“Ireland,” her mother cried as more tears flooded her eyes.
“Suffolk,” Tabitha reminder her since that was where Andrew currently resided.
“But one day it will be Ireland.”
Tabitha had been given only two hours to prepare for her wedding. As she rushed upstairs to bathe and decide on a gown, Danby had broken the news to Mother and Peter.
While Deborah and Sarah assisted her with her toilette, excitement for her bubbling over, their mother reclined on the chaise dampening one handkerchief after another.
“Benjamin knew and never told me.”
Tabitha blinked at Deborah. “He did?”
“Peter too,” she whispered. “Danby had informed Ben of his plans but swore him to secrecy. Ben told Peter anyway because he wanted someone looking out for you. If Peter didn’t think it was a good match, he was to send for Benjamin.
“How do you know all of this?” She’d only just become engaged.
Deborah quickly glanced back at their mother who was too lost in her own misery to pay any attention to them. “Peter pulled me aside as soon as Danby ordered you and Straffan to the study. He wanted to know if I knew anything that he should be aware of.” Her face began to turn pink. “I told him about the kiss and then he told me about Danby’s plans.”
Normally Tabitha would be quite vexed that Deborah has broken her confidence, but given it was so her brothers could protect her from something so permanent as a potential unwanted marriage, Tabitha couldn’t be angry. While she hated all of these secrets, at least her brothers were watching over her. If Andrew would have turned out to be someone like Lymington, certainly they would have saved her from such a horrible fate.
But, Andrew wasn’t Lymingon. Andrew was wonderful and in a short time she’d be his. Then tomorrow they’d leave Danby Castle and travel to her home where she’d pack her belongings to be sent to Suffolk and another trunk to accompany her first to Cheshire where she’d meet the brother who saw ghosts and then to Ireland where she’d meet the rest of Andrew’s family and visit their new estate.
The plans had been made so quickly that Tabitha’s head was practically spinning, but none of that mattered because in the end, she’d have the only thing she really wanted—Andrew, her very merry viscount, the best Christmas present anyone could ever want.
As he had no family to speak of in attendance, Andrew asked his boyhood friends to stand witness to this marriage.
Halesworth didn’t even question the suddenness of Andrew’s marriage, though Nichols commented that it wasn’t safe to be a bachelor at Danby castle.
Few were in attendance at the rushed nuptials, but as this was an everyday occurrence at Danby Castle during the holiday, he could well understand why many chose not to join in the celebrations. Though, he’d like to think they’d be happier for him than Tabitha’s mother. Since her two younger sisters had brought her into the chapel, all the woman had done was sob, loud and hard. One would think she was attending a funeral.
All Dandy did was shoot disapproving stares at her, but that did nothing to quell the woman’s unhappiness.
Andrew didn’t think it possible for the woman to cry any harder, but that was exactly what she did the moment Tabitha began walking toward him down the short aisle in the ancient castle chapel.
In an instant, he blocked out everything, and everyone, and focused on the beautiful woman dressed in the softest of yellow, mahogany curls unbound, as she glided toward him with the most radiant smile he’d ever witnessed. Andrew’s heart tightened in his chest and love like he’d never experienced filled his being. He could not wait for his very merry future with Tabitha to begin.