A Wedding in Africa (The Africa Series) (21 page)

Now, as they sat waiting for the bride to arrive, he wondered whether it was possible to feel any happier than he did right now.

 

‘I had a letter from my father in Cape Town this morning,’ Lacey leaned across, tilting her head slightly to avoid the brim of her hat. ‘Yeah?’ Tate was momentarily anxious. ‘What did he have to say?’

‘You’ll never guess. Apparently, Mortimer’s left the company and gone off to work in Europe, but Dad reckons he’s better off without him. It seems that he finally realised what Mortimer was really like, and he’s says he’s quite relieved that I broke off the engagement.’

Tate loosened his tie, uncomfortable with being trussed up in a suit and confined to a small space for any length of time. ‘That’s great, Lacey. I’m glad Jasper’s seen sense. He’s better off without him.’

‘And that’s not all,’ Lacey continued, rooting around in her clutch bag to find the letter. ‘Look – he says that he now understands the sacrifice I was willing to make for him; that I was prepared to give up my own happiness to try to make him happy. He says it makes him sad to think that I felt I needed to make up for the loss of Michael. But, guess what? He also says here that he hadn’t realised how lucky he was to have such a loving daughter. What do you think about that? He says he’s pleased that I’ve decided to stay here with you and he’d love to come and visit us real soon. And look, he even calls me his “beloved girl” at the end of the letter. I can’t believe it! I feel I’ve got my father back after all these years.’

Tate grasped her hand and squeezed it. ‘That’s no more than you deserve, my darling. And I’m delighted that your father’s given us his blessing. We’ll definitely get him up here. I’m sure he’d love Matshana.’

Lacey sighed happily and popped the letter back in the bag. As she did so, the African choir filled the room with their sweet harmony, and all the guests stood up to welcome the beautiful bride.

Vibrant flame lilies lined the walk to the centre of the circle where Thomas was waiting proudly. Themba stood smartly beside him and tried desperately to swallow the toffee he’d smuggled into the ceremony.

‘Oh look, Tate,’ Lacey was almost rigid with excitement. ‘Nandi’s wearing a ceremonial
jocolo
– it’s that lovely five-panelled beaded apron on top of her gown. She looks magnificent and the beading is exquisite. She’s so beautiful. And look at Themba, I’ve never seen such a huge grin on that child’s face before.’

‘It’d be even bigger if he didn’t have that bloody great chunk of toffee poking out of his cheek,’ Tate laughed. ‘But you’re right. Nandi looks amazing and so happy. We’ve waited a long time for this day, you know. The whole of Matshana’s celebrating this African wedding.’

‘That’s exactly what it is, isn’t it, Tate?’ Lacey’s eyes were glistening with sentiment. ‘This is what a real wedding in Africa looks like.’

Tate turned to look at her and murmured gently against her hair: ‘I reckon it’s time we started preparing for another wedding in Africa, my darling. Our wedding. Do you agree?’

Lacey took a long, deep breath as the voices of the African choir soared into the air. Hardly daring to believe that she could be so blessed, so happy, she turned and met Tate’s eyes, whispering the words that she knew he wanted to hear: ‘Yes, Tate. I do.’