Page 27 of Forget Me Not

He simply nodded and offered his arm.

She was about to be married, and she had never felt more wretched.

Chapter Ten

“I have attended my shareof weddings,” Kes said, “but this morning was the first time I’ve ever seen a bride dressed in full mourning.”

That had surprised Lucas. He would wager it had surprised a lot of people.

“And I believe this was also the first time I’ve ever witnessed a groom struggle not to laugh upon first seeing his soon-to-be wife on their wedding day.”

He couldn’t hold back his grin. “How could I not laugh? It was, in all honesty, hilarious.”

“Most gentlemen would not be so entertained by the sight of their bride entering the chapel dressed all in black,” Kes said. “Why wereyou?”

“I laughed because I knew why she’d done it. She also arrived with her hair unpowdered, which I sorted easily as well.”

He slouched a bit, trying to find a more comfortable position. The wedding breakfast was over. The guests had left. All that remained was for Julia to finish her preparations for their journey. Kes was keeping Lucas company while he waited.

“The Julia Cummings I grew up with was a force of nature. Seeing her make such an impossible-to-misunderstand statement this morning took me back years.” He chuckled lightly. “Lud, it was fun to seethatJulia again.”

“‘Fun’ that she thinks of your marriage in the same terms most reserve for a death in the family?”

“I’m not much happier about it than she is,” he said. “We have many of the same objections. Added to her burden, though, is her anger with her father. He has been very stern with her. Also, she’s never lived away from here, never traveled, has known very little of Society beyond the environs of Collingham. I am certain she’s overwhelmed and likely a little scared.” It was, in fact, the reason he hadn’t been able to entirely discount the possibility of her making good on her half-hearted threat to run. He was infinitely grateful she hadn’t. “In time, she’ll find her footing.”

Kes shook his head. “You are not exactly the sort to wait about for things to happen. How long before your patience wears thin?”

“We’ll have some time at Brier Hill before I leave for Portugal.”

“Do you think it will be sufficient?” Kes asked.

“That’s not for a few months yet. I’m certain Julia and I will have brokered some kind of peace between us by then.”

Father poked his head inside the sitting room. “Your mother and your wife are making their way down the stairs. Time to depart.”

Your wife.A decidedly odd thing to hear. That his wife was little Julia Cummings only made the situation all the stranger.

He pulled himself up from the chair and moved languidly to the door. If he gave the impression of not being on edge, Julia might feel a bit more at ease. One look at her face when she appeared at the first-floor landing, though, told him “at ease” was an unlikely thing.

The tension around her eyes and mouth, the stiffness of her posture, the tightness of her breathing had not improved since they’d taken their vows that morning.

“She looks lovely,” Father said, smiling up at his new daughter-in-law.

“She looks miserable,” Lucas countered. “Which is, of course, the ideal footing on which to begin one’s wedding journey.”

Mother walked down the broad staircase as well. Though she smiled, her eyes held concern every time she looked at Julia. The “blushing bride” was not inspiring confidence in anyone. Lucas had tried to warn his parents that their ill-conceived plan, with its foolish timeline, would cause no end of distress to those actually required to bear the burden of it all. If only they had listened.

Julia reached the ground floor. Lucas moved to her side. With a smile he hoped she saw as empathetic, he offered his arm. She threaded hers through his but rested her hand so lightly on his arm that she hardly touched him.

He leaned his head a little closer and spoke in a low voice, not wishing to embarrass her but wanting to offer something that might ease her discomfort. “We are traveling only as far as Havenworth today. You needn’t be in the carriage long, nor endure the questionable cuisine of an inn.”

She nodded but didn’t respond.

They stepped through the front doors of Lampton Park. The Brier Hill traveling carriage awaited them. Trunks and portmanteaus had been loaded into the boot. The driver sat atop, on his bench. A footman stood holding the door open. The step had been lowered. All was in readiness.

Lord Farland stood nearby, watching his daughter with a painful combination of regret and determination. It was the same expression he’d worn the night Lucas had finally conceded defeat in the matter of these arrangements, the night he had fought for every concession he could make for Julia in their marriage settlements.

“Safe travels, Julia,” her father said, hesitancy underneath his perfectly civil words.

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