General Brooks took Aria’s arm and pulled her to stand in front of the chaplain. “He’s had a long few days. Perhaps we shouldn’t annoy him until after the ceremony. He might change his mind again.”
Aria clenched her hands at her sides. Was she worth so little that she had to beg a man to marry her?
Lazily, J.T. stood. “Want to change your mind, Princess? I’m willing.”
She didn’t look at him but instead concentrated on an image of Lanconia.
The chaplain hesitated over Aria’s name.
“Who?” J.T. said, scratching at his whiskers.
“Victoria Jura Aria Cilean Xenita.”
“Yeah, I take her,” he said.
Aria glared at him. She promised to love and honor Jarl Tynan Montgomery but she left out the word “obey.”
“Your Royal Highness,” the chaplain said. “It’s love, honor, and obey.”
Aria looked at J.T. and didn’t say a word.
“We have enough lies today,” J.T. said. “Get on with it.”
The chaplain sighed. “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
J.T. grabbed Aria’s wrist. “Hell, I’m going to bed.”
Aria barely had time to return the little gold locket to the WAC before J.T. pulled her out of the room.
General Brooks was chuckling. “It looks like they’re off to a fine start.”
Congressman Smith grunted.
* * *
Aria leaned back against the seat of the plain black car the army had provided and concentrated on controlling the smile that was threatening to escape. At the other end of the seat, as far from her as he could get, sat the man who was now her husband. His head was resting against the window and she couldn’t see his face, but he had certainly made his feelings clear.
Again Aria had to control her smile. While they were marooned on the island together, he had pretended she wasn’t a woman to him. He had also ignored the fact of her royal birth, but somehow that hadn’t hurt as much as when he had told her he didn’t think she was pretty or appealing. No matter how royal a woman was, she still wanted to be desirable.
Aria closed her eyes a moment. It had been a long two weeks since she had been kidnapped and many awful things had happened to her, but now it was over. She was married—she stole a look at Lieutenant Montgomery as he sprawled in the back seat—and she could have done worse. He might look all right in evening dress and he certainly looked strong enough to carry the heavy state robes. Of course she still had to learn how to be an American, but how difficult could that be? There seemed to be many people doing it with ease.
But first there was her wedding night. Her mother had talked to her about this night, had explained what men did to one and how they were driven to it by a passion not felt by women. Her mother said Aria was always to look her best for her husband and she was to encourage this desire in him—it perpetuated the line.
So tonight was to be her wedding night. Of course her husband was virtually a stranger but then Aria had always expected to marry a man she barely knew. Perhaps after tonight Lieutenant Montgomery wouldn’t be so rude to her. Perhaps tomorrow morning he would kneel by her bed and kiss her hand and beg her forgiveness for the terrible things he had said to her. Perhaps after tonight…
She hadn’t realized that the car had stopped until the driver opened her door. They were back at her hotel. She got out then waited while the driver opened the door for her husband. He had to catch J.T. before he fell.
“We’re here, sir,” the driver said as J.T. untangled his long body from the car.
J.T. looked at the hotel as if he had never seen one before. “Good,” he mumbled, and went inside, leaving Aria standing. He returned a few seconds later, grabbed her arm, and pulled her along behind him.
“Which room is yours?”
“It is a pink one.”
J.T. stopped and turned to look at her. His eyes were red and his beard was darkening by the minute. “When you get back here after being gone, how do you find your room?”