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Daisy was absolutely gobsmacked by his words; never in a million years would she have imagined he would be so accepting of her elopement.
“What do you both say?” the duke asked when both were too shocked to say a word. Philip looked to Daisy for her opinion, and the duke gave a satisfied grunt as if pleased to see the two of them were already working as a respectable unit.
Before either could answer, the duke announced loudly, “It is settled then! There is to be a wedding!”
Epilogue
Per her father’s request and determined not to mess things up, Daisy remained under his roof and away from Philip as much as possible, remaining a respectable distance whenever they were together to discuss wedding matters.
Though he arrived at her bedroom window nightly to see her, pleading for her company, she remained strong and denied him, hoping that their reunion after the wedding would be all the sweeter even if it would be a painful three weeks to wait.
During the first week, she also noticed just how saddened her sister was. Though they were barely given the opportunity to speak about it, Daisy knew all too well the reason, and so one night she approached her father and her stepmother with a request.
“Papa, I wish my wedding to become a double wedding,” she announced, standing proudly before them both in the parlour after dinner while Bertha sat quiet and miserable in the corner, having no clue what she was proposing. “I am to receive my happy ending and request that my sister also does.”
“That is preposterous!” Lady Balfour exclaimed immediately, but she was quickly silenced by her husband with a sharp glare.
“Your opinions have got you into a great deal of trouble of late, wife,” the Duke of Balfour announced. “I would advise that you keep them to yourself.”
When he turned back to Daisy, she quickly added, “Philip and I have spoken, and we both agree that Bertha and Thomas ought not be punished for loving each other. We request that they join us at the altar and share in our joy. You may not agree with us on this, but we request it all the same, and we both intend to support them in union and long after should you try to prevent it!”
The duke startled to chuckle long before she had finished, and she was surprised to see him in such high spirits.
“I have never really had the stomach for disappointing you girls,” he said, and Bertha perked up then.
“You cannot be serious!” Agnes exclaimed. “You cannot mean to let my daughter marry a commoner!”
The duke turned to his wife and responded calmly, “Perhaps this is your punishment. Perhaps if you had not been so hard on our girls, they would not have rebelled so. You have made your bed, and now you must lie in it, as must we all.”
Lady Balfour’s face grew so pale that again she looked like she might faint. She said nothing, and her husband turned to Bertha and asked, “Daughter, do you wish to marry your groom?”
Bertha, looking absolutely astonished, could only nod slowly. Before Lady Balfour could offer any more protests, Daisy crossed the room and pulled Bertha to her feet, telling her, “Then we must go and find him and give him the good news. May we, Papa?”
“You may,” the duke responded, and Daisy could still hear him chuckling as she and Bertha quickly left the room before either of them could change their minds.
And so, after two more weeks of planning, and having worked their hardest to dull the scandal surrounding Bertha’s betrothal with promises that Philip greatly enjoyed the company of his soon-to-be-brother-in-law and ensuring that everyone was too concerned with upsetting the earl’s son, the two couples were married before the eyes of more than three hundred guests.
It was a wondrous affair filled with joy and happiness in which Daisy felt more beautiful and womanly than ever before, unconcerned with anything else but ensuring that everyone had the best day possible.
At one point, she was even certain that her stepmother was smiling, though the moment she caught Daisy watching, she would look away and begin to scowl once more. With both the duke, the earl, and many other high society friends in attendance, nobody dared speak of scandal, and so the best time was had by all, everything forgotten with great food, fine conversation, and hundreds of glasses of alcohol consumed by all.
By the time all the dancing was finally drawing to an end in her father’s ballroom, Daisy was almost dead on her sore feet. Yet the moment her husband stepped up behind her and wrapped his hands tightly around her hips, she felt a fresh surge of energy bubbling through her. The way he leaned in and whispered into her ear caused her to tremble. “Come with me.”
And so she did not protest, merely allowed her husband to guide her around the edge of the dance floor and out through the patio windows onto the terrace at the back of the house. He didn’t stop until they had travelled down the steps of the terrace and into the shadow of the nearest wall.
“It is not the exact garden, but it will do,” Philip announced, pressing her back against the wall with his body.
“It will do for what, my love?” Daisy asked, already feeling as though she had a strong inclination of what he was talking about.
“I wish to pick up where we left off that night before everything went wrong,” Philip announced. “I wish to take you as I ought to have all those weeks ago when I promised to ask your father for your hand.”
“Then do it,” Daisy urging, pushing herself back against him, beginning to clutch the skirts of her gown in her desperation to feel him inside her once more. Before he could say another word, she lunged forward and consumed his lips with her own.
Between kissing, she whispered, “Make love to me like you have never made love to me before.”
Philip did not appear to need to be told twice. He hurriedly gripped the ties of his breeches, unbuttoning the front of his wedding jacket and waistcoat to get a little more leverage. Daisy helped him, pulling up his shirt and undershirt so that she could press her palms against his muscular torso as he pulled the skirts of her heavy wedding gown up.
I am glad I didn’t go for the bigger gown,she thought gratefully, glad she had decided to keep things simple against Lady Balfour’s wishes, choosing instead to let her little sister shine.
