Page 26 of Sacrificing the Untamed Lady Henrietta
“It is more than that, Ewan but again, you shall see if I can ever tear you from this room.”
“I will follow you, Father,” he laughed. “Come along.”
For a moment, he felt like the man he had been before Patricia had died. It was difficult not to be in high spirits when his father seemed so proud of himself.
“Your mother will be overwhelmed with emotion when she sees how handsome you look.”
“I daresay, Father, you are acting uncharacteristically sentimental today.”
“Am I?”
Ewan cast him a sidelong look as they moved along the corridor, but Phineas did not meet his gaze.
“Godspeed, Ewan,” the Duke told his son when they reached the landing atop the stairs.
“Thank you, Father. I shall see you in the chapel.”
Phineas paused to embrace him before scurrying away to take his place with his wife. Ewan paused for a moment to steady his breath before beginning his own descent.
Most of the guests had taken their places, but a few watched him as he shuffled into the chapel in the east wing of the manor. There were smiles and nods, gentle greetings but no one stopped him from taking his place at the altar before the minister.
“Lord Peterborough,” the Reverend Michael Smithers intoned. “You make a fine bridegroom.”
“Thank you, Reverend.”
Ewan turned his attention toward the pulpit and smiled at his mother in the pews. Her kind eyes shone with tears and Ewan was beginning to feel that perhaps, despite all of his deepest reservations, his parents had done the proper thing by presenting him with this opportunity. He thought of the Duchess’ words.
Perhaps I do require a wife to consider. I became a better man for Patricia. She did bring forth the best in me.
Such a whirlwind of highs and lows had overwhelmed him for over a year. It was time to put the past in its place, let the memory of Patricia rest, and move forward with his life.
Across the aisle sat the General and his wife. Aaron stared at him unflinchingly, his gaze neither a challenge nor one of interest. The man may as well have been studying a piece of art impassively at a museum. Tabitha wore a smile frozen on her lips, her blue eyes darting about like she was trapped inside her body, longing to escape. Ewan was relieved that they would both be leaving the following morning. They made him distinctly uncomfortable, and he could not help but imagine what an offspring produced by the two might look like.
If Miss Oliver is fair, she would take more after her father.
Ewan hoped Henrietta was considerably more feminine than the bear of a man perched on the bench. An usher appeared at Aaron’s side and murmured something which Ewan could not hear, but as the General rose, the Marquess knew it was time to meet his bride.
Aaron disappeared through the doorway, and Ewan cast the minister another small smile as the organ began to play.
“Are you quite ready?” Reverend Smithers whispered.
“Yes.”
No sooner had the word left his lips did his dark eyes fall upon the lace-clad figure entering on the arm of the General. Instantly, Ewan’s heart began to thump, his eyes searching her face, but of course it was covered by a powder-blue veil to match the conservative, floor-length gown which hid her figure. Not one iota of flesh was visible from gloved hand to leather shoe and the anticipation of seeing her was giving him palpitations of the heart.
“Dearly beloved,” Reverend Smithers commenced. “We are gathered here today in the name of matrimony. Who does give this bride to her husband?”
“I do,” Aaron replied, an unexpected flatness to the words as he untangled his arm from his daughter and stepped aside. Instinctively, it seemed, Henrietta turned toward the General as though to implore him to stay. It sparked a sense of sadness in Ewan.
Of course, he had considered that Henrietta would have reservations also, but watching the exchange in that moment made the reality of their union stunning. More so when Aaron refused to look at his daughter, despite the plaintiveness in her face. Anger overtook Ewan’s sadness. He could not fathom why the General could not offer her a reassuring smile at minimum.
“Shall we commence?” the Reverend asked, and Ewan forced his eyes away from Aaron.
“Please.”
“We are here, under the eye of God, in the presence of family, peers and friends to join a well-matched couple in the holy bond of marriage.”
Henrietta’s shoulders were raised in tension, and Ewan wished desperately to remove the veil from her face, if only to look deeply into her eyes which he could barely see were blue. He longed to tell her that he would not be cruel to her, and while they might not have a union born from romance, they might have a happy future together.
