by Lucy Gordon
Mark never finished. Daniel's fist connected with his chin, sending him staggering back, clutching wildly at thin air. Lee and Phoebe got hastily out of the way while he collided with a low table and ended up sprawled on the sofa, looking up at his assailant with astonishment.
'Sorry,' Daniel said, blowing on his knuckles. 'I didn't mean to act like a caveman, but I don't allow anyone to insult my future wife.'
Phoebe beamed. 'That's wonderful! I'm so happy. I thought it would never happen.'
'But-' Lee began.
Daniel held up a hand-like a traffic cop, as his daughter later informed him. 'Lee, darling,' he said firmly, 'I could go grey-haired waiting for you to decide, and I don't intend to-certainly not after last night. I'm going to be very old-fashioned and tell you to stop dithering like some fluffy-headed little thing. I want to marry you and I'm tired of waiting. So you're going to give me an answer and then we're going to get married.'
'And my answer's going to be yes, is it?'
'It's the only answer I'll accept.' Daniel spoke calmly but his pallor betrayed his apprehension. 'I'm not much of a bargain as a husband. I'm overbearing, manipulative-all the things you've called me. But I love you. And you love me. Marriage is the only thing that makes sense. I want us to go into that smithy now and be married over the anvil.'
'But-but, Daniel,' she stammered, 'it won't be legally binding-'
'It doesn't matter. We'll have the official ceremony when we get back to London. But I want a smithy wedding, because I know that you'll never go back on anything you agree to in this place.'
Still she hesitated, longing for the courage to make the final leap. It had never occurred to her that Daniel would ask for her commitment here, of all places, where her ghosts lingered.
But that was why he'd done it, of course. It was there in his eyes: he knew exactly what she needed and how to care for her. With this one man she'd found not only love but also the security that had always eluded her. He'd said, 'There's no safe place in love', and it was true. But it was also true that the knowledge of love was the greatest safety, and it had taken her all this time to see it.
'I'll marry you, she said joyfully, slipping her hand into his.
Phoebe let out a carol of delight, and even Mark grinned his pleasure. 'Sorry, Lee,' he said, and kissed her cheek.
'Here. You must have these.' Phoebe took the flowers from her hair and gently fitted them on Lee's head. Then she handed her the matching posy. 'Now you look like a bride.'
But it wasn't the flowers that made her look like a bride. It was the glow of happiness in her eyes as she gazed at Daniel, the second man she'd married in Gretna Green. And this time the right one.
He took her hand and they returned to the smithy. The tour guide had just finished with a party who were leaving. He smiled as he saw them, perfectly understanding the situation, and waved them forward.
'Are you sure?' Daniel asked anxiously.
'Quite sure,' Lee said fervently. 'Oh, my darling, I took far too long. But now I'm quite, quite sure.'
The anvil was there, the same anvil over which she'd made a terrible mistake a lifetime ago. But now everything was different. With Mark and Phoebe standing beside them they clasped hands, and Daniel spoke.
'I, Daniel, call on these persons here present to witness that I take Leonie to be my wife eternally.'
In a steady voice, Lee replied, 'I, Leonie, call on these persons here present to witness that I take Daniel to be my husband eternally.'
Then the guide raised his hammer to bring it thundering down onto the anvil, and in a loud voice he cried, 'So be it!'
Lucy Gordon
***
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