Epilogue

EPILOGUE

One Month Later

“Would you stop fidgeting?” Emily cried out suddenly. “You’re making me nervous.”

“I’m not nervous. I’m just excited.” Bridget looked at the church door.

Yuletide had passed just days ago, and still, within the six days of Christmas, the church had been decorated with all the usual Christmas fair.

From her position outside, Bridget could see the evergreens in the windows. In her bouquet, and in the smaller versions her sisters were carrying, there was mistletoe and holly sprigs.

All around them, the snow was thick, making Bridget quite thankful for the white shawl wrapped around her shoulders, though she still shivered in the cold.

“When are we going in?”

“Not yet.” Lord Pratt checked his pocket watch and put it back in his waistcoat. “I swear, I have never known two people quite so impatient to be wed.” He laughed, shaking his head. “The day Seth asked for my permission, I think he would have dropped to the ground and begged on his knees if I had refused him.”

Bridget laughed, for she knew that was exactly what Seth had intended to do if her father had turned him down.

Fortunately, it had never been on her father’s mind to refuse him.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, Pa,” Bridget began, taking his arm as Rachel and Emily took up place beside her as bridesmaids.

As was normal custom, Rachel started adjusting the flowers in Emily’s bouquet and the sleeves of her gown, mothering her. Emily brushed her off with some well-chosen words.

“What is it, Bridget?” Edward prompted.

“How come you were so willing to give your blessing? You had given your blessing to another man the day before,” Bridget reminded him.

“That is simple.” Edward inhaled deeply. “I believed in giving you the choice. Besides, your sisters didn’t quite have the choice they should have had, did they?”

He shot Rachel and Emily, who had clearly heard him, a mischievous look over his shoulder.

“We are happy,” Emily reminded him.

“That you are. By luck, I wonder? Who knows.” He chuckled and turned back to Bridget. “I wanted to make sure that who you married was your choice, so I gave you freedom to marry whoever you liked. Besides, I saw the way Seth turned up at our door that night, desperate and quite out of his mind. The way he caught you when you almost fell will never leave my mind. He loves you, Bridget. I’ve seen it time and time again since. How could I have refused him?”

Bridget smiled at her father, warmed by his words.

Inside the church, the organ music began.

“Now, we are ready. Be careful not to run down the aisle toward him, dear. You’ll make the congregation laugh if you do.” Edward took her arm and opened the doors, leading the way inside.

Emily and Rachel followed as Bridget entered the church, walking down an aisle that was flanked by evergreens and hundreds of white flowers as ivory-colored as the snow beyond the stained-glass windows.

The congregation had stood and turned to look at Bridget. Amongst them was Lord Burnington, who had been invited out of courtesy, though she noticed he stayed at the back.

Since Bridget had ended their courtship, he’d not been averse to showing his anger toward the family. Yet, as he had begun courting another woman rather quickly, Bridget determined that his heart hadn’t been broken, after all.

She looked at the front of the church, where Seth stood. Beside him were Jacob and Daniel, both taking their places as best men for the proceedings.

Seth turned to greet her with such a smile on his face that Bridget quite forgot about everyone else there. She only saw him in his dark green suit, the embroidered details on his waistcoat gleaming white. It was a perfect match for the flowers in the church and her bouquet, as well as her gown. A mixture of ivory white with emerald-green embroidery at the hem—it was quite perfect.

As she reached the altar, her father placed her hand into Seth’s, and then he whispered something in Seth’s ear, so quietly that Bridget couldn’t hear him.

Her father retreated to the pews as Seth pulled her closer to him.

At their simple touch, her skin tingled, remembering the two nights they had spent together already. Since their last night together, before he had asked her father’s permission to marry her, they had not been able to indulge again, but that would all end tonight.

From tonight, they would never need to hide away. They could be open, making love as husband and wife.

Seth pulled her even closer, tucking her hand in the crook of his arm.

“You do not know how much I have looked forward to this moment,” he whispered.

“As much as me, I wonder?” Bridget returned, under the cover of the organ music. “By the way, what was it my father said to you just now?”

“Ah, he was reminding me of my duty. He said, he hoped I would always take care of you, and any children you and I may have together.” Seth looked down at her stomach, his smile growing a little more. “It is an easy promise to make, dear Bridget. I intend to stand by you and our children forever.”

Bridget longed to tell him she loved him, but the organ music ended, and the vicar stepped forward, bestowing a kindly smile on them all as he opened the bible and peered at it through the spectacles on the tip of his nose. Bridget reassured herself that when night fell, she would tell Seth just how much she loved him, and she would endeavor to show it to him too.

She also had some news for him—news she had been keeping secret. It may have only been a month since they had last made love, but it was two weeks since she should have had her courses.

It’s possible that I am with child, Seth. I cannot wait to tell you.

The End?