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" V ictoria, I must tell you," her father said, "I never believed I would see this day."

Victoria laughed. "You've already seen this day, Father," she pointed out. "You were present at my first wedding."

"It's true—and yet, this one feels different," her father said.

"I don't think I fully understood just how unhappy you were in that first marriage, Victoria.

But seeing you today, one can't help but notice the difference.

You're truly radiant, my dear. Positively glowing.

It's wonderful to see you look this overjoyed. "

"Well, I feel overjoyed," Victoria said. "You're right. I don't know when I've been so happy. James is a perfect match for me, and I can't imagine anything better."

"Allow me to present Lady Belvedere," her father said, drawing a middle-aged lady forward. She was gray-haired and dignified, but with a kind smile, which she now bestowed upon Victoria.

"Lady Belvedere," Victoria said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is entirely mine, Victoria. Your father has told me a great deal about you." Lady Belvedere's smile widened. "I'm so glad that I was able to be present for such an important occasion."

"We're glad you could join us as well." Though Victoria's father hadn't said so, Victoria and Cressida speculated that he and Lady Belvedere might be courting.

They knew that Lady Belvedere had been widowed for many years.

If they were right, Victoria was happy about it—it was good to see her father engaging in the world once more.

It pleased her to know that he would be taken care of in the years to come, assuming this relationship worked out.

And now that she was meeting Lady Belvedere, she believed that it would.

Lady Belvedere seemed kind and easy to get along with, exactly the sort of thing Victoria would have wished for her father.

"The ceremony was positively beautiful," Lady Belvedere said. "You made a lovely bride, Victoria. I think the duke is a very fortunate man."

Victoria beamed. "Thank you," she said. "I feel as though I'm the fortunate one, to be marrying the man I love!"

"Well, I won't deny that's a bit of luck," Lady Belvedere agreed.

"So few people find love in this lifetime.

I know that I didn't, with my first husband.

He was a decent man, but it was a marriage of convenience—there was never any real affection between the two of us.

" She glanced at Victoria's father. "If I marry again," she said, "I'm determined that things will be different.

I won't marry again unless it's for love. "

Victoria heard her loud and clear—she was saying that she felt something for Victoria's father, that it wasn't just a courtship based on the hope of social advancement. That pleased Victoria greatly, and she couldn't wait to share the news with her sister.

"We ought to move along," her father said. "You have other guests to greet."

"Make sure you find time to say good day to James," Victoria said. "He'll want to see you."

"Yes, of course," her father agreed. "In fact, I see him now, over by the door to the ballroom—we'll go and greet him. And then, perhaps, some dancing?"

"That sounds perfect," Lady Belvedere said warmly. "We'll see you again before long, Victoria. Enjoy your day!"

Victoria watched them go, thrilled at their presence and at the sight of her father having such a good time. It was hard to imagine that anything could have made her happier.

Well—perhaps she could think of one thing.

It was five minutes later that James came to join her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Victoria," he said warmly. "How are you enjoying the party?"

"Oh, it's lovely," she assured him. "I'm having the most wonderful time. Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Very much. The turnout is wonderful."

"Do you think all of these people came just to get a look at me?"

"Probably," James teased, but he was laughing.

"No, you're not nearly such an object of curiosity as you once were, Victoria.

Now that Lord Harbury has been arrested for his crimes, everyone knows you didn't murder your husband.

They're not here for gossip—at least, not for that particular item of gossip.

They're here to celebrate our wedding, nothing more. "

"I think you're probably right," Victoria agreed.

"Does it disappoint you to be out of the spotlight in that way?"

"You must be kidding. I've dreamed of the day people would stop speaking about me the way they once did."

"Have you? You always gave the impression that you didn't really care about it," James said. "You acted as if what people had to say didn't matter to you at all."

"I had to act like that," Victoria said.

"I had to live as though their words didn't matter, because I couldn't afford to let myself care about it.

Not if I was going to be calm and happy.

But it mattered. Of course it did. I wasn't a murderer, and I always hated that people believed me capable of such a thing. That's a painful thing to live with."

"Then I'm even more glad we found the true culprit," James said. "I was horrified when I realized it was him, but since it clears your name, it's unquestionably a good thing."

"I agree," Victoria said. "I'm grateful to you for figuring it out. Although that's only one of many reasons I feel gratitude toward you, of course."

James smiled. "Come," he said. "William would like to wish you well."

He steered them over to the ballroom, keeping his arm firmly around her shoulders.

Victoria reveled in the feeling of being cared for.

Nothing had ever meant so much to her in all her life as the knowledge that James wanted to make sure she knew she was loved.

He had been so careful, over and over from the day of his proposal, to ensure that that fact was understood, and it made Victoria feel deeply loved.

William waited for them beside the fireplace in the ballroom, and he smiled as they made their approach. "Your Graces," he said formally, though they had been on a first name basis for weeks now. "How good to see you both looking so well and happy on this joyful occasion."

"Thank you," Victoria said with a smile. "We're glad you were able to be here."

"Ah, Victoria!" Cressida now joined the group with her husband in tow. "You look so beautiful today. And I've never seen you look this happy! What a remarkable day this is."

Victoria hugged her sister, and then hugged Matthew as well. "I'm not sure if you've met my husband's good friend, the Duke of Redmayne," she said. "And, William, this is my sister, Cressida, the Marchioness of Feverton, and her husband?—"

"Oh, I know the Marquess of Feverton," William interjected. "He and I have done business together on many an occasion." He extended a hand to Matthew. "It's a pleasure to see you again, sir."

"Indeed," Matthew agreed. "In fact, I have another business venture the two of us might discuss at your convenience, if you would be interested in such a thing."

"Oh, yes, very much so," William said. "Perhaps we'll make arrangements to meet sometime in the next week? I would hate to distract from today's blessed events with matters of business."

"I agree entirely," Matthew said with a smile. "But if you'll permit me, I will fetch some drinks for the two of us." He looked around the group. "Would anyone else like something to drink?"

"I think I'd prefer to dance, if my new bride will indulge me in that," James said.

Victoria beamed. "It would be entirely my pleasure," she assured him.

As the others went to fetch their drinks, Victoria allowed James to lead her onto the dance floor. He wrapped an arm around her as the musicians began to play.

They were given plenty of space, as the other dancers took notice of the fact that the newlyweds were now on the floor together.

All around them, people seemed to stop what they were doing in order to watch James and Victoria, as if they were the most interesting thing in the room.

Perhaps they were, Victoria thought. Perhaps the mere act of marrying had made them fascinating.

If that was the case, she didn't think she minded.

It was better than anything else she had ever been notorious for.

In fact, it was lovely to be stared at in response to something that was making her so happy.

It made her happiness multiply within her.

Still, she was pleased when the party ended and everyone left. Cressida was one of the very last out the door, and she lingered in her embrace without saying a word before finally turning and hurrying off into the night.

Victoria had been married once before, and there had also been the occasion of her ill-fated affair with Jonathan.

She knew what came next for a husband and wife.

The surprise was not the event itself, but the fact that—after everything she had been through—she felt prepared for it.

When James looked at her now, his eyes filled with longing, she felt no fear or dread. She only felt desire.

He scooped her up in his arms. "Our chamber awaits," he said, his voice low, and she couldn't restrain a smile.

It felt wonderful to be held by him. She was as light as a feather in his arms. He carried her up the stairs and to the bedroom, nudging the door ajar with his foot to let them inside.

He sat down on the edge of the bed with Victoria in his lap. "Well," he said, "that was quite a day."

She giggled, aware of the fact that she sounded girlish.

She felt girlish, to tell the truth, and it was a good feeling to have in a situation like this one.

For so long, she'd felt as if love would force her to be wise beyond her years.

, but with James it didn't feel like that at all.

When she was with him, it was enough to be exactly who she was and nothing more.

"You are so beautiful," he murmured. "It was such an honor to show you off tonight—to show everyone that you're my wife. I have never felt so proud in all my life, Victoria."

"I never dreamed I could be this happy in a marriage," Victoria said. She hesitated a moment, then teased him, "Perhaps if I'd known it was possible, I would have done this long ago."

"Then I'm very glad you didn't know," James said firmly. "I would have lost you to someone else, and that would have been a travesty."

Victoria nestled into him. "I'm yours," she assured him quietly. "Always yours."

"And I— Hades !"

The both of them burst out laughing, the tension between them evaporating temporarily as Hades jumped up onto the bed and forced his way in between them.

"We are going to have to do something about this cat," James said firmly.

"He just wants your attention," Victoria said with a laugh.

"He can have my attention later. Right now, I have other things on my mind."

He lay back on the bed, pulling her down with him.

Victoria allowed herself to be drawn into his embrace, amazed anew at how easy it was to do this and how comfortable she felt with him.

After all the hardship the two of them had been through, it seemed that they had finally each found someone they could feel perfectly at ease with.

And while that sounded almost impossible, as she lay with him now, Victoria thought it had been almost inevitable.

He pulled her into a kiss, and it was a very long time before they let each other go.

The End?