It wasn’t her fault that a hundred people were there to see her embarrass her new husband. She hadn’t intended anyone except Gabriel and the minister to hear. She hoped they hadn’t; she’d spoken all her vows in a soft voice.
The minister looked a silent query at Gabriel.
He gave a terse shake of his head, and the minister gave a small shrug and continued. He finished the ceremony quickly. Callie was so relieved she almost missed “You may kiss the bride.”
Gabriel turned toward her and for the longest moment stared at her with an odd, intense expression. Then he lifted her clear off her feet and kissed her full on the mouth in front of everyone. It was a proud, possessive kiss, a public claiming, a promise.
It shook her, to have him kiss her like that, so unguardedly, with passion, in a church, in front of a hundred witnesses.
It was supposed to be a paper wedding.
Wasn’t it?
After the wedding, in a move that surprised the groom as well as the bride, everyone present was invited back to Alverleigh House for a wedding breakfast—even though it was already early evening. Everyone except the bride, the groom, and the groom’s best man, his brother Harry, had known about it. It turned out that Lady Gosforth, the earl of Alverleigh, and his brother Nash Renfrew had organized the whole day. Between them they’d managed to entice some of the most influential people in London to the wedding.
Nash had explained to Callie why: the more important people who could put pressure on the government to deny Count Anton’s claim, the better.
The day had been full of surprises and Callie was resigned to it. There had been a complete takeover of her small, private ceremony and there was nothing she could do. Besides, it was all for Nicky’s benefit, so who could argue or resist such wonderful kindness?
Several times she caught herself wishing it could all be real. She stomped on those thoughts.
Gabe and Harry were furious with the earl for taking over and hosting the reception. “Typical high-handed arrogance,” Gabe fumed to Nash. “Tell him I won’t be patronized by him and I’m damned if I’ll dance to his tune.”
“It’s a peace offering, Gabriel,” Nash told him. “An apology for past wrongs.”
“I don’t need his—”
“It’s a public declaration of support for your wife. Everyone in the church will be there to meet the princess.”
Gabe shut his mouth and glared at Nash. Damned slippery diplomat. He’d said the one thing that could stop Gabe from snubbing the earl publicly.
He glanced at Harry, who shrugged. “No choice, Gabe. You know it. Outflanked and outgunned.” He turned to Nash and said, “But that doesn’t mean that I have to go.”
Gabe grabbed him hard by the elbow. “Oh yes, you do, dammit, Harry. If I have to swallow my pride, so do you.”
Harry made to pull away, but then he met Gabe’s eye, sighed, and accepted his fate.
It was quite late by the time the last of the wedding guests left Alverleigh House. The servants had cleared up and melted discreetly away. Now there just remained Gabe’s friends, his brothers, and Aunt Maude. Miss Tibthorpe and Ethan had taken the little boys back to Aunt Maude’s sometime earlier. Gabe looked at his bride. She was looking distinctly sleepy. He rose and held out his hand to her. “Shall we depart, my dear?”
“No, Gabriel,” his aunt interrupted. “You two are staying here. You have the house to yourselves; the servants have been given the evening off, but will be back by morning. Marcus has lent you the house for the week—in fact for as long as you need it.”
“What?” Gabe looked around for the earl. Apart from a formal greeting and a stiff thank you for his support of his wife, Gabe had barely exchanged a word with his oldest brother.
Nash said, “He’s already gone. He’s like Father was; hates town, prefers to be at Alverleigh. But he made arrangements for you to stay. And I do think it’s an excellent idea. Give it out that you two have gone on your honeymoon.”
“What do you mean give it out,” said Aunt Maude. “Theyareon their honeymoon.”
“I meant instead of traveling out of town,” Nash corrected himself smoothly. “The princess will not want to leave her son.”
“No,” Callie said. “I won’t leave Nicky behind.”
“Nonsense, you need a few days alone with your new husband,” Aunt Maude declared. “This is perfect. You are just around the corner from your son and he’s perfectly safe with me: Miss Tibthorpe and Mr. Delaney are with him constantly. Besides, there is no place for a child on a honeymoon. Children usually come afterward.”
“But—”
But there was no stopping his aunt in full flight. “I’ve had all of Callie’s things removed to the rose bedroom upstairs, left at the top of the stairs, my dear. The entire house has been redecorated since you were here last, so there can be no unpleasant associations for you, Gabriel. Your things are here, too. Accept it graciously, my boy, and we shall be off.” She surged to her feet, kissed him on the cheek, embraced Callie warmly, and swept out.
Gabe swallowed his objections. More than anything else he wanted to be alone with his reluctant bride and begin the tantalizing process of seducing her, but he could see from her face that she was uncomfortable about being alone with him. The slightest excuse and she’d be back at his aunt’s and there was no possibility of seduction in that situation. He just wished it didn’t have to be at Alverleigh House, the home of his lonely early years.
