Page 49 of One Scandal Too Many
She stopped eating and met his gaze. The heat there almost had him throwing her over his shoulder and taking her to their room. His cock hardened a frustrating amount. He wanted to be inside her desperately. Somehow, he refrained. “Darling,” he said huskily. “You cannot look at me like that. Not when I cannot do anything about it.”
Charlotte sighed. “Later. Promise me you will later.”
“That’s a promise I have no trouble giving you.” He lifted her hand and kissed her palm. “Once you are my wife, we will have nothing to hold us back.”
He wished that they could have said their vows already. The necessity of a lot of guests at his wedding frustrated him, but it had to be done right. This was too important to rush. “Finish your meal.” He grinned wickedly. “You will need all your strength for what I have in mind tonight.”
Charlotte smiled but didn’t say a word. Instead, she resumed eating her meal in silence. They were both filled with nervousness that would not abate until they said their vows. This was something they could do until then. Declan wished they were at the end of it, though. When they were free of any concerns and able to just love each other. Soon, he promised himself. Soon they would be there.
Chapter Twenty-Two
In some ways,this wedding day of hers was more than she could have imagined. Not that Charlotte had taken much time to fantasize about the day she married any gentleman. Her father had ensured any dreaming had been squashed at a young age. He would choose her husband for her. That way, he could make a good match. One that met his strict standards, and no, her opinion didn’t matter in the least. She would do as she was told whether she liked it or not. She had not liked it. Not that he had even bothered to ask.
There was no one to intervene on her behalf. Charlotte was there to further the duke’s goals. Nothing more, nothing less. So, when she had been a part of something scandalous, he had been furious. That scandal had the potential of ruining the plans he had for her. Her wedding to Declan would be just one more disappointment to her father in a long line of them. Her very birth had been the first one, and she hadn’t lived that down.
She had to stop thinking about her father. Something very difficult to do when she still had to say her vows. Marrying Declan was the right choice. She would be happy with him. Whatever man her father chose would make her miserable. It wouldn’t be a romantic match, and even if the gentleman happened to be kind to her, it would still be an uncomfortable union.
Charlotte had gone up to their room after they finished their meal. Declan had only stayed long enough to ensure she was comfortable before he left to check on the progress of their wedding ceremony. Apparently, there would be a small celebration afterward. Not like a wedding breakfast, but a small soiree with dancing and revelry. She wasn’t exactly sure what the innkeeper and his wife had planned. She was only glad that at the end of it all she would be Declan’s wife.
Declan walked in and she turned toward him. She smiled as she met his gaze. “Is it time yet?”
“Almost,” he said, then grinned. “They are finishing their set-up downstairs.” He frowned. “I wish that our wedding day could have been different. You deserve a beautiful gown and whatever you dreamed about having.”
That was ironic. She had just been thinking about how she hadn’t dreamt of much. “The only thing I want is you. The rest is just details. I never wanted anything extravagant.” Charlotte lifted her hand and trailed her fingers over his chest. “My father wouldn’t allow frivolities like planning my own wedding, and I definitely wouldn’t have the luxury of selecting my own husband. So you see, this wedding is going to beyond everything I could have wanted or expected. Because I have the one thing that I never would have believed could be mine: I get to marry the man I choose. The man I will always choose.”
He grinned. “I will always choose you too.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. His kiss was soft and sweet, but it still sent pleasure through her. Would that impact ever lessen?
A knock echoed through the room. Declan sighed and stepped over to answer it. He opened the door to the innkeeper. “Bram,” he greeted the man. “Is it time?”
“Indeed, my lord,” he said jovially. “We are ready for ye to come down to the dining room. We’ve got it all arranged for yerwedding. If ye will follow me, I’ll take ye tae yer altar. Such that it is...”
Declan motioned for Charlotte to come to his side. She happily joined him, and they followed Bram down to the dining room. It almost did not seem like the same room that they had dined in a few hours earlier. All the tables were filled with flowers in a deep shade of purple, and all the chairs were filled with people. She did not know any of them, but that didn’t matter. The only person that she knew was Declan.
They walked to the front of the room. Ginerva was there waiting for them. Once they reached her, she motioned for them to stand to one side. “Welcome, friends,” she said. “These two have come to pledge themselves together in marriage. They want a simple ceremony and you all to act as witness of their desire to be one with each other.” She motioned toward Declan and Charlotte.
“Lord Easton,” she began. “Do you have a ring?”
He nodded and held it out to her. When had Declan had time to get a ring? It was a simple gold band, but it was beautiful nonetheless. She almost started to cry. This was really happening. “This ring,” Ginerva began. “Is a symbol of your abiding love for each other.” She handed it back to Declan. “Place it on her finger and repeat after me.”
“I give ye my heart,” Ginerva said. Declan repeated it, his voice shaking a little as he spoke. “At the rising of the moon. And the setting of the stars.” Ginerva waited for him to say the vows. “Tae love and tae honor. Through all that may come.” Declan’s voice remained steady as he said the words to her. But there was something in his gaze that made her heart warm with the love she held for him. “Through all our lives together. That we may meet and know and love again and remember each other always.”
They were not traditional vows, but somehow, they seemed more meaningful. Charlotte did not have a ring for him, but she repeated the same vows willingly. After she was done with her recitation, Ginerva linked their hands together and wound a rope around them. “A thousand welcomes to ye with yer marriage. May ye be healthy all your days. May ye be blessed with long life and peace, may ye grow old with goodness, and with riches.” Ginerva secured the soft rope and then stepped back. “Ye have officially tied the knot. Ye are husband and wife.” She motioned toward them. “I give ye Lord and Lady Easton.”
The guests all clapped and shouted with joy. Almost as if they were friends of theirs happy to see them wed. The only thing that could have made their wedding better would have been Jaclyn being able to attend. There hadn’t been time. This hadn’t been planned. Hopefully, her friend would understand the necessity that had led them to elope. Declan leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. “You’re mine now.”
“I’ve always been yours,” she said. A tear slipped down her cheek. He lifted his hand and wiped it away with the pad of his thumb. “I’ll always be yours.”
“I love you,” he said.
Her heart stilled. She had thought he would never say it. Charlotte had told herself it didn’t matter if he loved her yet. They would have a lifetime together, and love could grow between them. But she had been lying to herself. She wanted him to love her desperately, and now that he’d said the words she finally believed this would work between them. Doubt was an ugly emotion, and she couldn’t be more grateful to set it aside. She smiled up at him and told him. “I love you more.”
He laughed. “That’s debatable.”
“I’ll prove it to you,” she told him. “Every day that we are together. You will know that my heart is yours, only yours, and you will never doubt that it belongs to you.”
“Darling,” he said. “I could make that same promise. In fact, I will. No other woman has held my interest, fascinated me, frustrated me, and made me want to be better. Only you. Those vows we made—they were not nearly enough. I vow to you now, that loving you will be not only my greatest pleasure, but my greatest honor. I don’t deserve you, but I’ll be damned if I am going to allow that to prevent me from claiming you as mine. I’m selfish, and I am keeping you with me. No one will ever come between us. That I promise you.”
God help her. She was going to start crying again. She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. This time the kiss wasn’t soft or sweet. It was all the passion she had inside of her for this one man, and even the cheers from their wedding guests wouldn’t distract her from spilling it all out for him.
