Chapter Nineteen #3
“For now,” she said, cupping his face in her hand. “But we aren’t wed yet.”
“So this particular curse requires a clergyman’s blessing to trigger it?” he asked with an amused smirk.
“Oh,” she growled, shaking him off. “You aren’t taking this seriously.”
“Of course not!” He chuckled, then tried to control himself, rubbing a finger across his lips in a futile attempt to erase his smile. He cleared his throat. “You’ve had a spot of bad luck, I’ll give you that. But—”
“A spot of bad luck?” she nearly shouted.
“With four dead husbands and a fiancé who abandoned me the day of our wedding which I could not even blame him for becau—” She hiccupped and slapped a hand over her mouth.
Whether she had breathed in too much air while trying to talk or hadn’t breathed enough, the rather embarrassing squeak was enough to make her pause.
“What? Who was the fifth?” Edward asked, his brow creased. “Where? When?”
Selena covered her face with her hands and spoke through them, not caring if the sound was muffled.
“In Geneva. My father took me there after Charles died to rest and restore my health. I needed someplace tranquil, he said, after all that had happened. But again. I met a man, handsome enough, and kind enough. A bit boring perhaps, but who seemed strong and capable and frankly, was one who, while I found him agreeable enough, I did not love. I thought perhaps that would make the difference. Or at least wouldn’t hurt so badly if I lost him as well, God forgive me.
My poor parents had married me off four times and were still stuck with their daughter.
And I could not bear losing someone else I cared for.
“He needed my money. I needed to remove myself from the marriage mart, and despite all I had been through, a convent held little appeal. I wanted to be married. Have a family of my own. Children. Security. So I agreed. I had hoped that our arrangement was more of a business transaction than a love match would save him. But the day before the wedding, he came to me and said he couldn’t go through with it because h—”
“Oh good heavens!” Jane exclaimed from the doorway, making Selena jump with a startled yelp while Edward yanked her behind him, ready to defend her from the invader.
He relaxed slightly when he saw Jane.
“What are you doing in here?” Jane hissed to him. “It is bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding!”
Selena covered her mouth with her hand to keep in her groan. The last thing she needed was more bad luck at one of her weddings.
Edward seemed to know exactly what she was thinking because he was already shaking his head, his eyes boring into hers. “I don’t believe in bad luck.”
“Well you should have a healthy respect for irate fathers,” Jane snapped.
“It’s one thing for a discreet liaison when there is no one about…
perhaps…but shouting at each other loud enough to wake the dead the night before your wedding when the bride’s own parents are in the house is sheer folly. Shoo!”
She marched toward Edward, waving her hands at him and herding him toward the window like she was ushering a rodent from the pantry.
“Wait,” he said, tripping over his feet as he tried to keep from being pushed out the window without physically moving Jane aside. “We must finish discussing—”
“You can finish tomorrow,” Jane said. “After you are safely wed. You have your whole lives to discuss whatever you wish. Now out the way I assume you came in!” she said, all but shoving him onto the balcony.
“But, what did Otto know that made hi—”
Edward’s words were cut off when Jane closed the balcony doors in his face.
“What were the two of you thinking?” she said, rounding on Selena and shaking her head like Selena was a mere maid caught flirting with the stable lad.
“I had to tell him everything before the wedding, Jane. It felt too much like I was keeping secrets from him otherwise.”
A muffled thump and curse sounded from outside the window and both women turned. Jane opened the window and glanced out, then closed it again with a roll of her eyes. “He’s fine.”
Selena frowned slightly, and Jane crossed her arms. “So, did your clandestine meeting help? Hmm?”
Selena sank onto the edge of the bed. “I…am not sure.”
Jane just cocked a brow, waiting for Selena to elaborate. Except, she wasn’t sure she could.
“I told him everything. About all of them. How we met. How they…died.”
Jane sat beside her. “You cannot continue to let a few bad experiences rule your life.”
Selena pursed her lips. “They are a little more than mere bad experiences.”
“Yes,” Jane said, patting her hand. “But my reasoning stands. What happened is your past. He,” she jerked her thumb at the window, “is your future.”
Selena let out a sigh that felt as though it were being dragged from the depths of her soul.
“I hope. You chased him away before I could discover if his feelings for me had changed,” she said with a wry smile.
“Perhaps he hates me now. Or at the very least would prefer not to marry a woman who has been widowed so frequently. He did seem wary, at the very least. And very concerned over Otto.” Her brow creased in a frown.
“What if he does follows Otto’s lead? What if he does not come tomorrow? ”
“Oh, dearest.” Jane pulled her into a hug. “He will be there.”
“But how can you be sure? I certainly divulged enough to shake even the strongest constitution. And even if he does come…what if what I told him has changed his feelings for me. Being the sixth man in a woman’s life could prove daunting to any man.
He may be too honorable to refuse me, but it will make for a cold and lonely marriage if he marries me out of obligation alone. ”
“That will not happen,” Jane said firmly.
“That man just climbed through a window for you in the middle of the night. Most men, once the deal is sealed, cease applying any effort into their relationships at all. Your marquess is a rare one. And he loves you. Even a fool could see that. He will be there.”
Selena nodded and laid her head on her friend’s shoulder.
He will be there, she repeated to herself.
Perhaps if she repeated it often enough, she would believe it.