Page 35

M uch to the horror of many society members who weren’t invited, the marriage of Lady Monmouth to the Earl of Coulter was to be a small service held in a church on the outskirts of London.

Two weeks had passed since the day Sophie had said yes, and there had been nothing more from Jack Spode, which did not mean he wasn’t watching her, only that Patrick’s protection had kept him at bay… for now.

True to his word, he had arranged a special license, and today they would marry, and Sophie felt ill with nerves.

Am I making the right decision?

“Fee looks pretty,” Timmy said as he and Doddy stared up at her. Boy and dog were now inseparable.

“And you look handsome,” she said, bending to kiss the top of her brother’s head. I’m doing this for him and Letty , she reminded herself. Plus, she was to marry the man she loved, even if neither of them had spoken about how they really felt.

“Hello, I’m here.” Amelia appeared in the doorway with red-rimmed eyes and a wobbly smile, which told Sophie she had been arguing with her mother again.

“Melia,” Timmy said, running to her. They had met twice now, and her brother loved Sophie’s friend, especially when she read to him using funny voices.

Sophie hugged her gently using her good arm. While she was healing, it still ached. They had told people she’d fallen and damaged it because the truth was something they had no wish to share.

“Now, let’s get you changed into your dress,” Sophie said as Jenny appeared.

Letty had insisted they have new dresses even if there were only two weeks to get them made. “It is your wedding after all and I want you to feel like a bride should,” her sister-in-law had said.

Jenny helped Amelia out of her ill-fitting green dress and into the pale blue one she’d had made. The transformation was instant. Where her dresses usually hung off her body, this one hugged it. The soft material accentuated her figure.

“Sit now, Miss Logan, and I will do your hair,” Jenny said.

Letty arrived when she was finished.

“Oh my, look at you three,” she said, coming into the room in a pretty dress of forest green. Her eyes went from Sophie to Amelia and then Timmy. “Amelia, I hardly recognize you.”

“Because my dress actually fits and my hair is not scraped back from my face,” she said, looking in the mirror. “I look very different.”

“Perhaps you can talk to your mother about changing your dresses,” Sophie said, happy to think about something other than her upcoming nuptials.

“She will never listen,” Amelia said with a fierce expression. “There is only one way to do things, and that is my mother’s way.”

“Well then,” Letty said. “We’ll discuss that no further on such a happy day. Will she be attending?”

“No.” Amelia shook her head.

“Right, then, let us be off,” Letty added, holding out her hand to Timmy, who looked handsome in a blue suit.

The day was overcast, and her nerves climbed as they rolled through the London streets. Timmy chatted with Amelia, and Letty held Sophie’s hand.

Patrick had been a constant visitor in the days since her accident. He took Timmy for walks and spent time with all of them, taking tea. They were rarely alone, and she was sure that was deliberate on his part, because she may use the opportunity to back out of their marriage.

“We are here,” Letty said as they stopped outside the church forty minutes later.

Sophie saw a few carriages lining the road before the old stone church.

“Come along,” Letty said, stepping out with Timmy.

Sophie smoothed the skirts of her ivory dress and took the flowers Amelia handed her.

“You are beautiful, Sophie, and I know there are things you haven’t told me about with regards to your sudden wedding and the rumors you also didn’t discuss with me?—”

“Amelia.”

“—but this feels right,” her friend continued.

She hadn’t told Amelia any details because there really hadn’t been a time to do so. But she owed her that much.

“I will tell you everything soon, I promise.”

“I know you will.” Amelia kissed her cheek. “Come on, Timmy. We’ll walk to the steps.”

“Tell me this is right, Letty,” Sophie whispered when they were alone.

“This is right, Sophie. You must trust him.”

“I do trust him and know this is the best for all of us.”

“For you,” Letty added.

They turned to walk to the church, and it was then she noted Stephen talking to Amelia. Smiling at her , Sophie amended.

“You look lovely, Miss Logan,” he said as they reached him.

“Oh, now I look lovely simply because I am wearing a pretty dress?” Amelia snapped.

Stephen shot Sophie a panicked look.

“I will take Timmy,” Letty said. “Come along. We will get a seat right up at the front for you to watch the proceedings.”

“Well?” Amelia demanded.

“I just said you looked lovely. Is that a crime?” Stephen snapped back.

“That will do, both of you,” Sophie said, finding a smile when she’d been about to throw up the contents of her stomach seconds ago.

“Sophie, how lovely you look,” Stephen said, glaring at Amelia. “It would be my honor to escort you down the aisle.”

“Really?” Sophie whispered. “I-I had thought to walk down there by myself.”

“Really.” Stephen moved to her side. He gave Amelia a scowl, which she returned tenfold, and gently took Sophie’s hand, placing it on his arm.

“Let me tell you about a discussion Patrick and I once had. I told him he would have to wed to have an heir, and do you know what he said, Sophie?”

“No.”

“He said that after a life spent around selfish people, he would not wed unless it was his choice to do so. That if he found the right woman, he would wed her with haste when that time came.”

“Oh, but?—”

“Patrick is the very best of men, Sophie. A man I am privileged to count as my friend; a man I and many others lean upon. Yet I know his faults, and one of those is, he is malleable as a rock. He does nothing he has no wish to.”

Sophie absorbed those words.

“Take care of him, Sophie,” Stephen said solemnly as they walked into the church.

“I will try,” she whispered, off-balance after that conversation. Did Patrick actually want to marry her?

“Are his sisters here?” Sophie asked as they entered the church.

“Alas, no, but there will be celebrations when you reach his estate,” Stephen said. “You will like them. They are lovely women.”

Looking down the aisle, she saw Patrick. His eyes were locked on her.

“He wanted me to do this for you rather than stand with him, but I told him I can do both,” Stephen said.

“You are a good friend,” she whispered, still looking at Patrick.

She saw guests out of the corners of her eyes. Some she knew, but others she didn’t, and then she was standing beside him.

“Hello,” she whispered.

“Hello. You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

He took her hand when Stephen held it out to him.

“Trust me, Sophie.”

“I would ask you to trust me also, my lord,” Sophie whispered.

“If you are ready, my lord, we shall proceed,” the minister said loudly.

The service was a blur to Sophie. She spoke her vows clearly and even remembered all of his names.

“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

He faced her. “It will be all right, Sophie.” Patrick kissed her softly and then took her hand as they turned to look at their guests as man and wife.