Chapter Three
Robert had beengone almost two weeks when Kate wandered over to the water’s edge accompanied by Felix, who had become her firm companion. She stood with her gown whipping around her, watching a majestic tall ship far out to sea. The dog gave a bark and took off at a run. She turned to see Robert crossing the rocks toward her. Her ribs constricted, and a flush of heat rose to her face at the sight of him. He had come to find her, still in his brown greatcoat, striding out in fawn breeches and black riding boots. He swept off his cocked hat looking every bit as handsome as she remembered.
A lock of her hair blew across her face and she tucked it behind an ear with trembling fingers, wondering again if she could make him a good wife.
“Weren’t you to be my faithful escort, Felix?” she remonstrated, after the dog returned to dance around her legs. It gave her time to regain her composure. “I believe your friendship to be false.” Felix barked and joyfully returned to his master where he gained a pat for his pains.
“My uncle was of the view that animals were never false.” He rose from the dog, a smile lighting his eyes. “What have you there?”
Might he be pleased to see her? She held out a piece of flotsam from some sunken ship. “Nature has wrought a work of art. It has the look of a horse jumping a fence or some such, do you see?”
He took the wood from her and turned it in his long fingers. “It has a little.”
Kate’s stomach tightened. Her wayward mind returned to whether he would honor her wishes and refrain from making love to her on their wedding night. Apart from their first kiss, he hadn’t revealed an urgent desire to repeat it, but then they’d spent very little time together.
He handed the driftwood back. “We are to travel up to London after the ceremony.”
“So soon?”
He chucked her under the chin and laughed. “Is that a pout? Don’t you wish to go to London?”
“Of course, I do, but autumn is so agreeable here.” She waved her hand. “Don’t you love the sea? The smell and the sound of the waves on the shore? So rhythmic and soothing. Your uncle has accumulated an excellent library of books.” She sighed. “And I should love to be here when the bluebells flower beneath the trees. Where might one find servants as pleasant as these?”
He looked at her, brows raised. “Are they?” He laughed again. “I’ve never heard a house and its servants praised quite so thoroughly before.”
Kate knew he teased her, but his laugh warmed her and made her feel special. She was so glad to see him. If only they could stay longer here and grow more familiar with each other before she had to deal with the concerns and distractions in London. If they could laugh a little more and even become friends. She held the driftwood tight against her chest and sucked in an anxious breath. She’d learned much about London from her friend’s parents who visited that busy metropolis. The beau monde was known for their eloquence and cruel wit, couched in matchless manners. Their exquisite style would be difficult for her to emulate. And they would judge her. She would rather go to war in that ship on the horizon.
*
The wedding tookplace on Saturday morning in the gray stone parish church. The vicar and two witnesses were the only one’s present. Their words in the almost empty building, echoed around the vaulted ceiling, disturbing a flock of wood pigeons nesting in the rafters. No neighbors attended, for although Robert’s uncle had the respect of the community, Robert was a virtual stranger there.
Villagers crowded around the entrance, ready to toss handfuls of wheat. When they emerged, Kate smiled and waved. She wished they could have given them more of a show. She had only her best gown, a cream silk chemise with a narrow sash, which apart from the neck ruffle, was a little plain. Rebecca had convinced her to wear her hair braided beneath a straw hat trimmed with wild primrose and Lily of the valley. Perhaps in sympathy with her, Robert had forgone his usual velvets and laces. Instead, he wore a matching coat, waistcoat, and breeches in olive green, the austerity of the suit lightened by the sheer white frill down the front of his shirt. He’d pinned a nosegay of yellow flowers to his coat, as a knight might do for his lady.
He complimented her on her outfit, saying what a delightful rustic picture she made, like a true country miss. Although not what she hoped he would say, she would let nothing detract from this special day. Her heart thudded as he held her gaze and said the words that would tie them together, come what may until death.
“I give thee my troth,” she answered solemnly, gazing into his blue eyes and, she suspected, a little in love with him, or certainly in danger of it. She searched for a sign he might have begun to feel some affection for her but found nothing beyond a courtliness he’d been taught from childhood. She struggled to believe they’d married.
“With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow.” Robert slipped his signet ring bearing the St. Malin coat of arms on her finger, which would suffice until they reached London. She hurriedly pulled on her gloves over the loose ring, fearing she might lose it.
After paying the vicar enough money to make his eyes bulge, Robert proved as good as his word, for they departed for London straight away, sparing only enough time for her to change into a traveling gown.
“I hope Felix doesn’t miss us too much,” she said as she traveled once again in the luxurious St. Malin coach. It seemed years since she’d last rode in it. So much had happened.
They passed through Helston, and the smell of hops wafted in on the breeze from the Blue Anchor. “I trust James to look after him.”
“But what if the dog continues to pine?”
“Then James will let me know. I promised my uncle I’d take good care of Felix, and I honor my obligations.”
She supposed that meant she was one of those obligations. It seemed to her that Robert didn’t want to admit to a fondness for the dog. “Felix loves you.”
He looked surprised. “You believe so?”
“Yes. Every time he sees you, he wags his tail.”
“He does that at dinner time, too.”
She fell silent. Did even an animal’s love bother him? She realized she knew very little about Robert’s past. And until she did, she would never understand him.
