Page 26 of Rescued from Betrayal
She reverently put the book back in the box, then wrapped her broken spectacles in a handkerchief and placed them on top.
Choking on a sob, she burrowed into her bed letting the flood of tears wet her pillow. Aunt Lucinda had helped her obtain the treasured spectacles, her mother having refused, claiming it would only encourage her in her bluestocking ways. Her Grace had understood Melior’s thirst for knowledge, though. But like her spectacles, Aunt Lucinda had been broken. The illness that had left her body bent and hurting crushed her as much as the book had crushed Melior’s spectacles. And now she was gone. There would be no one else to help her fix her broken eyesight or her broken heart.
Why was the world so determined to steal everything good from her? She was done. She had nothing left but her pride.
Actually, after tomorrow night, she would not even have that anymore.
Chapter 10
Melior appeared pale to Nathaniel. Then again, the white veil she wore made her complexion appear lighter. She’d paired it with a dark blue traveling dress, which, while practical, seemed to resemble mourning clothes rather than wedding attire.
It surprised him. With Melior’s penchant for fashion, he’d expected her to clad herself in one of those flowy, gauzy gowns gaudily embroidered and accented with an ample amount of jewelry.
He glanced down at the gloved hand she’d rested upon his arm. Not one piece of jewelry. As far as he could tell the only piece she wore was a small silver locket around her neck. Her head bowed as the vicar recited the words of the ceremony making it evidently clear that she’d not woven anything into her hair. In fact, the riotous mass of curls he’d come to expect was also absent. Only a few tight ringlets lined her face and a few lackluster curls fell from the bun upon her head.
He needed no clearer indication of her displeasure with their union. Then again, they would be leaving directly after the ceremony. Was it possible that flighty, pompous Melior actually had a practical side?
When it came time to repeat after the vicar, his mouth seemed full of cotton. Melior had lifted her mystical blue eyes to his gaze and the magnitude of what he was about to promise settled in his chest. He would promise to have and to hold her in all conditions. For richer or poorer and in sickness and health seemed like the easy part, but to cherish her? It seemed almost impossible. Not without her consent. Would she really follow through and make the same vows?
When he finished and it was her turn, her voice, while hesitant, was clear. She focused on his cravat and repeated the words that would bind her to him until death parted them. As a young man he’d imagined this moment. It had been his sweetest dream, but not the least obtainable. She was a duke’s niece; he was a lowly baronet. They did not make unions. And yet here he was, staring into the face of perfection.
Someone held out a ring in front of him, and Nathaniel realized he’d become so engrossed in viewing his bride that he’d stopped listening to the vicar's words.
“Rein it in, Nate,” Eddie whispered as he placed the ring in his hand.
Nathaniel grasped the small gold band and turned to Melior.
Did he place the ring over her glove? No, that could not be right. If so, it would not fit.
She stared at him a moment, holding up her hand. Then she sighed softly and removed her kid glove. Perhaps he should have removed her glove before taking the ring from Eddie.
“With this ring, I thee wed.” That part seemed easy.
“With all my worldly goods I thee endow.” Something he had plenty of and to spare. “With my body, I thee…” A lump formed in his throat.
How could he make such a promise? They hardly knew one another. Yes, they’d been acquainted over a decade, but the woman standing before him was not the same girl he’d become infatuated with all those years ago. He could not say what colors she preferred, whether she preferred tea or coffee to begin her day, or evenifshe broke her fastinthe morning. Any time he visited Kendall House, it seemed like she never exited her room until midday.
Even if he had known those things, her lack of interest in him made it nearly impossible to think about sharing a—he nearly choked as the lump in his throat grew bigger—a bed with her.
The vicar repeated something and Nathaniel stared at him in confusion.
“I thee worship,” the older man whispered.
Nathaniel swallowed the lump. “I thee worship.”
“In the name…” the man motioned to Melior’s hand and Nathaniel realized he’d become so lost in the concept of truly becoming man and wife that he’d not finished the ceremony.
He repeated after the vicar as he laced the ring over each finger, eventually slipping it completely onto the fourth finger of her left hand. It was done. He’d forever tied himself to this lovely creature.
If he were a shallower man, he would have rejoiced in his good fortune for securing such a beautiful, well-connected wife—and, in truth, he did findsomepleasure in it—but he was grounded enough to realize that he’d just thrown away any chance for a love match.
Memories of his father tenderly holding his mother’s hand, or lightly kissing her cheek as her eyes glowed bright with love, flitted across his mind. He would never have that with Melior.At least not with the Melior that stood before him now, her eyes cast down.
As he lifted her veil, he finally got a good look at her face. She appeared ill. He gently hooked a finger under her chin to raise her gaze to his. Tears glistened in her perfect blue eyes. She looked broken, not carefree and happy like the glittering jewel that had pranced around ballrooms refusing suitors for the last five years.
She had waited and planned and hoped for a man of high rank, and she would have gotten one too, if it were not for Mr. Fairchild. His heart softened.
Even if she was frivolous and overly ambitious, she was still a person. There had to be normal human emotions somewhere inside that perfect body of hers. Perhaps in time, she would change. He knew better than to think he could make her change, but a man could hope and encourage, could he not?
