Chapter 17

On Saturday morning, after breakfast, Willow went for a walk. She went down to the bridge over the river and then along the bank to the church. Instead of cutting back along Church Lane, she continued through the orchard to Coventry Road and back towards home along Vicarage Road.

She was passing the Club as a truck was delivering beer. The Club Manager saw her and called her over.

“Willow, my lass. Just the person I wanted to see. Those piano sessions have been very good for the club takings. We haven’t had crowds like it for years. Can we organise a monthly, or even fortnightly, event?”

“That would depend on Gina helping out, sir. But I can’t see much of a problem unless we’re both deep into exam time. Would you mind if the two of us start with other types of songs while the patrons are eating?”

“You can do whatever you like, as long as it’s entertaining. Can you play a week next Saturday?”

“I’ll be there. My Mum appreciates a night without cooking.”

She carried on home to tell her parents about the arrangement. Wendy told Ashley that he had to slow down with the drink, or else she would go without him. After lunch, Willow went out again, but only as far as the bench by the church. She took a notebook and pencil, sitting there with her eyes closed while she thought of all that had happened in her life. She opened her eyes and started writing.

By the time that she went home to prepare for dinner, she had a number of song lyrics written down. There was a song about the transition from childhood into being a teenager; another about finding a best friend forever, that would precede the one that she had written about the first kiss. Having worked on two concept albums recently, she was writing a story, her story, in song. This would be her secret project.

On Sunday morning, she wore one of her better full skirts and a matching top. When the family walked to the church, they all had coats on against the winter cold. She went up as the bells started and got the organ ready, then started playing Bach, which always calmed her down. She saw, in the mirror, her parents come in with Alec and his parents. Gina came in with Maisie and sat in the same pew.

The congregation rose as Reverend Russell entered, and Willow faded the Bach out as he approached the altar. The service was routine, and she started the departure music as the bells started. Gina led Alec up to the organ as the church emptied, and he watched Willow playing. When she stopped, with the bells, she turned it off and covered the keyboard.

“Gina. I was asked, yesterday, if we could do our club gigs on a regular basis, even fortnightly. Are you up for that?”

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with schoolwork.”

Gina turned to lead the way back to ground level, and Alec took the opportunity to give Willow a kiss, before they followed.

“You do realise, young man, that kissing your girl in a church usually only happens after the wedding vows.”

“If that’s the case, my sweet, then so be it. We can get married here, can’t we?”

“Not so fast, young buck! There are demons to slay and dragons to vanquish before the maiden is yours.”

They joined the adults outside, with her parents walking home as she joined Alec in the back seat behind his parents. She showed them how to get to Stoneleigh Park, and then to the Abbey. His father paid for them all to go in, and they started exploring the building. Willow was able to talk about some of the places which had ‘No Entry’ signs as they moved around.

Beth was starting to wonder how this teenager knew about the hidden rooms when a voice called out.

“Willow! Fancy seeing you here.”

Willow turned to see Cassandra and Terry walking towards her.

“Hello. Are you here to look at the chapel?”

“We are. We were wondering what the organ sounded like.”

“I don’t know. I haven’t played it.”

“We have to get our organist to try it out, won’t we? Dad is around, somewhere, with Mum. He can talk to the management. Now, who is this young fellow, with his parents if my eyes don’t deceive me?”

Willow introduced Cassandra and Terry to the Hancock’s. Alec was looking at her with a quizzical expression, which Cassandra saw.

“She hasn’t told you about us, has she? I’m Cassandra Leigh, and my father is the Sixth Baron Leigh, who lived in this house for a while as a child. Willow is a descendant of the brother of the Third Baroness, if I’ve remembered it correctly. It was all a long time ago. Have you shown them the portrait of the Third Baron, Willow?”

“Not yet.”

Willow hadn’t wanted to reveal all, but it was now out in the open. Alec still looked quizzical, and his parents looked shocked. She took Alec’s hand and pulled him up to the corridor where the portrait hung. It may have been a mistake as they found the Baron looking at it carefully.

“Good morning, sir. Cassandra said you were in the house.”

“Hello, Willow. Who is this young man with you.”

“This is Alec, who plays flute in the school orchestra, sings in a pop group, and is my boyfriend.”

“Good morning, talented Alec. I know that Willow is a talented girl, and it looks as if she attracts talented young men. What is the pop group?”

“It’s a school thing, sir. We will be playing in part of a school concert. I’m with Willow, and others, recreating the sound of the Moody Blues.”

“Now, that’s something I’d like to hear.”

“It will be advertised on the school website in a couple of weeks. You will be able to buy a DVD that we’ve already filmed, and there are some of the concert that Willow played Deep Purple songs in still for sale.”

The Baron looked at Willow with a raised eyebrow.

“You kept that quiet when you visited, young lady. As far as we knew, you were a quiet young thing who played church organ and sometimes honky-tonk in a club.”

Willow laughed.

“It’s been a busy couple of months, sir. We worked with another group perfecting a Kansas concept album last week, with Alec singing, and our friend, Gina, on another organ. The three of us then did something completely different, learning a piano, flute, and violin trio.”

“Right. Now, are you two here on your own?”

“No, Alec’s parent brought us. They’re probably still downstairs talking to Cassie.”

“Let’s round them up and I’ll lead them into the forbidden zones that Rupert has already shown you.”

He set off and the two teens followed behind. Alec whispered to Willow.

“You never let on that you’re practically nobility!”

“No, and it’s not something that needs to go any further. It’s just that my great-great-great grandfather was brother of the wife of that man in the picture. It’s so far removed that we’re not considered officially family, except that the Baron has accepted us as part of his history. When the third Baron died, childless, his cousin inherited the title, and that’s Christopher’s great-great grandfather. If you go back to the church, you’ll see a lot of signs of the Leigh family connection.”

“Christopher Leigh?”

“Don’t make that joke. He’s good with it but has distanced himself from the actor, years ago.”

They found the Baron rounding up Cassie and the others, and then leading the Hancock’s on a personalised tour of the house, collecting Marie on the way, who gave Willow a hug. They ended up in the chapel, where Willow was asked to try the organ out. She had been to enough weddings, in her younger days, to be able to play the wedding march for them.

As they left the chapel, Cassie made a joke that Willow wouldn’t be able to play at her own wedding, and Alec said that Gina could do the honours. His mother looked at him and he blushed.

They had lunch at the Abbey dining room, and Beth announced that they had an appointment that afternoon. Willow saw the look of surprise on Alec’s face. The Baron looked at Marie, who nodded.

“Look, we were going to St. Marys to have a look at that church, this afternoon. If you want to dash off, we can take Willow home.”

“If you can do that, it will be good. Thank you.”

Willow and Alec managed to separate themselves from the group on the way out. Alec gave her a quick kiss, before he raced to the open car door, held by his mother. When they left, Willow stood, wondering about the change in the atmosphere. The Baron came up to her.

“It’s something we have to live with, Willow. That family has to be staunchly left. Meeting a right-wing peer of the realm was an unwelcome shock. I saw the look that Beth gave Alec when he spoke about Gina playing at your wedding. If I’m any judge of character, he will tell you that his mother has laid down the law. I’m sorry.”

“Not as sorry as I am, sir.”

“Willow, we’re family, call me Chris.”

“All right. Chris. I’ll try not to cry and spoil your afternoon.”

He pulled her into a hug.

“You’ll get over it. He may not be husband material, but you know that he’ll stay your friend. And everyone needs friends.”

She smiled.

“Thank you, Chris. Has Cassandra met Reverend Russell yet?”

“Not yet. With you to introduce her, I’m sure that he’ll be happy to let her look around the church.”

“Will you pop into my home when you drop me off? I can ring Mum to open a fresh bottle of sherry. I think that Alec’s parents emptied the last one.”

He nodded, so she pulled her phone out of her bag and rang home.

Back in the Abbey, both Marie and Cassie gave her a hug and told her that she shouldn’t be upset that her boyfriend was whisked away so suddenly. The Baron completed his task by getting the official brochure and the prices for weddings, with a discount as a Leigh. They all got into the people mover and drove into the village. Willow went to the Vicarage and spoke to Edie, who told her that the Reverend would join them in a few minutes.

Willow led them into the church, where Cassandra and Terry went around the walls, carefully looking at the plaques and taking pictures. When the Reverend joined them, the Baron asked about a wedding.

“For you, Baron Leigh, it will be free, seeing that it’s for the Leigh family, and will be a full-service event, with the flowers and ushers thrown in. The Leigh family is revered here, as you can see on the walls. It would be churlish to charge you a penny, and my parishioners feel the same. I’m sure that the Stoneleigh Club would be happy to accommodate a reception, it’s just a stroll across the road, so you can have a four ‘o’clock wedding and then go over for the reception. The happy couple can change in the vicarage.”

“That’s most kind. I would, of course, donate.”

“That would be your prerogative, sir. I wondered if you would be having the wedding at the Abbey.”

“It’s nice, but a little commercialised. This has a much nicer atmosphere. Cassie, do you want to hear the organ?”

“Yes please. Would you, please, Willow.”

Willow went up to the organ and turned it on, waiting until it was up to pressure. Then she played the wedding march. She thought that this instrument sounded mellower and full toned compared to the Abbey. She shut the organ down and covered the keys, then went down, where the Reverend was showing Cassandra and Terry the way that the wedding would take place, seeing that the main door was at the side.

She slid outside and trotted across to the Club, where the manager was cleaning the taps.

“Excuse me, sir. I need to tell you that the Sixth Baron Leigh is in the church, seeing if it would be suitable for his daughter’s wedding. Reverend Russell has just suggested that they hold the reception here, so they may be in to ask you about it.”

“Thank you for the heads up, lass. We have rooms that we don’t use, so a big do is easy. I’ll give him a really good deal, never fear.”

She went back to the church, and slipped inside while the group was being shown the area that the Reverend emerged from on Sundays, and where a table would be set up for the signing of the official documents. Cassie would have to come in through that door on the day of the wedding. She pulled out her phone and called home.

“Mum, we’re at the church so that Cassie can see if she wants to marry here. I think that we’ll be going over to the Club after, to see about a reception. I’m sure that the manager will try and sweeten the deal by offering them a meal, tonight. Be prepared for me to give you another call.”

She then rang Gina.

“Gina. Are you free tonight, if I call you. We may be asked to play at the club tonight as a special occasion. It shouldn’t be as late as Saturday nights.”

With Gina’s reply that she would warn her mother, Willow put the phone away and tried to look angelic as the Baron came back out into the body of the church.

“The organ here sounded much better. Did you play it differently?”

“It’s the difference between a newish instrument and one that’s been in place for over a hundred years and is powered by pumped air pressure. Having played the other one, earlier, I thought that this was much more authentic.”

“Authentic. That is exactly the word, Willow. This whole village, the church and the people. They are the real thing. My family has forgotten our roots, and they lie here, with all these good people. The club, that’s just across the road?”

“It is, and I think that the manager will be setting up for the Sunday evening drinkers about now.”

“They do meals?”

“Only on weekends. They get a full house on the Saturdays that Gina and I play there.”

“What about space for a band at a reception, or, at least, a DJ?”

“I don’t know. I do know that we fill the front rooms, but I believe that there are more rooms out the back.”

“We’ll just have to ask about those. This is great! My wife is happy here, my daughter is positive about the church, especially with all the ancestors here. If we get too many coming, we can always set up a screen outside and a camera inside.”

“It’s a good view from where I sit, if you want to have a look.”

She led him up to the organ, and he took in the view.

“For a wedding, the Reverend has told me that he uses the main altar, right at the end, so the cameraman will need to be able to zoom in. The procedure would happen just between the current altar and the main one.”

He looked hard at the view, then took some pictures on his phone.

“Thank you, Willow. You really should direct films when you’re older. We can put a couple of go-pros facing the couple on the day, to be slipped into the official record. What about unwanted noises up here?”

“I will be turning the fans on when I arrive, to get the pressure up. The only other times that they start is if I’m doing a long, or loud, piece. They kicked in while I was playing the ‘Toccata’ the other day, but you wouldn’t have heard them in the body of the church. Will there be many cameramen, seeing that it would be a society wedding?”

“We’ve talked about it and may have a single photographer from a society paper, keeping the general newshounds outside. It would be a lot easier to control than the Abbey. Then there would be the family photographer to do all the group photos.”

He took another look at the church from this vantage point, gauging how many could sit in each pew.

“The pews are authentic, as well, with the doors.”

“They’re the same in the Abbey. It must be something from earlier days.”

They went back down and joined the others. Cassandra smiled, sweetly.

“This is all right, isn’t it Daddy? All we need is to see where the reception can be held.”

“Thank you, Reverend. I’ll get back to you with the exact date and time, but it will be around Easter. Now, let’s go and see this club.”

The strolled over to the club and went in. Willow had suppress a giggle as the manager had put on a jacket with his name badge on the lapel.

“Good afternoon, folks. Hello, Willow. What can we do for you?”

“We’re here to see if you can host a wedding reception for up to two hundred guests.”

“Certainly. If you follow me, I’ll show you a bigger area. We generally fit around sixty to seventy here on a good night, but there are rooms where we used to hold dinner dances.”

He led them down a passage and opened the door to a large room and turned on the lights.

“We can sit around two forty, with the dance floor it comes back to two hundred. There’s a stage for a band, as well as a PA, which we would make sure was in full working order. It’s a bit messy at the moment as we haven’t used it for a few years. We had monthly shows up to the COVID period and it hasn’t restarted.”

“What about catering?”

“We have the kitchens here, and I would need enough lead time to make sure the kitchen is back at full capacity. We do feed around fifty or sixty on the sing-along nights. The usual charge for receptions is sixty pounds a head, but I believe that you’re special, right?”

Willow stepped in, looking at his name badge.

“Malcolm, this is the Baron Leigh and the Baroness. It is their daughter who will be getting married.”

“Right. I can bring the price down to thirty a head, two-plate drop, and dessert. Drinks would be by a pre-paid bar tab. I can do the price because I can get a good deal from my suppliers. All they need would be a group picture outside the Club, and your permission to add the caption that they had been the preferred supplier to the wedding reception. They would put the picture in their windows.”

Christopher laughed, and Marie giggled.

“If my daughter is happy, you sir, have a deal. This village is priceless! Or, at least, half price.”

“Look, Baron. Why don’t you and your family stay for dinner, tonight, on the house. There’ll be others coming in. Willow, would you be able to provide some entertainment if we include you and your parents?”

“That can be arranged. Can Gina come in and help out?”

“The more the merrier. What do you say, sir?”

“All right, we’ll stay. We can rest with a drink until dinner time. Willow, do you want to go and get Ashley and Wendy, and call your friend?”

The family settled in as Malcolm gave Willow a smile as she went off to collect her parents, calling Gina on the way. When she got home, Wendy had already changed and was putting on her socialising face. Ashley had a sports jacket and slacks.

“Right, Missy. You left with Alec and his family and return with the Baron. Spill the beans, kid!”

“Short answer, Dad. Hancock’s happy looking around Abbey, run into Cassandra and Terry. Cassie spills the beans about me being almost family, Beth looked like thunder. Baron appears on the scene and does the full behind-the-barriers tour, then we had lunch. Beth announces that they have a prior appointment this afternoon and they leave in a hurry, taking Alec and my love life with them.”

Ashley hugged her.

“So, a left hook met a right jab and decided to throw in the towel.”

“If you meant that she got the hump because I’m almost nobility, then – yes.”

“So, the Baron brought you home?”

“We stopped at the church to have a look and they’re now sitting in the club having a drink. Malcolm has shown them the big room at the back and offered them, and us, a free meal tonight. Gina and I will be doing an impromptu sing-along. If you’re worried that I might start bawling, I’ll keep it in until I have a pillow to soak.”

She went upstairs to freshen up and let Wendy redo her make-up. Then, they left the house and walked to the club, where the Leighs had been joined by the Russell’s and the Summer’s, as well as a few more locals who had come along for a meal and a drink. The Reverend had introduced Gina and Maisie to the others, and, when she saw Willow come in, she stood and came to her side.

“So, when were you going to tell me that you’re this pally with the Baron?”

“It isn’t that important, friend. They are almost normal people with a bit more money and a Steinway upright in the dining room. It’s a short story from a long time ago, and I’ll let you know it all on the way to school in the morning. It makes no difference to us.”

They hugged.

“I’ll believe you, friend. They seem nice.”

“I met them at the Abbey this morning. I was with Alec and his parents and Cassandra spouted it all out about our family and theirs. His mother carried him off after lunch. I suppose that my boyfriend isn’t my boyfriend anymore, on mother’s orders.”

“Oh! You poor girl. You two were getting on so well.”

“Let’s forget that, tonight. We have some entertaining to do. I’ll open up with something different, and then you can get them going. I don’t know how long the others will stay, but they do like drinking songs.”

Willow went to see the manager, getting him to put a microphone on a stand, next to the piano. Then she joined the others for a while and had a lemonade. Before the food came out, she went to the piano, sat down and moved the microphone closer, and turned it on.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight I’m going to start with something a little different. Please refrain from throwing tomatoes, they’re terrible to clean off.”

She started playing a tune and then started to sing, softly. It was her song about a child becoming a teenager. It was followed by one about a teenager finding a true friend, and one about the teenager experiencing her first kiss. Wendy had tears in her eyes as she realised that these were Willow’s own story. The next tune was one that Gina knew but had never heard it played with just the piano. It was ‘Driftwood’, and includes the line ‘Don’t leave me, driftwood, on the shore’.

She switched the microphone off and went back to her seat, to polite applause. Wendy stood and held her close before they sat down. After the meals were eaten, Gina went to the piano to start the sing-along. When she got to her final piece, Willow took over and kept the entertainment going. There was at least fifty in the club for the extra entertainment, some of the regulars having rung their friends.

When Willow played ‘Now is the Hour’, she put the lid on the keyboard and there was general applause, hugs and kisses as the Leigh’s left to go home, and the other patrons drifted off. The manager asked Willow to stay for a while, and the evening drew to a close with just the Russell’s, the Rose’s and the Summer’s, sitting with hot coffees in front of them.

The Reverend confirmed that a date had been set the weekend before the Easter weekend, and Malcolm confirmed that the Baron had paid a deposit for the reception at the club. Ashley said that they had been very happy that they had been so well accepted by the Village.

Willow was hugged by Maisie and Gina, with Gina saying that she’ll be looking forward to the story in the morning. Willow walked home with a parent on each side, each with an arm over her shoulders. When they got home, she went to her room and changed into her nightie, then went to the bathroom to cleanse her face and clean her teeth.

She didn’t cry until she was in bed, cuddling her furry friends. And then she cried herself to sleep.

Marianne Gregory © 2025