Page 78 of A Widow for the Earl
The soft, slow graze of his lips shattered any lingering tension in her body, and as she kissed him back in kind, she sensed the magic in the air once more. Together, holding one another, they were conjuring a spell to ward off the forces of evil that had tried to wedge them apart. A spell that would last for the rest of their lives, where nothing would ever come between them again.
And as their kiss deepened, his arms holding her tighter, she smiled against his mouth, realizing that he was the one who had broken her curse. Not just the curse of Frederick, but the curse of society’s judgment and scorn. For who would dare to speak ill of her, now that she had the love of Vincent Wilds?
Even if they cannot help themselves, it will not matter to me.He was her protection now, and she knew, without doubt, that she would always be safe here, in his arms.
“I love you,” she whispered, certain she would never tire of saying it.
“As I love you,” he murmured in reply, as his mouth caught hers in a sealing kiss, granting them the magic of an everlasting, uncommon sort of love.
The kind of love that others would look at and call divine.
EPILOGUE
“Why am I so nervous?” Beatrice laughed awkwardly, adjusting the capped sleeves of her wedding gown for the hundredth time.
Beside her on the squabs, Valeria grinned. “Because you actuallycareabout this wedding, dearest cousin.”
“I suppose that must be it.” Beatrice fidgeted with the ribbon of her bonnet, which had been trying to strangle her all morning.
“Iamsurprised you chose to wear red again, though,” Valeria remarked, in a stilted fashion that suggested she had been thinking about saying something for a while. Rehearsing it first.
Beatrice chuckled, glancing down at the rich, claret color of her skirts. “Vincent insisted. Julianna will kill me.”
“He did?” Valeria frowned. “Why would he do that? Do neither of you think it rather… gives the wrong impression?”
Beatrice shrugged. “I think that iswhyhe insisted. They have had a Red Widow, now they can have a Red Bride. In truth, I do not much care what society has to say, for they have said quite enough about me. I am impervious from now on.” She sighed, resting her head against the upholstery. “I am so happy, Valery. Maybe, that is why I am so nervous.”
“What do you mean?”
“Is it not obvious?” Beatrice closed her eyes. “Now that I have something worth losing, I am rather scared of losing it. Then again, all I need do is look at Amelia and Lionel, and I realize that it is pointless to worry. All one can do is live and be happy in the moment and leave the rest to fate.”
Valeria took hold of Beatrice’s hand, squeezing it gently. “Have you been communing with the trees again?”
“I confess, I went to the yew tree last night,” Beatrice replied, smiling. “I just wanted to keep it abreast of the situation, for I think the trees are gossips; they like to know what is going on. Alas, I received no guidance, but perhaps I need none.”
She had spent the past three weeks since the events at Merricold residing at Wycliffe, anxiously waiting for each of the banns to be announced. There had been no protest or complaint, and Vincent had visited often, though the pair had been conscious of doing everything correctly. They did not want to cause a scandal before the scandal of their wedding day.
“You would not have to tell anyone,”Beatrice remembered insisting, when Vincent was about to depart for Grayling again.“You could stay, and no one would know.”
“But I want you to have the wedding you deserve,”he had replied.“I want you to have the courtship and all the rest of it that you missed out on before. Although, I also want to finish everything that I have left to do in my work, so that when we are married at last, I will be all yours for a fair while. My attention undivided.”
That had been enough to convince her to do things properly, spending time apart before the wedding.
“Here we are!” Valeria squealed, the carriage rolling to a halt outside the church of St. Joseph.
It was the church nearest to the Grayling Estate, which suited Beatrice perfectly. It would have been too ghoulish to marry Vincent at the Wycliffe chapel, and she did not want to be married near to her parents. It was bad enough that Julianna had invited them.
I do owe her that, for being so kind.
In the span of three weeks, Julianna Wilds had been more of a mother to Beatrice than her real mother had been in one-and-twenty years. There had been moments of conflict regarding the wedding, but, as it turned out, once someone won Julianna’s favor, she was actually a very lovely, engaging, amusing woman.
“Let us hope that this is my last,” Beatrice said with a breath, as the footman opened the carriage door to help her out.
Indeed,allof the staff from Wycliffe would be in attendance.Thatwas something that Beatrice had insisted upon, for she owed them so much. Particularly Davis, the driver who had spared every effort to try and rescue her.
The day was beautiful, the air cool, the sky blue and cloudless. And in the churchyard, a yew tree stood watch over the spirits, its fronds still green though the trees around the perimeter of the church grounds were just beginning to turn into their autumn hues.
The perfect day for her fourth and final wedding.
