Two months later the Springfeld family assembled again, this time at the family’s Dorset estate, for another wedding.
Guy could hardly believe that his life had changed so much. He could hardly believe that it was possible to feel such euphoria, to be so much in love. He was sure he was walking around with a permanent silly grin on his face, but he didn’t care.
When the vicar read out the vows, Guy realised just how appropriate they were for how he was feeling. He would love and honour Daisy for better for worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. And from the moment she had tumbled back into his life he had indeed forsaken all others.
When he responded, ‘I will,’ he meant it from the bottom of his heart.
Then the vicar read out the vows to Daisy. When she said, ‘I will,’ and they were pronounced man and wife, Guy could hardly contain himself as a surge of exhilaration rushed through him. While he was sure she meant it with all her heart when she agreed to love and honour, he wasn’t quite so convinced that she would actually obey, and nor would he want her to. An obedient Daisy would not be the woman he had fallen in love with.
Kissing his bride, he lifted her up and twirled her around, causing Daisy to laugh with joy and the Springfeld family to break into spontaneous applause.
‘Oh, Guy, I’m so happy!’ she cried, as he lowered her to her feet.
‘You can’t possibly be as happy as I am,’ he said, taking her hand and leading her out of the church.
‘Oh, I think I can. I think I’m probably the happiest person in the world right now.’
Guy laughed again, letting his competitive bride have this win, although he was sure she couldn’t possibly be happier than he was right at that moment.
Guy had bought the tandem bicycle as a gesture of his love, but discovered that he actually enjoyed cycling—although he bought some more subdued clothing for the many outings he and Daisy took around the local countryside. After all, those clothes had merely been a symbolic gesture, and they mysteriously disappeared once they were married. Guy suspected they were too rational even for his lovely bride and she had somehow disposed of them.
And cycling held another attraction for him. Their outings usually ended with them finding a discreet place where he could indulge in the other activity he thoroughly enjoyed—making love to his beautiful wife. Showing her with his body how much he adored her, how deep was his love for her.
When Daisy became pregnant with their first child, they were sure it had been conceived after one of their cycling outings, and had been tempted to tell Dr Howard that they had proved him completely wrong.
Guy couldn’t be more delighted when their lovely daughter was born. The little girl was a beauty, just like her mother, and just as independent and feisty.
After their third daughter was born, Dr Howard had to concede that perhaps he had been wrong in his assertion that riding bicycles ruined a woman’s ability to have children. Although, he then claimed that what it actually did was prevent women from bearing sons.
That was an argument that appealed immensely to Horace, who kept encouraging Daisy to ride her bicycle as often as possible.
When their first son was born, that argument too came to an end, and so did any hope of Horace ever becoming Duke of Mandivale.
Daisy continued to take pleasure in riding past the doctor’s surgery and ringing her bell, just to let him know that a woman on a bicycle could do anything when she put her mind to it—even turn a rake into a loving, faithful husband and a devoted father.