Page 392 of Conveniently Wed
He gathered her in his arms and slowly pivoted his large back toward the crowd. He lowered his head toward her but at the last moment dropped the kiss on her cheek. The congregation hooped and hollered, none the wiser that the kiss had not met its mark. He turned to face the joyous group, keeping an arm planted around her waist. “I present to you my wife, Mrs. Katherine Richardson.”
Whistles and claps filled the room and bounced off the rafters.
When he lifted his hand to the crowd, they stilled. “We invite you to stay for some good food and music, but please don’t be disappointed when I whisk my beautiful bride away. We won’t be staying long.”
He whispered into her ear. “Smile. I won’t drag this out. The least we can do is give the community a day of celebration.”
She fisted her hands until her fingernails bit into the flesh. “I’ll do it for my family, like I’ve done everything else so far today. Just don’t leave me to deal with the crowds.”
The creases in his forehead bunched, but he said nothing. His arm around her waist nudged her down the aisle and into the late afternoon sun.
Like a true gentleman, he stayed at her side. With a hand on the small of her back, he guided her from group to group and did most of the talking. She did most of the smiling. She worked hard to pretend all was right in her world, but not for much longer.
She didn’t know how much longer she could keep the smile pasted in place when Josiah leaned down and said, “We’re going to leave soon. Would you like to eat anything before we go? The church ladies put on quite the spread.”
Katie looked at the long table laden with food in the shade of the sprawling oak. The people gathered around had plates piledhigh. Her stomach lurched. She shook her head. “You go ahead. I need to find Ma and Aunt May.”
When she returned with her wedding dress minus the hoop skirt, he raised one brow and smiled. He didn’t say a word, but popped the last forkful of apple pie into his mouth with a twitch to his lips.
Was he laughing at her?
She lifted her head with her nose to the sky. “A girl has to be comfortable, and the ride to the church with all this paraphernalia was torture. Glad I’ve been as poor as a church mouse if this is what the rich have to put up with.”
He laughed full out, so loudly heads turned toward them.
A heated flush filled her cheeks. “Can we go?”
His lips curved into a wide grin, and he lifted his eyebrows. “I thought you’d never ask.”
7
Well-wishes, hoots, and hollers followed the couple as they slipped into the awaiting carriage. Mr. Richardson spoke kindly to his driver, and they were off.
Katie lifted the curtain to sneak one more peek at her family. She waved with the last bit of happy pasted on her face.
The minute she dropped the curtain, she dropped the smile. Curiosity got the best of her, and she did a quick appraisal of the inside.
“Like it?” he asked.
“Fancy rig,” was all she would give him. The padded seats were softer than anything she had ever sat on before. The frilly lace curtains that covered the small window filtered the afternoon sunshine. She longed for the day to end so she could fall into a deep sleep and shut off this nightmare. And then she thought about what the night ahead included. Her hands shook, so she stitched them together in a firm clasp on her lap.
The delicate wisp of the lacy curtains fluttering in the breeze annoyed her. She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the sunshine, the simple beauty of lace, and him. The trickle of fear became a torrent. She was glad for the bumpy road, hoping hewould not pick up on the shudder that worked its way from tip to toe.
“I do believe you’ll be happy with your new home, Katherine.”
She refused to look at him, but he kept talking.
“The only reason it still stands is that the Yankees used it for their headquarters. For that mercy, I’m thankful. At least I didn’t have to come back and rebuild as so many did. It’s not yet restored to its former beauty, but nevertheless, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
Katie turned toward the window and away from him. “Hmmm.”
“There’s a lot of work to be done, but it’s hard to find good help with so many of the young men gone.” There was a choke in his voice. “I’m looking forward to working with your pa. It’ll be nice to have another experienced man around the property.”
Katie’s emotions vacillated from fear of this stranger to red hot anger at her forced circumstances. She fought to gain control, but a taste of bitterness worked its way up from the pit of her stomach and into her throat. Words blurted out.
“It looks like the Yankees did you more than one small mercy, now didn’t they, Mr. Richardson?” She flashed him an angry scowl on purpose.
His eyes widened, but held a spark of humor. “Well, well she speaks. I was beginning to think I’d married a mute.”
