Page 35 of Dueling the Suitors

“If I know my best friend at all, I think I know where he would arrange a secret wedding.” Emmett stepped out of the shadows, pulling Astoria with him. Silas followed, muttering something about walking into a trap.

Except for their footsteps, their breathing, and the distant chirping of crickets, everything was silent. Astoria was thankful they didn’t come across a patrolling soldier or a rambling drunkard. Spotting three hooded figures at night would stir more than mere suspicion.

When they turned into an alleyway shrouded in darkness, Astoria conjured light in her palm. She spotted a beam of yellow light coming from the end of the alley and hurried her pace when Emmet confirmed it was where he believed Jasper to be.

The narrow alleyway opened into a small courtyard with a gate reaching up to Astoria’s chest. Beyond the gate was a small cottage, its windows illuminated from within.

“What is this place?” Astoria asked, stepping aside for Emmett.

“You remember Jasper’s old nanny? This used to be her house.” Emmett pushed the gate and it opened smoothly and soundlessly.

“Meren’s house…” Astoria whispered in realization, her eyes darting around the courtyard as she entered.

“Who is Meren?” Silas asked.

“Jasper’s childhood best friend. She was his nanny’s daughter. They practically grew up together—”

“Oh yes, I remember,” Silas said, closing the gate behind them. “She was like a sister to him. She fell from a tree somewhere here and died, didn’t she?”

Astoria hummed in response and approached the cottage behind Emmett. He knocked on the door thrice and waited. When no one answered, Silas asked, “You’re sure your overconfidence in knowing your best friend hasn’t led us wrong?”

Emmett narrowed his eyes at Silas over his shoulder. “Do the illuminated windows of a house left unused for over a decade look wrong to you?”

“What if someone else lives here now?”

“They don’t. This land and cottage belonged to Jasper’s father while his nanny was still here. Now it’s Jasper’s, so he could preserve Meren’s memory.”

“Still looks like the wrong place to me.” Silas shrugged. “No one has answered the door yet.”

“Let me try.” Astoria shrank the light in her palm and stepped forward, but Silas grabbed her shoulders from behind, and Emmett held out an arm to block her.

“Oh,nuh, nuh, nuh. Not you.”

“Never you, little one. We don’t want to wake the entire street with your banging,” Emmett teased her.

Astoria rolled her eyes. “I’m losing my patience. If you don’t knock again, Iwillbang.”

So Emmett knocked again, sharper this time, and called Jasper’s name. When no one answered again, Silas grumbled that he was right and this was the wrong place. Astoria couldn’t hold herself any longer. Before her brothers could stop her, she launched herself forward and pushed the door open.

It opened smoothly and soundlessly, just like the gate. And the moment she stepped in, she froze.

“I take it back,” Silas murmured from behind.

“I knew you would,” Emmett murmured back.

At the center of the room was a makeshift altar with a beautiful, white canopy. Rose petals were sprinkled all over the floor. Enchanted candles stood all around the room, their aroma filling the air.

Astoria was suddenly overwhelmed. When Jasper said he was going to arrange a secret and simple wedding, she didn’t expect him to go tothislength. Slowly, a smile flitted across her face. She let Skylar, who had been unusually silent all the way, hop down, and lifted the hood from her face.

“But where is the groom?” Emmett asked, mostly to himself. He grabbed one of the candles and went to check all the rooms of the not-so-small cottage. “Jas? Are you in there?”

Astoria took off her cloak, flung it over one of the chairs, and sat down after making sure her gown and hair weren’t out of place. She wore the silver gown from her last birthday, changed to white with magic. Her long, dark hair was partially braided around her head like a crown, with the rest flowing in waves down her back.

Emmett came back a moment later, looking distressed as he announced that Jasper was nowhere in the house. Hearing that, Skylar said he was getting a bad feeling. They waited almost ten minutes before Emmett suddenly jumped from his chair and declared he was going to Jasper’s family manor.

But Astoria stopped him.

What if… What if he didn’t want to marry her? What if he changed his mind after making all the arrangements? Skylar immediately admonished her, saying she was being ridiculous. But as minutes turned to hours and Silas dozed off in his chair, Astoria didn’t know why they were still there.

---