Page 77 of Her Infuriating Earl
“You are not with child, are you?” Matilda jumped in, her eyebrow raised. “I hear that an irrepressible desire to weep is a sign of it, and an inability to temper one’s emotions.”
Olivia froze. “Do you think I might be? Ihavebeen feeling rather unwell for the past month or so. I thought it was a summer cold, but… perhaps you are right.” She waved a dismissive hand. “No, let us not speak about me! This is Phoebe’s day. And if we do not leave now, we shall be late.”
“If youarewith child, Olivia, it shall only make this day more joyful,” Phoebe assured her, feeling a rush of excitement for her friend. “Tomorrow morning, I promise to send for a physician, for I cannot begin my honeymoon until I know.”
Olivia smiled shyly. “Very well, but, for now, let us get you married!”
“Indeed. I have kept my beloved waiting for long enough. I cannot make him wait today,” Phoebe replied, taking hold of Anna and Olivia’s hands as, together, the Spinsters’ Club headed out of her childhood home, to where carriages waited to take her to her groom.
* * *
As the church doors opened, Daniel turned around slowly to look at the beloved woman who would soon be his wife. The breath rushed out of his lungs, his heart leaping as he set eyes on her. She looked ethereal, the dusky blue gown almost the exact color of her eyes. And as she met his gaze, a broad smile brightened her beautiful face, making her glow.
“So,thatis what she was hiding,” Joanna whispered from the front pew, her eyes wide. “That is the most beautiful gown I have ever seen.”
Caroline, seated beside her, nodded with teary eyes. “She looks like a princess.”
On the other side of Joanna, Ellen stared open-mouthed at her older sister. “My goodness, was she always that beautiful?”
“Always,” Joanna and Caroline confirmed as Daniel repeated the sentiment in his mind.
To him, Phoebe had always been, and would always be, the most breathtaking woman in any room. And it would soon be his honor to stand at her side, savoring the title of “her husband.”
But as she neared, it was Brook Wilson who drew Daniel’s eye for a moment. He had never seen Phoebe’s father show any emotion, not even when he had asked for Phoebe’s hand in marriage. Indeed, if memory served, there had been a casual shrug, and all Brook had said was, “If she has no argument, nor do I.”
Now, however, the older man’s eyes were damp with tears, his lower lip trembling slightly as he visibly struggled to gather himself.
“I will take care of her,” Daniel said as Brook handed Phoebe to him. “I swear to you, she will be loved, she will be cherished, and I will never let any harm come to her.”
Brook nodded, hastily brushing a tear from his cheek. “Please do. She has been… the pillar of our family, holding us up for so long.” He cleared his throat. “I must do it now—for Ellen, at least.”
Joanna’s engagement had been announced just before Phoebe and Daniel’s, but the wedding day was set for a month after theirs, at Joanna’s behest. She had wanted Phoebe to be the first sister to get married, and her suitor, Lord Broxbridge, did not seem to mind waiting a while longer.
“Thank you, Papa,” Phoebe said, standing on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. “I have such faith in you.”
Brook wiped away another tear and hurried to take his seat, bowing his head slightly as though he did not want anyone to see how overcome with feeling he was. But the tears did not seem to be sad ones, his smile giving them an air of bittersweetness. Perhaps it had made him think of his own wife, and how dearly he wished she could have been there to witness the wedding.
“You look exceptionally handsome,” Phoebe whispered, smiling up at Daniel. “Have you been drinking blood again, to enhance your beauty?”
Daniel laughed softly. “I have given it up. Being a vampire is far too bothersome.”
“I am pleased to hear it,” she replied with a wink, “for I have never suited neckerchiefs or high collars, and I feared I would have to wear them to keep you from biting me.”
Daniel leaned closer. “My love, we are in a church. If you do not want us to be hoofed out, perhaps we ought to tease one another later.”
“Quite right.” She straightened up, beaming from ear to ear. “I love you.”
“As I love you,” he replied, both of them turning to face the vicar.
After years of building his fortune, never hoping to fall in love, the moment had finally come. The greatest legacy he would ever leave on this earth began now, with her—a love he could never be without.
* * *
In the balmy summer evening, Phoebe and Daniel had escaped the mayhem of the wedding celebrations, wandering in the gardens of her childhood home for what might be the last time for a while. There were cedar trees all throughout the pretty grounds, though Phoebe pulled Daniel toward her favorite, tucked away, out of view of the manor.
“My feet are sore,” she complained, laughing. “Thisis the real reason I have avoided dancing for so long. I enjoy it, but I think two—perhaps three—dances are all I can manage.”
Daniel put his arm around her waist, scooping her into an embrace. “But you dance so well, my love. I could dance with you all night. Indeed, if your feet are sore, you can stand on mine.”
