CHAPTER 78 - 1953 - CAPÍTULO 78
And then, from the side aisle of the cathedral, María Serra, a friend of the Hopkins family, began to sing Schubert’s Ave Maria , accompanied by the quartet. Her voice filled the space with such purity that several guests closed their eyes, almost entranced. Grandmother Claire opened hers. When the bride and groom emerged from the cathedral, to the applause of the guests gathered outside, the dry heat greeted them like the blast from an oven, accompanied by a shower of petals and grains of rice. Governor MacMillan, impassive beneath his full-dress uniform, shook Andrew’s hand firmly. ‘Congratulations, lad,’ he said. To which Andrew could only reply with a nervous ‘thank you’. ‘Congratulations, Hopkins,’ he said to John. ‘A splendid day.’ ‘Splendid, sir,’ John replied, without mentioning the forty-degree heat. Beside him, Alistair watched the scene with a smile. ‘In Australia,’ he murmured to Claire, ‘we’d call this a cool morning.’ ‘Be quiet,’ she replied with a smile. ...
