Owen was astounded to hear Evan make a speech. It was unheard of and painful to hear. For Evan to declare his love to Phoebe was a dagger in the heart.
“Today, you see standing before you, two people in love,” he paused, “but not with one another.”
There was a gasp through the congregation and the sound of rustling as all the attendants turned to look at one another and shake their heads.
Evan only raised his voice louder to continue. “You have all heard the story of how I was victim to a shipwreck and lost for two years. I returned eager to tell you all about the wondrous life I have built for myself overseas, but I was loath to find there was no joy among my family.
“My brother was engaged to the lady who had been my fiancée, this lady before me. They were profoundly in love yet there was one who deigned to stand between them against God and against this greatest virtue of love.”
He pointed to the Duchess. “Lady Bentley slandered the bride-to-be and aimed to sabotage her relationship with Lord Boltmon. Upon learning this, I became so disturbed that what I had returned to celebrate with loved ones, I decided instead to keep a secret so that I might unveil other plans.”
Phoebe lifted her eyes in shock and when she spoke, her voice was a whisper. “What plans?”
“To arrange a wedding that could not be foiled.” He turned to Owen. “Step forward, my brother. It is with my blessing that you marry Lady Phoebe here today. Amongst all who are gathered here, I declare that this is my wish and my insistence.”
The Duchess stood up in fury. “Scandal! Shame! This cannot be done.”
The priest also interjected. “This cannot be done, indeed. The banns were read for yourself and Lady Phoebe. You have made a vow to one another.”
“If I were to marry Lady Phoebe here today then I would be committing a crime against God and my wife. I would be a bigamist, for I already have a wife whom I love dearly, one whom has delivered unto me a son.”
Owen reeled at the news and took Evan by the arm to catch his attention while the church fell into uproar. “What do you mean, you already have a wife?”
“When I was washed ashore in the Philippines, I was found and cared for by a woman named Matsu. We fell in love and married. I did not know I had done anything wrong—I did not remember Phoebe or any of this.”
He looked over the heads of the crowds to the back pew of the church and gestured for someone to come toward him. “Matsu! Let my parents see their grandchild and new daughter-in-law.”
From the back of a church, a beautiful Asian woman approached. There were further gasps from the congregation, most of whom had never seen an Asian person before. Matsu was slim and lovely, with perfectly straight long dark hair and beautiful dark eyes. In her arms, she carried an infant no older than six months.
He turned back to the congregation and raised his voice once more to be heard. “Do not be scandalized for nothing has occurred here today that was not part of the plan of God Almighty. Two people who are eligible to marry and who love each other dearly will be married here today.”
“Why?” Owen asked. “Why did you do this? Why didn’t you tell me your plan?”
Evan laid a kindly hand upon his shoulder. “Mother would have sensed it if you were not completely wretched. We are all able to tell when you have seen Phoebe; we always have been. I had to tear you apart so I could bring you together.”
The priest interrupted once more. “I cannot marry anybody without a marriage license.”
“I have one. A special license from the Archbishop of Canterbury himself stating that this couple may be married wherever and whenever with no need for the banns.”
“Evan!” Phoebe gasped. “A special license costs five pounds, at least!”
“I would pay a thousand to see true love prosper.”
“Who is this gentleman who stands before me?” Owen said. “This gentleman who so recklessly goes against all social conduct and proper etiquette?”
“A gentleman who has lived another life, a life under the sun, by the sea, with a beautiful wife and a happy son. My contentment knows no bounds and I wish only the same for you.”
Phoebe turned to her father who was in the front row. “Father? Do I have your blessing?”
“Yes. It would please my heart to see you marry this gentleman whom you have loved for so long.”
There was a growing ringing in Owen’s ears; one of anticipation now that he was so close to having all his dreams fulfilled. He turned to his own father. “Father?”
“To make Lady Phoebe my daughter—of course. You have my blessings and all my well wishes.”
The Duchess scowled. “You do not have my blessing. You will not marry!”
Evan held up the special license. “The Archbishop has no regard for your blessing, Mother.” He turned back to the priest. “By His Grace’s command, I ask that you complete this ceremony.”
The priest took the license from Evan and examined it closely. When he saw no forgery, he turned to Owen and Phoebe. “Does this license represent your wishes?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Then with the blessing of the Archbishop, I shall conduct this ceremony.”
* * *
The rest of the day was a whirlwind. Owen could not comprehend that he had gone from utter despair to sheer exhilaration in such a short time. At the party Evan had arranged, he circled among the guests in a giddy daze with Phoebe on his arm, answering every question about the day’s events with full honesty.
If Evan has the courage to declare his love so boldly, then so do I.
Upon her return to the manor, Lady Bentley has stormed upstairs and locked herself away. Owen was glad for it; it meant they could enjoy the celebrations. They had won.
As soon as he found Evan amongst the crowd, he ran to embrace him. “Brother, that was an eventful journey you took us upon, but you have made me a very happy gentleman today. God bless you.”
He and Phoebe met Matsu and their son Crisanto. Matsu spoke little English but over the last two years, it seemed Evan had learned Filipino and he translated between them with a happy smile for the duration of their exchange.
“What will you do now?” Owen asked. “Will you stay in England?”
He shook his head. “No. I have a new home now. A new family.”
“We will not be seeing you again then? You’ve come to leave us so soon?”
“Oh, you will be seeing me. I have plans to set up a port in our new home town so that I might work for father’s company from overseas. I’ve not yet discussed it with him but I think it will please him.”
“It will certainly please him. He has missed you beyond measure.”
“And you?” Evan asked. “What happens for you now?”
Phoebe answered for them. “We long for a simpler life.”
“We certainly won’t be living here.” He gestured around Bentley Manor, then turned to Phoebe to gauge her reaction to his next suggestion. “Perhaps my lovely bride will care to live with me near the university until I have completed my studies.”
“That is quite a leap from the manor,” Evan said.
“It sounds perfect.” Phoebe smiled widely. “Let us be a pair of academics in our small and perfect home.”
“And after your studies?”
“Scotland, maybe.”
“That is some way from Bentley.”
“Precisely.”
They all laughed.
That evening, the celebration was the most phenomenal either of them had ever experienced. Every moment was filled with glee; they ate their fill of chocolate and drank their fill of champagne. They danced and they socialized with Lady Ann and her new husband; Roger; Miss Bennet; and all the others who had been by their sides through all their battles.
When all was finished, and the last drop of champagne drunk, Phoebe and Evan returned together to his accommodations where no Duke or Earl or Duchess could see them.
Epilogue
&
nbsp; For the first time, Phoebe stepped into Owen’s abode in the student quarter near the university not as an illicit guest, but as his wife.
She stood before Owen and kissed him. First, she removed his jacket, and then his shirt. For the first time, she saw the bare skin of his chest and abdomen.
The surging within her was unlike anything she had ever felt before. The heat in her rushed downwards between her legs while her mouth grew dry and her breasts began to heave with how fast her breaths came.
Owen stood behind her and slowly undid the buttons and lace at the back of the bodice of her wedding gown. He did so slowly; Phoebe felt breathless with anticipation, his breath warm on her neck and his body close to hers. In the bedroom they would share as a married couple, he examined her body in the light of a single candle at his bedside.
Phoebe had never felt more beautiful than when his eyes were upon her. As he let the bodice and skirts of her gown fall, she felt even more exquisite. She stepped out of her undergarments, and stood before her new groom, bare.
Her hair was loose and tumbled upon her shoulders, her small, firm breasts were pale. Her navel formed a perfect hourglass. Her hips were slightly more curved.
She stared at Owen. His body sparked desire in her so strong it made her want to press her body against his and lie back so he could take her.
“You are so beautiful, Phoebe.” He kissed her throat then lowered his mouth to kiss her breasts.
“I feel beautiful tonight. Finally, we’re free to love each other in every way.”
“Exquisite. That is the only word that describes what I have seen in this candlelight tonight.”
He went to the bed and lay back. He held out an arm to invite her to lie with him. She lay her head upon his chest, nestling her cheek just above his collarbone in the crook of his neck where it was comfortable. She could hear his heart beating as fast as hers.
As she lay against him, the desire in her built to a magnitude she could no longer contain. “I want to know you as a wife knows her husband.”
Owen kissed her deeply, cradling her face in his palm. He parted her lips with his. Phoebe felt the familiar warmth and taste of him and instinctively, her body relaxed.
She had never made love to any gentleman before but her body seemed to know what to do. Reaching down, she laid her hand upon his manhood, feeling the hardness of him beneath her palm.
When she touched him, Owen let out a low, soft moan that made Phoebe breathe faster in anticipation. She hurried to remove all the garments that remained upon him until he was as bare as she.
His body was enticing, strong and lean. She ran a finger down his abdomen to feel the tautness of his muscles, then let her hand run lower until she took hold of him and began to stroke him up and down as was her instinct to do.
“Does that feel good?” she asked, her voice nervous.
“Exquisite.”
She continued, listening to every sound her actions drew from him; low, soft sighs and deep husky moans that made her body cry out in anticipation.
Never in her life had she felt such arousal; it was as if her body were awakening from some deep slumber. Between her legs, she began to tingle and throb.
Owen gently pushed her onto her back. “I’m going to touch you.”
“Will it hurt?”
He kissed her gently. “We will learn together.”
There was no pain when he touched her. He pressed down between her legs until he touched a part of her that made her gasp and arch her back.
“It hurts?”
“No. It feels good.”
He stroked her there and drew from her throat her own moans. Phoebe gasped continuously as a new and powerful sensation coursed through her, starting at Owen’s touch and spreading through her entire body.
All of a sudden, her head grew dizzy and her legs grew weak. She squirmed and trembled as the feeling of pleasure swept over her like a wave against the ocean shore. She cried out; it was a sound unlike any she had ever made before—carnal and passionate, from the very depths of her.
“Are you ready, Phoebe?” Owen’s eyes were full of hunger and desire as he waited for her permission to reach the same heights of pleasure.
She nodded and leaned back against the pillows, parting her legs as he laid atop her. She was nervous as she felt him press against her center and then enter her. There was a moment of pain and then a flood of pleasure.
The feeling of fullness within her was pleasant and as Owen moved, it became even more so. Each stroke made her muscles spasm in the most satisfying way, sending ripples of enjoyment through her.
She moved her hips toward his and found it created a deeper sensation that made her gasp with delight. She grasped at Owen’s shoulders, clinging onto him as he made love to her for the first time.
The weight and warmth of his body above her, the scent of his skin, and the sound of his husky breaths created a symphony of sensations that enchanted Phoebe. She realized her body hadn’t known itself until now.
Owen began to move back and forth faster and with more intensity. Phoebe dug her fingers into his shoulders to steady herself and threw her head back in ecstasy until she felt Owen shudder and slow before stopping altogether and resting his head upon her chest.
“My darling Phoebe…My love…”
His incomplete sentences echoed her own sentiments. My darling, my love.
* * *
Phoebe stood on the bow of the ship and clung onto Owen’s arm with excitement at the shores of the Philippines came into view. She could see the golden sands and unfamiliar exotic trees waving on the coast.
“We’re almost there!”
For the first six months of their marriage, Owen and Phoebe remained in Bentley while Owen completed his studies and gained his qualifications in law.
When he had finished, they decided it was time to have an adventure at last. Too long had they lived at the whims of their parents and high society. They both longed to travel and feel the sweet release of freedom from the bonds of their peerage.
“I can’t wait to go home and tell Roger all about this trip. All the men in my family have traveled so far and so often, yet I’ve seen nothing of the world at all.”
Owen smiled and squeezed her hand. “Until now.”
Evan had arranged a carriage to pick them up from the docks and take them to his home. The type of house was called Bahay Kubo and it was built out of bamboo with a thatched roof made of the niha plant. It was much larger than Phoebe had expected and painted white and pale green. It stood alone on a hill by a stream, as tranquil as a water color painting.
She gasped when she saw the family come out to greet them.
“Look how Crisanto has grown!”
The child who had been a babe in arms at their wedding was now trying to crawl. Matsu—who looked beautiful in a light pink bodice and long, loose skirt—scooped him up from the grass to carry him to greet his aunt and uncle.
“Evan.” Owen greeted his brother first with a smile, then with a warm embrace.
Phoebe stood on her tiptoes to do the same. “It is so good to see you, old friend.”
She embraced Matsu too, and teased Cristano by tapping his nose and making cooing noises.
She turned back over her shoulder to Owen with a teasing smile. “It seems like beautiful children are born to the Boltmon sons. That is excellent to know for when we have our own.”
They were ushered in and subjected to the most wonderful hospitality, with tea and food cooked fresh by Matsu herself. Everything was so different, but so lovely.
The feeling of relaxation and tranquility was unlike anything Phoebe had ever known. Under the endless summer sun and in view of the most beautiful blue oceans, life seemed perfect.
“Do you remember all those stories we used to make up when we imagined eloping together?” Owen asked Phoebe one night, as they sat together on the sand.
“Of course. I would be a florist and you would be a lawyer…or a shepherd.”
“Being here makes me realize how beautiful life can be. When I look at Evan and Matsu, they have no worries. Their house is small and humble but their life is good. Evan has no worries in the world.”
“I think the same of Matsu. She smiles always and Crisanto is her world.”
“We should do it.”
“Move to the Philippines?”
An Immoral Dilemma For The Scandalous Lady (Steamy Historical Romance) Page 27