“Do you, Rayne?” she asked quietly.
Ah, minx.“I do.” More than a bedded seed liked sun. He threaded his fingers through hers. “I like you silent or chattering. In breeches or bedgowns. In livery or in silk.”
“That’s all I’ve wanted.” Her eyes watered. “And, though I’ve told you before—I like you, too.”
His swallow caught in his throat. She blushed and looked away, directing Laing to proceed.
Laing asked them their names and places of abode, which Linton recorded. Both affirmed they had never been wed and knew of no impediments to their marriage. When Laing questioned if both had come of their own accord, Julia held her breath.
Rayne winked, she exhaled, and they both answered yes.
He would manage. No, he would thrive. He had no other choice. He wasn’t sure he could live without her, now.
Laing, with a magnified somber air, picked up his Bible and turned to Rayne.
“Do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife, forsaking all others, keeping only to her as long as you both shall live?”
Something bubbled up in Rayne’s throat as he answered, “I will.”
Laing turned to Julia, asked—and she answered—the same.
“The ring?” Laing inquired.
“The ring!” Julia’s eyes widened. “How could we have forgotten—?”
Her question faded as he withdrew the small box from his pocket. He lifted the lid, carefully watching her face. At Rayne’s request, James had reworked his diamond—now a small, glittering jewel at the end of the twice-spiraled gold pin.
“Rayne! Your pin!” She recognized the piece at once. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” He closed her fingers over the ring. “You’re far more of a diamond than I am.”
Holding his gaze, she handed the ring to the parson for his blessing.
“Now,” Laing said, “place the ring on the fourth finger of the lady’s left hand and repeat these words. ‘With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, with all my worldly goods I thee endow in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.’”
His voice—Lord help him—quivered as he repeated the vow.
“Now, you”—Laing turned to Julia—“take hold of his right and say, ‘what God joins together let no man put asunder.’”
She emphasizedno man.
Indeed.No man…including her brother and brother-in-law.
Including himself.
Laing continued, “Forasmuch as this man and this woman have consented to go together by giving and receiving a ring, I, therefore, declare them to be man and wife before God and these witnesses in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.”
Julia gaped at the sparkle on her left hand.
Just a few days past, he’d seen the diamond as a symbol of his worst excess. Now, the small rock would represent his best. He’d given her a part of himself—a part that wasn’t pressed and polished and molded but was still struggling to evolve.
But would she regret her decision?
He forced himself not to wonder.
They were legally wed, though the wedding bore little resemblance to the warm, bright affair between his sister and her brother.
And, no matter what his intentions, that was enough to make him fear he’d done her wrong.
