Chapter 21 #2
Everyone piled into the carriage for the ride to St. George’s. When they arrived, there were numerous carriages lined up, letting their passengers off before moving out of the way. Several people stood outside the church, waiting to wish the happy couple well.
“There are so many people out there,” Mia said, a bit awestruck.
“No need to be nervous, my dear. Just focus on Easton, who will be waiting for you at the altar,” Fletcher said.
That simple statement made the anxiety Mia was feeling lessen a little.
Fletcher jumped out of the carriage first and helped Audrey and then Mia step down. Peter helped Grace, and they walked up the steps ahead of her to take their seats.
The Easton/Parker wedding was the event of the Season, and the crowd clapped as Fletcher escorted Mia up the stairs and into the church.
Mia caught a glimpse of her beloved standing at the altar, and everything and everyone else fell away. Her nerves settled as she focused on the man she adored.
Grace and Peter took their seats at the front of the church.
Audrey handed her a small bouquet of flowers.
Mia hugged her sister before slipping her hand in the crook of Fletcher’s elbow. “Are you ready, my dear?” he asked.
“I’ve never been more ready.”
He escorted her down the aisle with Audrey following close behind.
The church was filled with well-wishers.
So many people had come to see them marry today.
Halfway down the aisle, she saw Lord Berkley and smiled.
He dipped his head and returned her smile.
Then she saw her friends, Lady Victoria and Lady Arabella, near the front of the church and was glad that they could be a part of her happy day.
They reached the altar where Easton was waiting for her, Lord Chandler standing next to him. Her sister took her place at her side.
When Easton smiled at her, her knees went weak.
How was she so lucky as to be marrying this wonderful man?
So many things had changed since she came to London, and she wouldn’t change a thing…
well, maybe the Vauxhall incident, but that was in the past now.
Today, she was marrying the man she adored.
Fletcher kissed her cheek and stepped back, taking a seat on the first bench.
“You are stunning,” Easton whispered.
The vicar began the ceremony. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this company, to join together this in holy matrimony. Therefore, it is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God. Into this holy estate, these two persons present come now to be joined. If any man can show just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace.”
With no objections heard, the vicar continued.
He turned to Easton. “Wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony?
Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live? ”
Easton answered in a clear voice, “I will.”
The vicar asked the same of Mia. “Wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony?
Wilt thou obey him and serve him, love, honor, and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live? ”
“I will.”
The vicar looked at Easton. “Please take her hand and repeat after me.”
Easton nodded and then began his vows: “I, Alexander George Wilson, take thee, Mia Mary Parker, to my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance, and thereto I plight thee my troth. ”
Mia repeated her vows while her heart soared with love for the gentleman standing next to her..
Easton reached into his pocket to retrieve the slim gold band and handed it to the vicar to bless before placing it on Mia’s finger and saying, “With this ring, I thee wed, and with all my worldly goods, I thee endow, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”
“Let us pray,” the vicar said. “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
“For as much as Alexander George Wilson and Mia Mary Parker have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, and thereto have given and pledged their troth, each to the other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving a ring and by joining hands, I pronounce that they are man and wife, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder.”
They had done it. She and Easton were married, and she was overjoyed.
“Please follow me to sign the registry,” the vicar said, leading them to a small room beside the altar. Easton held out his arm for Mia, while Lord Chandler and Audrey followed to sign as their witnesses.
In bold strokes, Easton signed his name and handed the quill to Mia. She signed her name next to her husband’s and became officially Viscountess Easton. She looked at Easton, and saw tears shining in his eyes.
“I’ve never been happier, my love,” he said.
“Neither have I.”
Everyone was standing in the church as the happy couple walked down the aisle. Outside, the well-wishers erupted in cheers when they appeared at the top of the stairs. Mia and Easton waved as they descended, and he helped her into the carriage.
“Take the long way to Fletcher House,” he said to the driver.
“Of course, my lord,” the driver said with a grin. He flicked the reins against the horses’ rumps. “Walk on.”
“Finally,” Easton said, pulling her into his arms for a most delicious kiss. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve wanted to do that from the moment you walked down the aisle.”
Mia chuckled. “Well then, my dear sweet husband, I require another kiss, or a dozen at least, before we reach Fletcher House.”
It was his turn to chuckle. “It will be my pleasure, my darling.”
Now she understood the looks between Fletcher and Audrey and those between Grace and Peter. She’d always been puzzled by how a simple look could mean so much, but now she knew what they were about. “I love you, Alex,” Mia said.
“And I love you, my dear sweet Mia. We’re going to have the grandest adventures together.”
As the carriage drove away and Easton kissed her breathless, she realized that the most fun you could ever have was to share your joy with someone you loved.
The End