Page 40 of The Reclusive Earl’s Scandal (Vows and Vanity #1)

The following two weeks passed in blurs of pain, of more administered doses of laudanum, and being aware of the duke’s daughter who sat at Edward’s bedside.

His soon-to-be wife.

Rebecca, who scarcely let her hand fall from his, had begun to fall asleep in the chair next to his bed so often that Edward’s mother had offered her a guest chamber in Thornshire House. After all, it was to be her home soon enough.

“Simply move in early,” Edward jested the day before their wedding. While he was recovering, his mother had told him that she, Rebecca and Rebecca’s mother had taken care of the very last touches of the wedding ceremony.

“I cannot,” Rebecca laughed.

“Why not? The countess’s rooms are yours now.”

“And see Lady Thornshire out of her home early? Heavens, no.”

“Please,” Edward chuckled. “My mother has been itching to retire to her dower house for longer than I have been back in London. She will adore moving out, free to gossip with the other matrons and afternoon tea to her heart’s content.”

“And your sister? I am certain she has plenty to say about me moving in at all.”

“I do indeed.”

The voice from the doorway made them both freeze.

Edward looked over Rebecca’s shoulder to find his sister, pale-faced and tired, dressed in a simple dark green gown.

Her hands were clasped before her, and she looked vaguely nervous.

It had been a long time since he had seen her devoid of anger, but it was that way now.

“Elena,” he greeted. “Come in.”

His sister cast a look towards Rebecca, who quickly stood. “I will give you both a moment,” she said, but Elena shook her head, much to their joint surprise.

“Stay,” she implored. “What I have to say is for you both.”

Slowly, Rebecca lowered herself back to her chair, nodding.

Elena came to his other side, and there was something familiar about the way the two of them sat like this. He wondered if they had done so while he had been unconscious, both watching over him in silence. She looked between them, and then back to Edward.

“I am sorry.” The first words to come out of her mouth surprised Edward.

He hadn’t expected them at all. “I have been childish and bitter, and I have been far too involved in your business, brother. What began as harmless jesting between us became something that hurt you, and it took me too long to realise, even after you told me. Lady Catherine has been my friend for many years, and I was so fixated on how good of a countess she would make, how we could be happy as sisters.”

Sheepishly, she glanced at Rebecca. “But I was wrong, and then I came to realise how much damage her rumours were doing. I did not have a hand in it. I cruelly did not stop them, though. Now, it has been some time since I have spoken with her. Many people saw how she treated you at the ball, and then the opera house with Lord Billy, and people are speculating about her callous nature. More lords are speaking about it. Lord Billy seems to be happy, however. Regardless, I have been cruel to you, Lady Rebecca. Brother, I have been too bitter with you. Can you both ever forgive me?”

She winced as if she braced for refusal, but Edward only sagged in relief and held out his arms to embrace her. Although he did not need to be lying in bed any longer, he was admittedly enjoying still doing so in order to escape any social requirements before his wedding.

But now, he stood up to hold his sister. The raven without her twin.

He pulled her close and kissed her temple.

“I never would have stood to lose you, Elena, I do hope you know that. You will always have a place in our family home as long as I am the earl. I also owe you an apology, though.” He pulled back, holding her shoulders.

“I should not have threatened your allowance, or forced you to think about your own marriage prospects. When you are ready, I will be alongside you. And I am certain, if you want it, my wife will help you, too.”

He heard a soft inhale, and only at that sound did he realize what he had done.

My wife , laced with so much tenderness and love.

He turned to Rebecca, a nervous smile on his lips. “Was that… was that all right? It is a little premature to call you as such but...”

“It was perfect,” she whispered, giggling.

Next to him, Elena pulled away and moved closer to Rebecca.

Tentatively, Elena hugged her, too. In that moment, he was reminded of how young Elena still was.

Young, but fiercely intelligent and determined.

Oh, he knew she would be a force to be reckoned with when she truly started looking at suitors.

Grinning, Edward looked at them both, already thinking of an idea for his sister and her future.

***

The Bancrofts, with Rebecca’s parents and four siblings, and the Thornshires—with Edward trying not to notice the two empty seats that should not have been empty—gathered in the church following the Sunday service.

They had organized a quiet affair, for when Edward had asked Rebecca what friends she wanted present, she had teared up and shook her head. For such a social creature, it was hard to see her standing so alone.

That morning, Edward had received word that Harry Maudley had been apprehended by the Bow Street Hunters per his request to have the tutor’s son brought to justice.

He would await trial for his attack on Edward, but Edward was trying to find a way to have Rebecca receive justice as well for the threats and worry he had caused her.

Now, he stood opposite Rebecca, his smile unable to drop. The only nerves he felt were the ones he had been assured were normal for his wedding day. He cared little about being out in public, for how could he want to leave when being there meant being married to the most beautiful woman?

“Lord Thornshire,” the officiant said, “I invite you to deliver your vows if you have any prepared.”

“Heavens, I do,” he laughed. “Sometimes I feel as though I have had them prepared for a very long time.” Reaching for Rebecca’s hands, he held her gently. How strange , he thought, that we started as a convenient marriage, and now I cannot imagine it as anything as what it has become: a love match.

Clearing his throat, he began to speak. “Rebecca, my anxiety regarding being in public has often put me at a disadvantage.

As the Earl of Thornshire, I have not been able to entirely endure such issues.

The thought of meeting new people, not of being vulnerable, but simply bearing that anxiety and the accommodations I may have required, often terrified me.

As such, I wanted someone to take that anxiety away, for their company to be far greater than it, but I never let myself want too greatly, for I did not think such a person existed.

You watched me go through several dance partners, and nobody ever could do that.

But you, Rebecca, you do. With others, it was like attempting to light a match in the rain.

It simply fizzled out, and would not spark.

But with you, that spark ignites. Not only that but it becomes an inferno, I think, and sometimes I do not know what to do with such an overwhelming feeling.

“But I like it. I like how it makes me feel. How you make me feel. I am so honoured to have begun to love my friend who spent so long stepping on my toes. All I ask is that you do not do that when we dance after our ceremony.”

He laughed softly, finding her laughter twining with his.

Rebecca’s fingers tightened around his. Her gown was beautiful, and he could not stop staring at her.

It was a straight, silk skirt, with the sleeves capped and overlaid with a glimmering cuff.

A thick, silver band ran along the neckline, making the emerald necklace around her throat more prominent.

She looked perfect in white, with her long hair curled and tumbling around her shoulders.

“Edward,” she began, “when I first saw you in the ballroom, I thought, Heavens, this man is clumsy , for my dress was stained, and my skin was damp with wine soaking through the fabric, and I was ready to scold you—until I saw it was you. As soon as I saw you after all these years, something slid into place. It was a slow realization, loving you, and I can only imagine how many times I have insisted our friendship was only that. I see now how much more it is, how much more it has been, for some time. If you can forgive this very ignorant woman, then I must tell you how much I am looking forward to our life together. An eternity is a long time, but I will be spending it at your side, and no amount of chess games will deter me.”

She grinned at their inside joke, playing the marriage market and ballroom space like a game of chess.

Edward drew her closer and kissed his wife once they were officially declared wed, and a flutter raged in his stomach. Yet he was laughing; he was happy , and he knew nothing would ever take that away from him.