The Yuletide Bride: 1781 (Wedlocked!)

by Mary Lyons

  ‘Oh, yes!’ she breathed ecstatically as he softly brushed his mouth over her trembling lips. ‘You are absolutely, one hundred per cent right!’

  * * *

  ‘Doesn’t Amber look simply lovely!’ Sally murmured, staring across the room at the newly married couple, clearly oblivious of the photographer’s flashbulbs as they gazed deep into each other’s eyes.

  ‘Yes,’ Rose sighed, wiping away a tear. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen her looking so beautiful—or so happy.’

  ‘I thought that this was going to be a quiet wedding with only one or two guests,’ Sally said as she gazed around the large, oak-panelled walls of Elmbridge Hall. ‘But as far as I can see, they must have invited at least half the town to the wedding!’

  Rose laughed. ‘According to Max, his first mistake was to give Violet Grant a blank cheque as far as expenditure on the wedding was concerned. And his second major error was not checking the number of people on the guest list before Violet had issued all the invitations!’

  ‘Well, it’s no secret that Amber’s mother is a bit dotty. Sometimes not quite “all there”, if you know what I mean,’ Sally murmured quietly as Violet, wearing a very smart lilac chiffon-and-lace dress, smiled vaguely at them from across the room. ‘But you have to admit that she’s always had wonderful taste. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen this house looking so lovely. In fact,’ she added confidentially, ‘I’m told that the bill for those magnificent flower arrangements came to many hundreds of pounds. And goodness knows what Amber’s gorgeous coat and dress must have cost—it doesn’t bear thinking about!’

  ‘Hmm...’ Rose murmured, well aware of exactly how much had been spent on the bride’s outfit from one of the top fashion houses in London.

  ‘I know my darling bride-to-be,’ Max had told her a few days before the wedding. ‘She’s so used to not spending anything on herself that she’ll buy the first thing she thinks is even vaguely suitable. So, I want you—as her oldest and dearest friend—to make sure that both she and Lucy are dressed up to the nines. Money is no object,’ he added firmly, scribbling a note on the back of one of his business cards. ‘Just tell them to send the bill to me.’

  It had taken a considerable amount of arm twisting and plain speaking, but Rose had eventually persuaded her friend that she owed it to Max—if not for any other reason—to look her very best at the wedding. And once they’d been shown the simple but beautifully cut, pale cream woollen dress with its matching cloak and hood, lined in cream-coloured fur, Amber had immediately agreed that it was the perfect choice.

  ‘I wish it was real fur,’ Sally was saying. ‘Goodness knows, Max can afford it.’

  ‘But Amber wouldn’t wear it,’ Rose retorted, knowing that her friend shared her own feelings of revulsion at the slaughter of innocent wild animals. However, before they could disagree any further on the merits, or otherwise, of the anti-fur lobby, Lucy danced up to them, almost beside herself with excitement.

  ‘Look at me, Aunt Rose! Don’t I look stu-pen-dous!’

  ‘You certainly do!’ she laughed as the little girl twirled around in front of her. Indeed, Lucy was almost heartbreakingly lovely in her cream silk dress, with its lace-trimmed petticoats edged in palest pink, matching the wide sash about her waist and the large bow in her hair. ‘In fact, I thought you made a really beautiful bridesmaid.’

  ‘As beautiful as Mummy?’

  ‘Well...almost—but not quite,’ she murmured, gazing misty-eyed at the radiant glow on Amber’s lovely face.

  ‘But my new daddy is easily the most beautiful man,’ Lucy said firmly before dashing across the room.

  ‘She’s so right—it’s no contest!’ Sally grinned, watching as the child’s handsome new stepfather laughingly swept the little girl up in his arms. ‘Incidentally, I can’t help thinking that it’s lucky Lucy looks so much like Max,’ she added, thoughtfully viewing the two dark, curly heads pressed closely together. ‘It makes them seem more of a real family somehow.’

  ‘Umm...but don’t forget that Clive had blue eyes and dark hair exactly the same colour as Lucy’s,’ Rose pointed out as calmly. ‘Not as curly, of course. But then, most children’s hair tends to grow straighter as they become older, doesn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, of course, you’re quite right,’ Sally agreed, immediately dismissing the vague, very faint question mark that had just floated through her mind. ‘I sometimes think children are like puppies, who often mature into dogs that closely resemble their owners. So, I expect that will happen with Lucy and Max. Because anyone with half an eye can see that she absolutely adores her new father.’

  Sighing with relief at having successfully deflected Sally’s inquisitive nose for gossip, Rose quickly changed the subject. ‘I know that he was very unhappy about losing Amber to Max, but I’m so pleased that Philip Jackson accepted an invitation to the wedding.’

  ‘He was never the right man for her,’ Sally said firmly, conveniently forgetting that for the past year she’d been quite certain that her friend would eventually decide to marry the young doctor. ‘In fact, now that Amber is no longer available, I can think of one or two other girls who’d be just about perfect for him.’

  ‘Hold it!’ Rose grinned. ‘We’ll both have to stop matchmaking, because it’s obviously a pure waste of time! Just look at Amber and Max. They didn’t need anyone’s help to get together.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know...’ her friend murmured, nodding towards where Mr Glover, the house agent, was pursing his lips as he frowned suspiciously down at some of the oak panelling in the hall. ‘I know it might seem a bit far-fetched...but old “Gloomy Glover” does seem to have acted the part of Cupid in this marriage, doesn’t he?’

  Grown-ups really did act very peculiarly sometimes, Lucy thought as she skipped back across the floor towards Aunt Rose and Mrs Fraser. Everyone was very happy today, of course, but she really didn’t understand why these two ladies should have suddenly collapsed into gales of laughter.

  ‘Mummy says to tell you that they’ve finished having their photographs taken,’ the little girl said, tugging at Rose’s skirt to gain her attention. ‘And I heard my new daddy say that he was “damned well not going to make a speech” she added with a giggle. ‘But Mummy laughed and said, “no speech—no honeymoon!” So, he’s decided to say something after all.’

  ‘What a sensible man,’ Rose grinned.

  ‘And a clever new wife!’ Sally agreed with a laugh before gazing down at Lucy. ‘I hear that you’re a lucky girl, and that your mummy and daddy are going to be taking you off with them on their honeymoon?’

  Lucy nodded. ‘I’m not supposed to tell anyone where we’re going, ‘cos it’s a great secret! But I’ll tell you, if you like.’

  ‘Yes, I...er...I’d love to hear all about it,’ Sally murmured, casting a guilty, nervous glance at the expression of strong disapproval on Rose’s face.

  ‘Really, Sally!’ she muttered in an undertone. ‘I know that you’re an incorrigible gossip, but it’s quite disgraceful to try and wheedle secrets out of a child, for Heaven’s sake!’

  ‘Ac-shally...’ Lucy lisped, pressing her tongue against a loose tooth, which had been threatening to fall out all day. ‘Ac-shally, we’re going off in a balloon, and then a plane, and then it’s a long, long journey by boat—all the way up the Amazon!’

  ‘Really?’ Sally gasped.

  ‘Really and truly,’ Lucy nodded, gazing up at her with wide, innocent blue eyes, grinning as the blonde woman made a swift, hurried excuse before hurrying off across the room.

  ‘That was very naughty!’ Rose told the little girl sternly, struggling to keep her face straight as she observed Sally grabbing a friend’s arm, clearly intent on spreading the news. ‘I know exactly where you’re going, and I’m sure your mother would be very cross to hear you telling such a thumping lie!’

  ‘But I had my fingers crossed behind my back,’ Lucy protested with an engaging smile. ‘And I know Mummy won’t mind, ‘cos
I’ve heard her say that Mrs Fraser likes nothing better than listening to other people’s stories!’

  ‘You’re so sharp you’ll cut yourself one of these days!’ Rose told her with a grim bark of laughter. ‘In fact, I can see that your new daddy is going to have his work cut out, keeping an eye on you! However, I think it’s about time we joined your parents. Although I’m not quite sure where they’ve got to,’ she added with a slight frown, leading Lucy through the crowd and trying not to bump into the black-uniformed waiters, busy keeping the guests’ glasses filled to the brim with vintage champagne.

  ‘Well, Mrs Warner...?’ Max murmured, having swiftly clasped his wife’s hand and whisked her away from the crowd into a small book-lined study off the main hall. ‘So, how does it feel to be a married woman once again?’

  ‘Since I was never really married before, I’m afraid that I can’t speak with any authority on the subject!’ Amber told him with a loving smile, amazed that such a hard, tough businessman should have looked so pale and nervous during the few days leading up to their wedding. ‘However, Mr Warner...’ she added, stars in her eyes as she gazed mistily up at her handsome husband, ‘I can definitely tell you that, so far, I’m feeling ecstatically happy!’

  ‘Oh, my darling!’ he groaned, his arms closing tightly about her slim figure. ‘I know it was stupid of me to even think about it. But I was terrified that you might change your mind and decide not to marry me after all. In fact, I don’t think I had a wink of sleep last night!’ he added with a bark of wry laughter, raising his hands to gently cup her face, his long, tanned fingers trembling with emotion.

  ‘When I saw you coming up the aisle towards me this morning, I...well, it was all I could do not to shout out loud for joy! I still can’t believe my luck at having found you once again. To know that all the secret heartache and deep unhappiness from which we both suffered is now behind us for ever.’

  ‘For ever and ever,’ she whispered, feeling as though she was floating on a cloud of pure bliss and overwhelming happiness as he lowered his dark head, firmly possessing her lips in a long, passionate kiss of total commitment before Lucy’s high-pitched, excited voice cut sharply through the mists of their mutual desire.

  ‘Everyone’s looking for you—but I guessed where you’d be!’ the little girl said as her new daddy grinned down at her, his arms still clasped about his new wife’s slender waist. ‘Do hurry up!’ she added impatiently. ‘Aunt Rose says that it’s time for you to cut the cake, and for the speeches to begin.’

  Max groaned. ‘Do I really have to make a speech?’ he begged in a last-ditch attempt to wriggle out of such an onerous duty. ‘I don’t mind talking to any number of businessmen, but I’m sure to look a fool...’

  ‘You only have to say a few brief words,’ Amber told him firmly.

  ‘Don’t worry, Daddy,’ Lucy said quickly. ‘I don’t think that you look a fool. I told Aunt Rose that I thought you looked really beautiful!’

  ‘Well, after that vote of confidence, it doesn’t seem as if I have any choice in the matter,’ he grinned down at his daughter, ignoring his new wife’s gurgle of laughter.

  ‘Although, flattered as I am, Lucy,’ he continued as he led his new family back to join their guests, ‘I must tell you, that if you want to see real beauty—together with a loving, tender heart—then you only have to look at your mother!’

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-8496-8

  The Yuletide Bride

  Copyright © 1994 by Mary Lyons

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  Table of Contents

  TITLE PAGE

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  COPYRIGHT