The metallic clang of the pocket watch still reverberates. Bart stares at his father in the doorway, rain creating a halo of mist around Constantine's silhouette. Reggie stands frozen, mouth half-open.
BART: (voice hoarse) A priest? What priest? We're getting married at a church not a fancy registry office.
CONSTANTINE: (shaking his head) He says he's from St. Cuthbert's. Says his name is Father Morrison. Insists he must speak with you before—
The telephone rings again, cutting through the moment like a scream. Everyone jumps.
ANNE: (calling from upstairs) Someone answer that blessed phone!
BART: (not moving, staring at Constantine) What does he want? What could he possibly—
The ringing continues, insistent, demanding.
REGGIE: (moving toward the hallway) I'll get it.
BART: (grabbing Reggie's shoulder) No. I'll get it. You stay here.
REGGIE: Bart, listen to me about what I found out—
BART: (pushing past him) Later, Reggie. Just... later.
Bart rushes into the hallway. Through the open front door, we can see a figure in black standing under an umbrella, water streaming off the edges. Constantine hasn't moved, blocking the entrance.
BART: (picking up the phone) Hello? Matthews residence.
WOMAN'S VOICE: (crackling through the line) Is this Bart Matthews?
BART: Yes, who's—
WOMAN'S VOICE: This is Barbara Chesterfield. I'm calling on behalf of Isobel. She's... she needs to speak with someone there, but she can't bring herself to call again. She's in quite a state.
BART: (grip tightening on the receiver) What's happened? Is she hurt? Is she—
BARBARA: (quickly) No, no, she's not hurt. Not physically. But there's been... complications. Her parents, Helena and Alan—they've telephoned this morning. They're not coming to the wedding.
BART: (stunned) What? Why? They promised they'd be there. Isobel said her mother was making a special dress and—
BARBARA: There's been a really bad accident on the roads coming out of Penrith. Not their accident, thank God, but the police have closed the main road. They're stuck. They've tried every alternative route, but with this storm... they can't make it to Carlisle in time.
Bart leans against the wall, the phone pressed hard against his ear. In the doorway, Constantine still stands with the priest visible behind him.
BART: (voice breaking) She must be devastated. Her parents not being there to see her married—
BARBARA: There's more, I'm afraid. She's asking... Isobel is asking if your father would consider walking her down the aisle. I know it's unusual, but she wants someone to give her away properly. She can't bear the thought of walking in alone, without her father, on her wedding day.
BART: (turning to look at Constantine) My father?
CONSTANTINE: (from the doorway) What about me?
BARBARA: I can hear him. Please, can you ask him? Isobel is beside herself. She's questioning everything now. She keeps saying perhaps it's a sign, perhaps she shouldn't go through with it if her own parents can't be there to witness—
BART: (sharply) Don't say that. Don't let her say that. Put her on the phone. Let me talk to her.
BARBARA: (hesitating) She's... she's locked herself in the bathroom, Bart. She won't come out. She told me to make this call, but she won't speak to anyone right now. She's frightened. Getting cold feet, I think they call it.
REGGIE: (from the dining room, calling out) What's going on out there?
BART: (ignoring him, speaking into the phone) Tell her I love her. Tell her that it doesn't matter who walks her down any aisle, or the middle of the street in the pouring rain. Tell her that none of it matters except that we're together at the end of it.
BARBARA: I'll try, dear. But about your father—will he do it? Will Constantine walk Isobel down the aisle?
Bart turns fully to face Constantine, who has stepped inside now, closing the door. The priest remains outside under his umbrella, a dark specter in the rain. Water pools on the floor around Constantine's boots.
BART: (hand over the mouthpiece) Dad, Isobel's parents can't make it. Roads are closed. She's asking if you'll walk her down the aisle. Give her away.
CONSTANTINE: (surprised) Me? But I've never even met the girl properly. Only that one time when she came for tea and—
BART: (desperately) Please, Dad. She's alone over there. She's scared. Her mother and father can't be here, and she needs someone. She needs family.
ANNE: (appearing at the top of the stairs, half-dressed) What's all the shouting about?
TOMMY: (behind her) Is the wedding off?
REGGIE: (emerging from the dining room) It should be.
BART: (still covering the mouthpiece, to Reggie) Shut up! Not now!
CONSTANTINE: (after a long moment, nodding slowly) Tell her yes. Tell her I'd be honored to walk her down the aisle.
Bart's eyes fill with tears. He nods gratefully at his father.
BART: (into the phone) Barbara? My father says yes. He'll do it. He'll be there for her.
BARBARA: (audibly relieved) Oh, thank God. Thank you, Bart. Thank your father. I'll tell her right now. I'll stand outside the bathroom door and I'll tell her that she won't be alone, that Constantine will be there for her.
BART: And tell her... tell her I'm counting every minute until I see her. Tell her that nothing—not her parents missing the wedding, not this storm, not anything—will stop me from being there at eleven o'clock, waiting for her.
BARBARA: (voice softening) You're a good man, Bart Matthews. She's lucky to have you. I'll tell her. And Bart? My husband Jed should be arriving there any moment now. He's your best man, and he wanted to make sure everything was sorted before the ceremony.
BART: Right, yes, Jed. Of course.
BARBARA: I have to go. I can hear Isobel crying in there. She needs to know about your father. Goodbye, Bart.
The line goes dead. Bart stands holding the receiver, staring at nothing. The house is silent except for the drumming rain.
ANNE: (coming down the stairs) What was that all about?
BART: (hanging up the phone) Isobel's parents can't make it. Roads closed. She's getting cold feet. Dad's going to walk her down the aisle instead of her father.
TOMMY: (whistling low) That's quite a morning you're having, little brother.
CONSTANTINE: (gruffly, but not unkindly) I'll need to change into my good suit. Can't walk a bride down the aisle looking like I've been mucking about in the garden.
ANNE: (touching Constantine's arm) That's very sweet of you, love.
REGGIE: (bitterly) Very convenient too. Now she's wormed her way even deeper into this family. First Bart, now Dad playing father of the bride. What's next? Will she be wanting Mother to do her hair?
CINDY: (appearing behind Reggie) That's enough! Can't you see your brother is going through something here?
REGGIE: Oh, I can see perfectly well. I can see a woman manipulating this family, playing on their emotions—
BART: (whirling around) She's not manipulating anyone! Her parents can't be there, Reggie! Do you understand what that means? It's her wedding day and her mother and father won't see her get married! She's not some calculating schemer—she's a woman who's frightened and alone and—
A knock at the door interrupts the argument. Constantine opens it to reveal a man in his mid-thirties, stocky and jovial despite the rain, shaking water from his hat.
JED CHESTERFIELD: (grinning) Someone order a best man? Bit wet out there, I must say. Cats and dogs doesn't even begin to cover it.
BART: (forcing a smile) Jed. Come in, come in. You're soaked through.
JED: (entering, shaking hands with Bart) Barbara just telephoned from your Isobel's place. Said there was some drama with her parents not making it? Roads closed?
BART: (nodding wearily) That's right. It's been a morning of surprises.
JED: (looking around at the assembled family) I can see that. You lot look like you've been through the wars already, and it's not even nine o'clock yet.
TOMMY: (extending his hand) Tommy Matthews. Bart's brother.
JED: (shaking it) Jed Chesterfield. The unfortunate soul who agreed to keep Bart here from making a run for it.
TOMMY: (laughing) I think you've got your work cut out for you.
REGGIE: (darkly) Someone should talk sense into him while there's still time.
JED: (turning to Reggie, smile fading slightly) And you must be the brother everyone's warned me about. Reggie, is it?
REGGIE: (defensively) What have you heard?
JED: That you think my wife's best friend is the devil incarnate because she voted Conservative. That about sum it up?
REGGIE: I think anyone who supports the Tories is either ignorant or malicious, and I haven't decided which category Isobel falls into yet.
JED: (cheerfully) Well, I voted Conservative too, Reggie. So did my wife. So did half the street where we live. We're not monsters—we just have different opinions on how to run a country. Shocking, I know.
ANNE: (quickly) Would you like some tea, Jed? You must be frozen.
JED: (gratefully) That would be lovely, thank you, Mrs. Matthews.
BART: (remembering) The priest. Dad, there's still a priest at the door. Father Morrison, you said?
CONSTANTINE: (looking out through the window) He's gone. Must have left while we were dealing with the telephone.
BART: (uneasily) He said he had something to tell me. About Isobel. Something she hasn't told me.
JED: (frowning) Father Morrison from St. Cuthbert's? Tall fellow, grey hair, nose like a hawk?
BART: I didn't see him clearly. Why? Do you know him?
JED: (hesitantly) I know of him. He's... well, he's got quite a reputation around town. Bit of a gossip, if I'm honest. Likes to involve himself in other people's business.
REGGIE: (pouncing) See? Even the priest knows something's not right about this wedding!
BART: (turning on Reggie) You said you found something out. About Isobel. What were you going to tell me before the phone rang?
The room goes quiet. Everyone stares at Reggie. He shifts uncomfortably.
REGGIE: (reluctantly) I was asking around at the hospital. Talking to some of the other nurses. They said... they said Isobel was engaged before. Two years ago. To a doctor named—
JED: (interrupting sharply) Robert Hendricks. Yes, she was. And?
REGGIE: (taken aback) You knew?
JED: Of course I knew. Barbara and Isobel have been friends since they were girls. I know everything about Isobel's past. What's your point?
REGGIE: (recovering) My point is that she was engaged to be married and it fell through. Don't you think Bart has a right to know why? Don't you think there might be a reason a doctor called off a wedding to her?
BART: (quietly) Is that true, Jed? Was she engaged before?
JED: (meeting Bart's eyes steadily) Yes. It's true. But Reggie's got the story backwards, as usual. Robert Hendricks didn't call off the wedding. Isobel did.
CINDY: (softly) Why did she call it off?
JED: (sighing) Because she didn't love him. It's as simple as that. Her parents approved—Helena and Alan thought Robert was perfect for her. Doctor, good family, money, all that nonsense. They pushed and pushed for her to marry him. She was younger then, more willing to go along with what her parents wanted. But a month before the wedding, she realized she couldn't do it. She couldn't marry a man she didn't love, not even to please her parents.
BART: (voice strained) She never told me any of this.
JED: Did you tell her about every relationship you've ever had? Every mistake you've made? Everyone has a past, Bart. What matters is that she chose you. She chose you knowing full well what she was giving up—her parents were furious when she called off the wedding to Robert. They didn't speak to her for months.
TOMMY: (thoughtfully) That explains why they might not be trying quite as hard to get here today as they could be.
JED: (nodding) That's occurred to me as well. The roads are closed, yes, but... well, I wonder if they're not perhaps using it as an excuse. Helena never quite forgave Isobel for the embarrassment of calling off that wedding.
ANNE: (horrified) Her own parents would skip her wedding out of spite?
JED: (shrugging) I don't know for certain. But Barbara's mentioned that things have been tense between Isobel and her parents lately. This wedding happening so quickly, to a man they've only met once, a mechanic rather than a doctor... I think Helena had different dreams for her daughter.
BART: (sinking into a chair) Christ. No wonder she's getting cold feet. Her parents disapprove, probably aren't even trying to get here, she's locked herself in a bathroom...
REGGIE: (pressing his advantage) And you're only hearing about her broken engagement now, on your wedding day. What else hasn't she told you, Bart? What else is she hiding?
JED: (angrily) She's not hiding anything! She's a good woman who made a difficult choice years ago and is now trying to build a new life with a man she actually loves! If you can't see that, Reggie, then you're blind as well as bitter.
REGGIE: I'm the only one in this house who's seeing clearly! Everyone else is so caught up in romance and sentiment that they can't see the obvious problems—
CONSTANTINE: (roaring) Enough! Both of you! Reggie, I'm tired of your constant harping. Jed, you're a guest in this house. Bart—
He turns to his son, who sits with his head in his hands.
CONSTANTINE: (more gently) Bart, look at me.
Bart raises his head. His eyes are red-rimmed.
CONSTANTINE: Do you love this girl?
BART: (voice breaking) More than anything, Dad.
CONSTANTINE: Then none of the rest matters. Not her parents' approval, not her past relationships, not even her bloody voting record. If you love her and she loves you, that's enough. That has to be enough.
ANNE: (coming to stand beside Constantine) Your father's right, love. Marriage is hard enough without everyone else's opinions weighing you down. You follow your heart.
BART: (standing slowly) What if she doesn't show up? What if all this—the parents not coming, the cold feet—what if it's her way of backing out?
JED: She'll show up. Barbara will make sure of it. And once she sees you waiting for her, once she sees your father ready to walk her down that aisle, all her doubts will disappear. Trust me.
TOMMY: (checking his watch) We should start getting ready properly. It's half past nine. We need to leave for the Church by quarter past ten.
ARCHIE: (from the doorway, where he and Brad have been listening) Is Uncle Bart still getting married?
BRAD: Or is the wedding cancelled?
BART: (forcing a smile for the boys) I'm still getting married, lads. Your Uncle Bart is going to be a married man by lunchtime.
ANNE: Right then. Everyone upstairs. Get dressed properly. Bart, you need to shave and put on your suit. Constantine, your good suit is pressed and hanging in the wardrobe. Tommy, you look presentable. Jed, would you like to borrow a dry shirt?
JED: That would be wonderful, thank you.
The family begins to disperse. Reggie lingers, watching Bart.
REGGIE: (quietly) You're making a mistake.
BART: (not looking at him) Maybe I am. But it's my mistake to make.
REGGIE: When it all falls apart—and it will fall apart—don't come crying to me.
BART: (turning to face him) I won't. Because it's not going to fall apart. Isobel and I are going to be happy together. And someday, Reggie, maybe you'll be able to see past your own prejudices long enough to be happy for us.
REGGIE: (shaking his head) I hope you're right. For your sake.
Reggie leaves. Jed approaches Bart, clapping him on the shoulder.
JED: Don't listen to him. He's a miserable sod who can't stand to see others happy.
BART: (managing a weak smile) Thanks, Jed. For standing up for Isobel back there. For telling me the truth about her past.
JED: She would have told you herself, you know. In her own time. These things are difficult to talk about.
BART: (hesitating) The priest. Father Morrison. What do you think he wanted to tell me?
JED: (uncomfortably) I don't know. Could be anything. Could be nothing. These religious types sometimes get ideas in their heads about who should and shouldn't marry. Maybe he heard Isobel called off a wedding before and thinks she's fickle. Maybe he's got some objection to church weddings. Hard to say.
BART: Should I try to find him? Ask him what he wanted to say?
JED: (firmly) No. Absolutely not. It's your wedding day, Bart. Whatever Father Morrison thinks he knows, whatever gossip he's heard, it's not worth derailing everything over. Focus on Isobel. Focus on the life you're about to start together.
BART: (nodding slowly) You're right. You're right, of course.
Thunder rumbles overhead. The lights flicker again, longer this time.
JED: This storm's getting worse. We should leave early, just in case. Give ourselves extra time to get across town.
BART: Good idea.
Bart turns to head upstairs, then stops.
BART: Jed? Why do you think her parents really aren't coming? Do you think it's really just the roads?
JED: (carefully) I think Helena and Alan are complicated people who love their daughter but don't always show it in the best ways. I think they're disappointed that she didn't marry Robert Hendricks, and I think they're skeptical of this marriage happening so quickly. But I also think... I think they're making a terrible mistake not being here today. Because I've seen the way Isobel looks at you, Bart. And I've never seen her look at anyone—not even Robert—the way she looks at you.
BART: (swallowing hard) How does she look at me?
JED: (smiling) Like you hung the moon just for her. Like you're the answer to every question she's ever had. Like she's finally home.