“Would it?” he asked, trying to look subdued while inside he felt like whooping as Theo had done earlier. If Lucy was talking about kisses, she was still of a mind to love him.
“Lucy, I think it would be—”
She held up a hand, stopping him. “I’ve thought about this for days. In truth, I’ve thought of little else for weeks. I need you to explain something to me. Why must we choose between freedom and each other, Branch? Why can’t we wed for liberty and love?”
“That is an interesting question.” He braced his thumb and forefinger on his chin, as though he considered the notion.
Lucy stamped both feet. “I request an answer, sir, not a month-long contemplation.”
“Then I suppose the answer, Lucy Katherine Carlson, is that we can wed for liberty and love.” Branch moved closer to her, slipping one hand around her back, the other toying with apron strings tied at her waist. “We can choose freedom and each other. If you think you could tolerate my presence in your life, I would like nothing better than to be your husband, for as long as the good Lord gives me breath. Would you be my wife, Lucy? Would you marry me and walk beside me all of our days?”
“Yes. Oh yes, Branch!”
Branch didn’t care a whit for what was proper or not. He tipped Lucy’s chin up and kissed her, softly, reverently at first, then with all the love he had been storing in his heart for her from the first moment he had set eyes on her.
When he lifted his head, she smiled at him with her just-kissed lips and eyes full of dreams. “You look quite dashing in that uniform, sir. It might make a girl entirely forget herself.”
“Might it? If that is the case, I shall never take it off.”
Lucy giggled, as he had known she would, and he kissed both of her cheeks. “Lucy, you are a light to my heart and a joy to my soul. I can’t explain it, but the first time we met, I felt as though I had known you since the beginning of time and would love you until the end of days. It was as though I knew without any doubt that we belong together.”
“I felt the same, Branch. Exactly the same. I would like to marry soon, if you have no objection. Happiness is too precious to postpone.”
“I heartily agree. You tell me the place and day, and I will be there.”
“At the church down the road, next Wednesday. Mama told me she needs time to finish my new gown, and Papa is working on our rings.”
Branch grinned. “Is that so? It seems you’ve had everything planned all along. What do you need me for?”
Lucy’s hands bracketed his face and pulled his head to hers, then she kissed him with a passion that made him feel as though the hat on his head might shoot off into the summer sky. “I need you for that, Branch Barton. I need you because you make me feel beautiful, smart, and brave.”
“I don’t need to make you feel those things, Lucy. Youarethose things.”
“And you are an incredible, good man. It will be a blessing beyond measure to be your wife.”
“Then let’s kiss one more time before Theo breaks his neck trying to peek at us from the roof of the smokehouse.”
Lucy turned and scowled at her little brother before she gave Branch a hasty kiss, then she picked up the bouquet. Together, they walked to the house to give her family the good news.
Twelve
“Ihave a gift for you, my beloved,” Branch said, holding out a black leather box that easily fit on his palm. It was a jewelry box, but not of a style she or her father made.
“What is it, Branch?” she asked, lifting the box and looking at him.
“A little something from our friend Patsy.”
“Oh my!” Lucy was aware Mrs. Washington had left Philadelphia and hadn’t expected to hear from her again. To know the woman had sent her something for her wedding made Lucy’s heart warm.
She and Branch had wed in the small church not far from his farm that morning. They had enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared by Sarah and Lucy’s grandmother, eaten in the garden at her grandparents’ farm.
Now, she and Branch were about to leave for a meeting with his commanding officer. The man had sent word he wanted to meet with Branch in person to discuss an important matter, so they were both going. It would be a brief trip, they thought, but Lucy looked forward to the time spent with her husband.
When she had first met Branch, the idea that love would so quickly take hold of her heart or that she would fall so completely and deeply in love with him seemed as far off as the stars in the sky.
She sent up a prayer of gratitude that they had met, then ran her finger along the narrow leaf pattern of gold that edged the seam of the box. It was beautifully and skillfully made.
When she opened the lid, resting on a bed of cream velvet, was the locket that had brought them together. Lucy smiled as she lifted it and noticed a slit in the lining. She handed Branch the locket, then stuck her fingers into the slit, retrieving a note written on a piece of folded parchment.
