Page 82 of Royally Wed
He’d probably never give her or this farce of a wedding a second thought after today. The ceremony was as much of a performance for him as it was for her. A job. She knew all about the stage fright he’d been battling since his fiancée and mentor had betrayed him. Right now, he was certainly moreconcerned about his music than anything else.
Not that she blamed him.
She didn’t deserve hisforgiveness. Not after what she’d done, after all that she’d failed to do.
“Shall we?” Her father smiled and offered her his arm.
“Just a second. I promised Eleanor...” Amelia’s hands shook violently as she worked to untie the lace bundle.
“Amelia, the world is waiting,” her dad said wearily.
“I know. But I’ve got to put the silver sixpence in my shoe. For luck.” The lace square floppedopen, and for a second, Amelia thought Eleanor had made some sort of mistake.
There was no sixpence. No silver horseshoe, either. Instead, the gold pocket watch engraved with Lady Wentworth and Holden’s interlocked initials rested in the palm of Amelia’s hand.
“Now, Amelia!” her father barked.
Her fist closed around the watch. Heart pounding, she bent and pretended to insert the nonexistentsixpence inside her stiletto.
“Everything in order now?” Her father raised his brows and offered her his arm again.
No.
Her head was spinning. How had Eleanor gotten ahold of the pocket watch? And why had she given it to her?
“Yes.” She swallowed. “Absolutely.”
She slipped her arm through her father’s elbow as two Beefeaters dressed in traditional red regalia opened the doors to the Abbey.
The congregation stood. Amelia had never seen so manypeople inside Westminster Abbey before. They were packed in, shoulder to shoulder, from the back of the church all the way to the front. Rows of guests were even standing around the outer perimeter of the nave. Nodding. Smiling.
There were flowers everywhere. The aisle seemed impossibly long, and as soon as Amelia stepped into view, a hushfell over the crowded church.
Amelia was barely conscious of any of it.
She stared straight ahead through the wisp-thin, gossamer veil, and the scene before her blurred like a watercolor painting. All of her awareness was centered on the pocket watch in her hand—its smooth, round surface, its elegant engraving, the solid weight of it in her palm.
The things Eleanor said back at the palace roseto the forefront, imbued with new meaning.
We’ll always be friends, Amelia. Always.
Remember that.
She’d made Amelia promise to unwrap the little lace square before she walked down the aisle. She’d been so insistent.
Eleanor had given her a way out. She’d somehow gotten her hands on the one thing that might give Amelia the chance to keep her family on the throne without marrying Holden. Alongwith it, she’d given Amelia a promise. A promise to stand by her no matter what.
But the ceremony had already started. And she wasn’t even sure the pocket watch would work.
What if no one believed her? Her mother hadn’t.
Eleanor did, though. And Asher.
Asher believed her. He believedinher. He’d believed in her all along.
Amelia turned her head as her father escorted her past the orchestra,seeking Asher out. There were so many musicians. She couldn’t make out any of their features behind her veil. She slowed her steps, desperate for a glimpse of him.
Amelia’s father cleared his throat. She’d stopped walking altogether now. She was standing completely still in the middle of the aisle. Her father reached for her hand and gave it a hard squeeze.
