Marigold softly covered her hand with her own. “You’ve thumped the peonies against your thigh twice. They’ll be mangled before the ceremony if you don’t stop.”
She huffed a small breath, still staring at the doors but she did relax her grip on the poor blooms. “They’ve been in there for hours.”
“Three minutes,” Marigold laughed, rubbing Lily’s arm. “Try to relax.”
“I don’t do that very well,” Lily muttered under her breath.
Daisy laughed from her other side. “Really? I had no idea.”
Lily’s gaze cut to her friend. “Tell me about married life. It will distract me.”
She watched Daisy’s face as her friend’s expression grew dreamy. “It’s wonderful.”
“That is lovely. But I am trying to distract myself so I am going to need you to be more specific.” Her mother and father had disappeared into the church to speak with the man she was about to marry. As if Lily wasn’t impatient enough to be wed, the delay was positively ruining her.
Well, kissing Merrick at that house party had nearly ruined her. She supposed waiting out here was only killing her flowers.
Daisy laughed. “Well. We talk for hours and we walk in the garden and…” A blush stained her friend’s cheeks. “And we spend the evenings reading by the fire.”
Lily frowned. That all sounded wonderful but she imagined that she and Merrick would have a great deal more wild rides on the back of his stallion and less demure walks in the garden.
But she was spared answering when her father finally opened the door and peeked his head through the crack in the door. “We’re nearly ready.”
Lily lifted her skirts, starting up the stairs. “Thank goodness. What took so long?”
Her father gave her a stern glance as he opened the door wider. “It’s not every day that a man decides to wed a woman of your...spirit.” He cleared his throat. “I simply gave him a bit of advice.”
“Papa,” she stopped on the steps, staring up at her father. “What did you say?” She couldn’t quite keep the disapproval from her words.
Her father scowled back. “You take after your mother, you know. So trust me when I say, I know a thing or two on the subject.”
Well. Lily had to agree with him there. She thought back to Merrick’s words about having a daughter exactly like Lily. A small smile touched her lips. Did he know what he actually requested?
He did. No one knew her better than the man she was about to marry. “I’m sure you do, Papa. I am just anxious to become Merrick’s wife. The wait has been…” She searched for the correct word.
“Interminable,” her father finished. “Trust me, we are all aware of your feelings on the matter.”
Daisy and Marigold laughed behind her.
A blush climbed into her cheeks. It was a good thing that Merrick loved her as she was. Though she was working on her temper, she sometimes forgot that fact. “I haven’t been that bad.”
Her father shook his head. “No, my sweet. You haven’t. And now the wait is over. Come.”
Reaching out his hand, her father opened the door wider, and pulled her to the top of the steps.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust but when they did, she took a took a quick sweeping gaze of the chapel.
Merrick’s family was there, their gazes tight with disapproval but they’d attended. That’s what mattered.
And her brother had returned home too.
She smiled as their gazes met.
A throat cleared at the front of the church and glancing ahead, she met Merrick’s eyes and everyone else melted away.
Tall, broad, and handsome as ever, he stole her breath. The wait had been worth it.
She practically floated down the aisle and when her father placed her hand in Merrick’s, a sigh she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding in, escaped from her lips.
The words of the vicar flowed over her as they each repeated their vows, his deep baritone settling down deep in her soul.
During his proposal, he’d claimed that he might have always loved her.
She understood.
She’d always loved him too. There would never be another for her in the entirety of the world.
When his lips claimed hers, sealing their bond, the words that she’d been longing to say, burst from her mouth. “I love you, Merrick Hampton.”
He grinned down at her, his eyes sparkling in the candlelight. “And I love you, Lily Upton Hampton.”
She stood on tiptoe and kissed him again, aware of their families as they shifted in their seats. She didn’t care. “Lily Hampton,” she repeated when their kiss finally broke. “I like the sound of it.”
He grinned. “I have a gift for you.”
Her eyes crinkled. “A gift?”
“It’s right outside. Shall we?” And he gestured down the aisle.
Joy and love practically burst from inside her as they made their way back out of the church, and into the morning light.
Before her, rather than a carriage, stood a giant black stallion, the color of the darkest night as he pawed the ground.
Her gasp filled the air as she turned to look at her new husband.
“I know you’ve only just started riding on your own but he’s large enough that we can ride together.”
“He’s perfect,” she murmured, letting go of Merrick’s hand to step up to the beast and trace a line with her gloved fingers down the animal’s side. “What’s his name?”
“That’s up to you,” he said as he stepped up next to her, his hand dropping to her waist.
She looked at the large stallion still pawing the ground as he let out an impatient huff. “Spirit,” she answered, rubbing his neck.
Merrick chuckled. “It’s perfect.” Then he put a second hand at her waist. “Are you ready?”
“Ready?” She turned to her new husband, confusion surely crinkling her eyes.
He leaned down to whisper softly in her ear. “I thought we’d go for a little ride on the way to our wedding breakfast.”
Excitement pounded in her veins as she gasped out her delight. “Nothing would make me happier.”
He lifted her into the saddle and then swung in behind her. “Then nothing would make me happier.”
And then he snapped the reins, Spirit springing into action.
Lily gave one quick glance back to see both their families staring at them with open mouths and wide eyes.
A laugh bubbled from her throat. This was exactly where she was meant to be.
Thank you for reading! If you missed Daisy’s story, it can be found in A Duke for Miss Daisy. Turn the page for a free sample of Marigold’s story, up next in A Marquess for Miss Marigold
A Marquess for Miss Marigold
A Wallflower’s Wish
To think, Lord Maximus Langston, the new Marquess of Arundel, had actually been looking forward to this homecoming. Seeing his mother and sister again, reveling in the comforts of home, resting his wounded leg with some much-needed peace and quiet...
Or not. Laughter from the hallway made him cringe.
Instead of the quiet homecoming of his dreams, he’d come home to find himself in the midst of his worst nightmare.