“Neither are love matches,” Elodie countered with a shrug of her shoulders.
Bennett spoke up, attempting to be the voice of reason. “Let us not forget that we just witnessed our cousin marry for love.”
Elodie wiped her gloved hands together, brushing thecrumbs off. “Fine. I will admit it is possible, but we must not get our hopes up. My friend, Diana, thought she had married for love and now she is miserable. She even suspects that her husband has taken a mistress.”
“Who is Diana?” Bennett asked, wondering why he had never heard of her until now.
“A friend of mine from our boarding school,” Elodie replied.
“You are being quite the naysayer this morning. Perhaps you sniffed too much of the butter on your bread,” Melody teased.
Bennett caught the vicar’s eye and excused himself from his sisters to approach Mr. Bawden. “Good morning,” he greeted. “You did a fine job.”
Mr. Bawden tipped his head in acknowledgement, revealing a large bald spot on the back of his head. “Thank you, my lord. I always enjoy marrying couples who are so clearly in love with one another.”
He chuckled. “Yes, Edwina and Miles only seemed to have eyes for one another after they got engaged.”
“As it should be,” Mr. Bawden said, good-naturedly.
Bennett’s mother came to stand next to him as she addressed the vicar. “I do hope you intend to join us for the luncheon.”
Mr. Bawden grinned. “I will be there, as will my daughter, Mattie.”
“Wonderful,” his mother exclaimed. “We simply adore Miss Bawden.”
The vicar removed a handkerchief and swiped at the beads of sweat that were forming on his brow. “You have always been very kind to her, and for that, I am most appreciative.”
His mother smiled. “Your daughter is easy to be kind to,” she said. “Furthermore, I have enjoyed watching her grow into a delightful young woman.”
“I could not agree with you more, my lady,” Mr. Bawden responded.
Turning towards Bennett, his mother asked, “Shall we depart?”
He offered his arm and led her away from the vicar. Once they were outside, he saw his father and sisters were already situated in the coach.
Bennett assisted his mother up the steps of the coach and waited until she was comfortably seated next to her husband. “I will see all of you back at the manor,” he said.
His mother gave him a disapproving shake of her head. “I wish you had taken one of the coaches to the chapel,” she chided.
“That seems rather silly since I am perfectly content riding my horse,” Bennett replied. “Besides, I prefer to be outside over riding in a stuffy coach. The rain has finally stopped, and the sun is peeking through the clouds. It is a perfect day for a quick jaunt through the woodlands.”
Elodie removed a fan from her reticule and started fanning her face. “Bennett has chosen wisely. With the arrival of the sun, it is making this coach rather warm and stuffy.”
“It is only a short ride back to the manor,” his mother reminded them, her tone lacking any sympathy.
“Yes, but not before I look like a bloated catfish,” Elodie declared dramatically, puffing out her cheeks to emphasize her point.
Melody poked at her sister’s puffy cheeks playfully. “You look rather foolish like that.”
Elodie let out a huff of air. “Can we at least open up the windows?” she asked hopefully.
His mother nodded her permission. “There is no need to make everything so dramatic, my dear.”
“And with that, I bid you adieu,” Bennett said before closing the door.
As he walked towards his horse, Bennett was grateful forthe time to retreat to his own thoughts. He was happy for Miles and Edwina, but a faint sense of envy lingered in his heart. He couldn’t help but hope for the kind of love they had found.
He knew that he would need to get married- to produce an heir- but he was not looking forward to the marriage mart. Every young woman would bat her eyelashes at him and offer coy smiles, seeing only his title rather than the man behind it.
