AC Syndicate: Isolated Files [OS]

Wedding Day [Alternative]

[Victoria Middle Class version]

Today, in the spring sunshine of London's Westminster, a wedding ceremony was taking place in a small local church. It was the wedding of Victoria Reid and Thomas Cameron.

Inside the church building, it was absolutely quiet. The guests - mainly friends of both families - the Reids and Camerons, witnesses, groomsmen and bridesmaids, were there waiting for the bride to arrive, as was Thomas at the altar and the minister. The heir took a deep breath before sighing slowly, his face lit up with the joy of marrying the woman he loved.

In the church narthex, Victoria tried to deal with the tension she felt. It was a stressful day for her, and it wasn't going to end there. She was going to marry a man she had no love for, to make her father's business right. All this was a lot for her. She already wanted to end it all and still dreamed of running away with her lover. Bolton, who was standing beside her, tried to reassure her, thinking that the stress she was feeling was due to the wedding itself. If only he knew.

"It's time to go, dear," he said. "We shouldn't keep our beloved Thomas waiting any longer," Bolton smiled.

The brunette sighed slowly, her mouth forming an o. She swallowed and nodded, looking at her father to let him know she was ready, though she was not at all. He then gave his arm to her, which she took apprehensively. He took a few steps forward, as did she, and opened the door. The organ began to play the wedding march as soon as the noise from the doors was over.

Still apprehensive, the heiress walked down the centre aisle where a long red carpet was laid. All the friends and both families could admire the burgundy* gown with black embroidery on the bustle and lace sleeves in the same colour. The eyes were on Victoria, so beautiful was she. She was embarrassed to be the subject of so much attention, to the point where her hands were sweaty. It was not practical to keep the bouquet of white and pink roses in her hands. She continued to breathe slowly so as not to panic and run straight for the exit. Thomas, his smile widening, admired the young woman. He didn't know what to think except that she was beautiful. His throat tightened and tears welled up. He could not have a more beautiful woman than Victoria.

Bolton and his daughter stopped at the bottom of the small staircase in front of the altar. They faced each other, one of the bride's hands in her father's. The latter allowed himself to kiss his daughter's forehead in a gesture of goodwill and pride, and with great emotion. He then joined Amelia's side, with a tear in his eye.

The bride and groom faced the pastor, who declared the start of the ceremony. Eternity began for the brown-haired woman, who found it difficult to keep still. Despite the effort to restrain herself, she briefly moved her shoulder or tapped the fingers of her left hand on those of her right, hidden by the roses and the palm.

Meanwhile, outside, not far from the church, a man got out of a clarence. He readjusted his cod-tail jacket and thanked his green-jacketed coachman. He slicked his hair back as the Rook drove away in the car. The latecomer knew what was going on in the church building. He looked around and saw that there were a lot of Blighters hanging around. Taylor had made sure the place was safe, apparently. The man observed the behaviour of the thugs who were very well dressed for the occasion. He hoped to see one of them isolate himself from his group in order to kidnap him and infiltrate the church without hindrance. Despite the permanent twinge in his heart, he had to attend the wedding, to discreetly support and secretly admire the bride's dress, as well as herself.

An opportunity presented itself to the young man with the day-old beard. He walked over to the Blighter and as soon as he had the chance, he struck the other man's jaw to make him stunned. He locked arms with him and threatened to kill him if he alerted the others. Holding on to his arm and his life, the Blighter complied. The reputation of the Rooks and their leader had dissuaded the thug from resisting him.