Chapter 30
“Thank you for designing a gown that’s absolutely perfect for me,” Sophie said to Kate as Betsy helped her into her wedding dress. The maid cinched the waist tight and set to work tying the laces.
Kate smiled radiantly. “You’re welcome. I’m so glad you like it.”
Sophie laughed. “How could I not?”
The gown was undeniably beautiful. Even though it would only be their family present, Kate had created something meant to be seen and appreciated.
The dress was the same shade of blue as Sophie’s eyes and had delicate sleeves that wrapped around her upper arms and shoulders while the skirt cascaded to midcalf, at which point layers of white lace fell to the floor.
Tiny white roses had been fashioned out of silk and sewn onto the skirt immediately above the lace.
Betsy finished tying the dress and helped Sophie into a pair of white gloves that reached her elbows. They’d already dressed her hair, and it was curled around her face with a white rose in the back to match the roses on her dress.
Kate had been particularly excited about making the roses part of the wedding because apparently Theo’s late wife had planted the rose gardens, and she wanted to involve Elizabeth and honor her in whatever way she could.
Sophie didn’t know much about Elizabeth, but she liked roses, so as far as she was concerned, that was all there was to it.
Lastly, Betsy helped Sophie into her white silk slippers.
She’d protested the practicality of wearing white on her feet when the ceremony was going to be outside and they would no doubt get dirty, but Kate and the dowager viscountess had overruled her, and if they wanted to ruin a perfectly good pair of shoes, that was their prerogative
“I mean it,” Sophie said. “Thank you.”
Kate arched her eyebrow. "You’re my very best friend—my sister—so it’s not as if I could allow anyone else to design it.”
“A matter of pride, is it?”
“Maybe so.” Kate glanced at the door just as Lord and Lady Carlisle appeared in the frame. “I’ll give you a moment with your parents.”
Kate nodded respectfully to Sophie’s mother and father and slipped past them and out into the corridor.
“Congratulations, Sophie,” her father exclaimed, crossing over to her and giving her a quick hug. He wasn’t much for physical affection. “Blackwell is a good man. You chose well. Of course, we’d have preferred if you didn’t elope, but….”
Lady Carlisle swatted his arm. “We’re pleased you found someone who makes you happy, even if you went about the entire thing quite unconventionally.
” Her lips twisted in bemusement. “Honestly, I should have expected something like this from you. You always did things a little differently. Not at all like Violet, who I never expected to run off with a man.”
“At least I didn’t jilt a duke,” Sophie pointed out.
“Touché, my dear.” Lady Carlisle smirked. “And I suppose I don’t need to give you the talk about the marital act, since you’re already married.”
Sophie’s cheeks burned, and she wished she could erase the phrase “marital act” from her mental vocabulary. “Quite. Rest assured, we are well-versed in that area.”
Her father groaned. “Don’t say that where the people who raised you can hear. Good Lord, what did I do to deserve three daughters?”
“You love us,” Sophie said, though she did know her father would have liked an heir as well.
“Well, of course. You’re my girls. Speaking of which, your mother and I have a gift for you.”
Her curiosity was piqued. “Oh?”
He withdrew a box from his jacket pocket and offered it to her. She took it, noting the emblem of a popular London jeweler on the top. Carefully, she opened it and removed a thin layer of fabric.
Her breath caught. Nestled on a bed of velvet was a gold tiara with a dozen tiny gemstones embedded above the lower arch. It was relatively small, but it still glittered like stars in the night sky.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed. “Thank you.”
Lord Carlisle removed it from the box. “May I?”
She nodded and bent her knees so he could position the tiara in the front of her hair, where she now realized that Betsy had intentionally left room for it. Her mother must have discussed the gift with the maid before now.
“Now you look like a proper Carlisle bride,” he declared proudly. “Are you ready to join the gathering in the garden?”
“I am.”
He looped his arm through hers and walked her through Blackwell Hall and out the back entrance into the gardens. Roses stretched in all directions, an array of blooms in every color of the rainbow, some just opening while others were fully on display.
As she stepped down onto the grass, her mother took her other arm, and together, they walked her past the assembled guests.
She smiled at Lady Drake holding baby Oliver, practically beaming, with Kate and Theodore beside her and Lady Blackwell slightly farther back.
There was her sister Emma, who was clapping as her tall, dark husband gazed down at her with utter adoration. Their daughter Lillian stood in a pretty dress at their feet.
The Earl and Countess of Longley, with little George.
Violet and Mr. Mayhew, with their daughter Annabella.
And at the end, waiting for her, was Nicholas.
He looked so handsome in a blue waistcoat trimmed with gold and a cravat the same shade as her dress, his hair tied neatly back, and his beard trimmed close to his angular jaw.
As she closed the distance between them, he winked at her, and she couldn’t help thinking that he reminded her of a highwayman or a pirate from one of Amelia’s novels.
The way he was looking at her…
It made her weak and strong at the same time.
Her parents released her arms, and each kissed her cheek, then ushered her toward her husband. They took each other’s hands, and she smiled up at him as the minister began to speak.
Their elopement had been exciting in a scandalous sort of way, but this was the wedding she’d wanted. One with friends and family present—here to celebrate them as they started their new life together.
“I love you,” she mouthed.
He grinned wider, his dark eyes glinting in the sun. “Love you too.”
The minister paused, obviously unsure how to handle this unusual interjection, but after a moment, he carried on.
“It’s time to exchange vows,” he said. “Mr. Blackwell, would you begin?”
Nicholas gazed down at Sophie, the corners of his mouth softening as he readied himself to speak.
“I, Nicholas Blackwell, take you, Sophie Blackwell, to be my lawful wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”
The minister turned to Sophie, but she shook her head, silently letting him know that Nicholas wasn’t yet done.
Sophie had heard of some couples personalizing the wedding vows. It wasn’t popular, but she and Nicholas had decided they wanted to add their own twist to the traditional vows.
He lifted her hands and kissed the back of each. “I vow to make you laugh, to join you on your adventures, and to remind you each day of why you’re special. I promise to treat you with respect and to support you with my every breath.”
The minister paused until he was sure that Nicholas had finished before prompting Sophie to recite her vows.
She couldn’t hold back her smile and she said, “I, Sophie Blackwell, take you, Nicholas Blackwell, to be my lawful husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”
Somewhere in the garden, a bird burst into song.
“I vow to dance with you, to laugh with you, and to beat you in horseback races whenever you give me the opportunity. I promise to remind you that you deserve to be happy and to always be your friend.”
Since she was already wearing her ring, Sophie expected to skip past that part of the ceremony, so she was surprised when Nicholas pulled a small black box from his pocket and opened it. When she caught sight of the sapphire sparkling within, her breath hitched.
“You’re always surprising me with rings,” she murmured.
“I sent word to the family jeweler to design this one before we departed for Gretna Green.” He plucked it up between his finger and thumb and slid it onto her finger. It fit perfectly. “The sapphires match your eyes.”
Her gaze crashed into his, and if not for the audience, she’d have jumped into his arms. “Thank you, Nicholas. I love it.”
The sapphire was large and oval, set in a gold band with delicate clasps in each corner to hold it in place and ornate swirls carved into the underside of the stone’s setting.
Her eyes darted between Nicholas and the ring as the ceremony concluded. When it was finished and they were announced husband and wife for the second time, piano music spilled from an open window, someone playing one of Beethoven’s pieces.
Sophie looked around and realized that Kate was missing. She must have disappeared inside during the last few minutes to prepare to play.
Sophie’s heart filled. Kate was a decent pianist, but it wasn’t her favorite occupation, which meant that she’d probably learned this song purely for the wedding.
She had the best of friends.
Nicholas offered Sophie his hand, and when she took it, he danced her down the aisle between the guests, who clapped and congratulated them. Sophie didn’t have a clue what they were actually saying, though. She was too wrapped up in her husband.
She spun in Nicholas’s arms and laughed as he twirled her back and caught her again. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Emma and Vaughan dancing with them, and even her parents joined in the fun.
When the song ended, the garden fell quiet once more, filled only with the gentle hum of conversation and the chirps of the birds searching for worms and seeds.
Kate emerged from the manor, and Sophie embraced her.
“That was lovely!” she exclaimed.
Kate shrugged delicately. “I know you could have done better, but I hoped you’d enjoy it anyway.”
“I did.”
Theo wandered over, carrying Ollie, and Sophie cooed at him and touched a fingertip to the end of his nose as he giggled.
Nicholas’s arm came around her, and she relaxed into his side.
“Are you hoping for children?” he asked quietly enough that only Theo might be able to hear.
She looked up at him, searching his face for hints of his own thoughts on the matter. It wasn’t something they’d discussed, although perhaps they should have.
Generally, people assumed that children were a given within a marriage, but since Nicholas was a second son and Theodore and Kate already had an heir, there was no pressure on them to have a child of their own.
“I like children.” She glanced at the adorable Ollie and grinned. “They’re sweet and fun. But I won’t be upset if we aren’t blessed with them either.”
Nicholas urged her farther away from Theo, putting space between them and everyone else. He waggled his eyebrows. “We could go and practice how to make babies. I’ve heard it can be difficult.”
She muffled a snort with her hand and peeked around, hoping no one had overheard him. “Now?”
He smirked. “Why not?”
“Everyone is around!”
He laughed and drew her into his arms. “We’re newlyweds and in love. It’s practically expected that we behave a little scandalously.”
“No!”
He sighed. “Well, it was worth trying.”
Less than five minutes later, she slipped her hand in his and tugged him away from their family and friends.
Perhaps it wasn’t so bad to be a little scandalous.