Page 59 of Enticed By an Earl
The congregation burst into a flurry of sound and excitement at the proclamation. With the truth established, the opinions of several of the ladies in the pews turned to indignation that poor Miss Dryden should be subjected to such a violating examination.
The vicar looked stunned by the news. “Are you certain?” he asked Dr. Pettigrew.
“Would you care to check my credentials?” Dr. Pettigrew asked in return.
“No, no, sir, I believe you,” the vicar said, taking a half step back.
“As I said,” Dev said, leading Kitty to retake their places at the front of the chancel, “the duke who came to you with these baseless and scandalous accusations has a personal grudge against me.”
“He was so convincing,” the vicar said, shaking his head. “And Lord Castleton is still missing.”
Kitty tried not to swallow too hard or show her alarm at the statement too openly. They were not out of the woods yet.
The entire Ogilvy family seemed to know it as well.
“Enough of this delay,” Lord Russell said. “It is my son’s wedding day. Proceed with the ceremony.”
The vicar stared and blinked at him for a moment, but in the end, there was nothing he could do.
It was a miracle, but the wedding ceremony proceeded exactly as every other wedding ceremony did. The vicar read the gospel and said his prayers. The vows were exchanged, and Kitty’s heart filled with love and wonder as she held Dev’s hands, looked into his eyes, and spoke the words every bride said to give herself and her life over to her beloved.
“And now, by the power vested in me by God and our queen, I pronounce you man and wife,” the vicar said, a bit baffled himself, joining Dev and Kitty together forever.
Whether it was the excitement of the morning or the involvement of The Brotherhood, the congregation burst into applause as the vicar finished the final blessing on the happy couple and as Dev and Kitty signed the marriage register to make their union official in the eyes of the law. Kitty did not think she’d ever been so happy in her entire life. Her new life, however, promised to be filled with more happiness every day than she had ever dared to imagine.
She and Dev turned to leave the chancel and walk down the aisle to the church door. They had a wedding breakfast to look forward to and a wedding night as well. But perhaps the thing Kitty was looking forward to most was sitting down with Dev’s family to reveal the whole truth, then departing for the country so that she could get away from London, perhaps for good.
Those thoughts and hopes carried her down the aisle as if she had wings on her feet. But those wings vanished, bringing her thudding to the ground when the church door opened as they were three-quarters of the way there and her father and George stormed in to confront them.
Twenty
Dev’s happiness was beyond measuring as the reluctant vicar declared him and Kitty man and wife. It was not just that he and Kitty had won an astounding victory that would allow Kitty to live as she pleased for the rest of her days, it was the triumph of love above all that had Dev soaring with joy.
He paraded Kitty down the aisle proudly, smiling at his friends and those who had come to the church that morning, perhaps expecting a spectacle. Whatever the congregation felt they would take away from the wedding, Dev was secure in the fact that he had gained a life that would be filled with never-ending joy and love.
Those feelings were so strong that they were only halted slightly when he and Kitty came face to face with the Duke of Bedminster and Seymour at the back of the church.
“What is the meaning of this?” Bedminster demanded, his rage alone filling the church door enough to stop Dev’s and Kitty’s progress out into their new life together. “What has happened here?”
Dev did not need the situation spelled out to know whatthe duke meant. The man and his odious son had likely arrived at the church hoping to witness Kitty being dragged off to prison.
“Kindly get out of our way,” Dev said, filling his voice with animosity and threat.
Bedminster glanced between Dev and Kitty with a look of baffled rage. “You cannot tell me that the two of you have been married this day.”
“We have,” Kitty answered with surprising strength, considering the way she trembled as she clung to Dev’s arms. “The vicar has just completed the ceremony and we have signed the register.”
“Impossible,” Bedminster snorted. “It is an abomination. You are an abomination.”
“How dare you speak to my daughter-in-law in such a way?” Dev’s father demanded, marching down the aisle to stand by Dev’s and Kitty’s side.
The rest of his family was quick to join them, as were Lady Everly, Kitty’s dear friends, and Wilkes and Miss Jones. In fact, it seemed as though half the congregation stood in their pews and turned to glare at the duke.
Bedminster looked deeply shocked by the show of support for Kitty and intensely angry. “Have you all lost your minds?” he asked. “This is no fainting violet of a country woman, this abomination is my son.”
Members of the congregation gasped as the new twist of information was added to their already overstimulated minds.
“You are the one who is mad, sir,” Dev’s father countered the duke. Given Bedminster’s rank, he might have been the only one present who could stand up to the man. “Miss Dryden, that is, Lady Ogilvy, is well known to be from the country around Alnwick. Anyone who looks at her can know who she truly is at heart.”
