Mother of the Bride

Marita Conlon-McKenna

TRANSWORLD IRELAND

Cover

Title

Copyright

Dedication

Also by Marita Conlon-McKenna

Acknowledgements

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-five

Chapter Twenty-six

Chapter Twenty-seven

Chapter Twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-one

Chapter Thirty-two

Chapter Thirty-three

Chapter Thirty-four

Chapter Thirty-five

Chapter Thirty-six

Chapter Thirty-seven

Chapter Thirty-eight

Chapter Thirty-nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-one

Chapter Forty-two

Chapter Forty-three

Chapter Forty-four

Chapter Forty-five

Chapter Forty-six

Chapter Forty-seven

Chapter Forty-eight

Chapter Forty-nine

Chapter Fifty

Chapter Fifty-one

Chapter Fifty-two

Chapter Fifty-three

Chapter Fifty-four

Chapter Fifty-five

Chapter Fifty-six

Chapter Fifty-seven

Chapter Fifty-eight

Chapter Fifty-nine

Chapter Sixty

Chapter Sixty-one

Chapter Sixty-two

Chapter Sixty-three

Chapter Sixty-four

Chapter Sixty-five

Chapter Sixty-six

About the Author

This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's and publisher's rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Version 1.0

Epub ISBN 9781409094371

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TRANSWORLD IRELAND
an imprint of The Random House Group Limited
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www.rbooks.co.uk

First published in 2010 by Transworld Ireland,
a division of Transworld Publishers

Copyright © Marita Conlon-McKenna 2010

Marita Conlon-McKenna has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781848270374

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For James with love

 

 

 

Also by Marita Conlon-McKenna

THE MAGDALEN
PROMISED LAND
MIRACLE WOMAN
THE STONE HOUSE
THE HAT SHOP ON THE CORNER
THE MATCHMAKER

For my family, James, Mandy, Laura, Fiona and James, son-in-law Michael Hearty and little granddaughter Holly.

Special thanks to Mandy and Michael – a wonderful bride and groom! Also thanks to Tom and Breda for being such great in-laws. What a perfect summer wedding we all enjoyed.

To my agent, Caroline Sheldon, for all her support and belief over the years. Also thanks to Rosemarie and Jessica Buckman.

Thank you to my editor Linda Evans. What a delight to find that we are on the same page! It's been great working together.

To all the team at Transworld UK, especially my copy-editor, Lucy Pinney, for her sensitive work on the text, and to Vivien Garrett and Sarah Whitaker. Aislinn Casey for spreading the word! Also thanks to Eoin McHugh at Transworld Ireland. Thanks for all your work on my book, it is much appreciated.

To Gill and Simon Hess, Declan Heaney and Helen Gleed O'Connor and all in Gill Hess Dublin. What a great team!

Special thanks to Francesca Liversidge for all her support and encouragement and friendship over the years.

Thanks to Grace Murphy for the medical advice. (Any errors are my own).

Thanks to Barbara MacKenzie, cake-maker extraordinaire, for all her wedding wisdom.

For all the wonderful friends who enrich my life. You are the best!

Helen O'Connor listened to the deep rumbling snores coming from the other side of the bed. Looking at Paddy's contented face, as he snored on oblivious, she resisted the urge to thump him or turn him over. Instead she snuggled down under the cosy quilt, trying to lull herself into her usual deep sleep.

The house was quiet, the sound from the big grandfather clock in the hall strangely comforting as Helen turned over. She was tired, and could feel herself relax as the familiar comfort of their big bed worked its magic. She was almost asleep when the phone beside the bed began to ring. A quick glance at the bedside clock showed her that the time was after midnight. Concerned, she began to sit up as she answered it; beside her, Paddy was already beginning to rouse himself and wake.

‘Hello!' she answered, barely able to disguise the trepidation in her voice. Calls in the middle of the night usually signalled trouble of some sort. She held her breath, anxious.

‘Mum, it's all right. It's Amy. I'm just phoning to tell you that Daniel and I have got engaged.' Their elder daughter, Amy, was breathless
with excitement on the phone. ‘We're in Venice, and it's so romantic. Dan proposed on this lovely little bridge over the canal as the sun went down, and then we went for dinner to this amazing restaurant called La Rondine. We're so happy. Can you believe it, Dan and I are going to get married?'

‘Amy and Dan have just got engaged!' Helen shouted, shaking Paddy awake. ‘Oh, Amy, that's wonderful news.' Helen was so happy for them both. Amy and her boyfriend Daniel were touring around Italy for a week, and were flying back from Florence at the weekend. Although they had only been together for about two and a half years, Helen and Paddy had secretly hoped that this relationship would work out. They both really liked Daniel, and felt he would make a great son-in-law; everything that the parents of a daughter would wish for. ‘Congratulations to you and Dan, we're so pleased for you.'

‘Mum, Dan and I don't want a long engagement,' Amy continued. ‘We want to get married next summer!'

‘Next summer!' Helen was a little surprised. From what she could gather, weddings took a lot of organizing. Still, if that's what Amy and Dan wanted. ‘That sounds perfect. Here, I'll put you on to your dad. He's dying to congratulate you, too.'

Paddy at this stage was propped against the pillows, gesticulating madly that he wanted to talk to Amy. Helen passed him the phone, and craned to listen to the conversation.

‘Amy, pet, congratulations. We're delighted. Dan's a lovely fellow, and I know that you'll be happy together,' Paddy said, trying to control his emotion. ‘From the minute I met him I knew that he would always take good care of you. And now he's going to marry
my little girl
!'

‘Oh, Dad,' Amy wailed. ‘I'm glad that you and Mum are so pleased for us. It's just so exciting.'

‘Put Daniel on the phone a minute,' prompted Paddy. ‘We want to tell him just how happy we are with the good news.'

They both pulled the phone off each other telling Daniel Quinn just how happy they were at the prospect of his joining the O'Connor clan. And they were both reassured by his promises to take care of their elder daughter.

‘Mammy, is Ciara there? I want to tell her too!'

Paddy yelled for their younger daughter, Ciara. Her dark hair standing on end, she arrived like a zombie in black pyjama bottoms and an ancient T-shirt, and grabbed the phone off them.

‘Hey, Amy, I can't believe it. You and Dan getting engaged . . . it's so grown up!'

She curled up on top of their bed as she chatted with Amy, eventually passing back the phone. Helen listened as Amy excitedly went through every detail of the proposal and told them she was sending them a photo of her engagement ring from her cell phone. Ciara went and grabbed her phone as the image appeared on the screen, and passed it to them, Helen being struck by the technology that could enable her to see the ring on her daughter's finger, even though she was in Italy and they were back home here in Dublin. All of them admired Amy's beautiful diamond ring.

‘It's absolutely gorgeous.'

‘Mum, listen, we've got to go! We have to phone Dan's parents and Ronan and Jess, but we're dying to see you all next week, when we can celebrate properly together.'

‘Good night, love,' Helen said as the call ended, Ciara, Paddy and herself all agreeing that the engagement was great news.

‘She asked me to be a bridesmaid,' yawned Ciara. ‘Does that mean I have to wear some disgusting frilly dress or something?'

‘That's great,' said Helen, wondering how in heaven's name Amy was going to get her normally Goth-styled sister into anything resembling a bridesmaid dress. ‘I'm sure you'll be a wonderful bridesmaid and a great help to Amy.'