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“What of the king?” she demanded with a gasp.

Jordan shrugged. “The earl will take care of him. All that matters is that William and I will be married.”

“But…but….” Jemma stammered. “But the whole purpose of the treaty was to marry ye to a powerful English house so that we could have peace on the border. William is not an English lord, he is just a knight.”

“But no one will know I am married to him, at least not yet,” Jordan reminded her patiently. “The earl will stage a mock ceremony on the morrow for the benefit of the king. Try to remember this, Jemma, for I do not want to repeat it again. There may be a chance that someone else might hear.”

Jemma nodded so hard she tipped sideways. “God’s Blood, yer dress. We must get it out and hang the wrinkles out.”

Jordan put her arm around her cousin’s shoulder. “We have time, Jemma. Get a hold of yerself now.”

Jemma was flighty and scattered when it should have been Jordan with the jitters. Yet Jordan was so calm it was frightening; even as they removed the wedding surcoat from the huge wardrobe and brought it into the antechamber, she was perfectly collected.

Jemma jabbered and twittered as she grew accustomed to the idea that her cousin would actually be marrying the man she loved and not the fat, old earl. It was so incredible she still could scarce believe it.

“Arna ye nervous, Jordan?” she asked, as her cousin hung the massive dress from the ceiling, near the hearth.

Jordan shook her head, her face dreamily happy. “Of course not,” she said. “This is what I have wanted more than anything else in my entire life. To marry is a dream itself, but to marry a man ye love…well, ’tis most unbelievable.”

Jemma nodded in agreement, her joy overcoming her shock for the first time. “Oh, Jordi, I am so happy for ye.”

Jordan grinned back at her, feeling the excitement. “Me, too.”

Sylvie came into the room, her arms laden with Jordan’s freshly washed garments. She was so busy that she didn’t notice Jemma and Jordan until she had set the bundles down. Then, she noticed the magnificent wedding surcoat hanging from the ceiling.

“What a beautiful surcoat.” she pointed to the dress. “Getting it ready, are you? Well, let me help you.”

Jemma put her hand on Sylvie’s arm, twitching with excitement. “Sylvie, can ye keep a secret?” she giggled.

Jordan let her cousin go on. After all, Sylvie wasn’t stupid and it would be no time before she figured out what was going on. She trusted the woman and knew that the secret would be safe.

Sylvie eyed Jemma and Jordan both. “Aye, of course, my lady. What secret?”

“Jordan’s getting married. Tonight.” Jemma burst.

“Tonight?” Sylvie repeated with disbelief. “But the king is not here yet.”

“She is not going to wait for the king, because he is not invited to this wedding,” Jemma said gleefully.

Sylvie was bewildered and Jordan took pity on her. “Sylvie, I am not marrying the earl,” she said softly.

The woman looked at her as if she was daft. “You’re not?”

“Nay,” Jordan shook her head. “I am marrying the captain. Tonight.”

The color that had left Sylvie’s face suddenly flooded back into her cheeks. “The captain? Oh, dear God, what on earth is the earl going to say?” she gasped, sick for her little ward. “I do not understand, my lady.”

“Here, Sylvie, sit down,” Jordan gently pushed her into the nearest chair. “I am marrying the captain with the earl’s blessing. Ye mustna tell a soul what ye know, not even yer husband. Promise me?”

Sylvie’s eyes were wide as she gazed up at Jordan, but she nodded. “Anything, my little lamb,” she said, then a soft expression crossed her features. “You know, I thought there was something between you two. A woman can always tell these things.”

Jordan gave her a small nod and moved back over to where her dress hung from the rafter.

“I have seen him look at you, my lady, and I have seen the way he looks at other men who look at you,” Sylvie said, rapidly making sense out of the entire situation. “Ah, yes, now it is beginning to become clear to me. I do not know why I should be surprised. Dear God, you’ll be marrying the most feared man in the realm. What an honor for you.”

Jordan glanced at her cousin, both of them knowing just how lucky she was. She let out a happy sigh and glanced back up at her dress.

“Well, now, we need to steam this dress,” she said briskly.