“Ours,” Nora corrected, her smile radiant. “We belong to each other now.”
The wedding breakfast at was to be at Hadleigh manor, but before the wedding party moved to the secondary location, greetings and well wishes were bestowed upon the new couple. Nora moved through the crowd in a daze of joy, accepting congratulations from what felt like every member of the ton while never straying far from Godric's side.
Her brothers-in-law, Adrian and Richard, cornered her at one point, their expressions a mixture of fondness and brotherly concern.
“You made a lovely bride,” Adrian said, kissing her cheek. “Though I must say, your choice of groom was certainly... dramatic.”
“That is one way to put it,” Richard agreed with a chuckle. “When Isobel told me about the revenge plot and the kidnapping, I half expected we would be attending a trial rather than a wedding.”
“The kidnapping was not Godric's fault,” Nora said, feeling the need to defend her new husband. “And he has more than made up for his initial deception.”
“Peace, little sister,” Adrian said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “We are only teasing. Anyone with eyes can see how much he adores you. The man has barely looked away from you all day.”
“It is rather sweet, actually,” Richard added. “In a possessive, slightly terrifying sort of way.”
Before Nora could respond, Godric himself appeared at her side, slipping his arm around her waist with casual possessiveness. “Are my new brothers-in-law giving you trouble, wife?”
The way he said “wife” with such satisfaction and pride made Nora's heart flutter.
“Only the usual amount,” she assured him. “They were just commenting on how devoted you are.”
“Were they,” Godric said, his eyes glinting with amusement as he looked at the two men. “I suppose I should thank you both for not challenging me to a duel over the various ways I mishandled my courtship of your sister -in-law.”
“The day is not over yet,” Adrian replied, but his smile suggested he was joking. Mostly.
Eventually, Godric pulled her aside and announced that they would see the family at Cecil’s house for the wedding breakfast. The family waved them off with cheer and laughter, and Nora pressed closer to him, relishing in the warmth he provided.
“Although we might be a tad late, due to the nature of my other plans,” Godric mumbled as he helped her into the carriage.
“What sort of plans?” Nora questioned, bemused as he settled down by her side.
“The sort that involves a detour to my estate, so I finally get you alone,” Godric said, his voice dropping to a register that made heat pool in her belly. “Where I can properly demonstrate just how much I adore my new wife without an audience of three hundred watching our every move. Afterwards, we can move to the wedding breakfast.”
“Oh,” Nora breathed, feeling her cheeks flush. “That sort of detour. Yes. Yes, I am very amenable to that.”
Godric's smile was pure wickedness. “Excellent. Come, then. Let us make our escape before your sisters decide to give us yet another lecture on propriety.”
The moment the carriage door closed behind them, Godric pulled Nora into his arms and kissed her with a hunger that had clearly been building throughout the day. She responded eagerly, her fingers tangling in his hair as she pressed herself against him.
“Do you know,” Godric murmured against her lips between kisses, “How difficult it was to maintain proper decorum today when all I wanted was to do this?”
“Mm,” Nora hummed, too focused on the way his mouth was trailing down her neck to form a coherent response. “I may have some idea.”
His hands were everywhere at once, sliding over the silk of her wedding gown with a reverence that made her shiver. “You are so beautiful,” he breathed. “I kept looking at you during the ceremony and thinking that I could not possibly be fortunate enough to have you as my wife. That surely, I would wake up and discover it was all a dream.”
“Not a dream,” Nora assured him, pulling back just enough to meet his eyes. “Very real. Very permanent. You are stuck with me now, Your Grace.”
“The best fate I could possibly imagine,” Godric replied, capturing her lips once more.
They kissed until Nora was dizzy with it, until the world outside the carriage ceased to exist and there was only the two of them, wrapped up in each other. She was vaguely aware that they should probably exercise some restraint, that they would be arriving at Godric's estate soon and should at least attempt to appear presentable.
But then Godric's hand found the laces of her gown, and all thoughts of restraint vanished like smoke.
“Godric,” she gasped as he pressed hot kisses along her collarbone. “We cannot – the coachman might –”
“The coachman is well paid to ignore whatever sounds might emanate from this carriage,” Godric assured her, his fingers working at her laces with surprising dexterity. “And the curtains are drawn. No one will see.”
“But we will be arriving soon –”
