“Worried, Runt?”
She met his gaze, and melted all over again. She shook her head. “No.”
Unbelievably, she meant it. Whatever her father's anger, no matter the punishment dealt, she would gladly endure for the memory of this night, she thought.
But that was before she was forced to face her father's wrath while a house full of wedding guests awaited the outcome of the Earl's discussion with his daughter…
… the one who had come sneaking home just after dawn lit the eastern sky in the carriage and company of a well-known rake and seducer of innocents, a nervous smile tugging at her lips while tears threatened at any moment to spill forth from her eyes.
Chapter Four
“You will explain yourself, St.Innison,” her father demanded, but Eirelyn would not let Pax take the blame for what had happened. “There is nothing for him to explain, Father. He wished to give me a-- a wedding gift, nothing more.”
“A wedding gift? You call spiriting you away from the safety and comfort of the bosom of your family, driving all over the countryside – and all this without the benefit of a chaperon to see to your reputation, I might add – and then not returning you to your home until well after dawn, subjecting you to further humiliation under the suspicious eye and soon to be wagging tongues of over half the ton a wedding gift?”
His face reddened and his thick jowls shook with his wrath. But Eirelyn refused to quail beneath the fury of his regard. “That is correct, Father. A wedding gift.”
Her knees quaked beneath the gloriously lovely gown she'd donned once more after their time at the inn, yet she would not sit while Pax was forced to stand and endure her father's condemning gaze.
“Where did you take my daughter, you cur?”
“We traveled in his lordship's carriage to Scotland, Father,” she answered for him yet again. “Just across the border, mind you. To Gretna Green.”
His white brows rose near to his hairline. “Gretna Green! Why in heaven's name would you take a woman betrothed to a respected peer, indeed on the eve of her wedding, to Gretna Green?”
The words near exploded from her father's lips, but Eirelyn forced herself to continue.
“It was so lovely. The chapel, the parson… did you know the parson's family stand witness for Gretna Green weddings, Father? The chapel was so lovely – roses in every corner and upon every tabletop, but not a pink one in sight, mind you. And no lilies.”
Her father's gaze narrowed. “And just what happened inside this chapel, daughter?”
She gave a tense little shrug. “A wedding, I suppose. A mock one, of course, but the parson was careful to go through every detail, just as he would in a real ceremony.”
“I shall never forget it,” she said, a catch in her throat halting further words.
Her father's angry gaze turned to Pax. “If memory serves, a true Gretna Green wedding is followed by a visit to a nearby inn for consummation of the nuptials. Am I to assume your gift to my daughter extended to the full tour?”
“Father, don't be rude,” she said. “Of course we visited the inn. Pax even carried me into our 'room,' to which the innkeeper followed us where he served us a cold fare of bread, cheese, and wine.”
“You, sir, have compromised my daughter. Go to your room, girl, this instant. You will be wed this afternoon, and you are not to leave your room until I come for you myself, Eirelyn. Is that understood?”
“Your daughter is no more compromised than you are a concerned, loving father.”
Pax's words startled her.
“Please,” she whispered, placing her hand tentatively against his sleeve. “Do not make matters worse.”
“Nor will she be marrying the Earl, and if you try to force her,” he continued, his voice hard and cold, “I will see you in gaol before the night is finished. Is that understood?”
Eirelyn could feel the tension, the anger, in every line of Pax's body. His words made her shiver. He had no claim upon her and no right to speak to her father in the manner in which he had done – but she had to admit to a moment of pride that he had done so.
No one in her memory had ever gainsaid her father, and Eirelyn found she quite liked it that he was the first.
Her father brushed him aside. “You have no say in the matter, I am afraid. Now if you will please excuse me, I've a house full of wedding guests to attend. Boorley will see you out.”
Pax did not move.
“I have every say in the matter.”
With a little push, he urged Eirelyn toward the door. “Run upstairs and gather a few things, Runt. I'll wait for you in the parlor.”
“But--”
He shook his head. “Trust me, Runt. All will be well. You will see. Bring that pretty mauve gown you wore for the Arlingdale ball, will you? I found you most fetching in it.”
A quick glance to her father drained her courage, and she fled to the stairs. Dare she do as Pax had commanded? Where would he take her?
Nowhere would be far enough to escape her father's wrath, Eirelyn feared, but Pax seemed certain everything would go as he wished. Hands shaking, she pushed open the door to her room and sighed.
Leah was there to do her hair and there was a host of other servants in attendance but the person she least wanted to see at the moment waited upon her bed, one gray brow arched in haughty disdain.
“So you think to make a fool of my son before the whole of society, do you?” Lady Amerton's head was already moving back and forth in a negative motion before the words were out of her mouth. “I will not have it, I tell you. It doesn't matter where you've been or with whom. This wedding will go as planned. We shall deal with your indiscretions later.”
Gathering her courage, Eirelyn straightened her spine and lifted her chin, intending to tell the woman just how little concern she held at the moment for either her or her son. But before she could utter words she might later regret, she turned on her heel, ignoring the woman completely.
To Leah, she said, “Put the mauve gown and at least two others into a trunk, Leah, along with necessities for a few days. I shall be leaving within the hour.”
With that, she quit the room and made her way back downstairs to the parlor. Would Pax be waiting for her, as promised? Her teeth worried nervously at her bottom lip, but she turned the handle and pushed the door open all the same.
Inside, several people gasped at her appearance.
“What a lovely bride she will make in that gown,” Eirelyn heard someone whisper, and a blush rose over her cheeks.
Indeed she had, she thought, but it was not her intended who had stood in as groom during their mock wedding at the little white chapel at Gretna Green. Instead, it had been the husband of her heart.
Chapter Five
Her gaze sought him out among the crowd.
“Ready, Runt?” Pax asked, his voice coming from someplace behind her, very close to her ear. She felt his hand come to rest at the small of her back, and turned with a nervous smile on her lips.
“My father…”
“Will not trouble us,” he assured her, then with a wave at the assemblage, he said, “You may congratulate us soon. For now, I fear I must get my bride home. We've had quite a journey these past few hours.”
Eirelyn's shocked gaze flew up to meet his, and noticed the quirky grin on his lips. Later, she thought. She would chastise him for the obvious falsehood in the carriage. At the moment, she just wanted to escape before her father could denounce his daring, though patently false, words.
To her surprise, Pax led her directly to her father's study. “Say your goodbyes quickly, Runt, and let's be off. I've a mind to spend a few hours with you in my own bed soon.”
He winked playfully, and urged her forward, but her feet refused to move. Her brow furrowed with confusion. “I do not understand. First, what you said to those people and now… our wedding, it's not… it was certainly lovely, quite beautiful to be honest, and everything I could have wanted for myself had I the choice, but…
it wasn't real.”
Her gaze sank. “I cannot lie to my father.”
Pax lifted her chin, his gaze serious. “There is no need, Runt. You are as married now as ever you could wish to be.”
There was a ring of deep, masculine pride in his voice she could not ignore. But when he held up a sheaf of papers, she gasped, easily recognizing the documents he held. They were the papers the two of them had signed in the chapel after their mock wedding mere hours before.
“But those are--”
“Quite real, and very binding. Especially considering how well and truly our marriage has been consummated, Runt.” With his other hand, he withdrew another document, one she had not seen before. “But if you are still worried, this is a copy of the special license I obtained just yesterday. Which is why I was late for our standing midnight appointment.”
“Are you… do you mean to say--” Her mind struggled to comprehend the reality of what he was saying.
“You planned it all? The trip to Gretna Green, the dress, the inn… all of it?” She asked, her voice filled with an odd mix of confusion and wonder.
He nodded. “Down to the sapphire and diamonds gracing your lovely finger, Runt.”
Her gaze flitted absently to said ring resting on the third finger of her left hand. She had forgotten to take it off earlier. She had meant to, but it had slipped her mind. The fact distantly registered it was now hers to keep forever.
“You and I are--”
“Leg-shackled, tied, man and wife, bride and groom?” he teased.
“Married,” she breathed. “Really and truly married. To each other.”
He chuckled. “Why yes, my love. Yes, we are exactly that. Married. To each other.”
Eirelyn tilted her head, peering at him in question. “Am I the only one who did not know?”
His lips twisted in a wry grin. “Other than your father--”
It was true!
Their midnight journey across the border, the wedding at the chapel, the consummation – all of it had been real. Well, of course the consummation was real, she remembered with a blush, but it scarcely signified in light of what she had just learned.
She was actually already married, and to the man she had wanted all along. Her mind could scarce believe it, but her heart swelled with a gladness too full too be contained.
With a little squeal of happiness, Eirelyn flung her arms around him, and squeezed. Hard.
“Only you, Pax. Only you could have – would have – pulled off such a grand and elaborate scheme,” she whispered. “That you did it just for me….”
Cherished, she thought.
For once in her life she felt cherished. Tears started again and she sniffled in his embrace.
Pax hugged her close and laughed. “Of course I did it for you, Runt. I do love you, you know.”
Pulling back, her gaze serious now, she asked, “Truly? You love me?”
He nodded, his expression suddenly solemn. “Until death us do part, Eirelyn.”
Tears pricked her eyes and she laid her cheek against his chest. “I love you, too, Pax, though I fear even death will not stop it.”
About the Author
Tiffany St.Claire - the “Queen of Romance in Minutes”
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