Lynna's Rogue (52 page)

Epilogue

             
S
he
could not
be still. “Aunt Judith,
it is
absolutely your most stunning and fabulous creation ever
!”
Lynna marveled
,
twirling in front of the cheval glass.

             
“
I am
so pleased you approve, my darling,” Judith smiled, radiantly. “However it required so many weeks to complete. Are you sure it was worth it
?
”

             
“It was worth every second of the delay. And
I’m
sorry I was growing so i
mpatient, it is just that I am truly
eager to become Joshua’s wife.”

             
“I realize how anxious you are, my dear. And in less than one hour
,
your dreams will at long last become reality.”

 
             
The wedding gown was
a magnificen
t work of art. Off the shoulder,
creamy organza with row upon row of lacy ruffles cascading over the full, flowing
skirt and hand
sewn beading
,
causing the gown to glitter. Her tulle veil fell over her face, and a long train, attached to the skirt, trailed behind her.

             
Lynna stood at the top of the mahogany staircase at Sea Grove with their family and friends gathered below. She hoped Joshua admired the gown as much as she did and considered her to be as beautiful as s
he felt in it. S
he heard the
music
begin downstairs and knew that was her cue. She lifted the skirt of her wedding gown and slowly descended the stairs with Myriah, Crystal, and Bethany
Breanne
holding the hem of her flowing train. Many gasps, sighs and whispers were heard as she reached the bottom of the stairs and slowly came into view.

             
Peering into the ballroom, Lynna
saw Joshua watching her with eager anticipation and a wide grin splitting his handsome features. She saw her Aunt Judith in widow’s weeds. Her uncle had met with an early demise in a drunken brawl in one of the taverns he frequented.

             
Judith smiled a secretive smile, noticing the slight rounding to Lynna’s stomach. Just yesterday she had altered her wedding gown again.

 
             
Lynna smiled at Aunt Gypsie, Aunt Bertie
,
and Uncle Cliff
,
who returned her smile with tears of joy. She noticed Joshua’s parents and sister gazing at her with loving eyes
,
next to a beaming Samuel and Beth. Everyone she loved was in attendance, except her beloved father. But she
could not
allow herself to think about that now and spoil her wedding day. Instead
,
she drew a deep, cleansing breath, held her body erect, and continued down the aisle toward the man she would love until the day she drew her final breath. And he was so handsome in his w
edding raiment.

             
At last she stood in front of the pastor and Joshua took her hand.

             
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today...”

             
Lynna barely registered the pastor’s words as she gazed into
Joshua’s sparkling emerald eyes
and wickedly anticipated her wedding night. He had reluctantly acquiesced to her wish to not make love on the journey home. Lynna wanted her wedding night to be special, reminiscent of their first time in each other’s arms onboard his ship. She tried to concentrate on the pastor as he intoned, “If there is anyone here who objects to the joining of Lynna Makensie Mathison and Joshua Daniel Jordan, let him speak now or forevermore hold his peace.”

             
“I object! A
nd her name is Lynna Rhodes!”

             
Lynna gasped
as a hush fell over the waiting crowd. Could it be? At the sound of the familiar voice, she turned toward the door. “Father!” she cried, as her suddenly trembling legs threatened to give way beneath her. Leaving a grinning Joshua, she rushed down the aisle to launch herself into her father’s outstretched arms. “Oh, Father! Father! Is it really you? Where have you been? What took you so long? I have so much to tell you! Oh
F
ather,
you have
made me the happiest bride on earth!”

             
“
My own darling daughter is about to be wed. I would not have missed it for the world.” Nathan Rhodes struggled to maintain his composure as he held his daughter close. “Here, my child. Let me look at you.”

             
Thank God, Joshua thought, breathing a sigh
of relief. He had instructed Judith to stall the completion of the wedding gown to allow enough time for Sam to deliver Nathan, hogtied if necessary.

             
After severa
l minutes of holding his cherished
daughter in his arms, Nathan brushed a betraying tear from his cheek, cleared his throat and said, “As the father of the bride, I have but one objection. I was
not
permitted to give my daughter away. I would but request that the wedding be started again from the beginning so I may have the honor of escorting my beautiful daughter down the aisle.”

             
“Of course, Father,” Lynna lau
ghed and cried at the same time
as she walked with her father to the bottom of the stairs to begin the wedding march again. “But, father, why didn’t you write me?
I have
been so worried about you
. It has been so long
since you sent me away. And why didn’t you send us funds as you promised?”

             
“Why did
I
not
send funds?” he blustered. “Why you were given a monthly allowance that should have kept both you and my sister living like queens. What is the meaning of this? Are you telling me you
did not
receive your monthly allotment? Who had access to your aunt’s account?”

             
“Tobias,” Lynna mumbled. “I should have known. One of his distant relative
s
owns the bank.”

             
“Each and every day was torture for me, Lynna. However, I simply
could not
risk corresponding with you, my darling. I refused to leave a paper trail leading the villains straightaway to you. Nevertheless, when I received the missive from Joshua stating that you were to be wed, I had to come. I
could not
miss the wedding of my most beloved. And now that
I am
here, I find I enjoy having my feet planted in Georgia soil again and just might decide to
stay a while
.”

             
“I have something to tell you
,
F
ather
,
that might
help with your decision.” Patting her stomach, she
blushed prettily as she whispered in his ear.

             
Nathan’s fists clenched a
t
his sides and he gave his soon
-
to
-
be
son-in-law a quelling glance
before relaxing and taking a deep breath.
What was
done was done, and his daughter had never looked happi
er. According to Sam,
Joshua had proven his l
ove for Lynna many times over.

             
Placing his daughter’s hand in the crook of his arm
,
Nathan walked her down the aisle, a
nd handed her over to Joshua.
“Again, I implore you
, Captain Jordan. G
uard my most treasured
procession well
.”

             
“With my life, Mr. Rhodes,” Joshua promised. “With my very life.”

                                              The End

Books By This Author

Beware the River

(Southern Fiction)

Lynna’s Rogue

(Historical Romance)

Midsummer’s Eve

(Women’s Fiction)

Dedicated to

Teri Lovo, always the first person

to read my rough drafts. For your

years of friendship and invaluable

input. I wouldn’t have gotten this

far without you encouraging me

every step of the way.

To my sister, Malinda, without

doubt, the best sister and best

friend a girl could ever have. For

reading my books and for

your enthusiasm.

To my brother, Michael, who has

never been more than a phone

call away when I needed him.

And to my amazing parents,

Bert and Cliff. Thank you for

a wonderful life.

Author’s Note
s

             
To my knowledge, there were no earthquakes in Charleston, S
outh
C
arolina
during the time frame
of this book. Thank goodness! I
n order
to propel the story along
,
I invented one. The 7.3
earthquake that
would
devast
ate
the c
ity occurred
several decades later on August 31,
1886.

             
I truly enjoy hearing from my readers. You can reach me at
[email protected]
or visit my website at kittymargo.com.

Thanks
so much for reading my book
!
I hope
you enjoyed Lynna’s Rogue and will look for the
sequel in late 2013
. It’s entirely possible that Captain Sean Devereux
did not
go down with his ship.

Happy Reading!