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Checkingher messages, she noted that he still hadn’t replied to the text she’d sent three hours ago, asking if he would be withGracetomorrow.
Behindher,Davidsneezed.
Miserywas written on his bespectacled face in red splotches and snot.Hehad soldiered on regardless, never complaining for a moment.Whata trooper.
Andthen there wasWally.PoorWally.He’dhad a truly hard day.Itmust be so disheartening being judged because of his appearance, especially when, in her opinion,Wallywas such a nice guy.Atevery opportunity, he’d offered to carry her bags, and he was constantly refilling the whole team’s water bottles to make sure they stayed hydrated.
Oneof the groom’s cousins had decided as soon as he arrived that he dislikedWally.Stellacould see it in the man’s eyes whenever he caught sight ofWally’spink mohawk: a curl of the lip, a darkening of the eyes, the stroking of a fist.Asa photographer, she caught a lot of subtext while watching people through her lens.Thatcousin was trouble.
Sowhen he pushedWally, the third time,Wallyfinally pushed back.Thecousin flew into the pool, ruining the beautifulI&Plotus flower design.
Thankfully, enough people had seen the fight to know thatWallyhad not started it.Stellagot the impression that this particular cousin was known for being an arsehole.Afterhe was fished out of the pool, a bevy of rotund aunties surrounded him, berating him for being agadha, whatever that meant.
Theirvan pulled up outside the bed and breakfast, ablaze with welcoming light despite the late hour.Everyonecollected their bags and piled into the nondescript pebble-dashed house, where the host showed them each to their rooms:StellaandFrancescawere next to each other;Krishwas down the hall;DavidandWallywere upstairs.
Nobodyspoke, too exhausted to form words.Theyhad to do it all over again tomorrow.
Stellawas asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Krishdrovethe van up the long driveway toBlenheimPalace.Inthe rearview mirror, he flicked his eyes towardsFrancescain the passenger seat.Shewas still staring out the window, as she had done since they left theB&B.
Sinceconfessing to her that he wasn’t engaged, he had tried to speak with her alone.Butshe seemed to have other plans.Lastnight at theB&B, she’d run into her room and closed the door with a firm slam.Thatmorning, she came out for breakfast last and left first.
Hehad hoped her reaction would be different.
Whathad he expected?Shouldshe have jumped into his arms and declared her love for him?Hereminded himself what she’d said to him before he was supposed to go toParis:Thisis never going to happen.
Hejust didn’t believe her.
Moreover, he’d done some snooping intoJaiveerBabulast night.Therewasn’t much information about him on theInternet, but it did say that he came fromBengaluru, notMumbai.Surely, if he andFrancescahad been dating for a whole month, she would know where he came from.
Also, a lot of articles suggestedJaiveerwas gay.
Whichbegged the same question as before: why was she lying to him?
He’dbe talking to her about it later, whether she liked it or not.Butright now, they had a wedding to shoot.
Theyparked the van with the other service providers and unloaded onto the pavement.BlenheimPalacewas a great, hulking estate, the grandest of the grand country houses ofEnglandand bigger thanBuckinghamPalace.Themain house faced onto a large courtyard, pillared porticos on either side forming a giantU.Thegrounds covered 2100 acres with grass, lakes, mazes and gardens.Andpeople actually lived there!TheDukeandDuchessofMarlboroughowned the estate and still used it as their country bolt hole despite the non-stop tours and events that took place there.Krishhad shot atBlenheimpreviously withConnor, but this was the first time that a client had rented the entire property, including the owners’ private apartments.Alltours today were cancelled.
Withthe heat and the scope of this wedding, it would be an exhausting day.
Astaff member who introduced himself asAlbertshowed them to their breakout room, the same room where the downstairs servants usually took their meals while at work.
Albert, dressed in a three-piece dark suit with tails, explained that each member of their party would have a minder to shadow them when they worked in the private apartments above.Hesaid this with a sharp, disdainful glance atWally, who was running his finger up and down theDeathtattoo on his neck.Krishwas 99% sure he was doing it to freak out the officious staff member.
‘And, for the love ofKingand country, don’t sit onanythingin the house,’ instructedAlbert. ‘Allthe chairs and sofas are original antiques.Ifyou damage anything…well,Ihope you havegoodpublic liability insurance.’
Theschedule up until the ceremony was vicious.First, bridal party photos in the garden; thenFrancescaandStellawould photograph the ceremony set-up before joining the bride in her boudoir upstairs.Meanwhile,KrishandWallywould cover theBaraat, whereParamjeetwould process up the drive on a horse, accompanied by music and dancing.Davidwould come with them to get overhead shots on his drone.
Fora moment,Krishwas struck by the enormity of the occasion.Hisfirst big event.Hopefully, it would be just the first in a long line of luxury bookings forKapadiaPhoto/Video.Hesurveyed the room, where each member of the team was prepping equipment like the pros they were.David’sallergies seemed to have settled for now.Wallywore red plaid trousers and a white t-shirt with a black bowtie printed at the neck, whichKrishsuspected was as fancy asWallygot.Stella, always on point, had dressed in a sleeveless, belted dress patterned with lemons.
Hisgaze came to rest onFrancescain anotherIndian-style outfit, an aquamarine blue this time, a great colour that brought out her green eyes.Heappreciated the effort to which she’d gone to look the part at this wedding.Hisheart unexpectedly swelled, and he turned away before she could catch the look on his face.Asudden image came to him ofFrancescadressed in a red lehenga, her arms covered in henna, a red veil draped over her head.
Theclock on the wall said 8:30. ‘Right, team!’ he called. ‘Let’sget wired up.’Hebrought out the box of headpieces, and they all chose one.He’dforgotten to mark which set had the faulty button, but he couldn’t worry about that now.
Hestudied the map of the palace and askedAlbertto show them to the garden at the west of the property.
Showtime.
