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Eden knew her aunt would have a hysterical fit at the boldness of her response, but that did not prevent her from making it. “I had friends who married young men knowing they might not survive the War. That didn’t concern them. All that mattered was that they would spend whatever time they had together. I know I’m not a proper bride for an earl. I’m only half English, but I love you, Alex, and I’d be proud to be your wife whether it’s for fifty years or only one.”
The sincerity of that heartfelt compliment brought a low moan to Alex’s lips and he nearly crushed Eden with the enthusiasm of his embrace. He kissed her then with all the passion he had thought he would never again express. He kissed her again and again until they were both so breathless he had to draw away.
“
I don’t think we ought to waste any time being engaged,” Eden suggested persuasively. “Do you know an Anglican priest who can perform a wedding ceremony this afternoon?”
Alex could not help but laugh at her enthusiasm for their marriage. “All of London will be talking about us for weeks, if not years to come. You realize that, don’t you?”
“So what? If they have nothing better to do than to gossip about two people who fell in love, then they aren’t worth worrying about.”
“That sounds like something your mother might have told you.”
“No, she never said that, but you’re right, she might have. She married the man she loved regardless of how greatly that decision shocked London society. I hope there’s an opportunity for you to meet him. My father is a wonderful man.”
“I’m sure that he is,” Alex agreed. Seeing Anna coming their way with a tea tray, he sat back to put a more respectable distance between them. “Let’s have tea, then you can pack a few things and we’ll find a priest who has as romantic a nature as we do.”
Eden waited until Anna had returned to the house before she kissed him again. “I love you so much, Alex. You’ll never be sorry you married me. Never.”
“I promise you’ll never be sorry either, Eden. I’ll make our entire marriage a honeymoon.” That he had ever imagined a friendship as warm as theirs could remain a chaste one struck him as absurd now. Still, he could not help but feel a tinge or two of guilt. “I’m being very selfish, but I swear I can’t help myself.”
“Selfish?” Eden shook her head, “You are the warmest, most sympathetic man I’ve ever met. I doubt you are ever selfish.” Not about to allow the man to have second thoughts, Eden rose and, taking his hands, pulled him to his feet. “Come upstairs with me. I’ll need your advice about what to bring.”
“That wouldn’t be at all proper,” Alex protested, but his grin was too wide for Eden to mistake his mood.
“Neither is eloping, m’lord.” With a throaty giggle, Eden led him inside but she took care to walk up the stairs very slowly so as not to tire him.
It was after dark by the time they arrived at Alex’s townhouse. He had had no difficulty arranging for a special marriage license and, with that in hand, had easily persuaded a young priest to perform a marriage ceremony without the required reading of the banns. It had been the most exciting afternoon he had spent in a long while, but he was too happy to allow the resulting fatigue to spoil his wedding night.
He dismissed his servants for the evening immediately after he and his bride had finished the sumptuous supper his cook had gone to great lengths to prepare. He felt slightly tipsy although he had had only one glass of wine.
“I want to take you home to Briarcliff, my estate in Devon. We can spare a month at least before having to make the return voyage to Jamaica. I think it will do Raven good to be on his own for a while. Maybe without my constant urging, he’ll fall in love too.”
Eden laced her fingers in her new husband’s as they started up the stairs. She had expected Alex to send for Raven so he could attend their wedding, but she had been relieved when he had not wanted to wait for the young man to be found. Somehow she did not think Raven would approve of their marriage, and she was grateful to have avoided what could have easily been the most embarrassing of scenes. That she would not have to face him for a month pleased her. Surely that would provide ample time for him to accept his uncle’s marriage.
“Can we leave first thing in the morning?”
Alex rested his hand on the banister, for he could not climb stairs and talk at the same time. “Do you want to stop by and see your aunt and cousin before we go?”
Eden pursed her lips thoughtfully. She had left her aunt a note, even though it seemed a cowardly thing to do. “I’d rather not. I don’t want anyone to spoil our happiness, least of all Lydia and Stephanie. They’re both very fond of you, but I know they’ll take exception to the haste of our marriage.”
Understanding her concern, Alex continued on up the stairs and waited until they had reached the landing to reply. “I wish there had been time for us to plan an enormous formal wedding, a lavish reception, and the most exotic of honeymoons. You’ve given up a great deal to marry me, and I hope you won’t soon regret it.”
Eden wondered if Alex were recalling his first wedding, and his first wife, but dared not ask when she wanted his thoughts focused solely on her that night. “My family and friends are all so far away and I would have missed them terribly had we had a large wedding. If anyone asks why we chose to elope, let’s blame it on the War. We’d be believed, don’t you think?”
“The War? Why yes, of course. That’s positively brilliant, Eden. We chose to elope because your country’s at war.” Alex was pleased beyond measure to have so logical an excuse for a completely illogical elopement. He led her into his bedroom rather than the adjoining one where she had bathed and dressed before supper, and then made what he hoped was not too gruesome a request.
“It’s customary for the husband to visit the wife’s bedroom, but I don’t want to run the risk of dying in your bed.” He paused an instant, half expecting Eden to protest his mention of death as Raven always had, but instead she nodded in agreement.
“I understand. That I will someday be a widow will bring sorrow enough, I don’t want to be the subject of crude jokes about the manner in which you died.”
“Precisely.” Alex pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. “I’ve felt so terribly alone, and to find that you understand my concerns so readily is a great comfort to me.”
Eden relaxed against him, grateful that they could now display their affection for each other openly, but she was as deeply concerned about her new husband’s health as he was. “Alex, if making love will be too strenuous for you, if you truly do fear dying in my arms, we could simply sleep together and be close in ways other than the merely physical.”
Alex stepped back so he could study her expression, but he had a difficult time containing the amusement her question had prompted. “Life is filled with difficult choices, Eden. Somehow I think you’re already aware of that. If I stayed in bed, alone, and did nothing more strenuous than sip soup and tea, I could probably prolong my life. But what kind of life is that to live? I would rather be a real husband to you for six months, than no more than an affectionate friend for a year. Isn’t your choice the same? Wouldn’t you advise me to live whatever time I have left as fully as I possibly can?”
Eden replied not with words, but with a kiss so filled with love he could not mistake her answer. She was a vibrant beauty, and it was that very quality that had attracted him to her in the first place. She was as eager to live life fully as he was, and while their time together would be heartbreakingly brief, he planned to make certain she did not regret a second of it. He trailed sweet kisses down her throat and across the luscious swell of her bosom, peeling away her white satin gown with the expertise of a man well schooled in the art of seduction. He knew he would have to rely upon finesse rather than stamina, but vowed not to disappoint her.
