The Wedding
Captain Peanut Butter • Chapter 36
New to Baron Britpop Blastfurnace? You can read Books 1 & 2 starting here:
In the previous chapter, Britpop and Elise met with Deborah Franklin at her home and told them the tale of Britpop and Andelbert’s rescue. They met with the Continental Congress to discuss Captain Brun’s fate, then they sailed for home.
As we crossed Lake Kapristratt, my heart soared at the sight of Kapri. To think that two years ago, I wanted nothing more than to leave and see the world. Now that I had, I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life in Kapri.
Our first stop was the Grand Duke’s office. Goatbeard’s face lit up as we entered his office. He rarely smiled, but today was an exception. Not only that, he rose and took us in his arms.
“I cannot tell you how pleased I am to see you. To be blunt, I held little hope that I would,” Grand Duke Goatbeard said.
“Nor did I,” I replied. “But the hand of providence was on us, and thanks to the crews of The Eternal Horizon, The Jellyfish, and The Reprisal, we are all safe.”
“Grand Duke, I realize I have been away for almost three months, and that it has cost you financially,” Elise said. “I am ready to resume my position as Captain as soon as The Eternal Horizon can be stocked.”
“You shall. But there is no rush. As I did not know when you would return, I have not prepared for a voyage. Regardless, you have a wedding to plan.”
Elise smiled. “Thank you, Grand Duke. Will you honor us by attending dinner at our home tonight?”
“The honor is all mine. Britpop, I will want a full account of your adventure.”
“And you shall have it,” I replied.
Three months passed quickly as we prepared for the wedding. Elise sailed to France, and her father accompanied her back to attend the wedding. Finally, our wedding day arrived. We invited the entire village, which necessitated an outdoor wedding. Fortunately, the weather cooperated, and it was a beautiful sunny day.
I chose Andelbert as my Best Man. Grand Duke Goatbeard, Duke Dottydum, baker Felix Peel, and my father served as the groomsmen. Elise chose Maria as her Matron of Honor. Our housekeeper, Amelia Kindly, joined two local women, Johanna Carolina and Anna Rosina, as bridesmaids.
After we had dressed, the groomsmen and I started greeting people in the grassy clearing as we waited for the women to appear. Our invitations were well-received. I believe the entire village was in attendance.
“I hope I made enough pastries,” Felix said as he saw the size of the gathering.
“Don’t worry, Amelia has prepared enough food for an army,” I replied.
Suddenly, a great commotion occurred, and guests pointed toward the sky. A hot air balloon appeared over the manor and began to descend. I looked up and could scarcely believe my eyes. The Montgolfier brothers were flying the balloon, and standing next to them in the basket were the King and Queen of France. The balloon landed in a clearing, and the basket tipped over. Andelbert and I ran toward the balloon.
By the time we arrived, the King and Queen were on their feet, wearing huge smiles.
“Your Highnesses, are you hurt?” I asked.
“Not at all. The Montgolfier brothers told us to expect the basket to fall over.” The King said.
“Surely, you didn’t fly from France,” I said.
“Of course, not.” We only flew from the town square, but it was delightful,” the Queen replied.
“We wanted to make a grand entrance,” the King said.
“You certainly did that.”
Now, is there somewhere we can change our clothing?” the Queen asked.
“Yes, of course. Follow me,” Andelbert replied.
As Andelbert led the Queen and King, and the Montgolfier brothers to the manor, Duke Dottydum pulled me aside.
“Britpop, I have been thinking about you lately. I want to invest in your inventing business. I have several ideas of my own, but I don’t have the desire to put in the necessary work to see them through to fruition. I would like you to handle that task, and I will provide the necessary funds.”
“What kind of ideas?”
“Well, you could take that new rubber substance you have and make it into flat discs that would slide across the canal ice in the winter. And make wooden sticks to push the rubber discs across the ice. Then place baskets on opposite sides of the canal and try to push the discs into the baskets using the sticks. Make a game of it with teams that play against each other.”
“Interesting. We could sell discs, sticks, and baskets.”
“Exactly.”
“I will consider your offer. However, I must inform you that Grand Duke Goatbeard has been after me to do business with him since he learned of my silent horseshoes. He helped me arrange an agreement with the Du Boise Brothers in France to produce and sell them there. I feel obligated to make him the supplier and shipper of any future inventions.”
“That sounds perfectly reasonable. I will leave all the business matters to you,” Dottydum replied.
“To that point, I intend to have Andelbert run the business. He is smarter than anyone I know, and his talents are wasted as a valet,” I added.
“Excellent idea. Keep me informed. Now, where are those pastries Felix was talking about?”
I smiled. “In the parlor.”
Elise will continue the tale of our wedding day.
After spending far too much time on my hair and putting on my dress, I was finally ready to leave my room. “How do I look?” I asked Maria.
“Like a princess.”
“Like a Baroness, you mean?”
Maria chuckled. “Yes. The most beautiful Baroness I have ever seen. And I have seen many at Versailles.”
“You are very kind.”
“I only speak the truth.”
“Well, let’s go. Britpop is probably finding some way to get into trouble by now.”
Maria laughed. “There is a good chance.”
As we stepped into the hallway, I was shocked to see the King and Queen of France step out of one of the rooms.
“Your Highnesses. I am surprised and delighted to see you here. I sent you an invitation as a courtesy. I never expected you to attend.”
“As you declined our invitation to host the wedding in Versailles, you left us no choice but to travel here,” the King said.
Stunned, I began to formulate an explanation for why I had declined their invitation.
The Queen smiled and said, “The King is only jesting. We would not miss your wedding for the world. It was quite the adventure getting here.”
“I would love to hear about it,” I said.
“You shall, later. Now, my dear, I must say that you are breathtaking. What a divine dress.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. A local woman made it.”
“Then you must introduce her to me.”
“I would be happy to.”
The three bridesmaids waited at the bottom of the stairs. The Queen noticed and said, “Where is your fifth bridesmaid? It is customary for there to be five. It dates back to an old Roman custom of having five witnesses.”
“I am relativiely new to Kapri. As a sea captain, I am away for long stretches. I haven’t had time to make many friends here yet.”
“Then I shall stand in as your fifth. That is, if you do not object.”
“I would be greatly honored, Your Majesty.”
“Please, no more titles today. Speak to me as you would a friend.”
“As you wish,” I replied.
“Excellent. Let us not delay any longer.”
Britpop, the groomsmen, and the bridesmaids made their way to the front, where the priest had been patiently waiting. I took my father’s arm.
“You look so much like your mother,” he said.
I smiled. As we walked down the aisle, I noticed my father’s eyes welling up.
“Are you crying?” I asked.
“Of course not. It must be allergies.”
When we reached the front, I kissed my father on the cheek, and he took a seat. I stood across from Britpop and took his hands.
“You look beautiful,” Britpop said.
“Thank you. You look quite handsome, yourself.”
Britpop smiled. “Are you ready?”
“With all my heart.”
This concludes the Baron Britpop Blastfurnace trilogy. Next, I will review the Captain Peanut Butter chapters and make any necessary tweaks or changes. Then format it for eBook and paperback, and release it on Amazon. At which time, I will sigh a huge sigh of relief that it is finally complete. While also feeling a little sad, since I have grown to love these characters.
Mark
Congratulations Mark! I didn’t catch all of the chapters, but enjoyed the ones I did.
How fun to hear that you built a relationship with your characters. 🤩 I suspect most novelists do?
I'm sorry to see it end, but I know what you come up with next will be just as entertaining!