Once the first couple had spoken, the priest turned to Loyalty and Nathan. “No,” Loyalty was the first to speak. “There is no reason why we should not be married.”
“No,” Nathan said with a smile. “There is no reason why we should not be married.”
There were many reasons, of course. Nevertheless, none of them mattered. Their love had conquered all the mountains.
“Lady Nora,” the priest turned to her, and she straightened. She hadn't realized that she would be the first to say the vows, but it didn't bother her. “Will you have this man to be your husband; to live together with him in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful unto him as long as you both shall live?”
“I will,” she said softly. Soon, Ricardo would be my lord. They had discussed how it would be his last moment without her title, which had made him shrug. Title or not, he loved her for just who she was, and nothing more.
“Ricardo, will you have this woman to be your wife; to live together with her in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful unto her as long as you both shall live?”
“I will,” Ricardo replied. They had thought about memorizing the lines, but it had just been too much, so they had allowed the priest to dictate it to them.
The priest turned to Loyalty and Nathan, repeating his statement. He had met her before, and had an urge to call her “princess.” However, he had to remind himself that she was not. “Loyalty, will you have this man to be your husband; to live together with him in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful unto him as long as you both shall live?”
“I will,” she answered, thinking of how many of those vows they had already honored.
“Nathan, will you have this woman to be your wife; to live together with her in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful unto her as long as you both shall live?”
“I will,” he replied. Nathan had forsaken all others long ago in order to be with Loyalty, so that was no issue. He couldn't believe that they were standing up here, finally getting married. He would have lived in sin with her the rest of his life if he had to. However, he was glad that, at last, they could declare their love publicly.
“Will all of you witnessing these promises do all in your power to uphold these four persons in their marriage?”
“We will,” the congregation chanted, in awe. Most of them had never seen a double wedding before, and they had never seen one of such a mix. Royalty, nobility, military and peasant stood together, proving that love knew no bounds.
“Bless, O Lord, these rings as a symbol of the vows by which this man and this woman have bound themselves to each other; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
“I give you this ring as a symbol of my love, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
“I give you this ring as a symbol of my love, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” Ricardo repeated, and Loyalty and then Nathan took turns repeating the same sacred promise.
“Now that Nora and Ricardo, Nathan and Loyalty have given themselves to each other by solemn vows, with the joining of hands and the giving and receiving of rings, I pronounce that they are husband and wife, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder. “Let us stand and pray together the words our Savior taught us. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”
“Amen.”
“God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, bless, preserve and keep you; the Lord mercifully with His favor look upon you, and fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace; that you may faithfully live together in this life, and in the age to come have life everlasting. Amen. The peace of the Lord be with you always.”
“And also with you.”
“Nora and Ricardo, Nathan and Loyalty, having witnessed your vows of love to one another, it is my joy to present you to all gathered here as husband and wife. You may kiss the brides.”
EPILOGUE
“So, we will be announced, and then we bow?” Loyalty asked, as Nathan finished getting dressed. “Or we will bow and then be announced?”
He paused, the question confusing him for a moment. “The first one,” he said, straightening his jacket. Since being promoted to captain, he had been noticing far more about the dress code than he did before. It seemed that captains, especially those at military desk jobs, spent a lot of time fixing their uniforms. “Why are you so nervous? You know Nora and Ricardo like your own siblings.”
“Of course, but not in an official setting,” Loyalty replied. “When we meet them, it is privately. We are not usually presented to their court with all the other nobles around.”
“Which used to be your court,” Nathan tried to point out, just to make her less nervous.
Since George had decided that William would be heir, Loyalty had been demoted to nothing more than a bastard child of a king. She probably could have more life and more privilege than she did, but she had chosen to return to her own life. The only difference, of course, aside from being married to Nathan, was that Jerrico no longer came to her door with laundry to do. Today, her bills were paid by an allowance from the king, for her “trouble” he’d said, and Nathan's salary. They remained in the same little house in town, memories flooding them constantly.
Today, however, they were miles away, in an inn, about an hour away from being presented to Nora in her country estate. Since taking up residence there, with Ricardo at her side, her little fortress was of much less interest. Any would-be assassins who had gone after Nora were probably going after William and his family these days, which made Loyalty sigh. The life of one in line for the throne was never easy. Moreover, if William's line ever failed, no doubt Nora would move close enough to the throne again to live in fear, which made her sad.
“Yes, and now they all see me in a different light,” Loyalty noted. “Which I don't mind. I just don't want to offend Nora in any way.”
“You won't,” Nathan assured her. “Although bowing to Ricardo is quite odd.”
“I'm sure he thinks so too....wait, so if Alexander and Mary are going to be there, do they bow too? How does that work?”
“Alexander and Mary are marquis and marchioness, the same as Nora and Ricardo. They do not bow to each other, even if one is considered greater than the other. Because Nora is the sole inheritor of the title, she and Alexander are on equal ground, as are their spouses,” he thought quickly. “But we bow to them, of course.”
“I miss the private lunch we had two months ago,” Loyalty said. “When the only bow was when you tripped on the rug.”
Nathan smiled, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head. “How about you think about something else?” he teased. “Like how excited you are to share our news?”
Loyalty's eyes went half lidded with a smile as she stood up on tiptoe to kiss him. “I am excited for that,” she said, and they shared a kiss for a long moment. Just as they broke apart for breath, there was a knock at the door.
“That’ll be our carriage,” Nathan said. “Come along.”
Loyalty squeezed his hand with smile. Official capacity or not, she was happy to go see her friends after many months apart. She gasped when the carriage finally pulled up at
Nora's country estate. “This is bigger than the palace, I think,” she said, her jaw open.
“Did you think all that war over her was nothing?” Nathan teased. “For a time, she was the richest noble in all the land. She had it all.”
“She has it all now,” Loyalty said softly. True, Nora was no longer the richest, the grandest or the most hunted. Nevertheless, she was happy, in love with Ricardo, and the two people she admired most in the world, Alexander and Mary, were nearby. Nathan put his arm around her and they rode the next few minutes in silence. However, Loyalty couldn't stop herself from staring in awe again when they got out.
“Excuse me, I need your name,” came a voice at the door.
Loyalty spun around, recognizing that voice, and burst into a grin. “Nikolas!” she cried. “She did poach you.”
“Of course she did,” Nikolas replied, seeming equally happy to see them. “And I didn't think one moment about it. Lady Nora is a kind mistress and the Lord Ricardo is...”
“Ridiculous? Fun? Goofy? Insufferable?” Nathan stretched his vocabulary and Nikolas chuckled.
“Come inside and I'll announce you,” he said, holding open the door. “Everyone is in the throne room, gathering before lunch.”
“There's a throne room?” Loyalty asked. “I thought that was only for royals.”
“Higher ranking nobles, really anything higher than my last employer, would have a throne room. They rule mini kingdoms after all,” Nikolas explained quickly.
Loyalty looked to Nathan, who nodded to back him up. “I feel like I either should have told you all about this or you missed a lot of the princess training they tried to give you.”
“And I'm glad of it,” Loyalty said, as Nikolas led them toward a giant door inside. Someone else held the door open, and Loyalty was momentarily distracted by Nikolas clearing his throat.
“Captain and Mrs. Rambles!” he cried, getting everyone's attention. Loyalty wasn't quite used to that title yet, and she grinned. Then her smile faded into a wide mouthed stare as she looked to what was ahead of her. It was grander than being in the palace. Nora entertained nobles both English and French, living in Calais. The walls were gleaming, everything was shining. The dresses were grand, the men refined and handsome. Moreover, at the end of a long red carpet sat two golden thrones. There, with a silver tiara weaved into her hair and in a silver dress, sat Nora. Her chin was held high, her fingers dripping with jewels and her neckline sported a necklace that must have weighed as much as she did. She looked so lovely, so beautiful and so happy that no one even noticed her scars. She was miles away from the girl that Loyalty had hid out with in the country. Nevertheless, her smile was wide; the same smile that she had come to know.
Ricardo looked handsome and regal sitting beside her, a small crown on his head and in his dress uniform. Once a king's guard, always a king's guard.
“Now,” Nathan whispered to her, and both of them dipped low when they were halfway up the carpet. It was clear that Nora practically would have rushed off the throne to greet them, but there were others being introduced behind them. Nathan gently took Loyalty's arm, shuffling her off to the side as the others behind her bowed.
“The Lord and Lady Argyle,” Nikolas called, and Loyalty watched as they approached and bowed as well. She noticed, now that she was standing at the right angle, that Alexander and Mary were standing off to the side of Nora's throne, proud parents to their ward. Nathan thought that they were doing a great job at maintaining a neutral face, considering how odd it must be to be standing beside Ricardo, who was now richer than they were.
Lord Argyle approached another step after his bow. “My lady,” he started.
To Loyalty's surprise, Alexander stepped forward, cutting off the response. “My lady is not taking conversation at this time,” he said gruffly. “Perhaps at dinner.”
”Is he a guard?” Loyalty whispered. “Or a marquess?”
“I imagine they ask themselves that daily,” Nathan whispered back. “Regardless, he is her protector.”
“We'll never get to talk to her,” Loyalty lamented. “If all of these other people want to and...”
“We will,” Nathan assured her. “It's just the guests arriving now. If she spoke to every one of them as long as they wanted, we wouldn't have lunch until tomorrow.”
“Ha,” Loyalty said softly. However, she was bursting with news for Nora, and patience was not her strongest suit. Luckily, for her, there were only a few guests behind her. Soon, the lunch bell was rung, and the nobles were allowed to descend the steps.
Nora glanced to Alexander, who nodded, as everyone filed out to the banquet room. At long last, the two girls embraced, with laughter and smiles.
“It's been so long!” Loyalty cried. “I have missed you so much!”
“I've missed you too!” Nora said. “I'm sorry for the ceremony.”
“Nathan Rambles,” Ricardo took his steps two at a time, hand extended. “How are you?”
“That's Captain Nathan,” Nathan grinned, showing off his new stripe.
Alexander joined them, and a smile even pulled at the corner of his mouth, which was a miracle considering his normal mood. “It's good to see you both again.”
“God, that was boring,” Ricardo said. “How come you and Mary don't hold court like that? So I can come and stand there and look all official for you?”
“I had a talk with your wife,” Alexander said with a half smile. “She's holding court for both of us, don't you know?”
“Oh no,” Ricardo said, and laughter rang out. It was under the cover of laughter that Nora drew Loyalty close. Mary was standing beside her, quite the protective mother, and for good reason. Nora's news would make anyone protective. “I have to tell you something,” Nora told Loyalty.
Loyalty grinned. “I have to tell you something too.”
Both of them met each other's eyes, and then smiles became looks of shock.
“You're pregnant?”
“So are you?”
“Oh my!” They hugged again.
“Somehow,” Mary said. “I had a feeling that this would be something the two of you share. I bet you are even due in the same month.”
“December?” Nora asked and Loyalty nodded.
“Of course.”
“Lunch!” Nikolas called to them, as they were soon the only ones left in the hall. Certainly, no one was going to serve the guests if the lord and lady of the house were not there.
“Did you ever think it would be like this?” Loyalty asked.
“Happy?” Nora asked, bringing a serious note to the conversation. “No. I never thought I would be happy again, and to be honest, when I met you, I never thought that you would be either. Or you,” she turned to Mary and the three ladies shared a moment of thought. “But one never knows what life will bring.”
“No,” Loyalty replied, placing a hand on her still flat stomach.
“It's not the end,” Nora said softly. “We will be happy, yes, but it’s not the end of the trials we face. Any of us, I fear.”
“But we will get through it,” Mary assured her, touching her shoulder. “We will all get through whatever faces us. After I left Alexander, Nora, I went through the roughest time in my life. I thought I wouldn't come out of it. But do you know what brought me out of it?”
Nora shook her head, and Mary smiled.
“Love. Knowing that I loved Alexander and he still loved me, despite it all. That kept me warm, late at night. And no matter how hard life gets, no matter how rick, how royal, how poor or how cold, that is what will get you two through anything that comes your way.”
“All of us, “Loyalty said softly, feeling Jerrico's ghost smiling upon them. “All of us, together.”
No matter what came, the two of them knew Mary was right. So long as they had love, they would get through it. They had spent so much of their lives trying to be other people; practicing to deceive the outside world. However, it was only now, when they could be their true selves,
and love who their hearts decided, that they had finally found true happiness.
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Acknowledgement
Thank you for taking your time and energy to read “Revealing A Marchioness's Heart”. Without your continuous support, I would not have written this book.
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Also by Jessie Bennett
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Faces of Love Series
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The Chronicles of Loyalty Series
Revealing A Marchioness's Heart (4.6 Stars - 18 Reviews), http://amzn.to/2akj6OP
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Publisher’s Notes
This book is copyright © 2016 by JESSIE BENNETT.
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real or dead people, places, or events are not intentional and are the result of coincidence. The characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. All rights reserved.
Revealing A Marchioness's Heart (The Chronicles of Loyalty) Page 26