Katherine arched a brow at him. “So you mean to get in as much dancing as you can before we are forced to ignore each other in public or be labeled as unconscionably rude?”
Pulling her to a stop, David angled towards her, though he refused to let go of her arm. “I plan to dance with my lovely Katherine for the rest of my life, so I think it’s best to start acclimating them to my scandalous behavior now.”
He raised her free hand to his lips, holding her gaze as he pressed a kiss to her knuckles. Katherine’s breath hitched, and her cheeks turned a stunning shade of pink.
Her lips turned upwards into a hesitant smile, and in a low voice she said, “Then we’d best get started, hadn’t we?”
Chapter 44
One Month Later
Waving off the groom, David reached for the carriage door and opened it, offering his hand to his bride as she climbed inside. His bride. Standing on the pavement, he stared into the vehicle and watched as Katherine settled into the cushions.
His bride.
Stepping up, David slid into the seat beside her, and before he could remove his hat or gloves, Katherine leaned into the crook of his arm, resting against him with a sigh. Shifting so he could wrap it around her, David held her close as the carriage rolled forward. Their families and friends cheered from the church entrance, but the sound was quickly swallowed by the noise of the street.
David reached up just long enough to tug his glove free and then rested his hand back on her arm. Despite wishing to make himself more comfortable, he wasn’t ready to relinquish this pleasant perch, with his bride tucked into his side.
His bride!
“Are you happy, my love?” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her head.
Katherine leaned in and looked up at him with a furrowed brow. “Of course I am. I didn’t know it was possible to be this happy.”
And David had never thought it possible that another’s joy could fill him so completely. For all that so many believed one’s bliss ought to be the primary consideration, those selfish creatures never understood the true meaning of felicity. David certainly hadn’t understood how much being the author of another’s joy compounded one’s own.
Lying back, Katherine murmured, “Even if you insisted on a proper ceremony.”
Gazing out the window as the buildings of Greater Edgerton slowly thinned, David couldn’t help but smile to himself. Over the past four weeks, so many of his friends and acquaintances had congratulated him on the fact that, as the groom, he needn’t fret over the wedding details, without knowing that he had expended more time and energy on that endeavor than the lady at his side.
Had it been solely up to her, they would’ve eloped and been done with the whole business. He may not have convinced her to have a wedding breakfast, but any celebration (however small) was better than sneaking away in the dead of night.
Rocking with the carriage, David found it difficult to breathe. It was such a simple action, yet his heart felt so full that it was impossible to fill his lungs. His bride. His wife. Mrs. Katherine Archer.
“I promise never to mention her again, but I feel as though I’m doing her a disservice if I do not express just how grateful I am to the Mystery Lady, wherever she may be,” he said.
Katherine’s head jerked up, and she stared at him. “Pardon?”
“My life was filled with so many things that I never gave marriage much thought. In many ways, I was a husband and father already to my family, and it just didn’t cross my mind to take on more responsibility. I thought a wife was an obligation, not a blessing.”
Reaching with his free hand, David brushed her cheek, and heat burned through his veins as her eyes closed, a smile crossing her lips.
“Without her sweeping into my life and upending that belief, I would never have realized that I already had my one true love waiting for me to wake from my stupor,” he murmured. “I had all this love and joy waiting for me to claim it. How could I not see it?”
Katherine opened her eyes, and David was struck anew by the woman he’d married. So much heart and soul burned in that gaze turned entirely on him.
How had he not seen? The question came to him again and again, and David had no answer. He doubted he ever would. All he could do was ensure that he spent the rest of his life showing his gratitude for Katherine’s patience.
Pulling her into his embrace, he told her of his love in a way no words could convey.
*
Guilt didn’t belong on one’s wedding day. Especially when one’s groom was Mr. David Archer. Katherine’s heart soared as she reveled in his touch. Despite their short engagement and small ceremony, it felt as though he’d been kept from her far too much.
She didn’t know how courting couples managed all the interference. As no one had believed David and Katherine’s relationship could be anything but platonic, no one had seen fit to cast aspersions on the pair when they’d been friends; the only restrictions they’d faced were those imposed by their schedules. For others, an engagement allowed more freedom to see their sweetheart, but for Katherine and David, it had the opposite effect.
Yet now they were man and wife. Free to pass every hour together. Such a moment ought only to be a joyous thing.
