.

That was the final bit of Part One - so, one Wedding down, only three to go...

Any bets on who the Funeral will be for - it happens 'off stage' as this is supposed to be a light hearted look into the future rather than a tear jerker?

Caroline

 

#44:  Author: Squirrel, Location: St-Andrews or Dunfermline PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 11:36 am

Brilliant! That was a quick move! Hmmmm - a funeral? Only guess would be taken from your last drabble and would be Rosamund's Dad. If not that then no idea at all!

 

#45:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 12:24 pm

Lovely - thanks Caroline

Looking forward to seeing who's next. Very Happy

Liz

 

#46:  Author: Nicola, Location: Derbyshire PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 12:38 pm

Ooh, enjoying this, thanks, Caroline. Good to see a nice OOAO for once. I refuse to be drawn into drabble guessing games, because I'm so bad at them.

Oh, go on then, the triplets have a triplet wedding and the shock of footing the bill finishes off Jack. No?

 

#47:  Author: MaryR, Location: Sale Cheshire PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 12:57 pm

Well done on the first one - but I'm making no guesses. Laughing

Thank you, Caroline.

 

#48:  Author: Fatima, Location: The Middle East PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 3:56 pm

This is really lovely; Mary-Lou is actually turning out to be pleasant! I hope she and David will be very happy. Do we have to have the funeral?? I hope it is not Miss Wilson!

 

#49:  Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 4:27 pm

One wedding down, and a really lovely one too, I always used to think David would end up with Mary Lou before I found this board.

No idea who the funeral will be, in the film it always makes me cry buckets so I hope it's lighter hearted than that. I hope there's a triplet wedding though so Joey can see how Madge feels.

Thanks Caroline.

 

#50:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 7:33 pm

Oooh that means three more weddings......three more hats!

And Mary-Lou is really lovely in this, although as stubborn as ever I see.

 

#51:  Author: Carolyn P, Location: Lancaster, England PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 8:11 pm

just caught up with this. Love your ML and David, very convincing futures for them.

 

#52:  Author: Nina, Location: Peterborough, UK PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 8:45 pm

I like this drabble Very Happy a lot!

(but shows how I've been speed-reading in odds and ends this week,that I thought, "Hang on, isn't Mary-Lou married to Rix already?" ) Embarassed

 

#53:  Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW PostPosted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 12:09 am

Excellent - and I loved the crack at Joey giving Madge advice that she wouldn't be able to follow! Very Happy

Looking forward to more...

 

#54:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 7:25 am

Thanks for the kind words, everyone - glad you're enjoying it! Welcome to Part Two - which was originally a seperate, though related, story. Whose Wedding will feature this time, I hear you ask...

Three Years Later
Dr Rix Bettany closed the door on his last patient of the morning and heaved a sigh of relief. Never a particularly talkative man, chatting to his patients and drawing them out was always an effort for him, although medicine was his passion. That afternoon would be easier, the routine weekly visit to the school down by the lakeside. Never any problem about getting the patients there to talk, he thought wryly, it was more difficult to get some of them to shut up!

It was just over a year since he had joined the staff of the new Sonnalpe Hospital, after several years practising medicine in London. The idea of coming back to the Tiernsee, where he had spent so much of his childhood, had been just too attractive to resist. In fact, when he had heard that his uncles had re-acquired the old Sonnalpe Sanatorium buildings and that Gottfried Mensch was to head the new Hospital staff, he had applied immediately – before any vacancies were even announced.

 

#55:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 7:34 am

Ooooh lovely Very Happy

Thanks Caroline

Looking forward to meeting Rix's perfect woman.

Liz

 

#56:  Author: Nell, Location: London, England PostPosted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 8:57 am

Lovely, thank you Caroline. So who is she going to be?

 

#57:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 11:01 am

You'll have to wait a little while to find out who Rix's lovely lady will be...

It had seemed to be the perfect time to go back, with the Chalet School moving there too. The school and ‘the San’, as it used to be called, had always been closely linked, but the news that the school was moving again after so many years in Switzerland had been a shock to everyone.

He had heard his sisters, Bride Carrington and Maeve Bettany, discussing it after the news was announced. They had all thought that the School was fixed in Switzerland, but apparently, when the Head Mistress, Hilda Annersley, had retired the management committee led by Rix’s aunt Lady Russell, had taken the opportunity to make a few changes. They hadn’t got the original buildings back, of course, but had acquired two large chalets, some land and a landing stage a little further round the Briesau peninsula, which were quite sufficient for the moment. Another chalet in Briesau had been acquired for St Mildred’s, the finishing branch. Eventually, his Aunt Madge wanted to get all the school together again, but it was just too expensive, so for the moment there were still over a hundred girls at Glendower House in South Wales.

The telephone rang, interrupting his train of thought. It was the school’s assistant secretary.

 

#58:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 11:51 am

And who might she be?

*ponders*

Thanks Caroline Very Happy

Liz

 

#59:  Author: Helen P, Location: Crewe, Cheshire PostPosted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 11:59 am

Thankyou Caroline, this continues to be both lovely and intriguing! Very Happy

It is so good to see a nice Mary Lou - and I never really thought about her teaching before - don't know why!

Now, who will Rix end up with? Very Happy

 

#60:  Author: Carolyn P, Location: Lancaster, England PostPosted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 8:50 pm

Really enjoying this Caroline. Not sure who to suggest for Rix.

Could think of plenty of funeral victims though!

 

#61:  Author: BethC, Location: Worcester, UK PostPosted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 9:39 pm

Hmm... now where is it that Clare Kennedy's mentioned as an assistant secretary? She'd be about the right age, wouldn't she? Will wait and see, though!
Thanks, Caroline.

 

#62:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 10:46 am

Here's the next part. And the school's assistant secretary is....

Rosamund Lilley had always intended to make gardening her career but somehow, it hadn’t worked out like that.

She had had to leave the Chalet School early due to the ill health of her father and the consequent reduced circumstances in her family had meant her training at horticultural college had had to be postponed too. In the event she had never made it to Swanley – a year at secretarial college, with her father teaching her all he had learnt in fifty years as a market gardener in the evenings, had been her fate. True to her nature, though, she had made the best of things and now, six years after leaving the Chalet School, she found herself back there, as school administrator Rosalie Dene’s most trusted assistant, teaching gardening part-time and generally enjoying herself thoroughly.

Rosamund loved Tyrol: Switzerland had been wonderful but Tyrol was something special, especially for a gardener. Like everyone else, she had been surprised but thrilled at Madge and Jem Russell’s decision to move the school and start again in Briesau. Of course, it was a much better location in many ways than the Gornetz Platz was, with the lake on the doorstep for swimming, boating and skating, and the friendly Briesau community all around. A lot of the school’s old friends were nearby as well, although that didn’t mean as much to Rosamund as it did to the older staff. So everyone loved being here, which was a jolly good thing all round, as it had become a matter of some urgency to leave the Platz when the Swiss government had declared their end unsafe, and evacuated. Apparently, there was some kind of fault in the rock formation. Miss Wilson, still Head of St Mildred’s, could probably explain it all, of course. Luckily, the school and the Maynards, who lived next door, had been well insured, and the Gornetz Platz Hospital, three miles away, was safely away from the danger area.

 

#63:  Author: Joey, Location: Cambridge PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 6:26 pm

I wondered if it would be Rosamund!

Thanks, Caroline - this is super.

 

#64:  Author: Carolyn P, Location: Lancaster, England PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:59 pm

So Ros and Rix, I wonder who else you are going to pair up...2 more couples to discover, and of course the story of Ros and Rix to add to the mix along with the funeral..lots to look forward to. Very Happy

 

#65:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 10:07 pm

Thanks Caroline Smile

Glad to see Rosamund is enjoying her life despite the sacrifices she's had to make.

Liz

 

#66:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 7:49 am

It was Rosalie Dene’s day off, so when a bell rang on her desk, Rosamund picked up her dictation pad and pencil, and went through to the study next door, where the Head Mistress of the Chalet School awaited her.

‘Rosamund, I wonder if you could ring Dr Bettany at the Sonnalpe, and see if he could come down tomorrow instead of today – Frau Doktor Schmidt has confirmed she’ll be here to give her lecture on ‘Women in Science’ this afternoon, and I’d like all the girls to be able to attend. And it’s more convenient for Matron if Dr Bettany visits tomorrow morning rather than afternoon.’

‘Yes, Miss Ferrars. Shall I ring for morning Kaffee?’

‘Please, Rosamund, and why don’t you and Mary-Lou join me? We’ve all worked hard enough this morning.’

Rosamund left, and Kathie Ferrars sat back, smiling. It was pleasant to have so many friends on the staff these days. She had been worried when the move to Tyrol had coincided with several marriages and retirements amongst the staff: her own dear friend Nancy Wilmot had left due to poor health, only recently returning on a part-time basis, Hilda Annersley had retired, of course, Peggy Burnett was happily married now, as was Clare Kennedy, and Sharlie Andrews, and their own Matey, who had been with the school so long, had retired the year before. But her worries had proved groundless.

The school was comfortably settled with 300 girls, Samaris Davies was a competent Head Girl, and the staff was as strong as ever. Rosamund was as efficient and capable as she had been as Head Girl and Mary-Lou Russell made a superb senior mistress and also head of history. As for the rest, Ruey Richardson was running the games side extremely well, Barbara Henschell was a wonderful head Matron, and Con Maynard had joined the English department bringing an energy to the job that had surprised a lot of people.

 

#67:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 8:15 am

Lovely to catch up with what has happened to so many people - thanks Caroline

Liz

 

#68:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 9:32 am

Caroline, this is ace. Think you've matched them up wrong though Wink

Only kidding, I too am convinced EBD would match OOAO to either Rix or David because of the bits in Leader and Ruey where they all say how they're never going to get married, etc, a la Joey and they are the special prizes really aren't they... doctors and Russell Bettanys etc. Perfect for OOAO!

More please please please... Very Happy

ETA: Glad to see Ros and M-L so successful in their jobs too

 

#69:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 9:50 am

Mia wrote:
Caroline, this is ace. Think you've matched them up wrong though Wink

No, no, no - you've matched them up wrong Wink

Here's the next bit.

How long Con would stay in teaching, mused Kathie, was a matter for some speculation. Her writing career was finally starting to take off, with her second novel recently published to some critical acclaim, and Kathie had noticed that she was becoming more friendly with Wolferl von Wertheimer, eldest son of Countess Marie von und zu Wertheimer, one of Joey’s dearest friends. They all saw a great deal of the people from Wertheimershof these days, and Kathie knew that nothing would delight Joey and Marie more than a permanent link between their families. But that was all in the future, and Kathie dragged her mind back from idle speculation to the problems of today.

The one black cloud over life at the moment was above the Maynard family. Len Entwhistle, formerly Maynard, had been a very popular languages mistress at the school until the previous year. Until, in fact, her husbands’ untimely death in the rock falls which alerted the authorities to the dangerous state of the far end of the Platz. Very understandably Len had had a breakdown in the aftermath of Reg’s death, and although she was much better, she still didn’t feel up to teaching again and was living quietly at Die Blumen, the Maynards summer home at Buchau, with Mary-Lou and David Russell and Louisa, the Russells’ small daughter.

The other problem was the fact that her parents, Joey and Jack Maynard, hadn’t been able to move to Tyrol with the school. The Gornetz Platz Hospital was still going strong, so the Maynards were stuck living in Switzerland, and Joey hated it. Two of her triplet daughters were in Tyrol, as were the younger five, Erica, Felicity, Cecily, Phil and Claire, who were at the school, and Joey didn’t like to be so far from the action, as she herself graphically put it. She hated being away from Phil most; her youngest child was not strong after a serious attack of polio, and Jo just couldn’t stop herself worrying about her. And Len, of course.

 

#70:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 10:06 am

*Giggles*

Thanks for more so quickly! In fact, I'm going to demand again.. Smile

 

#71:  Author: Nell, Location: London, England PostPosted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 10:44 am

Thank you Caroline!

 

#72:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 12:55 pm

Mia wrote:
*Giggles*

Thanks for more so quickly! In fact, I'm going to demand again.. Smile

Demand away - this story was written years ago, so it's all just waiting to be posted - with slight adjustments here and there. Here's the next bit - and we're almost at the end of Part 2.

Kathie Ferrars gazed out of the study window, towards the beautiful lake, surrounded by majestic mountains. It was lovely here, she thought. Her mind wandered further, as she waited for Rosamund, Mary-Lou and the coffee to arrive. She had been hard at work all morning, and felt the need of a break, both mentally and physically.

Back at her desk, Rosamund rang for Kaffee, and then picked up the telephone.

‘Hello, Rix? It’s Rosamund Lilley here. Miss Ferrars wondered if you could come down to hold your surgery tomorrow rather than today – we’ve got a visiting lecturer this afternoon, and she wants all the girls to be able to hear her speak.’

Dr Bettany consulted his diary.

‘Tomorrow morning will be fine, Ros. Actually, as I was coming down this afternoon anyway,’ he hesitated, and then finished in a rush, ‘would you like to have dinner with me tonight?’

Rosamund smiled to herself. She had been wondering when he was going to ask. She had known for a long time exactly what he meant to her.

‘That would be lovely. I’ll meet you at the lake path fence at 19:00 and we could eat at the Hotel Stefanie. I’m told that they have an excellent Table d’hôte menu.’

 

#73:  Author: Helen P, Location: Crewe, Cheshire PostPosted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 3:00 pm

Thanks Caroline, I've just caught up on a few posts of this.

You killed Reg! Shocked Wink Poor Len Crying or Very sad

Lovely to catch up on everyone's news, and lovely that the school is back in Tyrol where it 'belongs' Very Happy

 

#74:  Author: Nell, Location: London, England PostPosted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 3:37 pm

Yay! Thank you.

 

#75:  Author: Sarah_K, Location: St Albans PostPosted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 4:32 pm

Very Happy Yay for Ros and Rix (don't those names sound good together ;) )but poor Len! At least she's got Mary Lou and David to look after her but how long before Joey manages toget across to the Tyrol...

Thanks Caroline, I'm rally enjoying this!

 

#76:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 4:53 pm

Lovely

Thanks Caroline Very Happy

Liz

 

#77:  Author: Dawn, Location: Leeds, West Yorks PostPosted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 9:58 pm

Just read all of this and it's great, although Reg's untimely (?) demise was a bit of a shock as was the relocation Very Happy

 

#78:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Wed Sep 21, 2005 6:55 am

Here's the last bit of Part Two...

‘Rosamund Anne, do you take Richard Geoffrey to be your wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward. Do you promise to love, honour and obey him, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health and, forsaking all others, be faithful only to him so long as you both shall live?’

‘I do.’

So, for those keeping count, that's two weddings and a funeral so far - two more weddings to go...

 

#79:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Wed Sep 21, 2005 5:56 pm

*throws confetti and wishes Ros and Rix much happiness*

Thanks Caroline

Liz

 

#80:  Author: Lyanne, Location: Ipswich, England PostPosted: Wed Sep 21, 2005 10:24 pm

Oh well, Reg was a silly name anyway... Is having a 'Rose' name a desirable criteria for secretarial posts at the Chalet School Smile ? Are they all people we know? I suppose Con & Woferl could be next, because we already have the hint of that.

 

#81:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 9:42 am

Here's the start of Part Three - which is really all about couple #4, although features couple #3 (Lyanne - you guess correctly about *their* identities....

It is a year on from Rosamund and Rix's wedding....

Len Entwhistle sat by the window in the pretty salon at Die Blumen, staring with unseeing eyes at the beautiful scenery in front of her. It was more than a year since her husband had died and for the first time since that dreadful day, she was beginning to look to the future with more hope, even thinking of starting teaching again. Surrounded by people who loved her, part of a warm and caring extended family, her pain was becoming more bearable and she was coming to terms with her loss: starting to remember Reg as the man she had loved, rather than the husband she had lost.

Having little Louisa Russell around helped too, for Lou-Lou, as they called her, was an adorable child, friends with the whole world, and caring for her whilst Mary-Lou was at the school was helping to bring Len back to life.

It had been Reg’s greatest regret that they hadn’t been able to have children, although Len hadn’t minded much at the time, preferring that it should just be the two of them – she had had a lifetime of looking after small children, in the form of her many younger siblings, and had had no intention of having children of her own for many years - if ever - even before Reg had told her of his situation. Since his death, of course, she had come to wish passionately that they had been able to have a child, that a part Reg had lived on. That he did live on, in her heart and in the hearts of everyone that had loved him, was, as yet, only scant consolation.

 

#82:  Author: Nell, Location: London, England PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 9:45 am

Aw. Poor Len. Glad she is starting to look on the future with more hope though.

Thank you Caroline.

 

#83:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 9:47 am

Thanks Caroline. Will Len remarry? It's good that she's starting to remember Reg without it hurting though

 

#84:  Author: Carolyn P, Location: Lancaster, England PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 9:57 am

Just caught up with this again. Thanks Caroline. It is good for Len that she isn't alone, but still so sad.

Wondering who else you are matching up though! Laughing

 

#85:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:31 am

The doorbell rang, and shortly Rösli, the maid, came into the salon to announce: ‘Frau Bettany’ before stumping off down the corridor.

‘Ros, how lovely!’ exclaimed Len, rousing from her vigil by the window and leading Rosamund to a comfortable wicker chair. The two friends sat down and after Len had served coffee, Rosamund started, with many blushes, to tell her friend that she and Rix were expecting their first child in six months time. She wasn’t at all sure how Len was going to take this. But she needn’t have worried: Len was thrilled for them.

‘What fabulous news! You’ll be the first of our set to become a proud Mamma – not counting Mary-Lou, of course!’ Len thought for a few moments. ‘I know, I’ll give a dinner party for you! David has some holiday next week, so with you and Rix, me, Mary-Lou and David, we only need another man.’

A shadow fell across her face as she thought who that man should have been, but she banished the thought resolutely, and tried to think of a sixth person for her first dinner party in Austria.

 

#86:  Author: Pat, Location: Doncaster PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:36 am

I am really enjoying this Caroline. It must have been in FOCS before I joined, as I've never read it before.

 

#87:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:49 am

Who is the sixth man - please tell us

 

#88:  Author: Robin, Location: London PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:16 pm

love that this is being updated so quickly, thanks Caroline.
Hope Len can find someone special now - although I'm not sure that she's ready for any more than a good friend at the moment.

 

#89:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:44 pm

You will have to wait a little longer before discovering who the Sixth Man (sounds like a thriller!) is....

Soon two sets of girlish brows were knitted over this teasing problem. Making a list of all the qualities required in a good dinner guest didn’t get them anywhere, so they tried listing all the suitable (and single) men they knew.

‘Wolferl’ said Len.

‘It’s not very fair to Con to pinch her young man for the sake of a dinner party,’ complained Rosamund, who had got over her embarrassment, now the great secret was out, ‘but why don’t we invite both of them? Eight is even better than six, if we’re celebrating.’

‘OK, good scheme. So who else is there?’

Try as they might, they couldn’t come up with the right man. Dr Hamilton from the Sonnalpe was voted too shy and all the other doctors were married or too old. Len thought that Anthony Mensch, Gisela and Gottfried’s son, was too young, and Mary-Lou’s friend Tony Barrass, visiting the region for the climbing, too intense for a light-hearted dinner party.

When Mary-Lou arrived home an hour later, they had given up and were busy discussing school affairs, such as how Kitten Lucy would manage as the new Head Girl. The moment she walked through the salon door, though, they flung the problem at her and requested her to ‘put your great mind to work’ and come up with a solution. She listened patiently, finally worked out what on earth they were talking about, congratulated Rosamund (who promptly started blushing again), and then stated, in tones of one talking to a group of very small children: ‘It’s obvious, my dears. Where have you left your brains today? But I’m not telling you, you have to work it out for yourselves!’

 

#90:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:58 pm

Caroline wrote:
‘It’s obvious, my dears. Where have you left your brains today? But I’m not telling you, you have to work it out for yourselves!’


Obviously my brain is in the same place lol

Love OOAO being exactly OOAO!

 

#91:  Author: Nell, Location: London, England PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 1:14 pm

And mine! I have no idea - but look forward to finding out.

Thank you Caroline.

 

#92:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 6:19 pm

Thanks Caroline

*wonders*

Liz

 

#93:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:37 pm

oooh thank you Caroline

*has ideas*

 

#94:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 6:49 am

Finally, Len gave a yelp: ‘Roger Richardson, of course! Mamma says he’s been working far too hard on that latest engineering project of his, and now it’s all finished, Laurie Rosamon has insisted he have a complete break. Mamma's letter said he’ll be here on Friday.’

Mary-Lou and Rosamund smiled at each other. Roger fitted the bill exactly.

So, did anyone guess? I always thought he was meant for Len after the sexual tension between them in the two Tiernsee holiday books... Well, I thought there was sexual tension, anyway...

 

#95:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 7:26 am

Yay! Roger would be perfect Very Happy

Thanks Caroline

Liz

 

#96:  Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 8:00 am

Caroline wrote:


So, did anyone guess? I always thought he was meant for Len after the sexual tension between them in the two Tiernsee holiday books... Well, I thought there was sexual tension, anyway...


Ah, like that argument they had in "Joey & Co in Tirol" when Len got all flushed afterwards, and then EBD said that Len could never look anything but pretty?

 

#97:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 1:14 pm

Roger Richardson turned his head and surveyed the crowds filling the small chapel from his seat near the front. Most people were already seated, he thought, but there were still a few gaps and the bride would be here soon. Just at that moment, his former guardian Joey Maynard appeared at the back of the chapel, and came hurriedly up the aisle leading a small, red-haired boy by the hand. She stopped by Roger, and speaking in the low tones that she knew were less likely to carry than a whisper, said ‘Here, Roger, can you look after Geoff for me? I’ve got to go and help Marie sort the bridesmaids out.’

‘Sure, Jo, not a problem,’ said Roger ‘Shove him in here next to me.’

Joey flashed a grateful grin at him, pushed nine year old Geoff towards Roger, and vanished towards the back of the chapel.

 

#98:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 4:33 pm

Thanks Caroline Very Happy

Liz

 

#99:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Sat Sep 24, 2005 1:20 pm

Thanks Caroline. Yay for Len & Roger!

 

#100:  Author: keren, Location: Israel PostPosted: Sun Sep 25, 2005 6:23 pm

Caroline wrote:
Finally, Len gave a yelp: ‘Roger Richardson, of course! Mamma says he’s been working far too hard on that latest engineering project of his, and now it’s all finished, Laurie Rosamon has insisted he have a complete break. Mamma's letter said he’ll be here on Friday.’

Mary-Lou and Rosamund smiled at each other. Roger fitted the bill exactly.

So, did anyone guess? I always thought he was meant for Len after the sexual tension between them in the two Tiernsee holiday books... Well, I thought there was sexual tension, anyway...


I thought the sexual tension is with Jo! read the first one over again!

 

#101:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Sun Sep 25, 2005 6:28 pm

keren wrote:
I thought the sexual tension is with Jo! read the first one over again!


Jo is definitely flirting... Laughing Wink and I was shocked by how much description EBD gives of him in his bathing trunks! Shocked

 

#102:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:20 am

Mia wrote:
keren wrote:
I thought the sexual tension is with Jo! read the first one over again!


Jo is definitely flirting... Laughing Wink and I was shocked by how much description EBD gives of him in his bathing trunks! Shocked


Or *lack* of bathing trunks. Yes, having flipped through Joey & Co over the weekend, Joey definitely seems very keen on young Roger - offering him cigarettes, deciding she needs to speak to him when he's partially clothed and dripping wet rather than waiting until later, allowing him to entice her into swimming races....

But back to *this* story....

All three Richardsons had been wards of Joey and Jack Maynard since their father had vanished on a doomed attempt at space flight some eight years before, and although they were all well over 18 now, Joey said they would always count as members of the family. Roger himself was a couple of years older than the triplets; Ruey, now as Miss Richardson the Games mistress of the Chalet School, was three years younger than him; and Roddy, currently at Cambridge, was the same age as Steve, the Maynard’s eldest son. Roger himself had read for his degree in civil engineering at Oxford, and since then had been working hard to establish himself in his chosen profession.

In previous years he had spent most of his summer holidays at the Tiernsee, growing up side-by-side with the triplets, teasing them, looking out for them, and being looked up to as the elder brother they had never had. Len, in particular, had welcomed him into the family with open arms. Always older than her years, she had treated him as an ally, as he took some of the burden of caring for the younger ones from her, on to his broad shoulders. They were alike in many ways, and had developed a good understanding; they shared a similar outlook on life.

 

#103:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 9:36 am

Roger sounds lovely - and very deserving of Len. Thanks Caroline Very Happy

 

#104:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 12:21 pm

Thanks Caroline

Hope they will be very happy Very Happy

Liz

 

#105:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 12:24 pm

Roger and Len had met up at Oxford on many occasions, as their courses overlapped by a year, and, by the time he left, he had been quite sure how he felt about her. She was already engaged at that point, though, and so after leaving Oxford, he hadn’t seen as much of her or the Maynards as he had previously; he spent what few holidays he had had in England, or with his mother’s cousins Daisy and Laurie Rosamon in Switzerland. He had had to cope as best as he could with the news that Len had married her fiancé, her parents’ old friend Reg Entwhistle who was some ten years older than her, straight after graduating. Roger hadn’t gone to the wedding, and had thrown himself into his work. And what had happened? Reg Entwhistle had been killed in a tragic accident, and Roger made himself ill through overwork.

When Laurie Rosamon had ordered him to rest, Joey Maynard insisted that he go to the Tiernsee; being Joey, she knew exactly why he had been so distant these last few years. Also being Joey, she knew that the time was right for Len, that she was ready to move on, and Jo was determined that Roger should finally get his chance. So she had sent him to Len, with instructions to look after him and keep him amused. The rest, she felt she could safely leave to him.

 

#106:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 2:05 pm

This is nice... come on Roger, seize the opportunity... Smile Thanks Caroline!

 

#107:  Author: Ally, Location: Jack Maynard's Dressing Room!! PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 2:45 pm

Poor Roger, but I love Jo's plotting! Thanks Caroline

 

#108:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 2:55 pm

I'm sure Joey only wants them to be happy but surely she could have left it alone! Grrrrr interfering woman.

But it does make a lovely story. Thanks Caroline

 

#109:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 4:40 pm

How thoughtful of Jo - and I hope Roger takes the initiative without too much delay.

Thanks Caroline Very Happy

Liz

 

#110:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 7:47 am

Here's the third wedding. I know we haven't seen much (OK, anything) of this couple, but you can take it from me, they are very happy together!

As Roger looked around the chapel, he could see a number of familiar faces, although most of the groom’s family and a lot of the school party were strangers to him. His sister Ruey was in the midst of a sea of schoolgirls towards the back, and their cousins Daisy and Laurie Rosamon were sitting a few rows behind him, with their four children, Tony, Peter, Mary and Nell. Len’s cousins Mary-Lou and David Russell were also here with young Louisa and their very new son, James, and Roger thought that he could see Rosamund Bettany with her baby daughter Elizabeth, next to Mary-Lou.

Suddenly, Jo Maynard came down the aisle to take her seat, followed closely by the Countess von und zu Wertheimer, and then the organ swelled out, filling the room with beautiful music. The bridegroom, Wolferl von Wertheimer stood up, and with his best man, his cousin Stefan von Eschenau (Bernhilda and Kurt von Eschenau’s eldest son), moved to the front of the chapel. The bride, Mary Constance Maynard, entered the chapel on the arm of her father, and as she glided elegantly down the aisle, Roger could see Len behind her. Len looked pale, and Roger thought that Margot, the third triplet, was looking a little anxious about her. Dr Margot Maynard had come over from England, where she was finishing her first year of postgraduate studies in tropical medicine, for her sister’s marriage. Following these two – each matron of honour in her own way - came four of Wolferl’s five younger sisters (the eldest, Josefa, who had married to her cousin Kurt von Glück, was too heavily pregnant to join the entourage) accompanying Con’s sisters Felicity, Cecil, Claire and Phil. Ten bridesmaids! Len had told Roger that Con wanted all the sisters as bridesmaids, but he hadn’t taken her seriously. He had to admit, though, it did look impressive.

An hour later and it was all over. Mary Constance Maynard had become Mary Constance von und zu Wertheimer.

‘And what a signature for a cheque!’ said Len, with a giggle. Roger tried to smother a laugh as they waltzed gracefully around the dance floor.

So, that was the end of Part Three. Look for Part Four some time soon - it's very short, as we already know who's wedding we will be celebrating...

 

#111:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 7:50 am

Lovely wedding - Thanks Caroline Very Happy

Time for a new hat though I think Wink

Liz

 

#112:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 9:22 am

*Tries on hats with Liz*

Thanks Caroline

 

#113:  Author: Vikki, Location: Sitting on an iceberg, freezing to death!!! PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 12:46 pm

Thank you Caroline! This is lovely (and I remember reading it in FOCS)

 

#114: Complete! Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:05 pm

Part Four is short but sweet....

Two Years Later

Helena Richardson smiled up at her mother over the head of her very new baby daughter.

‘She’s beautiful Len, sorry I mean Helena.’ Joey quickly corrected herself as her eldest daughter frowned.

In the year Helena and Roger had been married, a lot of changes had occurred in the Maynard’s extended family. Joey and Jack had finally moved their family home to Tyrol and their fourth daughter, Felicity, was Second Prefect at the Chalet School. Margot had succeeded in her ambition to become a medical missionary and was to be sent to her first posting shortly, and Steve had graduated from Cambridge, recently becoming engaged to Felicity’s friend Lucy Peters. As for the others, Felix, Cecily, Claire, Geoff and Phil were popular young people with their own crowds at school, Charles was studying for his doctorate in philosophy and Mike had recently joined the Navy. Joey was bemoaning the fact that they were all so far away.

The eldest Maynard daughter’s decision to use all of her stately name, although outwardly a trivial matter, was proving one of the hardest changes to get used to. After all, as Joey said, when you have called a person by one name for 25 years, it’s pretty difficult to suddenly start calling them by another. Helena had stuck to her guns, however, saying that a new start merited a new name and Roger was backing her up for all he was worth.

The small child in Helena’s arms wasn’t Jo’s first grandchild, as Con and Wolferl von Wertheimer had a year old son and very new baby daughter, Markus and Catarina. But for some reason, this child, with her wisps of sunny brown hair, and big blue eyes, was more precious: Helena had been through so much, and to see her and Roger so happy brought tears to Jo’s eyes.

‘What shall we call her?’ asked Roger, from his seat by the bed.

‘I thought Joanna, Joanna Evelyn.’ Helena Richardson smiled.
The End

And a virtual new hat (to be worn for all Maynard family weddings) for the first person to remind us of the signficance of the name Evelyn in this context.

Thanks for the kind words throughout the posting of this story - you guys are so kind, and it's always lovely to know there are folks reading and enjoying out there.

Caroline.

 

#115:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:09 pm

Oooh I know - Evelyn is Roger's mother's name isn't it? Very Happy

Thanks Caroline, I've really enjoyed this Very Happy

 

#116:  Author: Caroline, Location: Manchester PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:17 pm

Spot on - Mia wins the prize.

What's it to be, then? A big shady hat with a number of interchangable linings and ribbons so you will always match your outfit...?

 

#117:  Author: Mia, Location: London PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:27 pm

Caroline wrote:
Spot on - Mia wins the prize.

What's it to be, then? A big shady hat with a number of interchangable linings and ribbons so you will always match your outfit...?


Oh yes please *chortles*. I think I shall need this hat for Liz's drabble! I'm willing to loan it round! Wink

Last edited by Mia on Tue Sep 27, 2005 3:26 pm; edited 1 time in total

 

#118:  Author: Helen P, Location: Crewe, Cheshire PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 3:04 pm

Thankyou Caroline, that was lovely Very Happy

Now looking forward to anything else you care to pull out of the hat for us! Wink

 

#119:  Author: Vikki, Location: Sitting on an iceberg, freezing to death!!! PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 3:23 pm

Awwwwwwww!!!!

Thank you Caroline! That is a LOVELY ending!

 

#120:  Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 5:04 pm

Wonderful Very Happy

Thanks Caroline

Liz

 

#121:  Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 10:04 pm

Awwww how lovely! Thanks Caroline.

But 10 bridesmaids?! Shocked Just a tad excessive.

 

#122:  Author: Nell, Location: London, England PostPosted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 11:27 am

WOnderful. Thank you Caroline.

 

The CBB -> Ste Therese's House


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