The hotel woman found Lena at the doors.
'Where would you like me to put the bouquet?'
For a second Lena didn't understand. Then she saw the flowers in the woman's hands, tied with green ribbon. Bea's bouquet. Not hers.
'I'm not sure,' she said.
'I'll keep it cool for now.' The woman glanced towards the bridal room. 'Do you know how long they need?'
'No.'
The woman nodded. 'I'll ask them.'
She moved briskly towards the door. Lena saw how useful it was to have somewhere definite to go. She had no instructions left.
Tom appeared from the ceremony room.
'What's happening?'
'They've stopped.'
'For what?'
'Bea and Owen need to talk.'
He looked at her dress, the hands she was gripping together. 'Are you involved?'
'Yes.'
His face changed, tiredness giving way to concern. 'Are you all right?'
'No. But I can't explain it for them.'
He stood beside her without trying to touch her. She wanted to lean on him so badly that she stepped away.
From the ceremony room came a brief burst of conversation. Two guests walked past on their way to the toilets, one carrying a programme folded into quarters. They looked curiously at Lena and Tom but didn't stop.
The bridal-room door opened. Bea came out wearing the dress properly, zipped and fastened. The skirt skimmed the floor. She had put her shoes on. Without knowing what had happened, anyone would have thought she was ready.
Lena's breath caught. The dress was exactly right. They'd tried six other ones before it, Bea becoming more miserable in each, until she stepped from the changing room in this and smiled before she found the mirror.
She did not look at Lena now.
Owen followed, carrying the book. He had taken his tie off. It lay over his wrist like something he didn't know where to put.
'We'll tell them we need an hour,' Bea said.
'Bea.'
'We can't do it in the corridor.'
He looked towards the ceremony room. 'No. We can't.'
She walked ahead of him. Lena watched her lift the front of the dress over a doorstop. Tom moved towards the chairs, but Owen stopped him with a small gesture.
'Just us,' he said.
Tom stepped back.
Lena could see part of the ceremony room through the doorway: a row of hats, a man's hand resting on the empty chair beside him, the officiant looking up. Bea went to the front. Owen stopped near the aisle.
'I'm sorry,' Bea said. Her voice was too bright. 'We're running a bit behind. We need an hour or so. If you could go through to the bar, we'll get you something to drink.'
There was a confused ripple of laughter. Someone said not to worry. It might have worked for five minutes. People understood a late bride. They had come prepared to be pleased.
Owen said, 'The wedding isn't going to happen today.'
The ripple stopped.
Bea turned towards him. 'We haven't—'
'I'm sorry,' he said, louder now. 'We're not getting married. You don't have to wait for us.'
Lena looked away. She could hear a woman ask whether someone was ill. Owen answered no. Then several voices started at once, private conversations breaking open, and Bea said something too quietly to reach the doorway.
Tom bent his head. 'God.'
The first guests came out uncertainly. They paused when they saw Lena, looking to her as if the green dress meant she would have an answer. She moved to the side so they could reach the bar.
An older man from Owen's family caught her arm, lightly.
'Is Bea all right? She's not hurt?'
'She's not injured. They're both here.'
'I've come down from Leeds.'
'I know. I'm sorry.'
'What happened?'
'You'll need to ask them when they're ready. I can't explain for them.'
He looked past her. 'Is there anything we can do?'
Lena glanced at the reception room, laid for a meal nobody knew whether to eat.
'Please give them a bit of room.'
He nodded, though he didn't look convinced, and went towards the bar. She stayed where she was, making space for the next person and the next. One woman was crying. Another was angry about having brought a child who'd missed a football match. Neither of them said it directly to Lena. They didn't need to; the words moved through the corridor anyway.
Kit came out last. He stopped when he saw her.
'Did you know?'
'Not before today.'
He looked at Tom, then back at Lena. He didn't ask anything else.
The hotel woman crossed the lobby with a member of staff. She spoke quietly about the food, the chairs, whether the couple wanted guests to stay. There would have to be answers. Things didn't stop being ready because nobody wanted them any more.
Bea came out alone. She saw Lena and for the first time looked straight at her.
No words. Just a hard, disbelieving look, then she went past.
Lena stood by the empty chairs until the hotel woman asked her to move. They needed the doorway clear.