Christopher eyed her with surprise. “Is everything all right, dove?”
Leaning onto her tiptoes, she brushed a kiss against his cheek. “Everything is wonderful, my dearest husband. I couldn’t have been happier if today were our own wedding day. I want you to know that I love you—utterly. And I can think of no greater honor or title than to be your wife.”
“Y-you love me?” he asked, as if still unsure.
“I. Love. You. Christopher. Ambrosius. Moulton,” she said, emphasizing every single word. “And. I. Will. Always. Love. You. Forever.”
She watched as the smile slowly grew on his handsome face. She’d come to love his well-trimmed beard and the way his lips twitched before his mouth broke into a full grin. “I love you too, Lady Sarah Denham Moulton. Accepting your marriage proposal was the best decision I ever made.”
Christopher placed his hands on her waist and pulled her against him. Sarah’s arms naturally wrapped around his neck. “You’re never going to let me forget that I proposed to you, are you?”
“Nay, dove. How could I forget the best day of my life?”
“I think today might be the best day of mine,” Sarah whispered. She was close enough to her husband to feel his warm breath on her face.
“Maybe we should respeak our vows; you look beautiful enough to be a bride,” Christopher said, then pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Sarah, you are beautiful, intelligent, kind, diligent, caring, and very fashionable.”
She couldn’t keep in a little chuckle.
Her husband placed a gentle finger on her smiling lips. “I could dig every day for the rest of my life, and I would still not uncover all that is wonderful about you. I will esteem, respect, protect, honor, and cherish you every day for the rest of my life. You are the woman I love. You are my wife ... and I believe this is the moment for the ring.”
A plain golden circlet was already on her fourth finger. Christopher gently took her hand and added an engagement ring with a large diamond surrounded by sapphires. She smiled so widely that her cheeks hurt.This.This was what love was supposed to be like. The poets spoke of passion, but a grand love was made up of small, precious moments like this one.
“Christopher, you have shown me by your words and your deeds what love is. I know you do not think you are perfect, and perhaps no one is. But you are perfectforme. Every perceived flaw makes you into the man you are. A man who is humble, hardworking, and unbearably handsome. I want to kiss you every hour of the day. Every minute, even.”
“Nothing is stopping you, dove.”
Giggling, Sarah pressed her smiling lips to his. Their previous kisses had tasted delicious, but this kiss was devastating. She felt their connection from their lips down to the depths of her very soul. It was as if their hearts beat together in steady harmony. She felt warm and wonderful wherever their bodies met. Hishands pressed her closely against him. She tightened her hold around his neck and deepened the kiss.
How wonderful it was to be in love with her own husband!
One kiss became two. And after two, Sarah simply lost count. It didn’t matter. The roses. The garden. Even the world faded away. The only things that remained were a man and a woman who loved. And were loved.
Chapter 23
Christopher could hardly wait tobegin their wedding trip. Sarah’s aunt Beatrice and her twelve children were enough to put a man into Bedlam. He felt a little sorry for the Manderfield staff, who would have to put up with them for an extra day after he and Sarah left on their journey. There was an itch to the soles of his feet and a tingling in his hands. He could hardly wait to be alone with his wife after the wedding party.
His wife.
He loved calling Sarah that. He loved her enough to be paraded in front of her numerous wealthy and titled relatives whose names he had difficulty remembering. Lady Venetia had invited the second and third cousins. His and Sarah’s wedding party would be an event to be remembered for many years to come. Even her grandfather the Duke of Aylsham had arrived the night before. The old man was short and gouty, but he still had Christopher quaking in his boots. Christopher did not look forward to another conversation with the duke today. If he were careful, perhaps he could avoid one.
Knocking on the door that led to Sarah’s room, he waited for her to speak before entering. Christopher had thought she was a vision of loveliness at their wedding, but her appearance today eclipsed even then. Every brown lock was curled and placed to perfection. She wore the pair of diamond earrings that he had given her and three strands of pearls, as well as her matching wedding ring. Without jewelry, she still would have sparkled. Her gown was bottle green and brought out the color of her eyes. The cut and style were unlike any he had seen before. Sarah did not follow fashion—she created it.
“You have left me speechless, dove.”
She got to her feet with a queenly grace. “And you have made me wish to kiss you again, Husband.”
Gently cupping her cheek, his hand nearly the size of her face, he brushed his lips back and forth over hers several times. “I am always happy to oblige, my wife.”
Pink crept into her cheeks, and Sarah appeared even more beautiful and bridelike. “You always oblige me.”
“Then, perhaps we can skip the party and head straight to our wedding trip?” Christopher suggested as innocently as possible.
Quirking up one eyebrow, his wife shook her beautiful head. “You know we cannot. Aunt Venetia has spent weeks planning this party, and you know how important wedding cake is to her. If we do not finally eat it, she will bring it up for the rest of our lives.”
“It’s not your aunt I am worried about.”
Sarah’s brow creased for a moment, and then she laughed. “You cannot be afraid of Uncle Oscar. Besides, you hired that gang of workers that started digging the canal over a fortnight ago. He will not plague you about his artificial lake at the party.”