Page 35 of To Enchant a Rakish Viscount

Chapter 14

There was not much build-up and little time for anticipation.

“Today, we gather here to hold witness to the joining in marriage of Brian—” the priest went on with the ceremony as Harper looked into the eyes of her future husband. Maybe she had been wrong about the anticipation part. After all, she had been anticipating her marriage her entire life—just not under the present circumstances. She had still been grateful, though.

The short time leading up to the wedding felt normal, or what she had expected to be normal. The few family members that had been made aware of the impending marriage were all supportive in helping her get ready. Her friends had put their concerns aside as well, just to make that experience worthwhile for her. Even Marianne had been somewhat chipper. She had also been hanging around Connor more which made Harper wonder if there were sparks between the two.

Before her, Brian stood wearing a decorated overcoat that made him look handsome and mature. She could not tell if he was nervous. But she had been surprised to see some smiles break through at times. They gave her hope for the future, as small as they may have been. Another little trait that gave her hope was the fact that he did not rush anything. He appeared to let the ceremony unfold naturally, and Harper appreciated that.

There was a lot of surprise at the wedding aside from her own. Mostly everyone had been shocked to see Brian marrying Harper and not Michael. In a way, Harper enjoyed the shock. It made her feel like she had beaten the terrible circumstances thrust upon her. She had found a way out. And the day itself had begun to turn out pretty well.

When the ceremony ended and they kissed, Harper revealed at the moment, not knowing if that would be their last kiss or if it was possibly the first of many. There was no way of telling.

“Thank you for doing this,” Harper said to Brian after he pulled away from the kiss.

He nodded and smiled at her. She could not tell if it was genuine or if he had faked it for the small crowd. But it didn’t matter. She would choose to focus on the positive.

After some socialising, they went into the room where the party would be held. It was decorated with more flowers than Harper had ever seen in one place. The musicians played their instruments in a beautiful melody. The event was far more than she had expected.

She had thought that after the ceremony, Brian would have had enough of the festivities. But no, he had gone above and beyond to give her an extravagant wedding for the little time he had to put it all together. It was a true celebration between a viscount’s daughter and a future earl. She could not have asked for more.

As she took in all the colourful sights around her and let the music fill her, she was conflicted. Brian had done all of it for her, yet she hadn’t spoken with him much since she accepted his proposal. To say that it was all normal would be a lie. She had wished that Brian would at least converse with her. She didn’t want to see that as a bad sign for the marriage to come, but he did lay out the terms. Why wouldn’t he abide by them too? It was that hard mix of feeling rather foolish versus trying to remain positive and hopeful that plagued her.

“Right this way, Your Grace.” A servant took her to her seat where she had a view of all the guests. It wasn’t easy to smile when she carried an enormous amount of uncertainty. She tried her best and her best was working fine.

“I have brought you this jewellery box,” Michael said after going up to her table. In his hands was a silver and gold box that sparkled against the light. She would have been blown away by its beauty if not for the other five gifts Michael had showered them with already.

Harper smiled. “Thank you, it is beautiful.” She took it from him and set it on the table. “I love how many great things that you gave us, but why are you being so generous…and rather apologetic?”

He shrugged. “I am not void of guilt over what has happened, and I just want this to be a great day for you both.”

She knew he was referring to the night they hugged, the moment that spawned the need for a wedding. “Michael, please do not blame yourself for that. I hugged you as well. And there was nothing wrong with what we did. We live in a world of folly. That is all. Folly and whispers.”

He nodded but still looked as though he blamed himself. And then he reached for his back and pulled out a stunning, shimmering vase. “This is also for you.”

She pursed her lips and took it from him. Then she smiled. “Thank you. I do hope that you still have furniture in your home.”

Michael laughed and walked off.

***

The little party with just the friends and family ended quickly and Brian had only been there for all of five minutes. She found herself home alone in her wedding dress, drinking a glass of wine.

It was a rather strange feeling to be home alone, especially on her wedding day. She, of course, was curious as to where Brian could have been. But she didn’t wonder too much. She kept reminding herself that he had laid out the terms and he had expected to abide by them.

The best way for her to survive and be happy in her marriage was to leave herself without any expectations. That way, she would never be disappointed. It was a grim way of looking at her life, but there was far more to life than marriage. Or at least that’s what she told herself.

Harper wound up dumping the wine out and looking out the window. She felt the urge to cry and did not know why. She told herself that she wouldn’t, no matter what.

When she looked at all the people going about their business out the window, she knew that Brian probably wasn’t coming home. Trying to remedy that feeling with the fact that it was her home now, it didn’t work as well as she thought it would. And that’s when the tears started to fall.

Harper was freshly married. She had her own home. She had all the gifts. She had her health. But she had no husband…no love. That realization wasn’t supposed to set in so fast. But it had.

Harper changed out of her wedding dress and laid it out flat on the bed. Despite being worn for an hour or so, it still looked as good as new. And that made her sad. And then it made her cry. A woman’s wedding dress was supposed to be dirty by the end of the night. It was supposed to be broken in from dancing and laughter.

It was not supposed to be worn for two hours and then taken off. Her makeup and hair, it was supposed to be enjoyed by hundreds of people, not just ten. She cried into the pillows and screamed, knowing no one would hear her.

And then, just like that, she stopped and composed herself. She would not allow herself to do that. There would be no pity. She had a life that woman craved. She was lucky. And so, she put her dress away and put on a more comfortable one. Day one of her married life would begin whether she was sad or not.

---