Page 56 of Enticed By an Earl
The vicar seemed to come to some kind of a conclusion. He, too, cleared his throat then said, “I cannot proceed with this union.”
A murmur followed from the congregation, all of whom seemed to lean forward in anticipation.
“I beg your pardon?” Dev asked, frowning at the vicar but sweating profusely at the same time.
The vicar glanced between him and Kitty. “I cannot perform a sacred ceremony when I have doubts about the…bride.”
Dev’s heart sank. They’d come so far only to be defeated at the last moment.
“What are your objections, reverend?” he demanded. “You have read the banns three Sundays in a row with no objections. Why have you changed your mind in such a cruel and heartless way at the eleventh hour?”
He knew full well what the man’s reasons were, but he would be damned if he did not make the vicar say it out loud. Perhaps it would sound ridiculous coming out of the man’s mouth, the congregation would laugh, and the vicar would be pressured into continuing.
That was not what transpired.
“I cannot perform this marriage because it is an abomination,” the vicar said, standing straight and tall. “It has been brought to my attention that Miss Kitty Dryden is, in fact, a man.”
Nineteen
Kit felt a deep sense of dread from the moment he stepped down from Lord Russell’s carriage and approached the church door. There were too many people in the church. Too many people had stayed in London and filed into the stuffy pews to witness his and Dev’s marriage. It could only mean that word of something aberrant had made its way around London and people were attending what should have been a blessed event for the sole purpose of watching his humiliation.
That sense of dread expanded to fill every part of Kit as he walked up the aisle to stand by Dev’s side, conscious of the fading bruises on his face that were concealed with powder. It did not matter how lovely his gown was, how excited and supportive Georgiana and Alice were, or how Lady Everly had swooped in like a protective falcon to guard him. It did not even matter that Dev’s family, whom he suspected knew the truth, had stood by his side every step of the way so far. Doubt about what he was doing and who he was still had Kit in its grip, and the vicious look on the vicar’sface as Kit came to stand by Dev’s side and to take his hand was as good as a signature on a death warrant.
And then came the moment Kit had been waiting for with macabre anticipation for weeks.
“I cannot perform this marriage because it is an abomination. It has been brought to my attention that Miss Kitty Dryden is, in fact, a man.”
As expected, the congregants watching the ceremony as if it were a theatrical event gasped and broke into murmuring. Kit squeezed his eyes shut and willed the entire world to go away, or for him to sink through the floor into the grave he knew he was waiting for him to put him out of his misery. He knew he should never have dreamed, never have hoped that he could live the life he felt meant for. It would have been better if his father had succeeded in his attempts to eliminate him.
Kit was shaken out of his misery by Lord Russell booming, “I beg your pardon?”
Kit opened his eyes to the unimaginable sight of Dev’s father stepping forward to glare at the vicar.
The vicar seemed surprised that Lord Russell would speak up at all. “I believe you heard me, my lord,” the man said, bobbing slightly, as if caught between his deference to a nobleman and his assumed superiority as a man of the cloth. “To perform this union would be an abomination. Miss Kitty Dryden is a man.”
“How dare you?” Lord Russell boomed even as another round of gasps and whispers rose up from the congregation, as if they hadn’t believed their ears the first time they’d heard the accusation. “How dare you insult this fine and gentle lady with such slander?”
For the first time, the vicar looked uncertain. “I…I was given to understand, by a reliable source, mind you, that this person purporting to be Miss Kitty Dryden is, in fact, a certain gentleman.”
Kit’s stomach twisted and fluttered all over again. His father. It had to be. His father must have met with the vicar and accused him of being the Earl of Castleton. That was why he had not approached Kit sooner. His father had planned this very moment as a means of humiliation and revenge.
“She is no such thing,” Lord Russell said. He glanced briefly to Kit with a look of such fierce protectiveness that Kit burst into tears. Tears had become his unfortunate lot in life, and every time, they made him feel wretched. They would likely wash away the cosmetics concealing the remains of his father’s abuse. It was shameful, but there was also a chance his show of emotion would go farther to convince the vicar he was wrong. “Miss Dryden is the loveliest, sweetest woman that I have ever had the pleasure of welcoming into my household.” He stared hard at the vicar as he spoke.
The vicar shuffled and wrung his hands and looked even more confused. “I was told by the father of the gentleman in question himself,” the vicar said, lowering his voice as if he did not want the congregation to hear. Although with the acoustics of the church the way they were, even a whisper could be heard. “He came to me last night and explained all. His son was not beset by thieves, murdered, and disposed of. He is an abomination who is masquerading as a woman.”
“Would you care to say those words to my face?” Lady Russell said, standing up and joining Kit, Dev, and the rest of them on the chancel.
The vicar blanched at Lady Russell’s approach. “My lady,” he said, executing another awkward, bobbing bow. “I would not sully your ears by discussing such things in your presence.”
“I believe you mean that you would not betray your position as a man of the cloth by lying to my face and slandering a woman who will soon be my daughter-in-law,” Lady Russell said, holding her head high.
“Your ladyship,” the vicar began.
“I have assisted Miss Dryden with her wardrobe, sir,” Lady Russell snapped. “I would know if this horrific accusation you are making were true.”
Kit’s tears increased, and he had to fight with everything he had not to sob out loud or allow his knees to give way and sink to the floor. Never in his entire life had he known such kindness from a family. The Ogilvy family put his own to shame with their show of loyalty and love. Feeling that love in such a way was as if Kit had finally, after five-and-twenty years, learned what love was.
“I…I cannot solely take your word in this matter, my lady,” the vicar stammered, looking anxiously at Lord Russell as well. “The man who revealed all to me is a highly regarded personage.”
