"She has a lovely voice. And plays piano. I did not just go around soliciting nuns."

Giggle.

" - I mean, I did go around soliciting nuns but specifically ones with excellent voices who played piano. How was your weekend?"

"I didn't go around soliciting nuns either. You're being very much gossiped about."

"What, really? Gossiped about?" He looks wounded. 

"Your worst fear, I know."

"I should possibly have told my girlfriends."

"They seem surprisingly unruffled but yes that would have been the way to go about it if you'd planned this at all."

"You're invited to my wedding. Saturday."

"...sure, why not."

He talks to his girlfriends. He tells them the whole story, actually, it's not as if they're going to endeavor to hold it over him. They are both very glad, to his minor irritation, that he wasn't sleeping with Muggles back when he was dating them. "You mean you're glad I didn't cheat? I wouldn't."

"No, I mean - hadn't been with Muggles in particular."

"I see," he says a little coolly.

"You hadn't, right?"

"I really couldn't say. Sometimes girls don't tell you if they're Muggles."

And on Saturday there's a carriage waiting at the bridge north of Birmingham.

Elizabeth has not only snuck away, she has managed to bring John.

"Hi!" says the soon-to-be-groom, who's in formal robes. "Beth and John, right? Come on in!"

They get in. "What are you wearing?" asks John.

"I am from a mysterious foreign exotic culture where this is what people wear at weddings." And off goes the carriage, on its own.

"- how is this moving," says John.

"Oh lord she's got engaged to one of the fair folk," says Beth, "Caroline's going to be swapped with a fairy baby -"

"It has a steam engine," Michael blatantly lies. 

"But the fair folk can't touch iron," says John.

"Don't ask questions if we're lucky we just attend the wedding and go home and it's next week or something is all," hisses Beth.

...now he feels really badly about scaring them but he can't think what to do about that.

He sings.

This relaxes John and makes Beth very tense. She does not attempt to leap from the vehicle.

Oh good. Soon they're at the house.

Beth keeps a tight hold on John's hand but manages to get out of the carriage without keeling over from stress. Rebecca hurries over to hug them both.

"I think I scared them, I'm sorry."

"It's all right, everything's lovely," Rebecca tells them.

"Is he a fairy," says Beth tremulously.

"- no but you're not far wrong, it's all right though, everything's fine -"

Minor and Miranda arrive via Floo.