She almost allowed herself to believe that he was happy. But how could he be? He’d been forced to marry her. Juliet would not let herself to be foolish enough to believe that he would have chosen her.
Still, she found some measure of happiness despite the circumstances that led them here. Perhaps Giles did too.
“Into this holy union His Grace, the fifth Duke of Cleburne Giles Fortescue and Lady Juliet Gale now come to be joined. If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now, or else forever hold your peace.”
Juliet could scarcely help from holding her breath as she half hoped someone would object, and at the same time prayed no one would. She exhaled on a swallow when the clergyman started speaking once more.
Her pulse sped when the clergyman turned his attention to her and said, “Lady Juliet Gale, will you have this man to be your husband; to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?”
She stared into Giles’s eyes as she considered the weight of the oath she was being asked to take. One word stood out apart from the rest—love. Could she stand before God, family, and friends and swear to love Giles for the rest of her days when she feared trusting him with her heart?
Giles swallowed hard as he stared back at her, his gaze imploring and warm. Perhaps she could love him. Maybe he would treat her heart with kindness. Did it even signify at this point? She had to marry him, he’d ruined her.
Finding her voice, she said, “I will.”
Her nerves dissipated when Giles favored her with a joyous smile. Maybe, just maybe, everything would work out. At the least, he did not blame her for trapping him. And rightly so, considering it was he who did the trapping.
She really had to let all of that go if she wished to forge a promising future with him. Blaming him would only lead to negative things—anger and resentment—and she did not want to have such feelings in the middle of her marriage, mucking everything up.
The clergyman turned his attention to Giles and asked him to answer the same question. Giles’s gaze never left Juliet’s, and he replied, “I will,” without hesitation.
She thought it odd that he did not seem to share her reservations, but somehow, she was glad for his show of confidence. He’d vowed before God, their family, and friends to keep and care for her, and she believed he would honor his vow.
Perchance love would follow.
Giles took Juliet’s hand in his, and her traitorous heart soared as he said his vows. “In the Name of God, I, Giles Fortescue, take you, Juliet Gale, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.”
Giles released her hand, his fingers trailing across her glove covered palm as he did. Sparks of desire shot through her, and she swallowed hard. Now was not the time.
Lord, but he had a powerful effect on her sensibilities. And was it her imagination, or had he emphasized the word love? And why the devil did her heart make a gleeful jump as he’d spoke?
She had no time to ponder it, for the time to recite her own vows was upon her. As was expected, she took Giles’s right hand in hers and braced for the feelings she knew would come with touching him. Juliet repeated the vow to him. To her surprise, the words came easier this time.
The rings were blessed and exchanged two simple gold bands. The one Giles slipped onto her finger rested against the stunning sapphire he had placed there a sennight earlier. Then the vicar said, “Now that His Grace and Lady Juliet have given themselves to each other by solemn vows, with the joining of hands and the giving and receiving of a ring, I pronounce that they are husband and wife, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” He closed the prayer book and looked out at the crowded pews.
“Those whom God has joined together let no one put asunder.” His last words rang through St. George’s.
Juliet did not know whether she wanted to smile with joy or cry for all her lost dreams. What did it matter anyhow? It was done. They were married, and she would forevermore be his wife. Now she had to make the best of the hand fate had dealt to her.
Giles faced the congregation, then proffered his arm. Juliet curled her hand around his elbow and pasted a smile on her face. All she could do now was make the best of her marriage—her future at his side.
And at that moment, she determined to do all she could to make their union a happy one. Regardless of how he behaved, she would stand at his side and do her utmost to be a good wife.
“It is my great honor to introduce to you His and Her Grace, the Duke and Duchess of Cleburne,” the clergyman announced.
The words wrapped around her, warming her like a favored blanket as Giles led her back down the aisle. She was now his wife. His duchess, and she would someday be the mother of his children.
Her head spun as she absorbed the magnitude of what they had done. She was, for better or worse, his wife. He owned her now, and they would be forever bound together. Someday, they would make little people that would share bits of them both. And through their children, they would be eternally bound. Small pieces of themselves would live on forever.
It was a profound thought, one that illustrated the seriousness of their vows. She angled her gaze toward Giles as she wondered if he took their union seriously, and if he had speculated as she now did.
The church bells rang out as he guided her through to the vestry where they entered their marriage lines along with their witnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Thorne, and the vicar. To Juliet’s surprise, her hand did not shake as she signed her name.
“My darling,” Giles held out his hand, “are you ready to embark on the rest of our lives together?”
Juliet nodded and placed her hand in his.
A short while later, she stood next to her husband as they welcomed their guests for their wedding breakfast. She gave dutiful curtsies while he received each person with a bow. Her parents were the first to offer well wishes, after which they took their place to her left.
Olivia and Thorne followed, along with Louisa, Catherine, and Elizabeth. After exchanging pleasantries, they stood off to the side near Giles. It warmed Juliet’s soul to see her friends grant their support to her new husband, and not for the first time, she speculated that there was more to Giles than his terrible reputation.
Why else would Olivia’s family embrace him into their fold? Surely it was as they had said. Giles was a good man despite his colored past.
Pray, let the roguish behavior be in his past.
She lifted the silent prayer as a line of Ladies in elegant gowns filed past on the arms of gentlemen garbed in top hats and dress coats. Each of them stopped to curtsy or bow, as they offered well wishes and congratulated her and Giles on their union.
Once the line of well-wishers and curious peers had ended, Giles led Juliet through the parlor to the table set up for the wedding breakfast. Olivia, Louisa, Catherine, and Elizabeth had helped Juliet decorated the room in much the same fashion as the church.
Sprays of red and white roses, evergreen and holly, were scattered about. Sashes of white organdy, lace, and flowers rested above the arched doorways, and fresh sprays of greenery bedecked with holly and roses had been draped over the mantles and table.