Page 88 of A Scot on Duchess Square
She nodded.
“I was no’ certain at all. In truth, I despaired that I might never win ye over even though I knew ye loved me. But I had to protect Douglas and Gwenys first. I did it for them. That it shall be a double wedding is an unexpected reward.”
Miranda hoped this was all going to work out. Could it possibly?
“A double wedding,” she mused, her thoughts now catching up to what he’d said about his love being trueandeternal.
He was never going to leave her. She believed that.
“Aye,” Bram said in a tone of finality. “We’re getting married tomorrow. My heart canno’ take another moment’s delay, and I’ll no’ hear another word about it.”
“Well, I’d like to say something more,” Miranda added.
Bram sighed. “What?”
“Would it be sinful of me to contact the gossip rags and report Lady Lowery and Lady Trowbridge being caught up in that gambling raid?”
A slow, wickedly delicious smile spread across Bram’s face. “Ye needn’t bother, lass. Montrose is already on it.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Oh, m’lady.” Miranda’smaid sighed while taking a step back to admire her in her wedding gown. “Ye look a vision in that blue silk. His Grace will not be able to take his eyes off ye.”
Miranda smiled. “It is a pretty gown, isn’t it, Lottie?”
“Ye are the one who is pretty,” the maid insisted. “A gown is just bits of fabric. Here, sit down and let me put the finishing touches to yer hair.”
Miranda sat quietly while Lottie fussed over her with expert care.
Her thoughts drifted back in time to when she was a mere lass of eighteen and about to marry the then Earl of Lowery. She had never thought of her late husband as spineless, but he probably had been. How else could an unpleasant woman like Lady Trowbridge get such a hold on him? Well, it was over fifteen years in the past and all of that awful woman’s plans had blown up in her face because he’d died in their tawdry love nest before they could get their hands on Miranda’s money.
She quietly counted her blessings that he’d made her a widow at the tender age of twenty. Had she been one and twenty, he would have been able to grab her trust funds and then leave her penniless.
But now, she was about to marry a real man. One of honor. One who would be a true husband to her and protect her instead of subjecting her to ridicule.
Gwenys barged in, breathless and excited. “I’m ready. Are you? Oh, don’t you look beautiful!”
“So do you,” Miranda said, approving of the pale-rose silk that brought out the delicate blush of Gwenys’s cheeks. Douglas’s smile would be bright enough to light up the night sky when he caught sight of her.
Yes, that big Scot loved her niece.
They rode to the church, a charming stone structure with beautiful stained glass windows and ivy growing along its walls. Berry and Gideon’s carriage led a procession of three holding them and their Duchess Square neighbors.
Bram and Douglas were waiting by the church’s open doors.
“We’re here,” Gwenys squealed, “and our bridegrooms haven’t run away. They look so handsome, the pair of them. I hope we haven’t kept them waiting too long.”
Douglas’s eyes lit up the moment he spotted Gwenys. He rushed over to assist her down.
What surprised Miranda was the smile on Bram’s face and the tender light in his eyes when his gaze settled on her.
No one had ever looked at her this way before. Was this what was meant when describing the eyes of love?
He marched forward to help her down. “Och, ye’re such a pretty thing.”
Gad, she blushed like a schoolgirl. “Thank you.”
Hugh motioned them all in. “Come on, we’ve got a schedule to keep.”
