Catherine would not say so aloud, but she admitted to herself that her father had a point. Stephen had said many times that he almost always did exactly what he wished. Perhaps she could do the same.
She pushed the idea to the back of her mind. It didn’t matter much at the moment. With Stephen at her side, she was certain she would be able to learn.
Since Catherine hadn’t responded, Mama changed the subject, “You know, you have put us both in a rather awkward position. I cannot even prepare a wedding breakfast for you here, and you haven’t given me even enough time to help you shop for wedding clothes. Why must you get married so quickly?”
At first Catherine thought her mother was simply being her flighty self, complaining because she could not take part in all the planning that went into preparing a daughter for married life. Then she realized that Mama might be concerned about something else.
“There is no particular reason for a rushed wedding, Mama. It is only that I did not wish to go back home only to have to come all the way back to this area in just a few weeks. Stephen’s estate, Snowhaven, is only fifteen miles from here. So, we are choosing to get married before the end of Elizabeth’s house party. I am glad you were willing to come here, though. I was afraid I would have to get married without you.”
“Oh, my dear, I would not miss it for the world,” said Mama. “It has always been my dearest wish to see all my daughters happily settled.”
~~~~~
Three days later, Catherine stood at the altar and said her wedding vows, sincerely meaning every single word. She listened as Stephen repeated his vows, and she knew that he would keep them as well. He loved her, and she was certain he always would. He was not the kind of man to love lightly, despite the flighty nature he pretended to have.
For the last time, she signed her name Catherine Bennet in the church registry. From then on, she would be Catherine Fitzwilliam, Viscountess Hilldale, or more commonly called Lady Hilldale. A tiny part of her was relieved that she was unlikely to be called Kitty very often in the future, except, of course, by her husband. After all, not even her sisters would address a noblewoman in such a childish way.
The happy couple did not stay at the wedding breakfast for long. It was only a small gathering, and they stayed just long enough to eat and to accept congratulations from everyone there. Then they left, their goal being to reach Stephen’s estate by mid-afternoon.
Travis’ nurse would be escorting him back to Stephen’s friend’s home, where he had been staying earlier. He would be coming home at the end of the month.
As they sat side by side in the carriage, Stephen took Catherine’s hands in his own and carefully pulled her gloves off. He then did the same for his own gloves. Once the gloves weregone he took her hand, intertwined their fingers, and rested them on his knee.
“We need to find something to talk about for the next two or three hours, or I might simply go mad,” he said. “After desiring you for a year and a half, I finally have you as my wife, yet I still cannot do all that I wish, for I refuse to have our first joining be in a moving carriage.”
Vaguely, Catherine understood what he was saying, but her mind stuck on only part of it. “A year and a half?” she asked.
He chuckled. “Yes. I first looked on you as a woman at Darcy’s dinner last year. I thought you were the most beautiful lady I had ever seen.”
“But you ignored me,” she said.
“I assure you, my mind was occupied almost entirely by you, but I didn’t know what to say to you. In Hertfordshire, I had treated you as a friend, almost as a child, and I simply did not know how to behave around you once you were grown.”
“I suppose I can understand,” said Catherine. “I struggled with something similar in London earlier this year, when it was made clear to me that you truly were a viscount and that I could no longer treat you as I had before.”
“Despite that, we still ended up being quite comfortable with each other, did we not?” asked Stephen.
“I suppose,” said Catherine. “I was quite comfortable, until I realized how very attractive you were. Then, I was not so comfortable.”
He chuckled again. Catherine loved that particular sound. “Let me guess. That was at Mrs. Macclesfield’s dinner.”
Catherine buried her face in her hands. “Was it that obvious?” she said.
Gently, he pulled her hands away from her face so that he could see her again. “It was not obvious. In fact, I was quite hurt at first. It was only by looking back on what happened that I began to suspect, and I didn’t know for certain until just now.”
The two of them simply stared at each other for several long moments. Then, Stephen said, “Let us discuss something boring. That adorable look on your face is far too tempting.”
“I suppose we could discuss your house,” said Catherine. “There is much I should know about your house and your land, and I have never even seen any of it before.”
So, they did. With determination, Catherine and Stephen discussed many facets of their future lives together. Stephen told her about his servants and what his house was like, and they discussed typical dinner times and other habits of daily life that they would need to learn about each other. They avoided even alluding to more emotional or personal topics.
After what felt like an eternity, they finally arrived at Stephen’s home. Catherine was quite impressed. It was beautifully large and elegant, though not so much as Pemberley. She did not have much time to look, however, for as soon as she was out of the carriage, Stephen swept her up into his arms.
Despite her protests, he grinned and proceeded to carry her into the house and directly up to the mistress suite.
