‘Shh!’ Gerald nudged him, then rose to take his place before the tiny congregation who had come to witness the wedding of Arthur and Kitty. Tom waited at the door and a moment later was joined by his sister. Arthur turned his head and looked directly at her. His first reaction was to deny that this woman could possibly be Kitty. She was as thin as a stick, with sunken cheeks and eyes, and her hair, though still brown, was wispy and had lost the unruly curls of her youth. Only her lips, and something of her eyes, even reminded him of the Kitty he had known, and at that moment Arthur realised he had made a mistake.The most awful mistake of his life. What made it worse was the dawning realisation that there would be no undoing of this mistake. He could not withdraw from his commitment to marry her any more than he could stop drawing breath.

‘My God,’ he muttered under his breath. ‘She has grown ugly.’

Gerald glanced sharply at him, then turned to the bride and her brother, who was to give her away, with a welcoming smile. Kitty smiled back nervously and then squinted slightly as she stared at Arthur. Her smile flickered a moment, and for all his misgivings Arthur could not help but smile back rather than hurt the poor creature as he rose to his feet along with the other guests.

Tom Pakenham offered his arm to his sister, and led her towards the altar. When they drew up abreast of Arthur, Tom released her and stepped aside as Gerald raised his hands and began.

‘Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here to join together this man and this woman . . .’

As his brother continued with the ritual Arthur stared straight ahead, as if he was on a parade ground. Inside he felt his heart sink like a lead weight in mud.The years had settled on Kitty like a tattered shroud and the passion that he had once felt for her so strongly taunted him as a mirage taunts a thirsty man in the desert. On the periphery of his vision he sensed her sidelong glances at him, and he wondered if she felt the same way about him. Perhaps the years had been kind to neither of them. In that thought he managed to find some small scrap of hope. Even if their looks had faded, then surely their personalities would have escaped the ravages of time? Arthur clung to that belief as the ceremony wore on, and spoke his lines in a wooden manner that would have disgraced the very poorest of actors.

At length the service came to an end and Gerald pronounced them man and wife. The words fell heavily on Arthur’s ears and as he turned to face Kitty he forced himself to smile. He took her hands in his, and sensed her tremble.