“Althea, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? I promise that I will always be honest and true, and guard your heart as if it were my own.”
Tears sprang to her eyes as a smile burst forth. “Yes, Preston. Nothing would make me happier than being your wife.”
Epilogue
“Thisissoveryromantic,” Delia gushed to Preston.
Perhaps he was setting a poor example for his nieces by traveling to Edinburgh to wed. He didn’t wish to wait for the banns to be cried, nor for the length of time it would take to obtain a Special License, so he’d suggested a trip to Scotland. He’d feared Althea would wish to travel home so that her uncle could be present, but she didn’t, much to his relief. She was just as anxious as he to wed, especially since the girls were about at Ambrose Hall and she rarely allowed a kiss because of propriety. Therefore, as soon as the roads were clear enough to travel, they packed up the girls, his valet, a maid for Althea, and collected his cousin, Alec, then headed to Edinburgh where there’d be no delay in marrying.
“However, if you were going to run off to Scotland to wed, you should have gone to Gretna Green,” Delia proclaimed.
Preston narrowed his eyes on his oldest niece. “What do you know about running off to Gretna Green?”
“I read,” she shrugged.
Lord help him for when she makes her debut in London. Thank goodness Althea will be at his side and hopefully none of his nieces would do anything so foolish as to run off to Scotland to wed.
Not that he and Althea were being foolish. It was an entirely different matter. “Gretna Green is too far, and one can marry anywhere in Scotland, though you won’t unless I approve,” he warned.
He glanced at his timepiece a third time since he and Delia entered the church to await Althea. She’d avoided him all morning so that she could prepare, and Delia had promised to see to him. As if he needed seeing to.
“What is taking her so long?”
“She wants to look perfect, Uncle Preston,” Delia insisted.
Althea could be wearing a sackcloth and covered in ash, and she’d still be perfect.
“I told you we still had time,” Matilda complained as she entered the small church with Alec, who carried a stack of wrapped packages.
“Where have you been, and what are you carrying?”
Matilda’s face brightened immediately. “As I was not needed to assist Althea, Cousin Alec took me to the bookshop.” She let out a long sigh. “It was the most wonderful shop.”
Alec had to be carrying half a dozen books. “You purchased all of those for her.”
“What’s a favorite cousin to do but indulge his younger cousin?”
It was something Preston would have done before he became their guardian. This also wasn’t the first time Alec had indulged his nieces since they arrived in Edinburgh yesterday afternoon.
“Perhaps I should go look for her,” Preston mused aloud. What if she’d changed her mind?
Alec rolled his eyes. “She will be here,” he said as if he could read Preston’s mind.
“She should have been here already,” he ground out as concern mounted.
“I’ll go check on them,” Delia offered with a tone more suited for calming a child. He wasn’t behaving so badly, was he?
His oldest niece chuckled as she strolled out of the church as if there were no worries.
Alec smirked as Matilda settled into a pew and opened the wrapping on one of her books. She’d probably read during the wedding vows too, though Preston didn’t mind. So long as Althea was reciting what a vicar asked of her, they could all read and not pay attention.
“One day this will be you,” Preston warned Alec.
“No, it will not.”
“You no longer plan to wed?” Preston questioned because he knew that Alec must given he was an earl and there was nobody else to inherit the title.
“I will wed,” Alec assured him. “However, unlike you, my marriage will be one of mutual friendship and necessity of an heir, not of love.”
