This day, though – this day was about her and Ezra. All eyes would be on the two of them, and she knew she was something of a curiosity in the county: the woman who had drawn the Earl out of his bachelor existence and back into society.
"He’s a good man," her father said, squeezing her hand. "I think you’ve made a good choice."
"Marrying him isn’t the bit I’m nervous about," she admitted, as she waited for the music to begin – her cue to enter the church and seal her fate.
Her father frowned. "Well, if it’s about being a countess, you’ll be just fine. You’re a little quieter and more reserved than many, I’ll grant you – but you’re the daughter of an earl; you know what to do. And the county hasn’t had a countess for years, so I’m sure they’ll be grateful to have your interest."
Constance swallowed. She hadn’t been thinking about that – but now it was in her mind, and it only added to her worries.
"You think I can do this? I always thought Charity would be the one marrying some titled peer, not me."
"I know you can do it," he said with a smile, reaching up to touch her cheek, his thumb stroking it delicately for a moment – and Constance nearly cried. "You can do anything you want, my darling girl. Charity will go her own way, and you will go yours – and the Earl is in love with you. Anyone can see that."
Constance blushed. "I think he is," she agreed.
"He hasn’t told you so?" her father asked with a frown.
"He has," Constance said, glancing towards the door, which stood slightly ajar, through which she could hear that the chatter had died down. It would soon be time. "It’s just hard to believe, if I’m honest."
"Well, you should believe in it, and trust it, and build your life upon it. I am confident you will be very happy together –even if it is not quite what I expected when you came up here for the Season."
???
Ezra stood ramrod straight at the front of the church, waiting for the music to start and for Constance to walk down the aisle.
He wanted this, and he did not care how many people had come out to witness it. The sooner they were married, the better, in his mind.
And yet it was hard not to recall the first time he had stood in this very church – marrying Laura. That had been a grand affair, planned by his mother, with what had seemed like the entire county in attendance: tenants, farmers, and every local lord, lady and gentleman who could get there.
This time, though the locals had turned out once the banns had been read, the guest list was otherwise small – limited to his mother, her father and sister, and the Coldinghams, the Dunlochs, and the Aylesburys, who were still staying with them at Blackthorne Castle.
So, a few titled folk – but all people he now counted as friends.
His mother seemed to have accepted his choice, even if it wouldn’t have been hers, and he thought she was happy that he was at least remarrying, when for so long it had seemed he never would.
Then the organist began to play, and the doors were opened – and there she was. She looked nervous, and yet when their eyes met, a smile passed across her face that made his heart nearly explode.
He loved this woman with every bone in his body, and he meant to do everything he could to make her happy. He neverwanted her to feel insecure or unsure of his love, because she was the only woman he had ever felt this way about – and he rather thought that this was what soulmates were. That this was the sort of love you only got once in a lifetime.
He’d had friendship with Laura, a steady partnership – but this…this was true love.
And it had simply stumbled into his castle unannounced and unexpectedly, on an autumnal afternoon.
Life certainly could be funny.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Constance repeated each word reverently, hardly able to believe that she was really saying them. She had heard the marriage service several times in the past, and she had always found herself watching the bride to see if she looked nervous, excited, confident. But she had not, as she thought other women had, imagined herself in the bride’s place. She supposed that she’d thought she would marry someday, but it had never been something she had particularly dwelt upon. And she had thought it rather more likely that she would be a spinster aunt to her sister’s inevitable future children.
But no. Her sister was sitting in the first pew with her father, and it was Constance who was marrying an earl.
She met his gaze and her heart raced, and she found it hard to finish saying the words that needed to come from her lips. She had not anticipated that anyone would ever look at her like that. Indeed, it was hard to truly believe that he was looking at her – plain Constance – with such warmth in his eyes, with such fervour. She half expected to turn and find a more attractive, more exciting woman behind her. But no. It was just the two of them, standing at the front of the church before the locals and a few friends and family, and she was really and truly about to become the Countess of Gracewood – and Ezra’s wife.
???
Back at Gracewood Castle, Soames was overseeing an impressive wedding breakfast, especially considering the speed with which it had been organised. Ezra made a mental note to thank Mrs Porter for the work she had surely put in. The food looked delicious, and the room was beautifully decorated with flowers too. It seemed everyone was as keen as he was to make the new countess feel welcome.
Constance, he realised, was not beside him. He turned and spotted her with her sister hovering at the edge of the room, looking a little unsure.
