Page 36 of Her Wily Duke

“We cannot know how the highwayman will react, I suppose. So let us ignore thoughts of him for now, and return to the discussion of our wedding.”

Adam smiled at her, and for a moment, there was nothing but his handsome face, and the love in his eyes.

“I would like the wedding to be held in the village church, and the Wedding Breakfast here at Foxridge Park. Let us fill what has been a gloomy house of late with happier memories.”

Chapter Fifteen

Three months passed far faster, to Adam’s perception at least, than he had expected it to, and, in all those weeks, no sign was seen of the highwayman.

There was so much to do, now that he had unfettered access to the estate ledgers and could adjust where funds went, and where they came from, as well as the techniques used on the tenant farms.

After some initial shock at the number of changes, the farmers, even those more traditional thinkers who might have been expected to resist, became enthusiastically engaged with what Adam wanted to do. The fact that their cottages were being repaired, and their rents had been reduced, went a very long way towards convincing them that Adam’s ideas were worthwhile. The talk in the village, Emme had reported to him, was all about how like his father Adam was, and how very much unlike his now deceased brother. It pleased him to hear that, and encouraged him to continue his work – now, in the springtime, was the best point to begin implementing the changes to how crops were managed, with most of the growing season ahead of them, and the opportunity to ensure that by the coming winter, everyone would be better off.

Every day, in the early evening, he sat down with Emme, at her father’s house, and they spoke of his day.

After a few weeks, she did something which he had not expected.

“Adam, I know that you have a man employed as estate manager, and that, as soon as he learns how you want things done, he will be keeping the ledgers, and arranging the maintenance and more, but regardless, I think that I would like to learn how all of that works, as well. That way, I can assist, and we won’t be entirely dependent on just trusting the man – not that I think he’s dishonest, but it helps to be certain…”

Adam had looked at her with astonishment. Traditionally, the wife of a Duke would never consider doing such menial tasks, and it had not occurred to him that Emme, with her very different background from the ladies of the ton, might actually wish to be involved.

“If you wish it, I would greatly appreciate your involvement – at least that way, when I want to discuss new farming techniques, you might not be driven to madness by it – you might actually wish to know!”

She had laughed, and so it had been arranged – each day, she came to Foxridge Park to be involved in the management of the estate, as well as to continue teaching Caroline. He looked forward to the day when they were married, and they might be together all of the time, when she might not have to travel back and forth from the village, although he still took time away from everything else to drive her there and back – it was a time they both treasured, when no one and nothing interrupted their time together.

Eventually, the banns were called, three Sundays in a row, and the day of their wedding approached – suddenly so close, after seeming so far away. They cast off their entirely black clothing, and wore instead the greys and dark purples and dark greens of half-mourning, even that a pleasure after unrelieved black.

Finally, the day of the wedding arrived, and Adam woke very early, to discover a perfect midsummer day, with a cloudless blue sky and just the slightest breeze to provide relief from the heat. Finally, he would be married, and have, in that moment, all that he had ever hoped for, and more.

*****

When Emme stepped out of her father’s house, the ornate carriage waiting for her looked stunning – she had only ever seen it in the dimness of the coach house at Foxridge Park, and now that she saw it in the sun, it was quite breathtaking. As, her father told her, was she.

She wore a cream gown with layers of silk and lace, embroidered with tiny pearls and a pattern of apple blossoms around the hem and the neckline, which reminded her of the day that Adam had proposed. It had been her mother’s, and her grandmother’s before her, although at each stage it had been reworked, just a little, to suit the person who wore it. In her hair she wore a garland of lilacs. Her simple pearl necklace and the pearl tipped pins in her hair were a gift from Adam – they had been his mother’s, and matched the dress perfectly.

They stepped up into the carriage for the short drive to the church, and as they passed through the village, everyone came out to watch, and to wave, then fell in behind them to follow the slow-moving carriage to the church. It seemed that half the county wanted to see their new Duke wed.

At the church, more people waited, and Emme felt suddenly horribly nervous as her father assisted her down from the carriage. He seemed to sense it, and tucked her hand through his arm, patting her fingers gently as he led her up the steps. They paused in the church door for a moment, allowing Emme’s eyes to adjust after the bright light outside. Inside, the space was full, and the high stained-glass windows along the sides of the church cast a soft rainbow of light over the interior.

Almost as if planned, those coloured beams of light overlaid each other where Adam stood at the end of the aisle, before the altar, making him look positively touched by an angelic glow. He was a vision of nobility in his perfectly fitted long tailcoat, with his hair fashionably ruffled and his white cravat perfectly starched. The sight of him took Emme’s breath away, and she simply stood there, transfixed, until her father tugged gently on her arm, and led her forward.

It was, for the wedding of a Duke, remarkably brief and simple. After the vows were exchanged, and the register signed, the new couple walked down the aisle together, beaming benevolently. The church bells rang out, and as they stepped out into the warm summer sunlight, they were showered with rose petals in all possible shades of pink, white and red.

People rushed up to offer their congratulations, Caroline being first.

“You are, without exaggeration, quite the loveliest bride that I have ever seen, Emme!”

Emme hugged Caroline, blushing at the comment, and Adam leaned down as Emme stepped back again, and whispered in her ear.

“I completely agree. No one could be as lovely as you are today.”

He was so close that his lips brushed her ear, and sent a shiver right through her.

It took some time for them to reach the carriage, and the respite of the journey up the hill and through the woodlands and fields to Foxridge Park. Adam pulled her into his arms as soon as the carriage was moving, and pressed a kiss to her lips – a kiss she had longed for, and which was quite as wonderful as that first kiss they had shared so long ago, on this very road. Perhaps even more wonderful.

After a few minutes, they drew apart, and Adam smiled.

“That must be all for now, or I will quite forget myself – and we have the Wedding Breakfast to get through before we can reasonably leave our guests and sneak away to be alone with each other.”