Page 70 of Their Brazen Countess
She looked at each of them as well. “Without a doubt, I do.” She wanted to grab each of them and pull them close. She could never be close enough.
“Three hearts entwined to beat as one. Three souls merged to live as one,” Stone intoned the words with warmth which reverberated through Jo’s core.
Before another word could be spoken, a ruckus arose outside of the ballroom and the door burst open.
“Where’s my daughter?” Everyone turned as Jo’s father stormed into the ballroom. “Get the bloody hell away from my daughter!”
Arthur stepped in front of her as Linc flanked him. “Mr. Marshall, you were not invited to this gathering. Please remove yourself.”
“The hell I shall!” the man blustered. “I’m here for my daughter.”
Jo resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the man and his shenanigans.
This was everything she had feared would happen. How he could have forgotten her two dead husbands and her third—and final!—marriage, she could not fathom. But the man held no power over her. He had not for many years now.
Jo’s sister stepped forward. “Papa, stop it.”
“R-Rebecca? What are you doing here?” He sounded shocked that his other daughter was in attendance.
“I’m watching Jo get married. For the third time, but finally to someone—two someones—she actually loves.” Rebecca looked at her father pointedly.
Mr. Marshall sputtered, trying to retort, but Jo stepped from around her husbands—they both belonged to her now.
“Father, you should go. I’m married again. You have no control over me, no say in what I do.”
“You ungrateful littletramp! Two men!” His face turned red as his hands fisted uselessly at his sides.
Jo drew up to her full five feet five inches, standing with her men at her back. “That’s Lady Dunmere to you. Now, I suggest you leave—before you are thrown out.”
“I’ll disown you, you hussy. No one in polite society will receive you!” her father bellowed as he strode a few steps forward.
But Flint and Wolf stepped in his path as Arthur and Linc drew her behind them. Two footmen appeared and with their help, her father was escorted from the room.
Disown her? Was the man mad? He was nobody in Society—possibly less than nobody, without the association of her or her sister. He’d never once in his life protected her. He’d merely used her as a bargaining chip over and over again.
As Jo watched him leave, she realized she had long since lost any love she may have once felt for him. That part of her life was over. It was time to start her new life.
As her father was dragged from the room, Arthur turned to her. “Are you well, Jo?”
At that same moment, her sister rushed up to them. “Jo, I’m so sorry. I swear I did not tell him about your wedding today.”
Jo looked at her sister’s stricken countenance and knew Becca would never have shared such information with him. Her younger sister was just as grateful to be free of his clutches as Jo was. “I know, Becca. There were no banns as Arthur secured a special license, but I’m sure word got around once the invitations went out.” She looked at Arthur and Linc. “I fear, in our efforts to legitimize our union, we may have exposed ourselves to my father. We can but hope that word has gotten to Lord Downs as well.”
Becca hugged her tightly before releasing her. “Please, don’t let his disruption sour your special day. If there is more to the ceremony, you three should continue on.”
“Only if Jo is in a calm enough state to do so.” Arthur’s gaze fixed on her, seeming to penetrate right to her very soul. She knew without a doubt they would stop things then and there if she wished it.
“Absolutely.” Linc pressed a hand to her back as he leaned in. “This can wait if you need a moment, Wood Sprite.”
She shook her head. “No, I’ll not let that wretched man spoil one more moment of my life. Let’s finish what we started.”
Stone chuckled. “Did any of you have anything you would like to add?”
Arthur nodded. “I promise to love and protect you both, never taking either of you for granted. I shall give you both the shelter of my body and my home and promise to seek the same from you when I am in need. And Jo, I promise to love Matthew as if he were of my flesh and blood.”
Jo’s heart squeezed as a soft sigh escaped her. Beside her, she felt a small shudder run through Linc. “I love you Arthur and you Linc, and I shall for the rest of my days.” She let the love that filled her burst through as she smiled at each man in turn.
Stone looked at the remaining partner with a silent eyebrow lift.
