by Boom, Naomi
Laura shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.
Cursing, Gavin glanced at the ground. It was muddy and cold. He placed one knee down and slid his hand down her arm until he was holding her fingertips.
“What are you doing?” Laura asked in a state of shock.
Lord Farris ignored her question and said, “Lady Laura Rosing, from the very first day we met, I fear I have been falling for you. I tried my hardest to forget you, but there is not enough liquor in the kingdom to make me forget you.” He paused to draw in a breath. “You have awoken feelings in me I never knew existed. I love you, Laura, with every part of me. The only thing in this world that would make me happy is if you agree to become my wife. Please, Laura darling, will you marry me?”
Laura could not move. She was entrenched in a dream, one where too much movement would destroy it in a puff of smoke. “You do not believe in love or marriage,” she managed to squeak out.
Lord Farris smiled at her. “You never can allow things to be simple, can you? I had not wanted to marry and had not believed in love, but then I met you. You have transformed my life in so many ways, I cannot picture a happy existence without you at my side.”
“And yet you stayed away for two months,” she said accusingly.
“I was not ready for your love then, but I am now.” He shifted slightly but his unwavering gaze never left hers.
She breathed in the frigid night air and stated her fears. “I do not believe we will suit. With other gentlemen, I do not care if they have mistresses. With you, I would die to hear you were with another woman.”
“I do not have a mistress, nor will I ever be unfaithful to you. I love you, Laura, and only you.”
She looked at him. It all sounded perfect. Almost too good…She stopped her train of thought abruptly. What was wrong with her? The love of her life was proclaiming his love for her and asking for her hand in marriage. She had no reason to doubt him and was not about to let her insecurities win. Smiling down at him, her heart soared as she simply said, “Yes.”
Lord Farris grinned, regained his footing, and swept her into his arms. “Do me a favor,” he asked as he placed her back on the ground, still holding her close.
Laura felt as if she would do anything for him in this moment. “Of course.”
“Dance with me.” He pulled her even closer as they swayed to the barely audible music drifting from the ballroom. The snow fell around them, but Laura was no longer cold. Not as long as he was with her.
Their dance came to an end, and she looked into his eyes. “What happens now?”
He laughed. “Again with the obvious questions.”
She scowled and then stomped her foot. “I do not ask obvious questions.”
“They seem awfully obvious to me,” he responded in a matter-of-fact manner.
“I think I shall be the judge of that.”
He let go of her and began to lead her away. “We go announce our news to the world.”
She gazed at him, the love shining brightly from her. “I do not believe I said so, but I love you, Gavin Farris.”
He smirked. “I know. You told me when you were sick.”
She wanted so badly to hit him right now, but it would be terribly ill-mannered of her to hit her fiancé right after he proposed. Instead, she said haughtily, “I doubt my father will approve of you.”
“And there she is, my prickly princess.” He smiled when she swatted his arm. “I do not know why you think he would disapprove of my offer. My stallion is of most excellent stock.”
At this, Laura giggled. “You already asked him?” Without waiting for a response, she said, “He always said you can judge a man’s character by his horse.”
He held out his arm. “Shall we go in then? It is rather chilly out here.” He looked down suggestively at her décolletage.
“Yes, could you not have chosen a warmer location for this?”
“I am not the one who refused to return to the gazebo,” he pointed out mildly, as he escorted her through a door. He quickly found a linen closet, and they both dried themselves of the melted snow. “Shall we return and share our news? A ball is a great place to announce an engagement.”
Laura agreed and placed her arm on his proffered one as they walked to the ballroom. They entered the room just as Lord Dunbar called out loudly from the staircase. He commanded the room’s attention, which allowed Gavin and Laura to enter unnoticed.
“I have some most exciting news,” Lord Dunbar said loudly as Lady Robbins stepped to his side. “Lady Robbins has just consented to become my wife.” He smiled lovingly to her and the crowd cheered.
Laura spoke quietly. “We cannot announce our engagement now. It would be very unkind to steal their moment.” She clapped her hands together excitedly. “I am just so glad to see they will marry. Just think if Lady Robbins had not bribed me, I may have been the one announcing my engagement to Lord Dunbar tonight.”
“I would have never allowed that,” he said flatly.
“Just how do you imagine you could have stopped it?” He was so very sure of himself.
Bringing her hand to his lips, he ran a seductive kiss across her knuckles, which caused an alarming amount of desire to shoot through her. “I would have simply compromised you, darling.” As he smiled a catlike smile, Laura knew he would have succeeded if it had come to that. “Speaking of your ruin, when will our wedding be?”
Laura had never cared to have an elaborate society wedding, but she still wanted a quaint, family affair, which took time to prepare. “I think at a minimum I will require six weeks to prepare everything.”
“I will give you a choice, either we go to Gretna Green now, or we wed once the banns have been read.”
To think she was to experience a lifetime of his overbearing ways. The idea of eloping was appealing, but she did not want that sort of scandal unless absolutely necessary. “Fine,” She answered begrudgingly, “Three weeks it is.”
Chapter 15
The following weeks were a whirlwind of activity. Laura tried to compile a trousseau in that time, figure out every detail of the wedding, and get fitted for the perfect dress. It was exhausting, but she had help in the form of Miss Farris and Mrs. Westfield.
Eleanor and Lady Ashford were of no use, as they had departed for the country a few days after the Farris ball. While it would have been preferable for Eleanor to confront the gossip about her, it ended up being far more reasonable for her to take a break from the season. She had attended a ball the following evening and managed to offend an earl after making a disparaging comment about his attire. Rather than hope Eleanor would start to behave herself, Lady Ashford instead made her take a break until the gossip abated. Laura hated to admit it, but she would not miss her cousin’s presence at the wedding.
Every morning, Gavin accompanied her on her ride in Hyde Park. The groom was soon used to disappearing for short periods of time, which allowed Laura to become more skilled at kissing. She was very much looking forward to her wedding night, as the kissing was not fulfilling and led to many restless nights where she wondered what was in store for her.
Finally her wedding day arrived, which was a sunny, albeit, cold day, the perfect sort of day for a winter wedding. Anna helped her bathe, then elaborately styled Laura’s hair.
She had decided to use the amethysts from the gown she wore at the Mansor ball on her wedding dress. Her gown made her look virginal, yet still had a seductive aspect due to the amount of cleavage displayed. She heartily approved of the cleavage, as it would drive Gavin to distraction. Not that she expected his full attention today. He had been showing more and more anxiety as the wedding day had drawn near, although he insisted it was a nervousness of happiness and not of regret.
The carriage pulled away from the house, and Laura gazed wistfully out the window. There were many details of her day that she was missing or she would forget. Everything was happening so quickly, but all that mattered were the words stated at the altar in the
church.
Her father helped her down from the carriage, and her throat constricted as a tear formed in his eye.
“I am so proud of you, darling.” He smiled reassuringly at her. “You have chosen a fine man.”
“Thank you, Father, I quite agree,” she responded with conviction.
Extending his arm, he asked, “Well then, shall we? I believe everyone is waiting for you.”
Laura agreed and was escorted in to the church. The chapel was demurely decorated in a plethora of roses. The scent reminded Laura of the house party where she had first met Gavin, and she decided that scent would always represent their love. Gavin stood patiently at the altar with a serious member of the clergy. Her soon-to-be husband was dressed in unrelieved black, except for a pristine white waistcoat. He looked utterly handsome, which left Laura spellbound.
The guests were small in number, mostly family, but with a few exceptions. Lord Collins had journeyed back from the country to act as Gavin’s best man. Lord Collins had expressed his sincere happiness for Gavin but had vowed to stay away from any marriage-minded ladies at the wedding.
Lord Deering was in attendance, having escorted Allison along with her chaperone. Allison had almost fainted when Laura had told her the news of her impending marriage to Gavin. Allison swore she had seen it coming a mile away.
Laura was transfixed by Gavin as she walked down the aisle. Not a shred of doubt crossed her mind, as she realized this was the single most important choice she had ever made. Soon she stood next to him, and the vicar performed the ceremony. Neither of them heard the words the clergyman said, until it was their turn to recite the vows. Having noticed neither the bride nor the groom were paying attention, the vicar had politely coughed to interrupt their thoughts before continuing. They recited the vows, and Gavin slipped his grandmother’s ring onto Laura’s finger. It fit perfectly, and Laura was awed by its beauty. A more ideal ring could not have been ordered for her.
The vicar ordered the groom to kiss his bride. Gavin bent over and swept a sweet kiss across Laura’s lips. There would be time for a more thorough exploration later on, but she was pleased to have experienced her first kiss as a married woman.
The assembled crowd cheered as Gavin swept her into his arms and made his way to his carriage. They would attend a customary wedding breakfast at Lord Rosing’s townhouse, but once that was complete, Gavin would have unfettered access to his wife.
Laura wanted nothing more than to skip the wedding breakfast and get on with the evening’s events. She would never be so wanton as to actually suggest it to Gavin, instead she said dreamily, “This has been such a perfect morning. I never imagined when we first met, that I would someday be married to you.”
“I never did either.” He laughed ironically. “I never imagined I would marry anyone at all.”
She smirked. “Especially the poor relation you pestered at the house party?”
He raised his eyebrow haughtily. “Pester? I do not believe that is how matters progressed.” He pulled her onto his lap and eyed her cleavage with delight. “Should I demonstrate what my pestering actually entails?”
Laura gulped at the suggestive look he was giving her. “I think it best you do not. We have to attend this breakfast, and I would prefer to do so with my hair properly assembled.”
“I cannot say that your hair will remain intact, which means I must make a choice.” He rapped on the roof of the carriage and yelled, “Take us home.”
Laura could not believe her ears. “What are you doing?”
“What did I tell you about obvious questions? If I cannot mess up your hair and then take you to the breakfast, I will simply skip the breakfast.” He kissed her passionately. “By the time I am through with you, you will forget entirely that a breakfast even existed.”
Laura could believe that, based on the one kiss alone. She was not going to argue with him, either. Intertwining her arms around his neck, she smiled. “Very well, my lord, do your worst.”
And Gavin did.
A word about the author…
Naomi Boom is an author with a newly-discovered love for writing. Her inspiration struck when she was searching for the perfect historical romance novel to read. Nothing sounded appealing, so she decided she would write her own. That one novel has morphed into a series, and hopefully many, many more.
She currently resides in Kansas with her family but has her eyes firmly planted on an acreage in eastern South Dakota. Once her husband retires from the United States Army, they will return to her home state.
~*~
Visit Naomi Boom at:
www.naomiboom.com
Twitter: @naomimboom
Facebook: Facebook.com/naomimboom
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