She returned the gesture. As if of their own volition, the petals in the aisle lifted into the air and then drifted slowly back down like snowfall as Alison walked down it.
Alison only realized when she reached the end that Rinka must have followed her and that Idris was there standing next to Keir. She looked around at the guests: her family and Keir’s in the front row, all of their friends behind them. It was all happening so fast, it overwhelmed her.
Keir took her hand, and she was back on solid ground again. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered to her.
“Dear friends and honored guests,” began Gwenla. “We’ve come here today in the sight of the Gods to witness the bond of Dr. Keir Ainsley, Marquess of Caernock, and Miss Alison Lennox of Herot’s Hollow in holy matrimony. Now, believe it or not, I’m no vicar.”
There was laughter from the crowd.
“I’m here because I’m a friend to these two lovely humans, and they’ve asked me to join them together because that’s apparently something that’s allowed in this country. All I really have to do is pronounce them husband and wife and strike this anvil—” Gwenla patted the anvil with one hand, “—with this here hammer,” she said, holding up a golden hammer Weyland must have made for the occasion. “That’s really all it takes.”
Keir and Alison laughed at that. Maybe that’s all they should have done. But Alison was excited to share her vows with Keir at least, and she knew Gwenla would give her a chance to do so.
“But before I do, I do want to say something about marriage. I met the love of my life later in my life than most, certainly later than these two have. And at times, I’ve regretted that I didn’t have longer to share with her, but one thing I know about marriage: every moment I spent married to her was worth every moment of pain I’ve felt after losing her. If I could go back and do it over, I wouldn’t change a thing, even the times that were hard. A marriage isn’t a guarantee of a lifetime of happiness, but it’s a promise that no matter what comes, you’ll have someone to face it with. Even when you lose them that’s true, because to marry someone is to carry them with you always.”
Gwenla choked up a bit on the last words. Alison took her hand and squeezed it. “Thank you, love,” Gwenla whispered.
“Alison, I believe you’ve prepared your own vows.”
Alison had written them down, but she’d read them so many times that she didn’t need to look. Instead, she looked into Keir’seyes as she spoke. “Keir,” she began, and then she felt a little sob. “Sorry, sorry,” she said to the crowd.
Keir reached into his breast pocket and handed her his handkerchief. She dabbed at her eyes, hoping she hadn’t ruined the eyeliner. “Keir,” she tried again. “When I met you, I was searching for something. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew something had been missing in my life. I expected to find the answer in what I’d always known: numbers, coin, the tangible things that I valued. The things that had always made sense to me even as they failed to give my life the purpose and meaning that I didn’t realize I needed.
“Meeting you, knowing you, learning who you were and what you’d been through, how you gave so much of yourself to those around you despite what it had cost you, it gave me a purpose. I wanted to help you, but not just for your sake, but for the sake of this incredible town, this community of people that has made me feel for the first time in my life that I belong.
“I am honored that you allowed me into your life. I am humbled that you all have let me into your community. I am grateful that through our love, I have connected with a part of myself I didn’t know existed. I feel that connection now between us, and I know that with it, we can do anything.
“I vow to stand by your side, wherever life takes us. I vow to be your partner, to share in life’s joys and worries together as equals. I vow to be your strength when you are weary, to be your comfort when you are troubled, and to be your light on your darkest days.”
Alison felt Keir’s love surge through his magic. “That was amazing,” he whispered. “Thank you.”
“Keir, I believe you have something prepared as well.”
Alison’s eyes widened in shock. “What?”
“Surprise,” said Keir, and a few people in the crowd chuckled. “You didn’t think I’d let you be the only one, did you?”
Alison’s heart pounded. She’d expected Keir to recite the ordinary vows, and she had been fine with it—she knew he was nervous when speaking in public, and she didn’t doubt how he felt.
But to hear him say how he felt in front of everyone? It was an unexpected gift.
“Alison,” said Keir. “Alison, I—” He paused, turned to the side to collect himself. There were tears in his eyes when he looked back at her. “Alison. I’m not as gifted with words as you are, so I hope you’ll bear with me as I do my best to explain what you mean to me.”
Alison nodded in encouragement.
“I told you once that you saved my life. That the life I led before I met you was half a life, hardly worth living at all. What you may not realize is that you save my life every day.
“I wasn’t blessed with good humor. I often find things difficult and upsetting that don’t seem to bother other people. I carry the weight of every mistake with me, every poor choice and bad decision I’ve made. I carry them even if they turn out well in the end.” He glanced at Charlotte as he said this. Alison knew that having Charlotte back had eased much of his guilt, but their years apart meant it would never be erased entirely.
“I tell you this not because I think it makes me a promising future husband, but because it’s who I am. I have always felt less than enough.
“But when I’m with you, I can see the possibilities that elude me on my own. It’s not that I no longer feel my burdens. It’s that when you share in them, I can see them as opportunities rather than challenges. I’ve told you that you make me want to be better. But the truth is, you make me better, every day I spend with you, just by being who you are.
“I’ve spent a lot of time wondering what it is that I can offer you. How is it fair that I take so much from you and offer you solittle? But maybe that’s my melancholy speaking again. Maybe I am blind to the good that I do, but I can see its impact on you. I can see that you’re happy, and I can believe that I am some small part of it. And I’d never do anything to take that away from you.
“And so that is what I promise you. I vow to honor you, to respect you, to support you in every one of life’s adventures, no matter what the little voice in my head says. I vow to trust you more than I trust myself because I know you have my best interest at heart. I vow to appreciate the joy and beauty you bring into my life and to welcome light and laughter into our home, in whatever form that may take. I vow to love you for the rest of my days and for whatever may come after. I love you, Alison.”
Alison was fully crying now, the handkerchief streaked with the black of her makeup, and she didn’t even care.
