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The trip did not take very long. When she arrived, the entrance was devoid of guests and she was certain they were all already buzzing with excitement inside the church. Elizabeth accepted her father’s help as she got out of the carriage and smiled when Patience handed her the bouquet of bluebells.
“Are you nervous?” her father asked as he offered his arm again.
Elizabeth shook her head. She’d been waiting for this moment for years. What little anxiousness she’d felt beforehand dissipated in light of what was ahead of her, what was on the other side of the door. Today would mark the true beginning of a lifetime together.
“Well, then,” Lord Gillet said with a grin. “Shall we begin?”
At those words, the men standing by the door pulled it open, revealing the long aisle before her. The gentle tunes of a pianoforte began to filter out the open doors as Lord Gillet led Elizabeth up the steps and through the entrance. At either side of aisle, the pews were filled with eager guests, hushed tones mingling with the music wafting overhead. Elizabeth didn’t see any of them. She only had eyes for William.
He stood next to the vicar, his gloved hands clasped before him. His jaw was hard, his eyes leveled, but the way he watched her as she drew nearer had her core tensing with heat. He looked dashing, broad shoulders filling a dark waistcoat and white shirt, his cravat tied perfectly at his neck. Skin-tight breeches clung to his legs paired with black boots. Her heart trembled at the sight of him, making her forget where she was for a moment. They were the only two people on Earth for those seconds, lost in each other’s eyes as she came to stand next to him.
Then, the vicar spoke, cutting into her daze.
“Dear beloved,” he began, his voice booming through the long hall, “we come in the presence of God to witness the blessed joining of this man and this woman in holy matrimony.”
Elizabeth didn’t hear anything else. She smiled up at William, every bit of her love shining through her eyes. He met her loving gaze with equal force, smoldering with an intensity that made her heart pound.
I love you, he mouthed to her as the priest continued on.
Elizabeth flushed. Others were watching, she knew, but she didn’t hesitate to mouth back, I love you too.
Unspoken words drifted between them, a promise for what would happen once this wedding was over. Elizabeth could hardly wait. Her toes curled with anticipation, eager for his hands touching her heated skin once more. As lovely as this gown was, Elizabeth couldn’t wait for moment he would strip it from her body.
Soon enough, the priest’s words began to draw to an end.
“Do you, Elizabeth, take William, to be your husband in the covenant of marriage? To love, comfort, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others for as long as you may live?”
“I do,” Elizabeth breathed without hesitation.
“And do you, William, take Elizabeth to be your wife in the covenant of marriage? To love, comfort, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others for as long as you may live?”
“I do,” William said with ease, a slow grin already spreading across his face. Elizabeth’s heart fluttered in anticipation of what was going to happen next.
When the priest indicated that they may kiss, William didn’t hesitate. He wrapped his arm around the curve of her back, pulling her into his chest as his lips descended onto hers. Once again, the world disappeared around them and Elizabeth knew nothing but the feel of his arms, the taste of his lips, the musky scent. When he pulled away, she was breathless, even though they had far more intense kisses before.
“You’re truly mine now,” he murmured to her, even as applause echoed around them.
“I was always yours,” she whispered back, a smile touching her lips.
The signing of the marriage documents and the ensuing wedding breakfast passed in a blur. The breakfast was held at Gillet House where Lord Gillet took the helm in engaging with as many guests as he could, drunk off his gaiety. Elizabeth enjoyed seeing her father in such good spirits, and was happy to experience the loving camaraderie that came from two homes being brought together in marriage. But nothing would compare to the sight of William before her now.
They’d left the wedding breakfast earlier than they should have, under some explanation William had given them, which Elizabeth hadn’t cared to find out. She had already made her way to the waiting carriage by then and before long, they were at Brandon Manor. For the entire carriage ride Elizabeth had tried her best to keep her hands to herself, to keep from giving in to the smoldering air charging between them but now, behind closed doors, she didn’t care to.
