“Oh,” Rose said in obvious satisfaction. “I think that's all right, then, as long as we don't forget him. Isn't that right, Mama?”
“Yes,” Holly whispered, her throat tight with emotion, her cheeks flushed with happiness. She stared at Zachary with glittering brown eyes. “You're absolutely right, Rose.”
On the day of the wedding, they were accompanied by Elizabeth, Paula, and Jason Somers, as well as Holly's own bewildered parents. They had traveled from Dorset for the
occasion, and while they did not seem disapproving of the match, they were obviously astonished that their eldest daughter was marrying into a world so different from the one she had been destined for. “Mr. Bronson appears to be a decent man,” her mother whispered to her before the ceremony, “and his manners are pleasing enough, though they may lack polish…and I suppose he is fine-looking, albeit a bit too coarse to be considered truly handsome…”
“Mama,” Holly asked with a wry smile, long accustomed to the woman's diffidence, “are you trying to say that you approve of him?”
“I suppose I am,” her mother admitted, “although Mr. Bronson certainly bears no resemblance in appearance or character to your first husband.”
“Mama…” Impulsively Holly embraced her and smiled against the feathery plumes of her mother's hat. “In time you'll come to realize, as I have, that Mr. Bronson is a wonderful man in every regard. His character is a bit tarnished in some places, but in other places it shines more brightly than George's or my own.”
“If you say so,” her mother said doubtfully, and Holly laughed.
As they gathered in the chapel, Holly being flanked by Elizabeth and Rose, and Zachary by Jason Somers, who had agreed to stand up for him, they were all surprised by a last-minute addition to the wedding party. Holly smiled brilliantly as she saw Lord Blake, the earl of Ravenhill, enter the chapel. After stopping to make a precise bow, Ravenhill moved to stand beside Holly's parents. His warm gray eyes seemed to contain a quiet smile as he glanced at Holly and then at Zachary.
“What is he doing here?” Zachary asked beneath his breath.
Holly reached for his tense arm and held it lightly. “It's a very great favor,” she whispered back. “By attending our wedding, Lord Blake is publicly showing his support of our marriage.”
“More likely taking his last opportunity to ogle you.”
Holly cast Zachary a shaming glance, but he seemed not to notice her disapproval as his gaze wandered avidly over her gown. She was dressed in pale yellow gros de naples, a finely textured silk with a tiny bouquet of spring flowers pinned at the center of her straight banded neckline. The short puffed sleeves were overlaid with long transparent ones made of crêpe lisse. The effect was youthful and fragile, requiring no ornamentation save a few orange blossoms pinned in her dark upswept curls.
The vicar began to speak: “Wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health; and forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?”
Zachary's reply was quiet and steady. “I will.”
And as the ceremony progressed, Holly was changed from a widow to a bride once more.
They exchanged vows, placed rings on each other's fingers and knelt together as the vicar began a lengthy prayer. Holly tried to focus on the vicar's words, but as she glanced into Zachary's serious face, it seemed the world had vanished except for the two of them. His grip on her hands was warm and strong as he pulled her to her feet, and hazily she realized that the vicar was finishing the ceremony: “…those whom God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.”
They were married now, Holly thought in wonder, staring at her husband in the suspended silence, her fingers lacing tightly with his. Suddenly Rose's voice broke through the stillness, as the little girl apparently felt moved to add to the vicar's closing words. Her tone exactly mimicked his grave monotone. “And they lived happily ever after.”
Laughter rippled through the small gathering, and Zachary pressed a brief, hard kiss on Holly's smiling mouth.
The wedding supper that followed was a lighthearted affair, with music supplied by violinists and conversation seasoned by flowing bottles of expensive wine. Rose was allowed to sit at the adults' table for a short time. She was clearly dismayed when Maude appeared at the hour of eight to take her up to the nursery, but her protests were forestalled when Zachary murmured quietly to her and placed some small object in her hand. Exchanging a goodnight kiss with Holly, the child went happily upstairs with Maude.
“What did you give her?” Holly asked Zachary, and his black eyes glinted with mischief.
“Buttons.”
“Buttons,” she whispered in surprise. “From where?”
“One from my wedding coat and one from the back of your gown. Rose wanted them to commemorate the occasion.”
“You took a button from the back of my gown?” Holly whispered, casting him a shaming glance as she wondered how he had managed to accomplish the small feat without her notice.
“Be thankful I stopped at just one, my lady,” he advised.
Holly did not reply, her blush heightening as she reflected that she was anticipating their wedding night fully as much as he.
At last the long supper and the endless rounds of toasts came to a conclusion, and the men remained at the table to enjoy their port. Holly slipped upstairs to the bedroom adjoining Zachary's, and with Maude's help, she removed her wedding clothes. She changed into a nightgown made of fine, thin white cambric that had been intricately pleated and ruffled at the bodice and sleeves. Dismissing the servant with a smile of thanks, Holly brushed out her hair until it fell in long, loose locks over her shoulders.
It felt strange, to once again be waiting for a husband's conjugal visit—strange but wonderful. How fortunate she was to have been blessed with two loves in her life. Sitting at the dressing table, she bent her head to whisper a silent prayer of thankfulness.
Eventually the quiet click of the door interrupted the silence, and she glanced upward to find Zachary approaching her.