Page 33 of A Countess Captured for the Captain
Samantha sat in front of a mirror, admiring her dress, a bespoke creation in ivory, a gift from Nox who had had it delivered the day before.
“I cannot quite believe that the day has arrived,” she said, sighing with happiness at the prospect that in just a few hours she would be the wife of the Earl of Brimsey and a Countess.
“Did you know you would marry him? I mean, back when you first met him on the ship in the Caribbean. I remember with Nicholas, I just knew. It was a strange feeling, but one I simply felt,” Rebecca said, sitting down next to Samantha and smiling at her.
Samantha thought for a moment. At first, she had been scared of Nox, but not because of anything he had done, but because of what he represented. It had all been such a risk, but that risk had paid off, and she nodded, smiling at Rebecca, as she took her hand in hers.
“You are right, it was that feeling, I almost knew that this day would come, though I have had my doubts along the way. It all came so close to disaster,” she said.
“But all that is in the past now. Come, the carriage will be here, and you know what Nicholas is like – one must always be on time with Nicholas,” she said, as the two of them hurried downstairs.
Rebecca’s sister Laura was waiting to see them off, and the nanny held Rebecca’s six-month-old baby in her arms, curtsying as they passed.
“You look very beautiful, Samantha,” Laura said, and Samantha smiled.
“I feel very beautiful, Laura, thank you,” she said, as Nicholas came to meet them.
“Come now, we shall be late if we do not hurry,” Nicholas said, as Samantha and Rebecca exchanged glances.
Outside, the sun was shining, birds were singing in the trees, and everything seemed fresh and new. Samantha felt as though she was at the beginning of a new chapter in her life, a page turned, and a new story unfolding. She had the chance of happiness, and as the carriage set off toward the chapel, she smiled to herself at the thought of everything which was to come.
“It is such a shame that your father and Regina will not be there,” Rebecca said, shaking her head and tutting.
“Oh, I am quite thankful, really. I do not want anything to spoil this moment,” Samantha replied, gazing out of the window.
* * *
The chapel was on the grounds of Brimsey Court which served as the London home of the Earls of Brimsey. Nox’s uncle favored the townhouse in Knightsbridge, but Brimsey Court was a far more fitting residence for those counted among the richest aristocrats in England. The house itself was of red brick, built in Tudor times in the style of Hampton Court Palace, and the chapel mirrored this look, nestling in the grounds and surrounded by an arboretum collected by the fifth Earl, who had been something of a botanist.
The doors to the chapel were thrown open and Samantha could see Catherine and Nox’s uncle and aunt waiting for them on the steps. There was no sign of Nox, though it was only right that he should be waiting inside. She felt nervous, though excited, at the prospect of what was to come, happy in the knowledge that she was marrying the man she loved more than any other in all the world.
“You look beautiful, Samantha,” Catherine said, helping her down from the carriage.
She and Rebecca were to act as bridesmaids, and Nicholas had happily agreed to walk Samantha down the aisle. There was to be no fanfare, no grand occasion, no pomp and ceremony of a society wedding, only the simple exchange of vows and the blessing which would give their marriage the legitimacy it required. A surplice-clad clergyman now appeared from the chapel, welcoming them, as Samantha took a deep breath.
“The Earl is ready,” the clergyman said – an elderly gentleman with horn-rimmed spectacles and white hair.
“He has done nothing but pace the drawing room all morning,” Nox’s uncle said, as Samantha took Nicholas’ arm and they made their way inside the chapel.
Light flooded in from the stained-glass windows and Nox was standing on the step below the sanctuary, bathed in the sunlight, and he turned as they entered, a broad smile coming over his face. The others slipped into the pews, and the clergyman led the way down the aisle, as Samantha followed, attended by Rebecca and Catherine, and walking on Nicholas’ arm.
It was everything she wanted, everything she had dreamed of, another perfect moment, and as she came to Nox’s side and Nicholas made the formality of placing her hand in his, she smiled, knowing that now, surely, all would be well. She did not need her father there, nor Regina, though she had thought wistfully of her mother, glad to be wearing the tiara that had once belonged to her. She looked up at Nox, smiling at him, as he looked down at her lovingly.
“I have never seen anyone as beautiful as you,” he whispered, as the clergyman cleared his throat.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this Congregation, to join together this man and this woman in holy Matrimony; which is an honorable estate, instituted of God in the time of man’s innocence, signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church–” he began, continuing the introduction, as Samantha looked adoringly up at Nox, lost in this moment of supreme happiness.
And so, Samantha and Nox were married. They exchanged their vows, promising love and fidelity to one another in sickness and in health, firmly resolved to remain that perfect union until death might part them. As the final blessing was given, Nox leaned down and kissed Samantha, applause ringing out from Rebecca and Catherine.
“Oh, congratulations, how wonderful it is to see this happy day. Samantha always vowed she would never marry, but you have proved that wrong,” Rebecca exclaimed, as Samantha and Nox walked arm in arm up the aisle a moment later.
“It was only because I had not found the man I was meant to marry,” Samantha replied, laughing.
“And she had to come all the way to the Caribbean as a stowaway to find him,” Nox said, and there was much further congratulation and joy.
A wedding banquet – though a small and intimate affair – was to be held at Brimsey Court which Nox’s uncle had had opened up for the occasion, and the party walked through the grounds which were blooming with all manner of flowers.
“You look radiant, Samantha,” Catherine said, as they made their way inside the house.
