Page 72 of Secret Vows
In confusion, she looked from one side of the aisle to the other, surprised to see so many smiling eyes and happy faces directed back at her. A tingle went up her spine when she realized that the knights, nobles, and ladies of this assembly were offering her and Gray tribute, a send-off of great approval with their applause. The crowd stamped their feet or pounded their fists on the wooden benches in front of them, the noise getting louder and faster with every moment.
Gray met her grin with his own and gripped her hand more tightly; they strode forward with the twins clasped secure on either side of them. The applause burgeoned as they passed, growing until it blended with joyful cheers that rose to the rafters.
Soon Ian and Isabel let go, skipping on ahead of them and swinging their arms as they too giggled and cheered in the excited atmosphere.
A few of the knights near the back bellowed “Huzzah!” as they neared the great, arched portal that led from the chamber, and grinning, Gray tugged Catherine to a stop. She gasped when he pulled her to him, and, leaning her over his arm, kissed her in front of everyone—kissed her tenderly and passionately, until the cheers rose around them and she was breathless and laughing in his embrace.
When he eased her back to her feet, they continued the rest of the way through the arched portal. The shouts of the crowd swelled to a deafening roar before finally fading to nothing as the heavy doors swung shut behind them.
Then they just stood there in the quiet, cool hall of King Henry’s beautiful palace, all four of them, hand in hand.
Ian and Isabel still breathed heavily from their exertions in the court chamber, but Ian managed to lean in to his sister and ask in an exaggerated whisper, “Well, what are we supposed to do now?”
Isabel shrugged and scratched her nose, looking around. Finally she gazed up at her mother and said, “I don’t know. Whatdowe do now, Mummy?”
Catherine’s lips twitched; her mouth refused to stop smiling, and she felt like joyful little bubbles had replaced all of the blood in her veins as she in turn swung her gaze to Gray and asked, “Well, my lord champion, what say you? Have you any ideas about what comes next?”
As she spoke, a slow, sensual grin curved Gray’s mouth. He gazed at her for a few moments before he murmured huskily, “Aye, lady. I have an idea. But first I want to make new vows—vows to you, so that everyone will know that the love I feel for you surpasses all, beyond bounds of space and time.”
His eyes seemed to pierce into her very soul, their smoky depths warm with passion and the promise of all that was yet to come. The way he was looking at her made her insides melt, and a delicious tingle shivered up her neck. Touching his finger under her chin, he gently lifted her face to his.
“I love you, my Catherine,” he whispered. “More than life itself and for all eternity, I vow that I love you.” He brushed his lips across hers, and even that light touch called forth an intensity of joy that sent her heart’s blood soaring.
“Say that you’ll marry me now, in truth, with all the secrets of the past behind us.”
“Aye, Gray, I will marry you,” she answered.
“And I will be yours forever, now until the end of time. This I vow with my whole heart and soul.”
She stroked her fingertips over his cheek and along the firm line of his jaw, willing the power of her love to spill into that caress, wanting him to feel the same intensity of joy, the same sense of completion she felt. His smile deepened along with hers and, cupping his face in her palms, she kissed him again.
“Come, my love,” she murmured, still smiling as she took his hand and led him and the children out of the palace, into the sparkling light of a crisp, early winter afternoon.
“’Tis a most beautiful day, I think, for a wedding.”
Epilogue
The Year of Our Lord, 1234
Iam Catherine of Cheltenham. A woman blessed beyond measure. A woman blessed, praise God, with all the gifts that truth and hope can bring.
I am surrounded by the love of a man who carries my heart in his hands and cherishes it as the most precious of jewels. I bask in the affection of my darling children and the devotion of many dear friends—loyal friends, like Sir Alban, who is recovered now, heaven be thanked, from his terrible wounds. My family feels the warmth of true acceptance, given by the countless good people who live with us and around us on this prosperous estate granted us by King Henry.
My life is truly happy. Gray is my soul, as I am his. We share a bond that cannot be broken, neither by man nor by the ravages of time. ’Tis eternal. He rejoices in me, and I in him. The days of darkness are gone forever, banished by the force of our love.
And, then, of course, there is the babe…
I can still see Gray’s face on the day that I told him the glad news that I carried our child. ’Twas a moment of joy that I shall never forget. Our babe has grown steadily, blooming in my belly, gaining in size and strength in preparation for arrival into the world. It will be sometime within the next fortnight, I think.
I dream often of our child during the long, peaceful nights cradled in the warmth of Gray’s arms. In my dreams she is a little girl, dancing about with her pink cheeks aglow, her hair a sable cloud floating around her, her sapphire eyes laughing as she dips and twirls with delight, free from life’s cares.
And we have named her Gillian….
I pray now only that God will hear my words of thanksgiving for this child that is to come, the child of Gray’s blood and mine, mingled together in that most sacred and mystical of ways.
May everyone’s life be filled to overflowing with the same kind of happiness and love that has been granted to me.
Amen.
