Simon found himself smiling for the first time since his arrival. He breathed a sigh of relief and savored the burst of joy rushing through his veins. “Yes. I would like that a great deal.”
“You should join me and Jeremy for our next outing in the park. This coming Sunday at ten?”
“I’d like that.” Simon finished his coffee and stood, ready to take his leave. “Thank you for meeting with me. I really appreciate it.”
Thomas pushed himself out of his chair and held out his hand. “Think nothing of it.”
Simon shook Thomas’s hand and stepped back. “I do hope you and your wife will be at my wedding.”
“Indeed,” Thomas said with a smile. “If I’m not mistaken, Amelia is responding to your invitation as we speak. We’re both thrilled on your behalf, Simon, and look forward to sharing the day with you.”
Happy with how well the meeting had gone and feeling as though he could finally put the guilt he’d harbored for so many years behind him, Simon made his way back to the madhouse his home had become in the past week since he and Ida had announced their intention to marry. A grin widened his mouth. Most men would likely have taken refuge in their club by now. Simon could scarcely wait to get home so he could help Ida select the right filling for their wedding cake.
Seated in a carriage adorned by white ribbons and rose garlands, Ida smiled with fondness and gratitude, but also at the lengths to which Simon had chosen to go on her behalf.
He hadn’t been joking when he’d said he would make sure they had the biggest, grandest, Society wedding ever. The flowers alone must have cost a fortune.
It wasn’t necessary, she’d told him.
He’d forcefully disagreed.
“His love for you is a bit overwhelming,” Guthrie said from his position beside her. He seemed to stifle a cough. “Quite fragrant.”
Ida’s smile broadened. “I’ve never been happier.”
Guthrie’s hand found hers and gave it a squeeze. “I’m pleased to hear it, and although I never had the honor of knowing him, I do believe your father would be very pleased as well.”
The words squeezed at Ida’s throat and for a hard moment she struggled to force back the tears that suddenly threatened. Her father had known Simon, had fought with him in Spain, and had even saved his life. Although her father had never spoken of Simon to her, there was comfort in knowing he’d met the man with whom she would spend the rest of her life.
“Thank you,” she managed once she’d found her composure. “I think so too.”
The carriage arrived at St. James’s where footmen stood ready to open the door and help her alight. Ida’s heart beat with frantic excitement and expectation. Taking a deep inhalation, she accepted the arm Guthrie offered and allowed him to lead her toward the door. This was it. Her life was changing with each passing second, bringing her closer, not to disaster this time, but toward a bright new beginning.
They entered the church. Ida’s grip tightened on the bouquet she held. And then they were walking down the aisle, past hundreds of people all looking straight at them.
They probably wondered why an earl would choose to attach himself to someone like her. Ida knew the answer of course. It was the same reason why the Huntleys had married and why Guthrie’s wife had chosen him – a reason few people raised in a world built on calculated alliances and the preservation of pedigree could possibly understand.
A choir sang, the soft gentle hymn accompanying her every movement until he was suddenly there, standing before her. Simon, tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in navy blue coattails and fawn colored trousers, looked more handsome than ever. His eyes gleamed with pleasure and the smile he gave her was full of promise and love.
He took her hand as Guthrie stepped aside and raised it to his lips for a lingering kiss. Whether appropriate or not, he didn’t seem to care and neither did she. It was suddenly just the two of them. No one else mattered.
“Shall we?” he asked in a low whisper once he’d straightened himself.
Ida caught his gaze and felt her heart triple in size. He was her everything and she knew he felt the same about her. “Yes.”
Not taking his eyes off her for one second, Simon offered Ida his arm. Stepping closer to him, she took it, upon which they turned to face the vicar together.
“Give me your foot.”
Simon blinked. After getting married that morning, he and Ida had endured several grueling hours of ‘required’ socialization during a much too long wedding breakfast hosted at Windham House. While Ida had been prepared to accept Philipa’s absence from the festivities, Simon had insisted she be there. The woman was, after all, her only living relation; she’d taken her in and been like a mother to her these past four years. So if some of the gentlemen present found discomfort in having Amourette’s owner, the keeper of some of their dirtiest secrets, there then that was simply too bad.
Simon was beyond giving a damn. His wife’s happiness was all that mattered from now on. As well as his own, of course. And he’d rather thought she was about to make him very happy indeed when she’d knelt before him moments ago. They’d returned to Fielding House and were now upstairs in their bedchamber. He’d taken a seat on the edge of the bed to remove his shoes.
And now she wanted his foot?
He raised an eyebrow and lifted the right one.
She grabbed it and started removing his hose. Simon’s lips quirked. “Of all the ways in which I imagined our first night together as husband and wife might proceed, I never pictured this.”
