Page 125 of The Secrets of Lord Grayson Child
She paused in the foyer, haloed in the beam of light while her mother and Marietta fussed with the folds of her ivory silk gown with its overlay of delicate lace. Holding the bouquet she’d fashioned for herself from white Christmas roses, hyacinths, and ivy picked from the knot garden that morning, Izzy looked down the nave, smiling with unrestrained joy at those gathered in the pews of the old stone church with its amazing carvings and impressive chancel arch.
Beneath that arch stood a man with burnished brown hair, waiting for her to join him, and even from that distance, she could see his amber eyes were brimming with love.
Then her mother, finally satisfied, slipped past her and walked quickly down the aisle to the front pew, and the organ swelled, and Julius offered his arm. Smiling at her brother, who was more nervous than she was, Izzy placed her gloved hand on his sleeve. “Just follow my lead,” she murmured as she raised her head and stepped out.
Julius smothered a laugh. “Just as I have all my life. You’ve been an inspiration, Izzy. I’m so pleased Gray came back to you.”
She was as well. This might be occurring ten years later than first planned, but he and she had grown so much in the intervening years, there was no sense of wasted time. They’d needed those years to become who they now were, so that as strong, experienced, tried and tested individuals, they could join forces and, together, go on.
Smiling radiantly, she met the many eyes turned her way. Some belonged to Gray’s family—cousins and connections—as well as several staff from Ancaster Park, while others represented the Descartes family, yet those she smiled most brightly at were the staff ofThe Crier.
She and Gray had elected to set aside all anxiety over her true identity becoming more widely known in order to have all the staff, who had supported her through the years and whom he had come to know, join them on their special day.
They’d been as one in decreeing theirs would not be the usual ton wedding and had limited their guest list to family, indispensable connections, and close friends.
Gray waited for her with Devlin Cader, his groomsman, beside him. As she neared, she glanced along the front pews, meeting Gray’s parents’ pleased gazes, the approving yet reserved expressions of his brother and sister-in-law, and the openly admiring gazes of his nephews.
Therese Cader sat just behind, enjoying herself hugely, and Martin Cynster was there as well, smiling broadly. Beside Martin sat Lady Matcham, her eyes alight with curiosity and approval, and beyond her sat Louisa and Drake, both relaxed and smiling.
On the Descartes’ side, Sybil, already dabbing at her eyes, sat by the aisle, with James, Izzy’s younger brother, beside her, and beyond him, her sister-in-law, Dorothy, and Silas, both beaming. Julius and Dorothy’s children sat in the pew behind, along with Lord Swan. To the delight of everyone in both families, Swan and Marietta, presently following Izzy down the aisle, planned to announce their engagement at the start of the upcoming Season.
With Julius, Izzy reached the end of the aisle, and Gray met her gaze and held out his hand.
Flown on happiness, she lifted her hand from Julius’s sleeve and laid her fingers across Gray’s and felt them close, strong and firm and undeniably possessive, about hers.
Together, they turned to the beaming minister, and the service began.
They’d decided to keep the service as short as possible, and the hymns they’d chosen were ones everyone knew and were happy to sing with gusto.
After the minister pronounced them man and wife, at his recommendation, Gray and Izzy shared their first kiss as a married couple while the sun poured down to bathe them in golden light.
They surfaced to discover that Donaldson and Digby had captured the moment. The pair rapidly drew back as, laughing and smiling joyfully, Gray and Izzy faced the congregation. Then they shared a swift glance, saw their eagerness and enthusiasm for getting on with their now-joint life mirrored in the other’s eyes, and faced forward and, hand in hand, started up the aisle.
The guests mobbed them, squeezing Izzy’s hands and slapping Gray’s back, their faces split by grins and smiles.
After tendering their congratulations, many guests poured outside to gather about the porch steps, and when Izzy and Gray finally emerged, a shower of rice rained down upon them.
Then Donaldson and Digby arranged Izzy and Gray in pride of place in the porch archway, with Devlin and Therese and Marietta and Swan flanking them, then begged everyone else to gather around. All the guests gladly obliged, and Donaldson took several exposures to commemorate the occasion.
Thereafter, the crowd—all invited to the wedding breakfast—streamed out of the side gate and along the path past the pond and on through the orchard. The staff Izzy and Gray had put together to man the Grange had been at the back of the church and had hurried to return to the house. They now stood proudly waiting to greet what were, in effect, the first guests to grace the old house in its new incarnation as Izzy and Gray’s home.
While the guests flowed through the house to the ballroom at the rear, Izzy and Gray dallied in the orchard, and Donaldson and Digby, both resplendent in dark suits with white Christmas rose boutonnières, took photograph after photograph, primarily at Gray’s behest.
He smiled at Izzy. “I want to be able to look back at this moment when we’re eighty years old.”
She smiled delightedly. “Preserving our memories in black and white. Not many have that chance.”
He nodded. “We do, and I’m seizing it.”
Soon after, they joined their guests, and the wedding feast began. The food was delectable—their new chef was on his mettle—and the champagne and wine flowed freely. The speeches, led by Devlin and Therese, aided by Swan and Marietta and Julius, with special appearances by Silas and Lady Matcham, were both touching and hilarious.
Then the musicians started playing, and to the delight of all present, Gray and Izzy shared the first waltz, then everyone was up and dancing.
At one point, Izzy’s hand was claimed by her younger brother, James, all of fifteen and acutely aware of it. They’d arranged the ceremony to coincide with the short leave toward the end of the Lent term, and James would return to Eton on Monday. However, having expected to spend the days in London with some of his friends, he wasn’t overjoyed at missing out on the likely hijinks.
For her part, having overheard several of James’s comments to his cousins, Izzy wasn’t the least sorry that James was in the country, far from the temptations of town. Not that she allowed that to show, but instead, complimented him on his dancing, which made him smile and almost preen.
Subsequently, Gray claimed her hand for a slow waltz, and when he asked for the source of the frown in her eyes, she shared the concerns she and her mother harbored over her father’s propensity for gambling emerging in his younger son.
