* * *
Their arrival in Gretna Green was nothing like Lydia had imagined all during the long journey from London. As they crossed over into Scotland, the only discernable difference was that the light mist had lifted and the sun shone warmly from over the rolling green fields. Lydia had never traveled so far from home before, and the only thing that soothed her nerves was the picturesque beauty and the knowledge that she would soon be safe.
“I’d have walked to Scotland just to set eyes on this countryside,” Matthew said softly, leaning forward to better see out. “In all the years I’ve traveled, I’ve never seen such a sight as this.”
“It is beautiful,” Lydia agreed in awe. “I only wish…”
“What?” Matthew asked, smiling expectantly.
“It’s nothing,” Lydia replied, still watching the fields out the window near her.
“Please tell me. I really wish to know what you were thinking,” he implored.
Lydia sighed. “Only that Elsie could see this, but I wasn’t thinking of her. The only way she could see this would be if I had dragged her down to my current state. I would never do that to her, at least not willingly.”
Before Matthew could think of a response, the driver called out to the horses and the carriage began to slow. Matthew immediately leaned to look out, fearful of yet another attack on the road. He did not see any obstacles, and the driver soon climbed down to appear at his window.
“My Lord, we’ve arrived in the village. Do we head directly to the blacksmith shop?” the man asked politely. “Or is there to be a delay of any kind?”
“No, straight away is best. Thank you,” Matthew said, nodding confidently. The driver acknowledged the request and returned to his seat atop the carriage, then the horses continued on.
“What did he mean? What blacksmith shop? Are the horses all right?” Lydia asked, sounding faintly alarmed.
“Oh, right,” Matthew said, forgetting that Lydia may have had no explanation before now. “Couples who elope to Gretna Green are doing so to avoid the constraints of the Marriage Act… or as in our situation, for some other reason which requires both urgency and discretion. But under the Scottish government, the strict laws it contained were never enacted.” He paused to see if Lydia was following his explanation, then continued, “For many couples, there is another sense of urgency—the bride’s father or brothers, giving chase to prevent the wedding.”
“That is understandable,” Lydia muttered under her breath, but she gestured for Matthew to continue.
“The easiest place to reach and to have a brief ceremony, one that is open nearly at all hours of the day and night, is the blacksmith. His task is to repair all manner of metals, make shoes for a horse, fix tools, and other vital tasks. Therefore, the shop is also an ideal place for a rather clandestine, hurried affair to take place.”
“I see. So people happily choose to stand in the soot and dirt to say their vows?” Lydia asked rather skeptically. “I’m sure there are many a bride who dreamed of her wedding day, complete with a ceremony and vows pledged to the love of her life, only to turn and run when expected to do so at the forge.”
Matthew looked askance and shrugged. “There’s the thing. It’s not actually a traditional ceremony, true. He’ll ask if we’re both willing to marry the other, ask if there’s any reason we cannot marry—such as, we are already married to someone else—and then he pronounces us married.”
“That is all?” Lydia asked, astounded. “No vows? No prayer? No Scripture reading to mark the solemnity of the occasion? Is this even considered a marriage in the eyes of God?”
Matthew shook his head. “For God, yes. For the blacksmith, I don’t know. I do know there is one meaningful moment—the striking of the anvil.”
“Why would he do so during a wedding ceremony?” Lydia asked, a hint of smile at the corners of her mouth, as though she might think Matthew was only teasing.
“The smith’s job is to combine two metals into one, forging something that is even stronger than before and that cannot be undone without violent force,” he explained. “The striking of the anvil is to signify that a man and woman have now been joined, and there shall be nothing that separates them.”
“Other than a violent force, you mean,” Lydia said quietly, and Matthew stilled beside her. “Or a boat to the Far East.”
“Yes,” Matthew admitted self-consciously. He cleared his throat and added, “But considering that it is, indeed, a blacksmith shop, if we’re fortunate, there won’t be a team of horses sticking their heads in the window while the words are spoken.”
Lydia laughed in spite of her earlier sadness. “That would be the final touch on an otherwise strange and singular wedding, I suppose. Perhaps the smith’s apprentice might play a hymn on the bellows!”
Matthew smiled, grateful that Lydia was capable of seeing some humor in it. “So you’re not too disappointed? I didn’t realize you were unaware of how these things unfold in Gretna Green. I’m deeply sorry if I hauled you all the way to Scotland only to dash your hopes.”
“No, Matthew, you did nothing wrong,” she replied sincerely, her earlier dark mood shifting slightly. “There is nothing about this entire chapter of my life that is as I thought it would be, or as I envisioned from when I was a girl… starting with the absence of my parents. If I cannot have them by my side as I marry a man I courted and love, then all else is merely details. It is of no consequence if I cannot have them with me.”
“Lydia, I want to tell you—” Matthew began, but he could not find the words to express how his feelings were beginning to frighten him. He had never intended to marry, yet here he found himself remembering how he’d once cared for the woman who now sat beside him.
Say something to her, you fool!Matthew thought angrily. As he decided to simply be honest,the driver’s call to the horses stopped him. They looked out and saw the blacksmith shop, and realized they were already there.
“What were you saying?” Lydia asked, but Matthew shook his head.
“It is nothing.” He forced a cheerful tone as he picked up Lydia’s hand from the space between them on the carriage seat and said, “Come, let us be married!”
