AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-Seven
As he walked out of the chapel, hand in hand with Lydia, Michael realized that he could not remember a single word that the curate had said. He had been so intent on Lydia’s face the entire time that even as he was reciting the vows, he could hardly believe the words that he was saying.
Outside of the chapel, in the hallway, their family followed them out to congratulate them. Lydia’s sisters were hugging her, telling her how happy they were for her. He barely registered that Lionel and Francis both shook his hand. He absolutely did not notice that Kitty and Ranora stood off to the side, looking contemptuously at the scene.
All he wanted was to be alone with Lydia at last. The pent-up desire for her resurfaced with a vengeance. Finally married to her, he simply wanted to lead her up to his room. Growing impatient with the kissing and hugging, he touched her shoulder, drawing her attention.
“My darling, the hour is late. Perhaps we should retire and continue the celebration tomorrow, after church.”
“What time is it?” she asked, yawning, and apologizing quickly.
Francis looked at his watch. “My goodness, after four in the morning already.”
“We should all go to bed,” Martha said, beckoning to the girls. “Thank you again, Your Grace, for inviting us to spend the night.”
“Of course,” Michael said, smiling. “We’ll see you all in the morning.”
Taking Lydia’s hand in his, he guided her away from their families as they continued to chatter, their voices fading behind them in the hallway.
“Are you tired, my dear?” he asked in a low voice. His hand moved up and down her back, caressing her gently.
She grinned up at him. “Not too tired at all.”
“That is what I was hoping to hear.”
“Is that so?” she asked, wrapping her hand around his arm.
She nestled against him, sighing with relief. He stopped her, cupping his hands around her face.
“I am so happy that you are my wife,” he whispered, staring deeply into her eyes. He placed his mouth on hers, gently kissing her. Instead of a roaring fire of desire, he felt his passion smoldering, as though he finally realized that he had all the time in the word to enjoy being in her presence.
Subtly, she pressed into him, lifting on the tips of her toes, her fingers light on his arms. Groaning, he broke away, pulling her toward his bedroom.
“Let’s not rush tonight,” he suggested. Images flashed through his mind of exploring her body into the odd hours of the morning.
“It’s very late already,” she whispered back to him.
“We have time,” he argued.
“We should be at church in the morning.”
He grinned down at her. “I think the curate can forgive us, just this once.”
She laughed softly as they came down the hall to his bedroom. He stopped her before she laid her hand on the door handle.
“I may not be able to carry you over the threshold of our home tonight, since we are already here, but at least let me carry you across this doorway,” he said, sweeping her into his arms.
She cried out in a shocked giggle, which sent joy into his heart. He pushed open the door and carried her in, only setting her down after she protested. As he set her down, she threw herself into his arms, kissing him firmly. Her zealousness caught him off guard, and even though he wanted to push her back onto the bed and enjoy her for the first time as his wife, he held himself back.
“We should eat first,” he suggested.
“I do not want to eat,” she protested, kissing him again. “I merely want to have you at last.”
“You should eat,” he argued. Smiling broadly, he told her, “I want you to have plenty of energy for what I have in mind.”
“And what is that?” she asked, a knowing smile on her lips.
“You will see,” he laughed. He glanced over at the tray of food on the table in the corner of the room. “Ah, we’re missing wine. I wanted a particular bottle for tonight. Let me go down to the cellar quickly.”
