He scoffed. "Are you telling me that you would let me drown?"
"Perhaps. It depends on how recently you had called me an angry old goose," she teased.
Felix chuckled. "I suppose that is a factor you should take into consideration when deciding whether to save me or not.'
"It's quite a good factor to consider, though, even if you were in the water and screaming to inform me that I was a goose, I would still save you. I'm afraid I love you far too much to ever let you go."
"And I love you."
She glanced at him in the mirror with a smile as she finished pinning the top half of her hair, the bottom still hanging loose. It would curl in the salt air on deck, and she would treasure the sketches one of the other women was going to capture as they were married. She and Felix would look like perfection in them.
At least, she thought they would until she looked down and saw the hem of his borrowed breeches climbing higher up his legs.
Isabelle smiled and looked at the short pants that Felix wore. "You shall have to find yourself a tailor before you meet my parents, since you did not see fit to bring anything with you."
Felix grinned and took her by the hand, leading her down the aisle to where the chaplain was waiting to marry them. "I will find one, I am certain, but if I do not, I am sure that there is no shortage of clothing I could borrow."
"You are a crazy man. I cannot believe that you got on this boat without even packing a small bag of things that you would need."
"I have been called worse." He lifted her hand to his mouth, kissing the back of it. "And now, if you will allow the chaplain to marry us, I can be called your husband."
Butterflies erupted in her stomach and she fervently hoped that they would never go away. "And then I shall be your wife, but we will have a proper ceremony when we arrive at my parents' house, will we not? They will want to celebrate with us."
"Of course, my love."
"Your goose."
He chuckled and stood with his hands linked with hers. "Mygoose."
Together they walked out of the chaplain's room and up the stairs to the deck. Though the ocean tossed and turned, and the wind filled the sails, and it was a beautiful day.
It was the perfect day to marry Felix.
After today, they would be tied together forever. They would be two halves of the same person, balancing each other out, being each other's best friend, and spending each day happier than the last.
They would have their troubles along the way, she was certain of it. Even the happiest couples in the world had their problems.
But she and Felix would get to work them out together.
"I've been thinking about the duchy and what we'll do when we return to England." Isabelle squeezed his hand tighter as they strode across the deck.
"You have?"
"If it is to be our home then I think I should be the one helping with some of the plans. It's going to be our home after all."
"You're going to continue to be the scandal of the Ton," Felix said, smirking as he gave her hand a tight squeeze. "Whatever you wish to try within the duchy to help, we will do it."
"I studied the maps of the land while we were at Windham House, you have two large parcels of farmland at the back of the Windham Castle property that are practically unused."
"And what do you suggest we do with them?" he asked, stopping near the largest mast and turning to her. "The land is overgrown and it hasn't been suitable for farming in nearly three generations."
"Which is why you aren't going to charge a purchasing fee after we divide the land into several plots." Isabelle smiled as she looked up at him. "We will put the word out that we are looking for men who would like to start their own farm. It will be on your land, of course, and they will be expected to pay rent for that land, but we won't charge them the purchase of their plot."
"How do you propose we make the money back for clearing the land then?" he asked, his eyebrows pulled together.
"We're not going to be the ones clearing the land," she said, her voice raising in pitch with excitement as she let go of his hand and turned to face him. "You can see the plan, can't you?"
His eyes lit up. "You want them to clear the land and build their homes with the wood they clear from the land. It would certainly solve some of the problems."
