Bridal Favors - Engaged in Wickedness (16 page)

Gwen barely made it to the chapel on time. She'd spent much too much time crying last night and too little time sleeping. Now she felt out of sorts and confused.

Only an idiot would doubt everything that had happened between herself and Edward. She was a fair judge of character, or so she believed. What they had shared felt real. But the doubts would not leave her alone.

Their very first meeting had been a ruse. And he had not proposed. Had she given up everything for a lie? It couldn't be true, and yet the last thing he said to her was that he was leaving London tomorrow. God, she
was
a fool!

Robert noticed her distraction and bloodshot eyes during the carriage ride to the chapel. He leaned forward, looking every bit a concerned brother, and Gwen could barely contain her roiling emotions at the sight. He was a good brother and a kind man. But if he learned a tenth of what she'd been doing, there was no telling how he would react.

Screaming diatribes were the least of her fears. God forbid he took it into his head to duel with Edward. Or more likely, since both he and Edward were of the more prosaic sort, they would sit down as men and discuss things. She would be locked out of the decisions, and in the end, she would have to suffer through some decree that was completely arbitrary and did nothing to solve any of her problems.

So she simply waved him to silence even before he'd fully opened his mouth. "I cannot discuss things right now, Robert. Please do not ask."

He shut his mouth with a click, but a moment later he touched her hand. "I hope you know that I shall always stand by your side, Gwen. No matter what is bothering you, I will do anything to help."

She looked back at him, startled by his very understanding words. "You have always looked out for me, Robert. I know that."

"Then—"

"But we have also allowed each other our privacy. Unless you wish to discuss what you do in that other house of yours."

He blinked, his eyes widened. "Good God, what do you know of that?"

"Nothing," she said, and sadly it wasn't a lie. She only knew he had this place called The Chandler that he went to whenever he was tired of home. "Unless you wish to explain."

He leaned back and pressed his lips together.

"I thought not," she said. They passed the rest of the drive in silence. It wasn't fair, really. She was the one out of sorts, and he had only been trying help. But this was a problem she wanted to sort through on her own. And truthfully, she couldn't bear the disappointment in her brother's eyes if it turned out she was in the soup for real.

So she said no more to him except to squeeze his hand before she alighted from the carriage. Neither Debra nor Sir Henry Barnes was exalted enough to marry at St James, but this was a lovely chapel often used by the lesser peers. Gwen thought the stained glass windows, dark wood pews, and the thick aisle runner completely charming. Beyond that, she couldn't care less.

Edward was already there. He was dressed formally, as was appropriate for a wedding. He stood immediately upon seeing her walk through the main chapel on the way to the bride's room. He looked so handsome in his dark suit with his hair curling over his ears. He looked anxious and took a step forward, but she wasn't ready to face him. She didn't know what she would do or say, and so she shook her head and all but ran down the aisle.

A moment later she found the bride's room where Debra sat in a lovely gown of primrose silk with tiny rosettes over the bodice. She clutched a bouquet of flowers in one hand while she showed off her wedding slippers to her maid-of-honor Connie.

Gwen hadn't spent much time with Connie as the girl wasn't out yet. But she knew Edward's sister and Debra were best friends. Looking now at the young woman, Gwen saw a female version of Edward with striking cheekbones, a lanky figure, and eyes that tended to pierce right through one.

Gwen stumbled, unprepared to see yet another reminder of Edward. Fortunately she recovered quickly. Not so fortunate, both women noticed anyway.

"Are you all right?" Debra asked. "You look strained."

Gwen pressed her hands to her flushed cheeks. "I hate being late," she said. "And anyway, no one will be looking at me. You are the beautiful bride." She gave her friend a hug, thrilled to see how absolutely radiant the woman was. Not just in looks. Objectively speaking, Debra was rather average, but she practically glowed with joy. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were bright with happiness, and her lips were red and full because she kept biting them in her excitement.

"Thank you for the flowers," she said lifting up her bouquet. "They are beautiful."

Gwen flushed as she looked at the arrangement. They were her gift to the bride, all the bouquets and the greenery throughout the chapel. She had spent a great deal of time on every detail of the arrangements, surprised to find that she loved the work.

"I enjoyed every minute of it," she said, meaning every word. "But looking at you now, I can tell that all the flowers in the world would be wasted. Debra you are glowing. And bouncing!"

Debra was literally hopping in her delight as she executed a full spin to show off her gown. "Mrs. Mortimer did a beautiful job."

"Today, you would look good in anything. Do you love him that much?"

"More!" Debra stopped spinning to grab Gwen's hands. "And I owe it all to you. Thank you! Thank you!"

Gwen pressed a kiss to her friend's cheek. "I only introduced the two of you. Everything else was your doing. And his."

Debra grinned as a blush stained her cheeks. "He is a very good man. And to think if Edward hadn't spilled the lemonade, none of this would have happened."

There it was: the perfect opening for her question. Gwen rushed on before she could think too deeply. "About that, dearest," she began. "Was that, perhaps, not really an accident?"

Debra's expression shifted into embarrassment. "Has he told you then?" she asked. "I'm so glad. I hated the trick at the time and hated more that it started us out with a lie. But you were always surrounded by gentlemen. We could never get close."

So it was true. And Debra had been part of it. "But why?" she asked, doing her best to hold back the tears. "Why do it at all? You could not have known I would introduce you to your husband."

"No. But we could see that everyone talked to you, that you knew everyone. I could never have met all those men if you hadn't asked them to dance with me."

That was true enough. Debra's shyness overcame her in a ballroom. She never showed well at a grand party. Without Gwen's intervention, she might not have met Sir Henry. Then again, she might have.

"You could have just introduced yourself to me. Am I really such a harridan that you could not?"

"Oh!" Debra pressed a hand to her mouth. "You are angry. I'm so sorry, but we couldn't get close. And it was all Edward's plan anyway. He'd been trying for weeks to get your attention, but you never noticed him."

"That can't be true!"

"But it is!"

And here was the moment when Connie spoke up, stepping to her feet with a dignity Gwen hadn't expected in one her age. "That's what Edward does. He makes plans and lists all the time. He likes to keep things orderly. He's even got lists for what to do in an earthquake. Imagine, an earthquake in England! But if it's important to him, he makes a plan. And if he actually executed his plan, then you must have been very important to him."

Gwen looked at the girl, unnerved again to see eyes identical to Edward's gazing back. Steady, focused, and absolutely honest.

"Oh, listen to me!" Gwen gasped, as she desperately tried to deflect the attention from herself. "This is your wedding day and I am upsetting things."

"No—" Debra began, but Gwen hushed her.

"This is your day. I shall not be the ruin of it. Just... just tell me one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Tell me about your husband. How did he propose? Did you know ahead of time that he would? Did you know that you would say yes?"

Debra flushed a very becoming shade of pink. "We were in his father's library, of all places. He was trying to show me his favorite play by Euripides. It was a lesser work, you know, but he is quite enamored of it. He'd been telling me about how brilliant it was and I had to tell him he was a fool."

To the side, Connie gasped. "You didn't! You told him to his face that he was an idiot?"

"I did," said Debra proudly. "And I told him why, too. Anyone who thinks Euripides is the best comic playwright in history hasn't studied William Congreve. Imagine thinking that something has to be written in Greek to be considered the best!"

Gwen laughed. That was Debra to a tee. Absolutely passionate when it came to literary studies. "What did he say?"

Debra dimpled. "He was so shocked, he dropped the book on the floor. And when I looked down, he was on one knee asking me to marry him. Said he'd been searching the world over for a pretty woman who challenged his mind and that I was the one."

"Oh, how absolutely perfect!" Gwen breathed.

"It was. And I knew right then that I loved him. He didn't frighten me, he liked that I could speak my mind, and he has the most adorable mustache I've ever seen." She bit her lip to hold back her giggles, but Gwen had no such restraint. And soon all three were laughing.

Connie recovered first with a heartfelt sigh. "That's so romantic."

And so perfect for Debra. As Gwen squeezed her friend's hands, she couldn't help but wonder if she would ever have a proposal like that? Not in a library. That would just seem silly to her. But a proposal from a man who understood exactly who she was and what she wanted. A man who had searched the world over for a woman like her. A man like Edward who was kind and steady and knew how to let her live how she wanted without bars. But who also told her when she was playing with fire and held back when she was pushing too far.

Would that man ever ask for her hand?

Not if he was leaving London in the morning.

Chapter 14

Gwen stared at her hands, trying to hide her pain from her friend. This was, after all, Debra's day. So she worked to be happy for Debra's sake. She smiled when she walked down the aisle ahead of her friend and did her best to lose herself in the beautiful ceremony and the way Sir Henry said his vows. Never before had she heard someone speak so clearly or definitely. And Debra answered in kind.

They were a love match, that much was obvious. Gwen was happy for them even as she steadfastly ignored the burning in her back as she felt Edward watching her.

She didn't go to him between ceremony and wedding breakfast. She was holding onto her good mood by the tiniest margin and speaking with him would likely push her the wrong direction. So she spent her time helping a giddily happy Debra. The wedding breakfast was at the home of Sir Henry's great aunt in a musty old mausoleum of a house. But the food was excellent and there was plenty of room.

The toasts were given, the bride tossed her bouquet at Connie who caught it with giggling delight, and Gwen was soon surrounded by her usual bevy of friends, most of them men vying for her attention. She knew where Edward was, of course. She'd been all too aware of him the entire morning. But he had remained apart as one after another of Sir Henry's cousins came to tell her how lovely she looked.

Then came the moment when she lost track of him. One of the cousins was being particularly charming, and she'd lost herself in his antics. Which was the very moment Edward surprised her by appearing at the edge of her circle while carrying a tray of champagne glasses.

It took her a moment to comprehend what she was seeing. Was he truly standing there at the edge like a servant? And when she looked into his eyes, she saw that same banked intensity that was always there. But the moment their gazes connected, it flared to life and the rest of the world faded away.

"Whatever are you doing?" She didn't think he could hear her given that he was standing so far away, but he lifted the tray slightly and smiled at her.

"I am prepared to drop these on anyone who stands in my way," he said.

She wanted to be angry with him, though her reasons weren't entirely clear in her own mind. But he looked so adorable holding the tray that her lips quirked on their own. She covered as quickly as she could, arching her brows in what she hoped was an expression of very mild interest.

"Is that your normal way of approaching women at parties?"

"Only with you." He lowered the tray slightly as his expression shifted into regret. "I discovered the missing pages this morning, but I will not apologize. I always make plans when something is important. It helps me to sort through all possibilities."

"And did it?"

"With you? Never. You have surprised me at every turn."

He had been slowly elbowing his way forward as they spoke. The tray helped enormously in this as no gentleman wished to get a dozen glasses of champagne dumped on his head. She was seated a bit away from a table, so he had room to come directly at her. But since she was seated and he was so very tall, all she could see of him was the bottom of the tray.