Chapter Twenty-Six
Three days later, at St. George’s in Hanover Square, Anna closed her eyes as she listened to the bells ring from her place inside her carriage, waiting.
Her heart giving one hard thud, then steadying as the air shimmered with expectation.
If the carriages milling about were any indication, the ton had showed up in force for her wedding.
Though after hearing the gossip about what happened the evening she left, it wasn’t any surprise.
After all, curiosity moved quicker than a wildfire, and the ton was nothing if not curious to a fault, adding fuel to every rumor that had started from the house party.
According to some, Lord Devon had left for Vienna, while others claimed Venice.
But it was of no importance to her, what mattered was that it was finally time.
“Ready, my dear?” the duke asked, offering his arm as he stepped from the carriage.
She nodded, gathering her skirts as the door opened and the bright June sunlight struck her full in the face. A few passersby turned to look—of course they did—but Anna only had eyes for the tall doors of St. George’s, open now, waiting.
Her father’s arm was steady under hers, a reminder of his love and intervention on her behalf, even when she didn’t know it was taking place. Turning to the duke, she gave a watery smile, her emotions so close to the surface. “Thank you, Father.”
“Your mother and I, we approve wholeheartedly, dear. Are you ready?”
Anna nodded, and then she walked inside.
Inside the church, the stained-glass windows threw cheery bright light into the room, casting a warm glow that reflected off the gleaming floor. The entirety of the church stood, turning their gazes her, but she only saw one.
Henley.
His shoulders square and his jaw tight, Anna easily read the depth of his emotion in his gaze, making her want to run down the aisle while also feeling weak with desperation for the man in front of her.
It had been a long three days, and she drank in the sight of him.
The ivory silk of her dress whispered as she took each step closer to her love, to the man whose expression threatened to set her on fire with love and desire, passion tempered with wonder.
It was a heady moment, drowning in his gaze as he drank her in, astonishment and need clearly displayed for God and everyone to see.
This wasn’t a marriage of convenience. It was the love match of the season.
Anna didn’t glance away from him, rather she held his gaze.
Her chest tightened with emotion, appreciating his pursuit of her, of knowing that they stood here because he risked everything for her heart.
How had she nearly missed this kind of unconditional love and devotion?
She simply thanked God she hadn’t, and today they would seal that future together forever.
But standing here, her fingers curled around her father’s arm and her eyes locked on the man waiting for her, Anna knew.
She hadn’t made the easy choice.
She had made the right one.
The ceremony was blessedly quick, with Anna counting the moments till the official words were spoken, “Man and wife.”
Henley’s gaze never wavered, his tone strong, resolute, repeating the vows and swearing them with the intensity in his expression. And with the final announcement, Anna breathed a “Finally.”
Henley’s chuckle was short-lived as he reached out and tugged her into him, commanding her lips with his own, sealing their union and his claim on her heart.
Light fingertips tickled up her arms, sending gooseflesh up her spine, her heart pounding harder as he deepened the kiss, teasing her tongue with his own, ever so lightly but wickedly in front of their audience.
The clergy man closed his book of common prayer with a snap, and Henley pulled back slightly, only enough to meet her gaze, his eyes a depth of love and need that she knew echoed in her own. “Lady Allendale,” he whispered softly, as if savoring the first moment the words were spoken into the air.
“Husband,” Anna remarked, her tone reverent.
“Yours. Only yours,” Henley replied a moment before kissing her tenderly, lingering against her lips.
Henley slowly released her, and Anna was grateful, since she hadn’t wanted to let go, to move from his embrace.
And tonight, she wouldn’t have to. That was the only truth that kept her sane as Henley led them to the cathedral doors and to his carriage, no, their carriage.
As her body heated just from the short exchange of his hand holding hers, she wondered just how long was a proper duration of time to remain at one’s own wedding breakfast.
Anna decided to voice that very question as she threaded her hands through her husband’s as she sat beside him.
“How long?” she asked, turning to trace her other hand along his jawline, the freedom of their private coach and his name now attached to hers giving her a new boldness.
The world outside faded to muffled irrelevance. The moment the wheels began to turn toward Devon House, she twined her fingers through his, savoring the feel of his wedding ring against her palm.
“How long?” she murmured, turning toward him asking again.
She noted the way he didn’t answer, rather drank in the sight of her like a man starved and on fire, all at once.
“Not long enough,” he said, his voice a low rasp as he caught her hand and pressed a kiss into her wrist. “Not for what I’m thinking. For what I’m wanting.” He exhaled a warm breath against her skin, causing her to shiver with delight.
Anna’s breath caught as he leaned in, his nose brushing her cheek, his lips grazing the corner of her mouth. “But I suppose,” he added, lips teasing just beside her ear, “you’ll make me wait.”
“Properly,” she whispered, her tone laced with mock sternness as her fingers slid to his cravat, “but not patiently. After all, I don’t think I’m any more patient than you.”
Henley groaned, his lips finding the hollow beneath her ear and kissing down toward the neckline of her dress.
The silk stretched against her skin in velvet softness as she arched her back, giving him greater access.
He nipped lightly, teasingly at her skin, blowing warm air against her collarbone as he placed a kiss and lingered there.
“If I’m dreaming, I pray I never awaken,” he whispered.
Anna reached her arms down his shoulders, then up to his neck, savoring the hills and valleys of the muscles in his back before she gently pinched his shoulder.
Henley leaned back and regarded her with a raised eyebrow.
“Feel that?”
“Yes,” he answered then grinned. “Ah, yes, I’m awake, after all.
” Then in one quick motion, he reached under her and shifted so that she settled on his lap, for once looking slightly down, rather than up at him.
“Much better,” he whispered and closed the distance between them, searing his love on her lips with his kiss.
Anna’s breath couldn’t catch up with her heart as Henley’s lips danced over hers, making love to her mouth as his hands kneaded her back, spanning her hips and curving upward then freezing as the carriage came to an abrupt halt.
Henley’s kiss gentled and he leaned away, breaking the seal of their lips as he regarded her, a deliciously restrained fire burning in his gaze. Anna cupped his face, kissing him lightly, needing one final moment of privacy before they had to put on their public faces with all their social graces.
And her parents.
The thought sobered her slightly and she gave a half grin, utterly unrepentant.
“If you keep looking at me in such a way, we will never make it to this breakfast. I promise you that.” Henley kissed her once, twice, and then lingered.
“I’d apologize, but I’m not sorry at all.”
“Don’t ever be. I’ve waited for years to see you look at me this way.
” Henley’s eyes studied her. “And since I’ve been given the great honor of calling you my wife, I suppose I can suffer for a few minutes being gracious to those who allowed me the opportunity,” Henley said, then winked.
“But I guarantee I will be suffering, every moment, needing you and desperately wanting you till I finally can have you all to myself. Alone. So very alone,” he whispered, then with a groan, firmly shifted her from his lap and closed his eyes, head raised almost in a prayer.
“Henley.”
“Anna?” He turned his face to her, a grin playing along his lips.
“I love you,” Anna said, lacing her fingers through his.
“I love you more.” Henley squeezed her hand and then stepped from the carriage.
Anna took a deep breath and then grasped his hand, following him into the Allendale residence, counting down the minutes till they could leave.
The ballroom of the Devon house was transformed.
For such short notice, the décor was astounding.
White roses dripped from crystal vases and silk tablecloths clung to every table.
The scent from the roses mixed with the honey of the beeswax candles was heady, inviting, romantic even, and Anna wondered if perhaps it was more than just décor.
It was an apology. From Henley’s mother to her son.
Anna’s mother had explained the details of last year’s scandal.
How Edwin had engaged in an affair with the now rusticating Lady Willson.
Lord Willson only knew it was one of the Allendale brothers, not which.
In a misbegotten scheme to protect her lover, Lady Willson had conspired with Edwin and named Henley as the blackguard.
It had been a quick switch for the fighter in the match to make the duel more of a legal battle, and Henley hadn’t been the wiser, till it was too late.
It had been a hard realization for Anna, since she’d been one of those lied to, and she’d be blind to it.
But, thankfully, that was all in the past, and she’d made the right choice, the best choice: Henley.