After the ceremony, we went inside the vicarage with Vicar Coventry. Many of the church ladies had assembled a light luncheon with delicious foods they’d made in their kitchens that morning and brought by. Judging by the display, I had a feeling that many of the ladies might have an eye on the single vicar and were taking advantage of that opportunity to show off their cooking skills. Needless to say, he’d have leftovers for days.
Liane and I boarded a Quantas jet for Australia that evening, and as we settled into our first-class seats, I wished that we’d had our honeymoon night before we left. The anticipation was incredible. True to her beliefs, Liane and I had never been intimate; not even much more than kissed. To a man who could buy almost anything he wanted, it was unbelievably titillating. I was putting over nine thousand miles between my wedding and making love to my wife for the first time. I must have been insane when I agreed to that.
We touched down in Sydney, and it was seventy-five degrees. They were just approaching their spring equivalent of our autumn weather. We saw Sydney Harbour from the jet, and it was certainly impressive with its ferry and the iconic Sydney Opera House and bridge. This city of modern, white elegance had come a long way from its Aboriginal ancestry. The native Aborigines had inhabited that land since Paleolithic times, but the concept of founding hadn’t taken place until the first fleet of British ships arrived in 1788. Even then, that beautiful landscape had been used as a British penal colony. I’d had plenty of time to read up on the country’s history on that nine-thousand-mile flight.
Our concierge had a limo waiting with champagne and a seafood tidbit selection, but I opted to wait until we reached our destination. I was tired, even after sleeping on the jet, and wanted my full faculties for my bridal night. I had booked Barford, a luxury home that had the appearance of an English manor house. I thought Liane would appreciate the ambiance.
Although there were only two of us, the home featured ten bedrooms and baths and included manicured lawns and a view of Sydney Harbour. It was completely private. I’d requested a Lamborghini be available for private sight-seeing. Although the kitchen was to be fully stocked and staffed with a chef, I wanted to try some of the local cuisine while we were there.
When we arrived, our driver left us at an impressive entrance with a massive black door surrounded by leaded glass. Once inside the harlequin-tiled entryway, we were briefly introduced to the staff who maintained the house and grounds as well as the comfort of the guests. We were shown through the ground floor rooms beginning with a comfortable living area banked by fireplaces and windows overlooking the harbour. Most of the house was built around a central courtyard. The inside rooms had doors that opened onto it. The outside rooms had views of the extensive, manicured grounds or the harbour itself. Decorated traditionally but in subtle prints and white marble baths and kitchen, the overall effect was one of being in a shaft of heavenly light surrounded by water and greenspace. The lower level offered a massive workout room and a home theatre banked by white leather seating. A pool in the back completed the luxury. I felt a pull between wanting to have the home filled with friends so we could party non-stop and the more realistic and immediate desire to be alone with my new wife.
Liane asked if she might use one of the bedrooms as a dressing room and I swallowed, suggesting she use the one next to ours. She looked at me funny, but I did my best to not think of the surprise awaiting her there so she wouldn’t sense it.
When she turned away, I blew out a breath watching the innocent creature walk to her slaughter.
Liane
I stood in the midst of such luxury and wondered how I’d gotten there. Our ceremony had been lovely and the fact that Dad performed it made it an intensely personal experience. Hawk had looked so handsome in his black tux and a corsage made of Lily of the Valley, my favorite flower. After our kiss, I blew one to Auggie who I sensed was watching from somewhere behind us. I felt so bad that she couldn’t be a part of our special day, but I knew Hawk was right. To have the tension that lay between him and some members of his family at our ceremony would have ruined it.
Ecstatically happy as I was, Dad had given me a rather uncomfortable, stern speech before we left. It had something to do with being a good wife and keeping my husband happy. I think it was his rendition of what he supposed Mom would have said had she been there. She was there, in a way. That’s why I wanted our ceremony in the churchyard, where she could watch from her spot in the cemetery a few feet away. I felt her spirit with us, and I knew she approved of the man I’d chosen to be my husband for life.
The flight to Australia was unexpectedly long. I don’t know what possessed me to want to go there. Perhaps it was the idea that it was so far away from all that was familiar, and I wanted Hawk and my early married life to experience something novel and untried. I also knew I was drawn to the animals and terrain of the country, so that made the flight more endurable.
Hawk was restless, and I suspected that it was a combination of the anticipation of our wedding night, combined with the simple reality that he couldn’t just take off somewhere on his own for the duration of the flight. He hated being trapped.
Once we arrived at the estate, I was absolutely bowled over by its charm and opulence. Hawk had completely outdone himself by selecting it. I would have been perfectly happy in an inexpensive motel near a tourist attraction, but Hawk understood the finer things. I felt like a princess in her castle.
I took over one of the rooms for my luggage and to get ready for my wedding night. My cases had already been unpacked and things hung in the closet. What I wasn’t prepared for was the second closet. Hawk had engaged the services of a personal shopper who had filled it with an entire wardrobe, all in my size and selected to flatter me personally. Now I understood why he’d insisted on that picture-taking episode one evening at his house and why I’d found my closet door standing open in my apartment. He’d evidently been peeking for sizes. This made me smile. He was so wonderfully thoughtful and generous.
I fingered the beautiful clothing and found a white, almost transparent negligee hanging at the front of the other items. There was a blue, velvet box strapped to the hanger and I opened it to find a matching pearl necklace with green diamonds and stud earrings. I knew he’d intended that I wear this so I asked the maid who was standing by to lay it out and run me a bath. I was a bit uncomfortable having a servant, but I knew it was her job and to be less than gracious would be insulting to her.