The vicar talked a lot during the ceremony. It was obnoxious, but Charlotte passed the time by attempting to make William laugh with the slightest of facial expressions. Everyone had assumed he was laughing out of nervousness, but the truth was that they had long agreed to a competition of sorts, and he laughed, so he had lost.
When the vicar declared them as husband and wife, and William was prompted to kiss her, he gave her the most restrained kiss he ever had. The idea was to convince the congregation that neither of them had had the amount of practice that they did. If kissing was a sport, then Charlotte likened herself to be one of the greatest athletes of her generation. Her family would have liked it much more if she had focused her talents of something else, but what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them.
As William led her down the aisle, he seemed to be struggling for breath.
“Are you okay?”
He attempted to smash a tear away before she noticed. “I am fine,” he said.
“You are emotional,” she said, “Lord Holdford, I did not believe you capable of shedding a tear.”
He narrowed his eyes. “How could you possibly be jesting on me at such a moment?” he asked. “I might have said that watching you walk down the aisle to me in such a beautiful dress might have made me the happiest man alive, but now I will never admit such a thing.”
She strangled a smile. “Interesting,” she said. “Would you have admitted that, then I might have admitted that I too am deliriously happy and look forward to the future more than I ever have.
She squeezed her hand around his forearm affectionately. “But of course, I would never tell you either.”
“I should have known,” he grinned.
“Yes, well you cannot be both incredibly handsome and bright. That simply wouldn’t be fair.”
He nudged her playfully and she laughed, giving him another affectionate squeeze on the arm. “I look forward to teasing you the rest of our lives, should you be able to keep up.”
“It depends how often I will be rewarded,” he said.
“Oh, most daily, my Lord.”
When they exited the back of the church, friends and family stood outside the church, cheering. It seemed much sooner than Charlotte and William had known, everyone else realized how certain it was that they loved each other. The wedding was followed by a brunch full of laughter and merriment. Benedict had mostly forgiven William, although it seemed that now the running joke was the suspicious glances passed between the two.
Most exciting of all though, were the events of the evening which lasted long into the night and were so boisterous that the staff was sent to their quarters earlier than usual.
For the next week or so, life was private and quiet. Once the honeymoon was over, Charlotte and William were back to attending the season’s balls. The next was held at William’s father’s estate. When they arrived, they met with both their families. Benedict was acting unusually stiff and Mary Ann was even more quiet than usual.
Charlotte and William had approached the pair to make conversation, as they felt worried that something was the matter. Benedict had his hands behind his back and Mary Ann was looking back and forth, her lips pressed together like she was holding a toad in her mouth.
“You are unusually quiet this evening,” Charlotte said to her brother. Mary Ann glanced between them, eyebrows furrowing slightly.
“He often is quiet,” William pointed out. Benedict looked relieved for a moment. “But even this is excessive.” He frowned once he realized that William and Charlotte were both suspicious.
“I do not wish to spoil the evening,” he said, glancing around conspiratorially.
“Well, is something wrong?” Charlotte asked. Her face turned a little pale at the thought that he might have bad news.
“No,” Mary Ann was quick to correct her. “Nothing is wrong.”
Benedict nodded. “Yes, it is nothing to worry about.”
“Do you think he has to tell us now?” William asked Charlotte.
“Oh, absolutely,” she said. “Or I may perhaps come to some outlandish conclusions myself and I would hate to do that.” They both stared Benedict down, to make him aware that they did not intend on leaving this particular conversation unsaid. He bristled, looking at Mary Ann, who could only shake her head with resignation.
Benedict checked over his shoulders to make sure that they were far away enough from anyone else’s conversation. “For tonight, this stays amongst us,” Benedict said flatly. “We would hate to become the talk the evening, especially when we are guests. It seems tacky.”
“Incredibly tacky,” Mary Ann muttered, sipping at a glass of water.
Benedict looked back at her to smile. It was a rare moment of public affection between the two. They were very serious around others, even though it was apparent that behind closed doors, they were likely one of the most embarrassingly saccharine couples that you might ever come across. They would never let you know it.
“We are expecting,” Benedict said. Charlotte’s eyes widened and she looked down at Mary Ann’s stomach, but she was obscured by a looser gown than what she typically wore. No wonder she wasn’t drinking. She had always been a lover of wine.