CHAPTER 6 - JUST BEFORE
MARY AND CHARLES’ WEDDING
 
Act 1, scene 6
Time: May 24th, 1859

Characters:
Mrs. Eagle
Mary Eagle, dressed in a pale blue dress with white lace overskirt
Elizabeth Eagle, Mary’s sister, aged 18, dressed in pale yellow dress
Mrs. Ann Mayfield
Sophia Haliday, 20, dressed in pale pink dress
Mary Ann Braithwaite, 19, dressed in pale lavender dress

Scene: The Leopard Inn, Mary’s bedroom (only Mary and her mother and Mrs. Mayfield are present at the beginning of the scene. Mary pirouettes in front of a large mirror.)

Mrs. Eagle: (giving her daughter a hug) Oh, Mary, you do look lovely.

Mary: I am so very happy. I thought when Charles asked me to marry him last Christmas that I couldn’t be happier, but I am now.

Mrs. Eagle: Well I won’t pretend that these last few months have been easy, but I now think that Charles has redeemed himself in my eyes, and I know he will make you a good husband, even if he did show very bad judgement some four and a half months ago. But I must admit, it doesn’t show. Not one bit.

Mary: (putting her hands on her abdomen) Are you sure, Mother? This new corset is so loose compared to my usual one, I am feeling quite as if I am spilling over.

Mrs. Mayfield: Now, don’t you even think about it, Mary. You are going to be a very beautiful bride, and nobody is going to say anything or think anything at all to the contrary.

(Elizabeth, her sister enters the room.)

Elizabeth: Oh, Mary, you make such a lovely bride. The dress fits you so well. You look ravishing. And I must say, you look much fuller of figure than I remembered seeing you.

Mary: (blushing and somewhat embarrassed) It is this new corset, I expect, Elizabeth. It sorts of pushes me out in places where before I was held in. (they both giggle) And you look lovely too. When will the others get here?

Elizabeth: Oh, they have already arrived and are waiting downstairs for me to say whether they might come up.

Mrs. Eagle: Yes, of course, dear. Do tell them to come on up. I wonder if the flowers have arrived.

Elizabeth: There is a box in the front hall. I will bring it up and tell the others to come up too. (She goes out, and then comes back a few minutes later carrying a large white box. She is followed by the other bridesmaids, who are dressed identically to her, except for the colour of their dresses.)

Sophia: (going up to the bride and making her twirl) Oh, Mary, you do look lovely, doesn’t she? (She then goes in front of the mirror and pats her hair.)Do you think my hair looks all right? Mother curled it in rags last night, and they were such an effort to sleep on.

Mary: It looks just fine.

Mary Braithwaite: Yes, an innocent blushing bride. And it is a perfect day for you. Warm but not too hot with a pleasant breeze.

Mary: We are very lucky. (looking in the box) Let’s see. There should be lilacs for the bridesmaids’ bouquets, and irises for me and the petals for Eliza to scatter. Yes, they are all here.

(She hands around the various bouquets to Elizabeth, Sophia and Mary Braithwaite.)

Mrs. Mayfield: My little Eliza is so excited to be Flower Girl. I’ve asked Mary Wilson to keep her away from anything that might muss her up. Thank you so much for including her.

Mary: I was pleased to do it. She will have a basket of flower petals, but I thought it best to keep it from her until she is to use it. (Going up to Mrs. Mayfield and giving her a hug) I am very proud to have you as my friend, Mrs. Mayfield. You have done so much for Charles and me. Without you, this wedding might well not be happening.

Mrs. Mayfield: I had faith in Charles coming through.

Mary: I wonder how Charles is getting on.

Mrs. Eagle: Well, his father will be seeing to him, and making sure he gets to the church on time. And his good friends Charley Cox and Lindsay Hall should be meeting up with him at All Saints before the ceremony.

Mary: I can’t believe this is all happening. It still seems like a dream.

Mrs. Eagle. Well, I think it is about time we went downstairs. I’ll call your father, dear, and we must wait until the others have entered the church and sat down. Then you can process with him, and your entourage. Remember Eliza goes first, strewing her lilac petals down the path and into the street.

Elizabeth: I so hope nobody trips up on the cobbles.

Mrs. Mayfield: You will all be fine. Don’t you look lovely, all of you? (turning back to Mary) And where did you say you were going on your honeymoon, Mary?

Mary: First to Manchester, then on to Liverpool for a few days. We will be going to our home in Worcester by Sunday.

Sophia: It does seem odd to have your wedding on a Monday, Mary.

Mary: It was because of the Inn trade. This was the day when Father reckoned that we could afford to close to trade for the day. Anyway, it didn’t stop our guests coming. I think at last count, we expect something like 60. Isn’t that correct, Mother?

Mrs. Eagle: Yes, but that doesn’t count the small children and babies which takes it up to 75. I hope we can cope with it all.

Mrs. Mayfield: Stop worrying all of you. Now let’s all make our way downstairs, and I will collect Eliza and make sure she knows what she is to do. Take a deep breath, everyone, and remember to smile.

Mary Braithwaite: What music will you have to march in to, Mary?

Mary: It's a Prelude called Firework Music by Handel. Do you know it?

Mary Braithwaite: Very rousing indeed. And what to go out?

Mary: Mendelssohn’s Wedding March. It was what Queen Victoria’s oldest daughter Princess Vicky had at her wedding. She officially is Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise and two years ago when she was 17 (as was I) she married Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia. So having the same march for our wedding should put us in the realm of the quality, Did I tell you Mother, that Charles’ friend Lindsay’s father-in-law, Jacob Zeugheer Herrmann actually knew Mr. Mendelssohn? Mr. Herrmann is the musical director of the Liverpool Philharmonic. We might get to see them on our honeymoon, but I know Charles plans for us to go to the Manchester Hallé Orchestra while we are there, so we might not be able to do both.

Sophia: And I heard that you asked my brother William to sing, The Lord is My Shepherd. He was so pleased to be asked.

Mary: He has a lovely voice, and it will be perfect for the time when we are signing the registers.

Mary Braithwaite: Are you having other hymns too?
Mary: Yes We will have two hymns during the service as well which will be My God How Great Thou Art, and Breathe on me Breath of God.  The congregation will sing those.

Sophia: I think it is a great shame that Charles’ supporters are already married. But I expect there will be some young unmarried men there too, for Mary, Elizabeth and me to flirt with.

Mrs. Eagle: I hope you will behave with decorum, you girls. But of course there will be many young men there whom you will see and can spend some time talking with, and I think I have arranged the seating at the wedding so you each will have someone more your age near you.

Mary Braithwaite: Speaking of food, did you do as you thought you might, and make the entire meal suitable for vegetarians? Just because Charles is one, we all have to suffer.

Mary: It is his wedding too, and it is not appropriate that the food we serve should cause him distress in any way. We’re having marchpane fruit on the tables along with preserved cherries and quinces. And we are having Cheese Cakes, Pippin Twists, Eggs in Snow in pastry cases, and muffins. Small tartlets - some marmalade and some with apple jelly and macaroons. And of course we will have champagne for the toasts, ale for the men, and light sweet wine for the women.

Elizabeth: And you should see the wedding cake!

Mrs. Eagle: We are having a traditional rich fruit cake, with marchpane and icing. We will put tiny pieces into boxes for the guests to take home. The bride’s cake is to be white and is a Victoria sponge. The groom’s cake is dark ginger cake (Charles loves ginger.). Inside the smaller cakes we will put a ring, a thimble, a penny, and a button. Then each of you three bridesmaids, Charles’ attendants and the ushers will each be offered a piece. If their piece contains one of the items mentioned this will be their fate.

The ring for marriage within a year
The penny for real money, my dear
The thimble for an old maid or bachelor born
The button for sweethearts all forlorn
 
Sophia: It all sounds like such fun. I can’t wait.

Mary: Nor can I. (kissing her mother) Thank you Mamma, for all your guidance and understanding during these last few months, and for all of my life.

(Curtain)