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“That I love Lucas more than I ever knew was possible.”
Louisa smiled. “And Lucas loves you. Everything is as it should be. There is nothing for you to fear. Lucas will teach you all you need know,” Louisa reassured her twin. “Every day will be learning something new about each other. Follow your heart, Lucy, and you’ll find far more joy than you’ve ever dreamed of as well as that love you’re feeling now.”
Despite her sister’s heartfelt words of assurance, Lucy still felt unconvinced, her eyes darting to the door of the chapel where the men were waiting. “Perhaps Charles would not have wished for all that Lucas might desire,” she said as she lowered her eyes and allowed her hands to run down the front of the childish yellow dress. “I am not frightened to become a wife. I am frightened to become a child-bride. I don’t think… I'm not sure I can-can be like you,” Lucy whispered as she finally confessed the true aspect of her hesitation.
Louisa shook her head slowly, her smile soft, her eyes concerned and yet clear. “Lucy, we are twins but that doesn’t mean we are exact duplicates of one another in all ways. You don’t need to belikeme. You need to be you. All I can promise is that you will desire to fulfill whatever role your husband will ask of you because youchoseLucas to be your husband, your teacher, your lover, your soul mate. You did not choose Charles.” Giving her a moment to process what she was hearing, Louisa paused before taking both Lucy’s hands in hers and giving them a squeeze.
“I will not lie to you,” Louisa said softly. “It won’t always be easy, especially because of the two of us, you’ve always been the one to have an innate need to test the waters, to push the boundaries. Some aspects of your new life will be harder for you because they will demand you give up some of that stubbornness. But, Lucy, I promise when you do let go, when you allow yourself to be free, you’ll experience such intense joy. All you really need to remember is that your heart made your choice and you must trust in yourself and, by that, I mean trust yourself to trust Lucas.”
Neither girl was aware when Edward quietly approached them until Lucy looked up and gave a start of surprise. He’d evidently wondered what was causing their delay. She blushed. Though she and Louisa had both been speaking softly, she couldn’t help but wonder how much of their conversation had he heard. Her question was answered when he asked one of his own.
“Lucille, now is the time to tell me the truth. Is your choice true?” When she opened her mouth to answer, he shook his head and held out his hand. She felt Louisa release her so she could take her guardian’s. Once his fingers engulfed her own, he smiled down at her. “This is the time to look deep within your heart and your soul, Lucille. Know that whatever answer you give I will support you. Though Lucas is my dear friend, you, little one, are my family. Living the life Lucas will demand is not going to be easy. You aren’t just giving him your heart, you are giving every part of yourself to his care, you’ll be learning at his feet lessons you can’t even fathom at this moment. All those things require not only love that I have no doubt you have for him in abundance, but also demand complete and total submission in all ways. You’ve already learned that disobedience earns you discipline. Marriage cleaves you to Lucas and those punishments will become more intimate. You’ll feel passion and joy beyond imagination, but don’t think there won’t be pain when you’ve earned discipline.” He reached up to brush her hair off her cheek. “Accepting pain will be hard enough, little one. Accepting it without the true desire to submit to the man doling out that discipline will never bring you nor Lucas the true joy and deep love I am blessed to share with Louisa.
“I’m not trying to frighten you, Lucy. I’m simply telling you the truth. I do not wish you to enter into this marriage with your eyes closed no matter what your heart is saying. You need to ask yourself do you truly wish to learn to be the wife in your husband’s bed? Do you wish to submit and learn to become the special little one you know you must be for your new papa? Tell me, Lucy, are you anxious to become the student at Lucas’ feet as he becomes your teacher, even though your lessons will be difficult? Is Lucas the husband, the papa, and the teacher you desire? Is he the one man you feel you cannot live your life without?” he asked, his voice soft and full of concern.
Lucy’s eyes never left his even when she felt her face heat at the directness of his words. The images they conjured caused a delicious warmth to spread into every cell of her body and a light that her heart couldn’t seem to contain. She could feel it shooting from her fingertips, from her eyes, and from her smile.
“Yes,” Lucy whispered only the one word, but it was enough to set her upon the path she would follow for the rest of her life. Edward pulled her to his chest, hugging her and closing his eyes briefly.
“Then it is time,” he said as he released her to place a kiss on her cheek. She nodded, her smile bright, her body throbbing in anticipation as she turned to take Louisa’s hand as well. Edward led them to the open door of the church. Lucy’s eyes found those of the man she had chosen and her heart filled. As the three walked slowly to the front, she found all she needed to know reflected in the eyes that held hers captive. Love and promises of things unimagined flowed into her. Her blood began to race through her veins. Her body seemed to vibrate with the desire to fall at his feet to beg to begin to learn to become all he desired.
Louisa and Edward moved to the side as Lucas stepped forward. He took Lucy’s hand, lifting it to his lips to place a kiss on her knuckles before placing it in the crook of his arm and covering it with his own. They stood in front of Pastor Reed, though each only had eyes for the other. Lucy listened to the pastor read the vows that would bind her to this man for eternity, vows that were both the same and yet very different from those of a traditional marriage. Promises made here were not given easily, and when broken, carried a penalty that would not always be easy to pay. Lucy’s eyes never left Lucas’ as she answered.
“Do you promise to love, honor and obey your husband?” Reed asked.
“Yes, I promise to love, honor and obey my husband,” she answered.
“Do you promise to give your obedience and submit your body to your husband as he guides you along the proper path with whatever discipline he deems necessary…” he paused as if reminding all that he was aware the bride was already slated for some form of discipline before completing the vow, “or simply desires?”
Lucy never hesitated, upcoming discipline or not, she answered instantly. “Yes, I promise to be obedient and accept my husband’s decisions and submit my body to my husband’s discipline whenever he desires,” Lucy answered, seeing the promise of such discipline in Lucas’ eyes. She felt her stomach flutter but knew deep in her soul that she would do as she vowed.
“Do you promise to offer all of your body in complete submission to your husband’s pleasure whenever, and in whatever way, he deems or desires?” Reed asked.
Though she remained an innocent in so many things, Lucy was intelligent enough to know that outside this small circle of people who practiced a lifestyle of dominance and submission, his words would have been received with shock. Lucy flushed hotly, her eyes remaining on Lucas’ as they seemed to draw her into their depths with promises of pleasures she couldn’t even fathom.
“Yes,” she whispered, her heart pounding as her entire body seemed to throb. “I promise to give all of my heart, as well as all of my body, in submission to my husband to fulfill the pleasures he shall desire.”
“And, Lucille Rose Furniss, do you accept not only the role of wife to Lord Huntington but promise to fulfill the role of his little one, submitting to his lessons as he teaches you what both these roles require?” Reed asked as he did of every young woman who married these types of men.
Lucy’s answer came slower as she was promising something she was still so unsure she could fulfill. Accepting the truth at last she said, “Yes, I promise to be Lord Huntington’s wife and his… his little one.” She felt her uncertainty evaporate as Lucas’ smile grew, the blue of his eyes darkening with promises of his own as he tightened his hold on her trembling hand. “I accept his right to possess me and teach me all that my roles will entail.”
Lucas’ words enveloped her in a cocoon of love, of warmth, of promise as she listened to his vows. He promised to love and cherish her, to protect her and to guide her. He vowed to be responsible for teaching her what he might require as both his wife and his little one. He pledged to remember that to spare the rod would spoil the child, and accepted the role of disciplinarian should she fail to fulfill her duties in either of her roles. Lucas surprised Reed by making an additional promise, one that was not a conventional part of the ceremony.
“Lucy,” Lucas said, with a slight hitch in his voice, “I give you this promise as well. I promise never to give you, as my wife or as my little one, ever cause to doubt that all I shall teach you comes from my deep and abiding love for you.”
Lucy’s heart stuttered, hearing the words spoken in God’s house, and knew that he would spend his life fulfilling each vow. A tear slid down her cheek.
Turning slightly, Lucas accepted the box Edward passed him. “The night of the ball, I vowed to win your heart, but I want you to know, you have had mine from the moment I saw you teetering on that ladder.”
A soft giggle escaped followed by a gasp when he opened the box and lifted an item from it, allowing it to hang from his fingers. Lucy’s eyes widened as she saw a beautiful gold chain from which a charm dangled. She smiled, seeing it was a tiny cat that appeared to be cradled in the palm of an open hand.
“You shall not wear a ring as I don’t want you to confuse the roles you shall take. Instead, I wish you to wear this close to your heart so that you will know that, as my wife and my little one, you will always and forever remember that you, kitten, are my heart, my life, and forever my love.”
Lucy’s tears of joy began to flow as he lifted his hands to settle the gift around her neck. He fastened it, laying the pendant to rest between her breasts. Lucy’s hand immediately lifted to close around the charm.
“I promise never to remove it,” she said, her joy so intense she had no idea how she was containing it, feeling like she was simply glowing from pure happiness.
Pastor Reed appeared slightly shaken by the intensely spoken vows, as Lucas and Lucy finally returned their attention to him. He said a final prayer and the ceremony was finished with his presentation of Lord and Lady Lucas William Henry Huntington. Lucy signed her name to the license and then squealed as Lucas lifted her off her feet and whirled her around.
