Chapter 25
To say that she was nervous would be a gross understatement.
Mantheria was terrified behind her wedding veil.
Marrying Sunny was the ultimate step of faith into the unknown.
She loved him. Of that she was certain, but everything else was a mystery.
Would she welcome more than kisses? Would he be happy waiting for intimacy until she felt comfortable offering it?
How would Andrew adjust to having a stepfather?
He was fond of Sunny, but that was before he was an authority figure over him.
All these thoughts nearly paralyzed her feet.
“I was nervous on my wedding day, too,” her father said, patting her hand that was holding his arm.
“I wasn’t sure that I was making the right decision.
But in my many years, I’ve learned that absolute certainty in life doesn’t exist. You have to make the best choice you can at the time and live with it.
Don’t let your doubts rule your actions.
When the footmen open the door to the chapel and you see Sunny, if you don’t feel right about it, we will turn back around.
But if you see him and you realize how much he loves you and how much you love him, I think perhaps you will be the one dragging me down the aisle so that you can marry him. ”
“Is that how you felt when you saw Mama’s face?”
Papa laughed and shook his head. “No. I couldn’t see her face at all. She had on the most enormous white wig and a shocking amount of lace. Still, I trusted my father and my own choices. And I have never had cause to regret it.”
“My last marriage was not a happy one.”
Her father lifted her opposite hand to his mouth and kissed it. “I know, my precious daughter. And your unhappiness has been ours as well. But it is best to leave the past in the past and to move forward with hope for the future.”
She leaned onto her tiptoes and pressed a kiss against his weathered cheek. “You are very sage today, Papa.”
“Sage is just another word for old,” he retorted. “Neither of us is getting any younger. Should I signal the footmen to open the doors?”
Mantheria took a deep breath and allowed her chest to fill with hope. “Yes, Papa.”
He nodded, and the double doors were opened to the chapel that was part of Hampford Castle and her home growing up.
The pews were fuller than she had ever seen them before, between Sunny’s family and friends and her own growing family.
She wanted more children with Sunny, and she was certain that he would wait for intimacy with her during her sickness and nausea.
He never pressed her for more than she could give him.
Her eyes met Sunny’s, and the smile on his face took her breath away and made her insides feel warm and sticky.
He was not an everyday sort of handsome; he was the man of her dreams. Papa was right.
She could not let her doubts rule her decisions.
Sunny had stuck by her through thick and thin.
In the happy times and the sad ones. He had always been there for her, even when Mantheria had felt all alone in her marriage.
With Sunny, she never needed to be alone again.
Standing beside him was not Wick, but Andrew.
He was wearing a new suit, and his chest was sticking out as if he was pleased as punch to be chosen as a groomsman.
Sunny stole another piece of her heart by including her son in their ceremony.
Andrew was looking taller and older than ever.
She wanted to keep him as her little boy forever.
Perhaps that was her Achilles’s heel. She didn’t want Andrew to grow up and move away from her.
But that was life, and now when he finally did, she would not be lonely.
Mantheria would have her very own personal sunshine.
Her father escorted her to Sunny, who held out both hands to her.
Mantheria happily placed her fingers in his.
Papa gave her a kiss on the cheek through the veil and then sat down on the front row with her mother, who was already crying.
Mama was not usually an emotional person, but she had fretted about Mantheria’s unhappiness for years.
She hoped that her mother would never need to worry about her again.
Sunny’s mother could do that. She sat on the opposite bench and wore all black, but at least she wasn’t hiding her face under a mourning veil. Universal approval was not possible, and Mantheria was learning not to listen to the malicious little voices of society, but rather to her own heart.
Her friend Mary’s husband, Chaplain Wallace, gave a beautiful marriage ceremony, and Mantheria felt as if she held her breath until she and Sunny both signed their names to the marriage certificate and the church register.
It was done.
Mantheria was married again. And she was a duchess for the second time. But the man beside her made all the difference.
Holding hands, they passed through the flower-strewn aisle where her family began to toss rice at them with brutal accuracy. Little pellets hit their faces, and Sunny began to run. Mantheria let him lead her to the door, where she pulled him to a stop.
“Kiss me, Sunny.”
He gently pulled her into his arms and whispered, “Anything for you, my duchess.”
His lips brushed hers lightly, but Mantheria wanted more. She put her arms around his neck and tugged him closer. He deepened the kiss as the cheers in the chapel became louder and louder. But not as thunderous as the beating of her own heart.
They walked back down the aisle and outside the chapel, where they were met with more cheers and a great deal of rice being thrown at them.
“Should we run for it?” Mantheria asked her new husband as more rice pelted her lovely rose gown. All her siblings had excellent aim.
Sunny raised his eyebrows. “To the wedding breakfast?”
Mantheria shook her head. “No. To the carriage. I cannot wait a minute longer for us to start our wedding trip, and Andrew has assured me that he will be perfectly happy staying with Becca, Phineas, and Kitty for a few weeks. Lady Dutton is also going to visit them there, and I am pleased to share that Kitty is now a captain in Andrew’s army. ”
“A high honor,” Sunny said, taking her hand, and together, they ran through the castle courtyard to his carriage.
He lifted her inside and instructed his driver to leave at once.
Then he got in beside her and leaned his head back against the squabs.
“For a moment, I feared that you were going to make a run for it.”
She took his hand and pressed a warm kiss into the palm. “Please forgive me, my dearest friend and my forever love. I am still scared of failing you, but I love you too much not to try to be a good wife.”
“You don’t have to try to be a good wife. You just have to be you. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Exhaling, she sat beside her new husband.
Sunny did not touch her but smiled at her tenderly.
Slowly, the fear turned into tingling of anticipation that covered her skin.
This was not a stranger who would hurt her, but her dearest friend.
She leaned closer to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“Where are you taking me on our wedding trip, husband?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s a surprise, my reluctant duchess.”
Blushing, she whispered, “I am not feeling reluctant now.”
Sunny gently reached to cup her cheek with his hand. Instinctively, she closed her eyes and rubbed her face against the roughened skin of his fingers. It felt good. More than good. Then his other hand cupped the opposite side of her face, and she felt his warm breath, caressing her lips.
His next kiss was just as gentle and devastating as the first, but their mouths were open, and his tongue tentatively played at the entrance, but he didn’t force it into her mouth and practically down her throat like Alexander had on their wedding night.
Sunny’s tongue was soft and teasing, gently pleasing.
His hands moved from her cheeks to her shoulders, pressing her closer to him. This was bliss.
Sunny’s kisses deepened, and Mantheria’s body began to feel out of her control. Instinctively, she pulled away, breaking the kiss. She gave him an awkward smile. “Did you like that?” she said, repeating his question after they’d kissed during his proposal.
“Very much. And you, my duchess?”
“Perfectly satisfactory.”
He grinned at her and then pressed a reverent kiss to her brow. “I am more than willing to practice my skills until they reach a level of quality that meets your exacting requirements.”
Mantheria leaned her head against his shoulder.
Her heart was still beating wildly like a jack rabbit, and her hands were shaking a little.
Sunny did not press her for more kissing or touching.
Or even conversation. He merely held her trembling hand in his.
Sunny’s skin felt warm and wonderful against hers.
The carriage stopped abruptly. Mantheria glanced out of the window, and she did not recognize the small village. “Where are we?”
“The exotic village of Chewton Mendip.”
A gurgle of laughter escaped her throat.
Sunny opened the door to the carriage. “I knew that you were bereft at missing the opportunity to visit this exciting location, and I thought it would be a great place to spend our first night together as man and wife. I have reserved the best parlor and bedchambers at its foremost inn.”
The mention of a bed set Mantheria’s nerves on edge.
Still, she accepted his assistance out of the carriage and allowed him to escort her inside the inn and up to the private parlor.
Her heart beat in her throat as Sunny asked the innkeeper to send up their dinner immediately.
Turning away from her new husband to recover her composure, Mantheria was grateful that there was a meal imminent.