A decision they’d solidified the night before. Actually, the night before that, if one wanted to be a stickler about it.
By the time she’d finished deliberating, Jasper had dressed, and as he combed his hair away from his face, his gaze caught hers in the looking glass.
“You’re being very quiet, which means your thoughts must be very loud,” he said. He not only saw her, but he managed to hear her.
Even when she was silent.
Nia wrapped the sheet around herself and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. “It’s just… A lot. Everything happened so fast, and I don’t know what the rules are anymore.”
Jasper crossed the room, lowered himself to his haunches, and took her hands in his. “You have every right to be nervous. Today, of all days. But as for the rules—you and I make up our own, remember? Neither of us expected this, but we will make the most of it, eh? You and I will shape this marriage to our will.” His eyes burned with determination, with conviction.
Nia nodded, and after squeezing her hands, Jasper rose to stand. “I’ll have tea brought up while you dress. I shouldn’t be gone more than an hour.” It would not take him that long to make arrangements. He was giving her time to herself.
Nia forced her shoulders back. She was becoming overly sentimental about all of this. She’d made the decision to leave her father’s house. She’d made the decision to be intimate with Jasper, and now she would follow through with this marriage.
She faced a brighter future with Jasper than any other future she could have imagined.
“I’ll be ready.” Clutching the sheets, she pushed herself off the bed to stand as well.
And today, she would go through with the vows.
Jasper smiled and then leaned forward to press his mouth to hers. “No more worrying,” he ordered after their lips parted.
“No more worrying,” she agreed.
And after the door closed behind him, Nia went to work smoothing out her prettiest gown, brushing her hair, and washing up.
Because today was her wedding day. In a few hours, she would be Jasper’s wife.
This time, the thought did not fill her with dread.
Jasper didn’t take long in meeting with Mr. Kemp, the blacksmith across the road from the inn. The arrangements were surprisingly simple, and he realized why couples were willing to make a trek north rather than follow all the procedures required to marry in England. Rather than endure three weeks of the reading of the banns, or pay for a special license, all one was required to do was attest that they were both unmarried and willing to marry.
As a result, when he stepped back outside, forty-five minutes stretched out before him until he would return to collect Nia. A cool breeze swept through the trees nearby, and clouds hovered on the horizon. Today was his wedding day—a day he’d done his best to put off for most of his adult life.
When he ought to be feeling all sorts of regrets at the prospect of taking on a shackle, the thought of her name instead lightened his steps. While going out of his way to avoid taking a bride, he’d found the perfect one. Was that luck or fate?
Rather than cross back to the inn, he stepped into the mercantile adjacent to the blacksmith’s. Over the course of their journey, he’d purchased all manner of necessities and even a few trinkets for Nia. But as he strolled through the aisles that offered up everything from farm tools to cooking flour, he didn’t know what exactly he was looking for, he only knew that he’d know it when he saw it.
Because today demanded a special gift.
Something to signify the occasion—the beginning of their life together.
He rubbed his chin as he recalled the day Helton first brought up the idea. The earl had suggested he could marry Nia and then leave her in the country while continuing to go about his merry ways. But Helton had been wrong.
Not once had Jasper envisioned marriage to Nia like that. Even in the beginning, he’d imagined marriage to Lady Gardenia Hathaway would be meaningful.
Because he liked her. He more than liked her. Not only because of the attraction between the two of them—which he’d found unlike anything he’d ever experienced—but because he admired her spirit. He admired her courage and her wit. Jasper shook his head, almost in awe.
She exhibited innocent dignity without a trace of snobbery. He loved hearing her laugh, watching her smile. The drive to Somerland Castle would normally be one he’d dread, but instead, he found himself happy at the prospect of spending more time with her alone.
Last night had only been the beginning.
She’d shown that she not only enjoyed the intimacy but had a willingness to explore all aspects of it.
With him.
Yes, the drive to Somerland Castle was something to anticipate.
