Chapter Nine
Charles gazed across the compartment. Cathryn was trying desperately to keep her eyes open, but the gentle rocking rhythm made it a losing battle.
“Go ahead and sleep,” he said. “It’s a long journey.”
“You sure you don’t mind?”
“Not at all. I may be right behind you.” His eyes were indeed getting heavy from the motion. The train was headed forward toward Edinburgh. While the weather was decent, he hoped it would stay as it was. Dry. That could all change the farther north they went.
He had gotten them their own compartment for the long train ride, so they’d have privacy. He hadn’t wanted to share with others.
Several hours later he awoke to the sound of the train stopping in a far northern village to pick up more passengers. He noted Cathryn was fast asleep, not even waking when the train made a jerking motion as it pulled out and began to pick up speed.
When they arrived in Edinburgh, he’d need to find the options available to get them to Gretna Green. Once they were married, they’d spend the night there and decide between them where they wanted to go. They could go back to Edinburgh for a day or so before moving on to the family estate in York.
“Do you know how much longer until we’re in Edinburgh?” a sleepy voice asked from across the compartment.
“We have several hours still.”
“Have you slept at all?”
He nodded. “Yes. I only awoke when the train pulled into a station. I forgot to check where it was.”
“That’s fine.” She rose and walked around the small compartment. She sat back down and gazed at him.
“Are you hungry? My valet put together a small hamper. He had to do it in private so as not to raise the cook’s suspicions.”
“Not right now,” she replied. “I think I’m going to try and sleep some more.”
“Excellent idea. I think I’ll go see if I can find us some tea.”
She smiled at him. “That sounds heavenly.”
Closing the compartment door, Charles went down one corridor of the car in hopes that finding a cup of tea wouldn’t be a challenge. He finally came upon a porter who informed him it was late but that the service should be started in a few more hours.
He turned around and made it back to their compartment.
As he opened the door, he tried to be extra quiet so as not to wake her.
As soon as he sat down across from Cathryn, he realized he was still tired.
He arranged himself in the corner and found his eyes growing heavy.
This time dreams and visions crawled into his sleep.
Cathryn’s parents disapproving of the marriage and attempting to see about having it annulled.
Another flash was that they were beaming that their daughter had done well in finding a husband.
No, that would never happen. They wanted their beautiful, talented daughter to marry far better than the second son and brother of a duke.
But here they were, on their way to marry, and that wasn’t a dream.
The next thing Charles remembered was Cathryn gently waking him up, informing him they’d arrived in Edinburgh. He sat up straighter and scrubbed his beard.
“How will we travel to Gretna Green?”
“There’s a coach. I’ve made arrangements. We need to walk to their offices and purchase our tickets and leave our luggage there since the coach won’t leave for a couple hours,” he said.
“Is their office very far?”
“No, I was told it was just outside the station.”
The walk was short, and Charles was able to get everything taken care of. A porter even brought their luggage while they were getting their tickets.
“Would you like to get some breakfast while we wait?”
“Oh, yes. We never did eat last night,” she said.
“No, we didn’t. There’s a hotel down the hill that has an excellent restaurant. Breakfast is supposed to be quite good.”
She nodded as he opened the door for her. “I could surely use a cup of coffee now.”
“Me too,” he replied. He smiled to himself as he felt her tuck her hand into the crook of his arm. There was something soothing about such a simple act. They would be okay. It was like they were meant to be together.
Finding the restaurant proved to be easy.
Inside, the dining room was nearly to capacity with people who had been traveling.
They were seated against a wall, and the waiter told them what the specials were.
They each picked the same one, and while they were waiting, their much-appreciated coffee was brought to their table.
“Do you suppose our absence has been discovered?” Cathryn asked with a grin.
“It’s very possible since I left a letter on my brother’s desk, and you left one on your bed. Arthur rises early to get his paperwork and correspondence taken care of.”
“I don’t think either Arthur or Daphne will be surprised, do you?”
“No.”
Once they pulled into Gretna Green, Charles helped Cathryn down from the coach which was parked in front of the hotel they’d be staying at. The skies were a deep, rich shade of blue with an occasional large, fluffy white cloud floating by.
He guided Cathryn across the street to the hotel. Inside he led her to the registration desk where he and the clerk had a discussion about the rooms and how to get married. Next, he signed a ledger marked “weddings.”
There would be a couple of hours wait, so he escorted Cathryn to the room he’d rented for them to spend the night after they were married.
He was sure she might like to change clothes or take a bath before she did that.
While they waited, he would also change and clean up.
The journey by coach had been a dusty one.
Cathryn sat down at a small table and faced away from her intended. Making use of the basin and water pitcher, Charles cleaned himself before changing clothes. He chose a dark-gray suit with a crisp white shirt and a red cravat.
Once he finished, he walked over to Cathryn. “I’m going to find someone to replace the basin and get some fresh water for me. I shouldn’t be but a few minutes.”
“Very well. While you’re doing that, I’m going to lay out my clothes.”
He grunted and walked out the door. It didn’t take him too long to find someone to do exactly what he needed. In a matter of minutes, everything was the way Charles wanted it. Cathryn had laid out her clothes on the bed and sat in the chair waiting on his return.
“I’ll take a walk while you’re changing,” he said.
“No need. I’m going to need your assistance with something since I don’t have a maid with me.”
“What would that be?” he asked.
“My corset. I will need assistance taking it off and tightening the new one.”
He arched a brow at her words. “Just don’t wear a corset,” he replied.
“My dress won’t look right without one.”
“Very well. Just tell me when you need me. I’ll be over here,” he said, indicating the table with his hand.
“You might as well loosen this one while you’re so close.”
He turned and saw she was no longer in her dress, but in her stockings and underwear. “I’ve never done this before.”
“Really? Well, it’s quite easy. Simply unlace me in the back.”
He found where he needed to start, and quickly she could breathe a sigh of relief. Then he walked over to the table, avoiding any eye contact with her or her state of undress. He sat with his eyes closed for what seemed to be hours. When she did speak, she was quiet.
“I’m ready for you to help me with this new one.”
“I’ve never done this before.” Moments later, she was strapped in, though not as tightly as a maid might pull it.
“Really? You did quite well. If it’d been my maid, she would have had it so tight I would barely be able to breathe.”
He sat down in the chair. “Is there anything else you need me to do? If not, I’ll go downstairs and see what’s going on.”
“No, but don’t think you have to leave. We’ll soon be married.”
“I just thought you might want some privacy.”
“I’m fine.”
He rose and found her by the basin. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes. Will that be enough time for you?”
“I can make it work.”
“Very well. I’ll return then.”
He shut the door behind himself and headed to the stairs.
The lobby seemed to be bustling with people.
It made him wonder how many couples were here to do the exact same thing as he and Cathryn.
He sat down in a dark brown leather chair and began to watch the different people as they went about their business.
Couples dressed in their finery strolled blissfully through the lobby and upstairs.
The latest couple to be wed in the blacksmith’s shop.
Charles looked at the large clock mounted on a wall and decided he’d been here long enough and would go check on his bride. He knew she was going to be beautiful in spite of how hurriedly they’d left Kent.
When he opened the door to their room, he found her sitting on the side of the bed waiting for him.
She wore a stunning lavender dress with dark purple piping.
She was beautiful beyond words. Her hair was worn down, flowing past her shoulders.
Charles had never seen her with her hair down. She would have to do it more often.
“For a moment I thought I’d entered the wrong room,” he said. “You are breathtaking.”
She smiled. “For a second, I was afraid you had a change of mind. That you fled, leaving me behind.”
“I would never do that,” he replied.
Standing up, she walked toward him. “Shall we go and marry?”
His breath hitched as he simply nodded his reply. Words would not convey what he was feeling at that exact moment. Whatever it was, he hoped it never ended.
As they walked outside in the crisp air, he felt her once again tuck her hand in the crook of his arm.
He didn’t look down at her; instead, he patted the top of her gloved hand as they walked across the street.
The smithy’s shop was neat, causing him to wonder how he got any other work done aside from marrying couples.