Page 94 of Forgive Not Forget

“Shall we continue?” Andie grinned and stepped back. “Rebecca is now going to read a sonnet.”

Rebecca stepped forward and placed herself where Andie had stood. She cleared her throat before reciting from her head, confidently and passionately:

“Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove.

O no! It is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wand'ring bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come;

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me prov'd,

I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d.”

Rebecca winked at Katherine and Anna as she passed them to retake her position.

The sonnet had been Anna’s idea. It had taken Katherine by surprise when she’d suggested it. She had no notion Anna harboured a passion for Shakespeare.

“Thank you, Rebecca, that was lovely.” Andie stepped back in front of Anna and Katherine and gave them a reassuring smile. “Before you are joined in matrimony, it is my duty to remind you of the solemn and binding character of the vows that you are about to make. Marriage in this country means the union of two people, voluntarily entered into for life, to the exclusion of all others. I am now going to ask each of you in turn to declare that you know of no legal reason you may not be married to each other.”

“Are you, Anna, free lawfully to marry Katherine?”

Anna nodded. “I am.”

“Are you, Katherine, free lawfully to marry Anna?”

Katherine turned to Anna and stared dreamily into her eyes. “I am.”

“Now that you have both declared that you are free to marry, we have come to the part of the ceremony where you take each other as wife and wife. Anna, would you like to start?”

“Yes.” Anna nodded eagerly. “I, Anna Walker, take you, Katherine Atkinson, to be my wedded wife. I promise to be your best friend, to respect and support you, to be patient with you, to work together with you to achieve our goals, to accept you unconditionally, and to share my life with you forever.”

Katherine’s body was awash with a fusion of passion for the woman before her and excitement for the future they would share. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she spoke.

“I, Katherine Atkinson, take you, Anna Walker, to be my wedded wife. I promise to cherish you every single day we are blessed with, to never take you or us for granted, to communicate with you no matter how hard things are, and, above all else, to love you immeasurably.”

Anna’s face crumpled at her words. Katherine could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. If Anna broke down now, she would struggle to hold herself together.

“Do you have the rings?” Andie asked, looking to Rebecca and Abigail. They stepped forward and passed their rings to Anna and Katherine.

“A ring is the ancient and traditional way of sealing the contract you have just made. It is an unbroken circle, which symbolises unending and everlasting love, and is an outward sign of the lifelong promise you’ve just made to each other. Anna, please repeat after me: I offer you this ring as a symbol of my love and devotion.”