Page 154 of A Baby to Seal the Duke’s Fate

Leopold smiled.

“That is all right. This is exactly as it should be.”

Honora looked at him with a firm nod.

“I concur.”

Leopold gaped at his bride. “You are not arguing.”

“I will concede when you are correct.”

“Did you just say I am right about something?”

She giggled. “Do not get accustomed to it.”

He laughed softly and squeezed her hand.

“Are you ready?”

Honora looked at him with so much love in her eyes that, for a moment, he could think of nothing else.

“Yes.”

“So am I.”

The vicar smiled at Cecily.

“I believe you are the smallest and most precious bridesmaid I have ever seen.”

Cecily answered with a pleased little sound, as though she understood the praise she had just received.

“That seems to satisfy her,” Honora whispered.

“Then we may proceed.”

Cecily babbled again, clinging to Honora.

They took their places.

Leopold knew the ceremony was not a long one. However, it felt as though it carried on for an impossibly long time. He would cherish the day he married the woman who had revived his heart, his home, and his family for the rest of his life. But he was eager to begin his new life with Honora, and to celebrate their love with their closest loved ones.

However, when it was time to recite his vows, the church and wedding guests disappeared around them, and his eagerness to finish the ceremony was forgotten. There were only Honora, Cecily, and his love for his family, and Honora’s eyes had captured him completely.

“I, Leopold, take you, Honora, as my wife.

“I promise to stand beside you, not only when life is easy, but when it is difficult, uncertain, or frightening.

“I promise to trust you, even when trusting is difficult, and to tell you the truth even when it would be easier to keep it to myself.

“I promise that you will never again have to wonder whether you belong, or whether there is a place for you here.

“You have given me a family I never knew I had, and a life I never thought to want.

“I cannot promise that I will always know the right thing to say, or that I will never make mistakes.

“But I promise I will love you completely, and that I will work every day to deserve you.

“I will choose you every day, for as long as I am given the privilege of having you.