Page 111 of Foolish Bride
She nodded in the darkness, but he must have seen her, because a second later she stood alone in the dark. She should have been frightened, but the delight of what transpired in the garden kept her happy.
The door opened, startling her out of deep thoughts of rapture. Michael took her hand and pulled her inside.
“This seems to be a private family entrance. The Brashers must have felt a need for a discreet entrance.” He looked down at her with a wicked grin.
Elinor giggled.
“There is a small lady’s parlor through that door.” He pointed to the door on the left. “It is empty. I believe that if you follow this hall to its end, you will arrive back at the foyer.”
“I see.” She would need a few minutes to gather her wits.
“Will you be all right?”
Loving him so intensely would make for many such entrances over their lifetime. Unable to contain her joy, she smiled up at him in the shadowy hall and touched his cheek. “I will be fine. You had better go.”
He kissed her lips, then went back out the private doorway.
Chapter 24
By the time the Kerburghe carriage had delivered Elinor and her mother home in the early morning hours of the next day, any rumors of what might have happened in Scotland were pushed aside as impossible. Elinor was the talk of the town. No woman ever had two dukes bidding for her affections at the same time. It was unheard of. At least, that’s what the paper printed. The only explanation was that the lady was extraordinary. All eyes should be focused on the wedding of the season, to take place on the next Saturday.
Virginia was ecstatic with joy as she read the paper the following morning.
Elinor couldn’t have cared less about the gossip. All she cared about was making it to the following Saturday without anything going wrong.
* * * *
The crowd outside the St. George’s the following Saturday was the largest in memory. The streets were so thick with people that the carriages couldn’t pass. Elinor chewed on her fingernails looking out the window. How would they ever get to her own wedding?
Making matters worse, Virginia screamed at the driver to push through. “Move forward, man!”
“Mother, stop yelling. If Jones could move, he would. I do not want anyone killed by our carriage on the way to church.”
“We will never get through. How long do you think the congregation will wait?”
Elinor thought about that and smiled. She had a vision of the entire sanctuary being empty, save Michael and the pastor whom Michael had forced to wait. She laughed aloud.
“I see nothing funny,” Virginia scolded.
“Michael will wait. That’s all I care about.”
“I wish your father were here.”
That wiped the smile off Elinor’s face. “If Father were here, the two of you would be yelling at poor Jones, and we still would not be moving.”
“I sent him a letter this morning.” Virginia pursed her lips and crossed her arms.
“I am sure Father will be thrilled to hear of my happy nuptials.”
“Don’t be so harsh, Elinor. Your father loves you very much.”
“He loves money and power more.” It was bitterness, but Elinor couldn’t help it. She had not yet forgiven her father. Perhaps she never would.
A commotion in the street turned her attention toward the window.
Eyes wide, Elinor watched as the unwilling crowd made way for three riders to advance toward the carriage.
Markus Flammel, Thomas Wheel, and Daniel Fallon were all mounted and heading to the waylaid carriage.
