Chapter Eleven #2
Even though Seraphina had helped her don yet another disguise, she was glad there weren’t many people milling about in the main corridor of the courthouse.
For this adventure, she chose to be a redhead, with loose waves falling to her shoulders.
She wore a sleeveless, torso-hugging dress in an off-white print with small blue flowers.
The skirt flared out and fell below her knees.
Her plain, off-white denim jacket complimented the dress.
Madelaine thought the thin black wire-framed glasses made her look like she was a teacher or at least someone smarter than she was. The dress was old, the glasses were new and she’d borrowed a set of blue sapphire earrings from Seraphina.
She was all set.
Jack had on a casual dark gray jacket, a light blue collared shirt and black pants. He managed to look amazing even as simply as he was dressed.
They perused the building’s office directory, posted on the wall by the entry, and found the correct room number. The three of them said nothing as they headed toward the Justice of the Peace’s office.
Madelaine held a small wildflower bouquet in one hand. Jack had insisted on picking the blooms as they left the rental house. She hoped it wouldn’t jeopardize her deposit, to vandalize the semi-unruly garden at the side of the house for her girlish notions of matrimony.
Once they got to the designated room and stepped inside, Jack and Seraphina stood at the back of the otherwise empty room while Madelaine approached the clerk and asked to speak to the judge who would be preforming the nuptials.
“I can go over the various choices with you for the services we offer,” the clerk said, grabbing a narrow three-ring binder with “Marriage Ceremonies” written in block letters with black permanent marker on the front.
“That’s great, but I need to speak to the judge first, if you don’t mind. I have a couple of questions that do not involve the ceremony itself,” Madelaine said, doing her best to be firm but friendly.
The clerk narrowed her eyes for a fraction of a second before shrugging and putting the binder back down on the counter. She walked over to a half door next to the counter where she’d greeted them and opened it, allowing Madelaine to enter.
“I’ll be right back,” Madelaine called over her shoulder to Jack and Seraphina.
The clerk, who had not identified herself nor was she wearing a name tag of any sort, led Madelaine to an oversized wooden door a fair distance from the reception area.
She opened the door and Madelaine followed her inside, expecting another reception area. Instead, it was an office. A large, ornate desk was centered in the smallish space. A man in a shirt and tie sat behind the desk, writing in a notebook. On the desk, a nameplate said, Judge Duncan A. Silas.
“Judge Silas, I have a young bride-to-be who’d like to speak to you before the ceremony,” the clerk said.
Judge Silas glanced up, saw Madelaine, and nodded his assent. “That’s fine, Evelyn.”
The clerk left the room, closing the door behind her.
Madelaine was surprised to realize she was clutching her bouquet of flowers. She should have left them with Seraphina. Dismissing the stray thought, she stepped forward to ensure she had the correct judge, or rather, the correct Justice of the Peace to perform this marriage.
“What can I do for you, young lady?” the judge said, continuing to write in his notebook, not looking at her. He was an older, dignified-looking gentleman with mostly white hair and a few streaks of gray. Madelaine thought he looked exactly like a judge should look.
What should she say? Should she tell a story and beat around the bush in case he wasn’t the judge who would recognize her role?
No. Best just to get to it.
“I am the Paladin Courier,” she said in a clear, strong voice.
Judge Silas stopped writing and looked up at her in obvious surprise. His mouth opened but he didn’t say anything. He stood up suddenly and she could see that he must be an Alpha. He was very tall, as most Alphas in town were.
“The Paladin Courier, you say? How extraordinary.” He dropped his pen on the desk and came around as if to look her over more carefully.
“I wanted to ensure I was in the right place with the correct Justice of the Peace before I proceeded with the ceremony,” she said.
“Yes. Yes. Of course. Good thinking. Best to be sure with a mission like this.” He turned to one side and grabbed the judicial robes hanging on a coat rack next to his desk that she hadn’t noticed.
He put them on quickly and gestured toward the door.
“Let’s go out and get you married so your journey can continue.
Certainly don’t want to hold you up. I assume your groom-to-be is in the clerk’s office? ”
“Yes. And I brought a witness.”
“Excellent. Yes. Very good planning.”
He performed the ceremony in a smaller room off the main clerk’s office, where there were two large, waist-high urns filled with a riot of flowers in a variety of colors on either side of a small raised platform where the judge, Madelaine and Jack stood.
If the judge knew Jack was not named in the envelope she’d received, he didn’t say a word or look askance at him. Madelaine was grateful. She hadn’t wanted to start with a battle scene before the nuptials even began.
They opted for the quick and quiet service, where they promised to love, honor and cherish each other until death parted them.
They exchanged rings and Madelaine finally got to see the engagement ring he’d selected for her.
It was perfect, of course. She knew exactly what it was, too.
It was the exact engagement ring she’d wanted long ago.
She didn’t know how he knew, but he’d figured it out.
Jack was nothing if not resourceful, especially when it came to solving problems.
Her dream ring was an east-west oval bezel set in yellow gold. The stone had to be at least a carat. It was stunning. The wedding ring was a simple gold band that fit perfectly beneath the engagement ring. Jack’s gold band matched hers.
“I love the rings,” she whispered when he slipped the set on her finger during the ceremony. He smiled.
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride, if you so wish.”
Madelaine lifted her gaze to Jack’s, unsure if he would kiss her, but he did.
Yowza.