Page 54 of Adoringly, Edward
She laughed again as he kissed her other cheek and rushed through the open doors of the chapel. At least a hundred guests sat on either side of the aisle, each releasing audible breaths of relief at his arrival.
A burst of energy gave him what he needed to climb two more stairs to the dais where his friends stood as witnesses to the wedding on one side while Vivienne’s friends and sisters stood on the other.
Barnaby approached, licked his finger, and Edward tried to unsuccessfully shove him away as he fixed his hair, and then next straightened his cravat, green to match Vivienne’s dress.
“Did you even once look in the mirror this morning?” Barnaby accused as he fixed the lay of his sleeves next, and then re-fixed his hair when the previous fix didn’t seem to appease him.
“It’s been a busy day thus far,” he admitted, his gaze flitting over the audience until he found Clara speaking animatedly to the duke on a back pew. He was shocked to find the duke allowing her to get more than just a single word in, as he was known for long-winded, one-sided conversations. And from how it appeared, he hung onto her every syllable, his eyes never leaving hers as if already smitten.
That, and after a failure to woo Vivienne, Edward wanted to believe the duke was trying harder to catch a wife by being more aware of his lengthy monologues.
He couldn’t help but smile to see his sister happy, as well as to witness James’ curiosity in the man as he peeked his head out from behind his mother. He hoped things went well for them. He truly did.
A musician struck up a slow, jovial song on the vielle, and nervous anticipation fluttered within his belly. But then hisheart squeezed with fright as the entire room rumbled like an earthquake as the congregation stood for the bride when she appeared in the doorway on her father’s arm.
His hand flew to his heart as it flipped and flopped within his chest from the scare. He felt silly as he lifted his pointed finger to Vivienne to signal he needed a moment while everyone’s attention was fixed on her.
Bless the woman’s heart, she turned right and left to show off her dress, the audience oohing and awing, while he focused on taking deep breaths and remaining on his feet. He would not have an episode on his wedding day. Herefused.
Thankfully, his heart recovered. He straightened, and Vivienne then began to walk down the aisle with a large smile on her face. He couldn’t help but mirror her happiness as he did, indeed, look at her as if he’d only seen her for the first time that morning.
He gazed at her with awe-filled eyes, admiring the way her skirts flowed around her with every step, the way her hair framed her lovely face, the way she exuded grace and poise with even the smallest movements.
This woman was going to be hiswife. He still couldn’t quite wrap his mind around it, as he was in a daze of disbelieving happiness.
Vivienne. His childhood friend. His sweetheart. The mother of his future child. He wanted to experience all of life’s joys with her by his side.
Her father guided her hand into his and clasped them together beneath both of his, emotion surprisingly wavering in his eyes.
“You take good care of her,” he murmured, emotion also thick in his throat. Vivienne would be the first to marry of all her siblings, and Edward supposed that giving her away likely was not easy.
“I will,” he promised.
And then the warlord took a seat at the front of the chapel next to his brother—the king—and the rest of his family. But Edward couldn’t divert his attention from Vivienne for long. His smile grew, the warmth in his heart burning him in the most pleasant way as he gazed into the rich brown of her eyes.
“You were right,” she whispered.
“About what?”
“You looked at me as if you hadn’t seen me already.”
He chuckled and squeezed her hands. “I’m quite sure that’s how I always look at you. I am rather smitten with you.”
A beautiful, rosy blush filled her cheeks as the priestess began her short sermon. When she finished, he and Vivienne spoke their vows, to love and cherish and respect one another through sickness and through health.
Edward’s heart pricked with emotion and immense gratitude when Vivienne gave a wholehearted “I do” to promise to love him even through sickness. His body was not strong. Perhaps it would never be. But for her to stay by his side through the thick and thin of it meant more to him than she could ever know.
They exchanged rings, and the priestess confirmed them husband and wife, instructing him to now kiss his bride.
Rather than a kiss, Vivienne threw her arms around his neck and held him tight as the audience clapped and whistled. And he couldn’t help but return the embrace with a fierce, loving hold. He loved her more than anything in the entire world.
Finally, when they parted, he gently placed his hands on either side of her face and drew her in for a kiss. The audience cheered even louder, but all he could focus on was his beautiful, incredible wife as he kissed her once and then again, his heart full to bursting with love.
They had found each other again. And this time, he never planned to let her go.
TRUE TO DOCTOR CLARK’S word, Edward’s health had improved exponentially over the next year and a half after his body had recovered from the arsenic poisoning. Of course, he still had his heart condition to contend with, but it was much more bearable than before, especially when the doctor administered a trial medicine that helped manage his heart and lungs.
Vivienne smiled joyfully as she and Edward walked along the bank of the river beneath the warm sunshine of late summer, each holding one of their daughter’s tiny hands as she ambled forward on unsteady feet.
