Page 75 of To Love

Chapter

Thirty-Two

They waited until the men were buried, training resumed, and all had gone back to how it was before Winchester. Alden waited at the door of the chapel, one without a priest since they’d not been able to recruit one that could be trusted with their secret. Despite Empress Matilda’s defeat, or maybe because of it, the Guardians of the Sacred Oak were more determined than ever to emerge victorious. None here would accept King Stephen as their monarch.

Ever.

There was one daughter of King Henry I, and she was the only ruler these men would follow. Including Alden. But today was not for allegiances and battles.

It was the day he would become a husband.

“There she is,” Gareth said beside him.

He knew she was sad that her father would miss this day. Of his family, Alden wished most his mother and sister could be here as well. They would adore Elara, and she them. Someday, perhaps, they would come to know one another.

For now, there were matters more important than strengthening familial relationships. The fate of England sat in the balance. But at least they would fight for it together.

“She is so beautiful,” he said, not realizing he’d done so loudly enough for his friends to hear him.

“Aye, she is,” Darien said.

She was dressed in a rich ivory gown, its bodice intricately embroidered with gold and silver threads. Its long, flowing sleeves hinted at an elegance of a woman raised at court. Though Elara wished for a simple ceremony, their wedding feast one that would be attended by their instructors and recruits but none other, she had insisted on having a special gown made by the village seamstress.

The skirt of her gown was voluminous, cascading down in soft, elegant folds. A jeweled belt cinched at her waist, and she wore a gossamer veil, he could see as she approached, embroidered with tiny, sparkling beads that glimmered like dew drops. It was secured in place with a delicate circlet of woven gold, and as she walked through the grass toward him, Elara appeared almost ethereal, like a dream.

And she was his.

This serious, beautiful, intelligent woman whose passions she’d not held back, was his. Alden silently thanked the saints for such a blessing.

Walking up the stairs, she paused. They would marry on the steps of the chapel for all to see. Stepping from behind her was their officiant. In some ways, Alden thought it appropriate the stalwart nobleman would be the one to marry them. He realized finally why Lord Stirling and Elara did not get on very well.

They were nearly the same person.

Though it was true the man who’d knighted him, and also held ecclesiastical authority through his church’s patronage, did not care for court politics, the two were otherwise very similar. Stalwart. Smart. Savvy.

Even now, despite the fact that today was a joyous occasion, Stirling appeared as if they were instead heading into battle. Or at the very least, he did not appear about to officiate a wedding.

Alden turned his attention to Elara.

She, on the other hand, smiled broadly. “You are to become my husband,” she whispered as Stirling attempted to quiet the crowd.

“And you, my wife.”

Alden would never be able to repeat the words Stirling said. He was hardly listening. His attention was firmly on the woman by his side.

Stirling cleared his throat.

Elara looked as if she were about to laugh. Roland did so, earning a stern look from Stirling.

“I asked, Sir Alden,” Stirling said. “If you would repeat after me?”

“Aye,” he said. “Aye, I will.”

Stirling’s one eye rolled upward “Very good then. I, Alden, take thee, Elara, to be my wedded wife.”

Alden repeated the words.

Stirling continued. “To love and to honor, to cherish and to protect, in fair fortune and in adversity, in health and in sickness, from this day forward, until death do us part.”