Knowing her husband’s cowardly behaviour of old, Joyce crouched down and immediately found him. ‘Stanley, get up from under that table and get your arse home this minute!’ she screamed.

Aware of the whole of the pub laughing at him, Stanley crawled out like a naughty schoolboy.

‘I’m sorry, Joycie. Me, Ray and Bill lost track of time. We were just gonna –’

Joyce lifted her umbrella and repeatedly whacked him on the backside. ‘Home, Stanley, now, and I mean now.’

With Joyce and her brolly on his tail, Stanley ran out of the pub, twice as fast as the mutt he’d lost his money on.

Eddie stood in Barking register office and glanced at his watch.

‘Don’t worry, she will be here,’ his brother Ronny assured him.

Eddie smiled. Paulie had been his best man at his first wedding to Bev, so he’d felt it only right to even things up by asking Ronny this time round.

Ronny had been thrilled to be asked. He’d hugged him, with tears in his eyes. ‘I’d be honoured, bruv, fucking honoured.’

Eddie wiped the palms of his hands on his smart grey suit. ‘Get someone to open that door, I’m sweating me cobs off in here,’ he ordered Ronny.

‘She’s arrived. They’re here,’ somebody shouted. Eddie took a deep breath as Jessica walked towards him. Smiling, he squeezed her hand. ‘You look beautiful, really beautiful.’

The vows might have been short and sweet, but they were filled with emotion and spoken with meaning.

Eddie slipped the ring on Jessica’s finger and kissed her tenderly. ‘I love you, Mrs Mitchell,’ he whispered.

* * *

With little time to organise the big event, Eddie had chosen a restaurant in Canning Town for a slap-up meal, followed by a knees-up back at his local pub. He’d booked a disco and had told John, the guv’nor, to serve free drinks all night. He hadn’t invited too many people. Including Jessica’s family and friends, there were about fifty at the wedding and meal, and another fifty or so invited to the reception at the boozer.

‘I can’t believe my best mate’s married,’ Mary said, smiling.

‘You look so pretty, Jess,’ Linda said.

‘Beautiful,’ Ginny agreed.

‘Congratulations, darling,’ Joyce said, hugging her daughter.

‘I like Ed, he’s a top bloke, sis,’ Raymond said, kissing her.

Stanley felt his eyes water as he watched his daughter and Eddie gaze into one another’s eyes. It would all end in tears, he just knew it would.

His mother-in-law felt the same way. ‘I don’t like him. Surely our Joyce must realise they’re a family of villains? You’ve only got to look at them to see what they are.’