A smirk on her lips next, wondering when she was going to break the news. She wanted to do it as soon as she could. Right now! But as this was her sister’s day, she was hesitant to take away the attention from her.
“I need a drink…” Lord Theodore Merrick fell into a chair beside Christopher. “Perhaps two.”
“I think you’ve had enough,” said Lord Alistair Lock as he sat beside Rose.
“You can never have enough!” Theodore decreed.
“A point that you are either going to prove true or horribly false,” Alistair responded dryly.
“What’s the matter?” Christopher chuckled. “Not having enough fun?”
Theodore snorted. “Fun? At a wedding…” He then shuddered purposefully. “I think not. The whole concept is…” He clicked his tongue. “Unnatural.”
Alistair scoffed. “Spoken like a man who wouldn’t be able to convince the family dog to marry him. That’s the sound of jealousy.”
“Jealousy!” Theodore sat up and turned to his friend. “I will have you know that if I so wished it, I could marry tomorrow. What young lady would not wish to see herself attached to my side for life? And what a life it would be.”
“Oh please…”
“What of you, Alistair?” Rose asked. “Do not tell me that there are no young ladies here that haven’t caught your eye.”
Alistair curled his lip. “That would require me to look for them in the first place.”
“Don’t waste your breath,” Christopher cut in. “Not only are both these gentlemen proud bachelors, but if they did dare to court a young woman of reputable reputation, I would be inclined to intervene and warn them away. For the good of mankind.”
“Exactly!” Theodore agreed.
Alistair scoffed again. “It is hardly that dire. The simple fact is that I have no desire to wed, nor will I ever. I just don’t see the point.”
“You sound like someone I used to know,” Rose laughed as she looked slyly at her husband.
“Take it from me…” Christopher was still holding Rose’s hand, and he brought it to his lips. “Married life isn’t nearly so bad as you might think.”
“Oh, lovely,” Rose snorted. “Spoken like a true romantic.”
“I thought so,” Christopher chuckled.
They spent another hour or so at the table, speaking gaily with Theodore and Alistair, on topics about everything but marriage. Both men were adamant that they would never change their minds on the subject, and while they sounded confident enough, Rose wasn’t so sure.
For all my jokes about Christopher, I was once of the same mind as they. Little did I realize that it isn’t until you’re not looking for love that it finds you.
After several hours, Marianne and Julian announced that it was time for them to leave. It was all hugs and tears, and Rose made sure to be the last one to wish Marianne well before she saw her sister off in the carriage.
“I love you,” Marianne blubbered as they hugged. “I love you so much.”
“As I love you,” Rose said, hugging her back and withholding the tears that threatened to burst. “And no one deserves this more.”
“All you have done…” Marianne was a mess of tears. “I can’t ever… I owe you so much… oh!” She buried her head in Rose’s shoulder and wailed.
Soon, Julian managed to pull her away, and the guests cheered and waved as the carriage pulled out of the estate. Slowly after that, the guests began to filter back into the manor. Christopher turned to follow, but Rose took his hand and pulled him back.
“What is it?” Christopher asked.
“Before we go inside…” Rose was shaking with both nerves and excitement. She glanced over Christopher’s shoulder to make sure that they were alone. “There is something I need to tell you.”
“Can’t it wait…” Christopher looked toward the manor. “I promised Theodore that I would save him from Lady Allington. She has been hounding him all day.”
“Oh, it can wait,” Rose said with a coy smile. “But I don’t think you would want it to.”
