Page 61 of A Lady’s Rules for Seaside Romance (The Harp & Thistle #3)
A nne and Victor waited at the back of the church with the rest of the family. All of the guests had already arrived—it felt as if there were a thousand people in attendance—and all who remained back here were those closest to Anne.
Although Freddy was already up near the altar with the rest of the groomsmen.
Vivian stood beside Dantes, who held their sweet girl, Lily.
The little girl’s eyes were growing heavy as she rested her head against her father’s shoulder.
Lily was growing like a weed and had the McNab green eyes and the dark, wavy hair of the Winthrops.
But she would not be able to rest on this important day, for soon she would be throwing out white rose petals down the aisle.
Evelyn and Ollie, and their twins, Theodore and Simon, were off to the side for a private moment.
The twins were now ten and even more full of mischief, if that were possible.
Only moments ago, Ollie had realized the boys had stuffed frogs in their pockets to release during the ceremony.
Presumably they’d thought they could follow Lily and her flower petals.
Ollie had, thankfully, released the innocent animals outside and he and Evelyn were giving the boys a stern reminder that a wedding was not a place for frogs.
The boys bowed their heads, as expected of them, but from where Anne stood, she could see them exchange mischievous smiles out of view of their parents.
The Duke of Chalworth, meanwhile, was with Victor and talked low to the younger duke.
Anne couldn’t hear what was said but suspected the elder gentleman was giving Victor tips on walking down the aisle without fainting.
At least, that was the wisdom she would impart to a man about to walk a bride down the aisle to hand over to her soon-to-be husband.
Anne, her heart pounding hard on this special day, turned to Mary, who was quite literally the most beautiful bride Anne had ever seen in her life.
Naturally, the young woman had chosen a dress from the House of Worth.
Mary had had two requirements: it had to be bobbin lace from head to toe, and it had to have a longer train than anyone else getting married that year.
The fashion house had been happy to oblige for one of their best clients.
Now, Mary stood before Anne in the handmade, cream, lace gown.
The body of the dress beneath the lace was cream silk, but the full-length sleeves had no lining and were just a bit sheer over Mary’s arms. The train was currently rolled up safely to be unfurled in only a few minutes by the bridesmaids, and the white veil hung long and down along the ground as well.
“Mary, you look utterly beautiful today,” Anne said, her eyes misty.
And knowing this day was special to her daughter, she had to say something kind about her father.
After Anne and Victor’s marriage, the family had made a point to open up about their feelings of Bernard.
And while Freddy had nothing good to say about his late father, Mary had come to admit that even though she knew how her father could be, a part of her still missed him.
“Bernard would be so proud of you today if he were here to see what a lovely woman you’ve grown to be,” Anne said to the young bride.
Mary gave a small smile and looked down at the ground. “Do you think?”
“Oh, yes, I know. And I’m sure he’s watching right now.”
Mary nodded and glanced at Victor, still talking with the elder duke. She lowered her voice. “Victor is terrified.”
Anne had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. “I know. He was up late last night practicing walking a straight line without tripping.”
Mary rolled her eyes. “He’s not going to trip.”
“That’s what I keep telling him,” Anne replied. The two women exchanged a small giggle.
“I’m glad Victor likes Jack,” Mary continued. “I think Jack being an American actually endeared him a bit more to Victor.”
“I think so, too,” Anne said in agreement.
Over the past year, a multitude of men had set their eyes upon Mary.
Thankfully, the near-elopement had never gotten out, and Mr. Ashby happily remained in America, or so his mother said.
Anne and Mrs. Ashby had become friends after the incident, as their sons remained the best of friends.
The attention Mary received from her debut, though, nearly rivaled the attention Vivian had received when she’d become London’s richest heiress years ago.
Naturally, Victor had hated it.
The unending visits. The continuous balls.
Making sure Mary followed the rules, which felt like a constant task.
Mary had fallen for Jack nearly from the beginning.
He had come to England with the hopes of marrying a woman of influence to elevate himself amongst wealthy Americans and he’d just happened to fall hard and quick for Mary.
Several men had ended up asking for Mary’s hand.
Victor had sat with each of them for two hours in private, asking them questions that, he had explained to Anne, seemed innocent but would reveal if the man was a gentleman or a scoundrel.
Jack McCaig was the only one of whom Victor had approved, and Victor believed it was because of Jack’s roots.
Jack was an American, thus he wasn’t from a family with aristocratic blood.
Arrogance and pretentiousness did not fit the man’s demeanor—in fact, he seemed to be perpetually in nervous awe of everything around him, especially Mary.
His family had Irish heritage but had been across the pond for a few generations.
They lived in a state called Montana and were quite wealthy, wealthier than most of the nobs, as Jack had helpfully pointed out to Victor.
Apparently, the McCaigs had one of the biggest, most lucrative ranches found in the western half of America.
But it was true—the man’s family was American rich, not English rich.
Unlike English nobs, the man could buy the moon if he so desired.
“So, you’ll be here in England for six months, and then Montana after that?” Anne asked.
Mary nodded. “We’ll go back and forth. Don’t worry, Mama, you’ll still see me plenty. You’ll be so busy as a duchess when I’m gone, though, you will hardly notice.”
“Oh, I’ll notice,” Anne said. “But I’m glad you’ve found Jack. I don’t think there was a better man created for you.”
Mary gave her a huge, sparkling smile. “No, I don’t think there is, either. Do you think I’ll like living out West, Mama?”
Anne fussed over Mary’s dress to buy her time to respond. “I think it will be a very big adjustment. But they have endless open space, and as many horses as you could ever want. It will be very different from what you are used to, but I think your free spirit will feel right at home.”
At these words, Mary hugged Anne tightly and sniffed. “Thank you.”
Vivian appeared at Anne’s side. “Anne, it’s time.”
Anne nodded and gave her daughter one last kiss on her cheek as Lady Mary Winthrop. For in just a few minutes, she would be Lady Mary McCaig.
The family, save for Victor and Mary, went in and took their seats in the pews at the front. Anne gave a small wave to Freddy, who stood with Jack and smiled back.
Jack, suntanned and handsome in his dark wedding suit, had his eyes planted on the door closed at the back of the church. Anne was sure nothing could pull him away from looking for his bride.
The quartet began playing and the doors at the back opened.
The guests gasped as Mary appeared and began to walk down the aisle.
Mary smiled widely, her eyes on Jack up ahead, his eyes on hers.
Victor walked tall and proud with Mary on his arm.
He looked at nothing else except straight ahead.
But when he passed Anne, he met her eye for a brief moment.
He gave her a quick, teary smile. As they reached the front, he handed Mary over to Jack, then sat with Anne.
Neither of them said anything. But Victor took her hand in his and didn’t let go the entire ceremony.
Hours later, after the party of a century, Anne and Victor lay in bed together. Anne was snuggled up against him and his arm was wrapped protectively around her.
“She’ll be happy with Jack,” Anne said, her head resting upon Victor’s bare chest.
“Yes, she will.” Victor’s voice rumbled in his chest.
“They will always be happy.”
“I think so.”
Anne closed her eyes and took solace in the hot feeling of Victor’s body against her cheek. She could hear his heart beating and let the lull of it calm the last remaining nerves from the big day.
“Everyone is happy now,” Victor said after a moment. “And I think that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Anne lifted her head up to see her husband’s face. “Yes, everyone is happy. Even you.”
“Very happy. Out of my mind with it, I should say.” He gave her a crooked smile before kissing her. As he began to move his mouth down her neck and over her collarbone, and she knew exactly where the trail of his mouth would end, she let out a contented sigh.
Yes.
She was as happy as a woman could possibly be.