I did what I believed was right.The thought came without the sting that usually accompanied it.I failed in the manner of it — the letter, the cowardice, the year of silence — but the choice itself was not wrong. And she has forgiven me for the manner of it. She has forgiven me freely, fully, without condition.
He drew breath. It came easier than it had for months — filling his lungs without the constriction that had lived in his chest like an unwanted tenant, the tight band of guilt that pulled against each inhalation.
Then I will forgive myself.
The words settled. They did not transform everything at once — he was not so naive as to believe that a single thought could undo a year of self-recrimination — but they planted something. A seed. A first step. The recognition that to nurse guilt past its season was not honour but self-indulgence — a quiet martyrdom that served no one, least of all the woman who was standing beside him, ready to become his wife.
He exhaled. His shoulders, which had been set in that rigid, military posture all morning, dropped a fraction. His jaw unclenched. The furrow between his brows — the one Nora teased him about, the one she said made him look like a man trying to solve a mathematical equation — smoothed.
“Dearly beloved,” the clergyman began as David’s full attention was forced to settle upon him rather than on Nora. “We are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this man and this woman in holy Matrimony.”
David stood very still, listening, the familiar words settling in him in a way he had not expected. It was not the first time he had heard the marriage rites, of course, but this was the first time that it had ever been addressed to him. The weight of it humbled him, reminding him of the gift he was being offered by taking Nora as his wife. He glanced at her, seeing the soft curve of her lips as she closed her eyes briefly, perhaps feeling the very same awareness as he.
“Therefore,” the clergyman continued, his tone reverberating around the chapel, “if any man can show any just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace.”
David felt only the barest pause before the ceremony continued, making him smile. There was the requirement for such a thing to be read, of course, but he knew that there was no one to prevent this marriage. There was no codicil, no family duty, no expectation.
“Then, given that there is no impediment, we come to the vows.”
David met Nora’s eyes, catching the spark of eagerness that blossomed through her smile. This was the moment he had been praying for, longing for, hoping for – and it was now upon them.
“David, Earl of Hampshire,” the clergyman said, his voice steady. “Wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?”
“I will.” The sheer gravity of the promise settled in him, his determination ringing through each of the two words. This was a promise he wanted to make, eager now to step forward into a life with his love beside him.
“And you, Lady Nora,” the clergyman continued, turning to her, “wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou obey him, and serve him, love, honour, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?”
Nora smiled, looking to David rather than the clergyman as she spoke. “I will.”
The eagerness in her tone undid him, longing desperately to sweep her up into his arms – but still, even at this juncture, they were separated.
“Who gives this woman to be married to this man?”
Lord Somerset’s broad smile had not faded. “I do.” Kissing his daughter’s cheek, he settled her hand in his, sending a rush of fierce tenderness right through David as he gripped her fingers as he steadied his breath.
“My Lord,” the clergyman continued, gesturing to him, “if you would repeat after me.”
David nodded, praying that he could trust his voice. “I, David, take thee, Nora, as my wedded wife; to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth.”
Gazing into her eyes, David almost took a step closer to her, but, gritting his teeth, steadied himself as to where he was. He wanted nothing more than to gather her close, but it was not yet time. He listened as Nora repeated her vows after him, her voicetrembling with emotion as she spoke words of promise and of love.
A slight nudge to his elbow had David opening his eyes. Lord Broadford, a grin of delight on his face, handed David the simple ring. Turning toward Nora again, he took her hand in his and gazed into her eyes. “With this ring I thee wed,” he said, repeating after the clergyman. “With my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow.” As he spoke, he slipped the ring onto her finger and then enclosed her hand in his. She blinked up at him, tears shining in her eyes as she smiled and, as he pressed her hand, a swell of devotion rushed through him.
“Let us pray.”
Reluctantly, David released her hand and knelt beside her as the clergyman spoke his blessing over them both. Finally, they rose, and David fixed his gaze upon the clergyman, fervent with eagerness to hear those final words spoken.
“Forasmuch as David and Nora have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, and thereto have given and pledged their troth either to other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving of a ring, and by joining of hands; I pronounce that they be man and wife together, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”
Nora turned toward him, a single tear spilling to her cheek. David barely heard the final blessing spoken by the clergyman, seeing only his beautiful, radiant wife as if it were only the two of them standing together. Her hand was now clasped in his own, and every part of him ached to draw her close, to kiss her lips gently for the first time as his wife.
“This way, my lord,” the clergyman said, gesturing toward the vestry where the register awaited. “Might I offer you both my hearty congratulations.”
“I thank you.” Stepping forward together as husband and wife, David’s heart sang a song of joy, greater than anything it had ever sung before. Hearing the ripple of warm approval from their guests behind them, David stole a glance over his shoulder, seeing a sea of smiling, joyous faces. His heart swelled. He had never felt himself as blessed as he did in this moment.
The vestry was quiet and intimate, a single rectangular window casting a soft, glistening light across the table where the marriage register lay. A quill and inkpot sat to the right-hand side of them, just waiting for him to sign his name. Releasing Nora’s hand, he sat down to sign the simple act of writing his name, sensing the profound moment that now settled upon him. The door opened again, just as he was about to begin, revealing not only Lord Broadford but also Lord Hawkley, the two witnesses who would sign their names also.
The longing to be alone with Nora grew fiercely, but he wrote with a steady hand all the same before rising from his seat and gesturing to Nora so that she might now seat herself. Nora moved with a quiet grace, her smile directed solely towards him as she sat down, her hand brushing his fingers for only a moment. David watched her as she, too, wrote her name beside his.
