Page 47 of The Make-Believe Marriage
What had he just said?
Oh, bloody hell.
That emphasis onreallyhad them believing Syd was carrying his child.
Well, let them think whatever they wished.
He needed to marry her.
Once they exchanged vows, no one would care whether or not they’d had relations outside of marriage.
More important, they would not harm Syd if they believed she was with child.
Two other couples stood ahead of them, for no one had been frightened away by their scene in front of the shop. Eloping couples were desperate and nothing was going to stop them from getting married, not even a horde of angry Scots or a little harpy determined to take them all on.
Octavian took Syd’s hand and kept hold of it as they entered the blacksmith’s shop. They had yet to exchange vows when he heard the sound of hoofbeats and then shouts to stop thewedding. It could have been anyone else’s father or jilted groom bellowing threats, but Octavian recognized Sir Henry’s voice, and knew he and Syd had less than thirty seconds to exchange vows.
Octavian pushed them to the front of the queue, smacked double the fee on the table, and confronted the blacksmith. “Captain Octavian Thorne. Lady Sydney Harcourt. Do it now.”
The man shrugged. “Do you, Captain Octavian Thorne, take Lady Sydney Harcourt as your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do.”
He now turned to Syd. “Do you, Lady Sydney Harcourt, take Captain Octavian Thorne as your lawfully wedded husband?”
Syd stared up at him.
Sir Henry and her father were angrily pushing their way through the crowd of Armstrongs standing just outside. “Bloody hell, Syd. Do not falter now. You promised me.”
“But look at what I am doing to you.”
The laird frowned. “Think of the wee bairn.”
“What wee bairn?” she asked just as her father and Sir Henry stormed in. Sir Henry had a pistol in hand and now trained it squarely on Octavian’s chest.
Syd must have quickly calculated the odds and realized Sir Henry was more likely to shoot him if they werenotmarried and could be prevented from taking that final step than if they were married and his efforts were too late. After all, Sir Henry had no incentive to shoot him once Syd was his wife and had the protection of the Thorne name. “I do!”
The blacksmith ever so calmly pronounced them husband and wife.
Syd threw her arms around Octavian, protecting his chest. “You big ox,” she muttered, sounding desperately heartbroken. “What have I done to you?”
“Married me,” he said, relief washing over him. “No one will ever hurt you now, Syd. You are mine to love and protect.”
She looked up at him, her expression one of joy mingled with dismay. “Am I truly your wife?”
“Yes,” the blacksmith said with a calm bordering on utter boredom. No doubt, this was an every day occurrence for him. Escaping bride and groom. Father on the chase, sometimes successful in stopping the wedding and sometimes not. “Follow my wife to sign the certificate. It is a mere formality for recording purposes. You are married whether you sign it or not.”
The danger had not yet passed, Octavian knew. There was nothing to stop Sir Henry from shooting him out of sheer vengeance. But the old goat must have thought twice about taking on a Thorne since there was no profit in it for him. Syd was his wife and that immediately put her out of Sir Henry’s reach even if he made her a widow.
Besides, his brothers would go after Sir Henry and not stop until they saw his businesses destroyed and him drawn, quartered, and then hanged.
Sir Henry lowered his weapon and emitted a string of curses. “This isn’t over, Thorne.”
“Yes, it is,” Octavian intoned. “I’ll be back in London in a month’s time. Come see me about Lord Harcourt’s debt. I will repay it.”
“Excellent!” Harcourt cried, obviously pleased he was now to be saved.
Octavian was disgusted, for there was not a hint of remorse in his expression. He had put Syd through hell and had not even a soothing word for her as he called her over. “Come give your father a hug, Sydney. I knew it would all work out. Did I not tell you so?”
