A knock on the door of the parish chapel’s drawing room snapped Chastity’s gaze onto the plain wooden door. She stared for a heartbeat, then looked at Lucy, who sat on the settle near the window.

“Open the door,” Lucy urged.

“This is madness,” Chastity said.

Lucy silently agreed. Two days ago, she’d danced with a man who clearly had no desire to marry her. This morning, she wore an ivory gown as her wedding dress and she was about to walk down the aisle to pledge herself to this stranger.

More knocking.

“Please, open the door Chastity,” Lucy said.

Chastity looked more distressed than Lucy felt, but she did as Lucy wished.

The vicar’s wife stood in the doorway. She was only nineteen-years-old, and she appeared as nervous as the sisters.

“Are you ready, my lady?” She smiled tremulously at Lucy.

“Aye.” Lucy stood. As ready as she would ever be.

The vicar’s wife led them down a short hallway and into the parish foyer. Through the open doors, Lucy glimpsed two dozen guests seated in the ancient pews. She took a deep breath, inhaling cold air that smelled of age, incense, and candle wax. A tremor rippled through her belly. She couldn’t see him, but she knew Baron Delny stood before the vicar at the end of the aisle, waiting for her.

Her father emerged from the chapel and strode toward them. “You may go to your seat, Chastity.”.

She looked at Lucy. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

“Chastity,” the duke warned.

“Nae,” she said. “Lucy has a choice in this matter.”

“We did agree to this,” Lucy said. “Papa trusts him, and I trust Papa.”

Chastity started to reply, but the duke shook his head. “Take your seat, or go home.”

“Please.” Lucy touched her arm. “Do not leave.”

Chastity’s mouth thinned. But she nodded and headed toward the chapel. She disappeared.

The duke grasped Lucy’s shoulders and searched her eyes. “I hope you understand why I do this.”

“You want us safely wed.”

“I want you happy,” he said.

She lifted on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I know.”

He nodded, and she was sure she glimpsed moisture in his eyes before he faced the doors and angled his arm. She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and they started forward. When they entered the chapel and she caught sight of Baron Delny standing before the pulpit, her heart fluttered. She’d never seen a more beautiful man. His black tailcoat contrasted beautifully with his ivory waistcoat, and his tanned neck encircled by a crisp white cravat made her mouth go dry. They neared the pulpit and the intensity of his gaze caused her to flush. They reached his side and her father kissed her.

“Take care of her or I will shoot you.” Without another word, Papa turned and took three steps to his seat in the front pew.

Lucy stared at him. Tears stung the corners of her eyes. For all his bluster about marrying them off, he was going to miss her.

“Take her right hand,” the minister instructed the baron.

The baron did so and her stomach did a somersault at his gentle touch.

“Dearly beloved,” the vicar began, and Lucy started. She was truly getting married.

Was this a dream? Like many of her sex, she wanted a husband, children, a home of her own. But her sisters had yet to marry, and she had assumed—feared—she would have difficulty finding a husband.

“I require and charge you both,” the vicar continued, “as ye will answer at the dreadful day of judgment when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, that if either of you know any impediment, why ye may not be lawfully joined together in matrimony, ye do now confess it.”

Lucy’s heart pounded. Would Chastity challenge the marriage? She tensed in readiness for her sister’s voice to ring out in the small chapel. The baron gently squeezed her hand. She snapped her head up. He smiled down at her with such kindness and understanding that the sudden need to cry rushed to the surface. His brow furrowed and she startled when he lifted a hand and brushed a tear from her cheek. She hadn’t realized she was crying.

The vicar’s eyes flicked to the baron’s hand and pleasure transformed his face. All the guests remained quiet and he went on. “Quinn Ramsey, wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?”

Lucy held her breath.

Quinn locked gazes with her and said, “I will.”

The vicar looked at her. “Lucy Hamilton, will thou have this man to thy wedded Husband, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou obey him, and serve him, love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?”

“I will,” she whispered, and was surprised at the relief that flooded the baron’s expression.

“Have you the ring?” he asked Quinn, and Quinn withdrew a gold band with a three-carat emerald.

Lucy gasped. Had she ever seen anything so beautiful? Her fingers shook as he grasped her left hand and held the ring while he repeated after the vicar, “With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship—” something flickered in his eyes and she flushed with the thought of what lay ahead for their first night as husband and wife “—and with all my worldly goods I thee endow: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”

He slipped the ring on her finger and it seemed to Lucy that her hand suddenly weighed five times its normal weight.

“Have you a ring?” the vicar asked her.

She reached into a small pocket and pulled out a simple gold band. When she grasped the baron’s large hand and repeated in a near whisper the same vow he had made, her stomach did another somersault as she slipped the ring onto his finger.

“Please kneel,” the vicar instructed.

She lifted her skirt and Quinn grasped her hand to steady her kneel, then he knelt beside her.

The vicar looked down at them. “Forasmuch as Quinn Ramsey and Lucy Hamilton have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, and thereto have given and pledged their troth each to the other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving of a ring, and by joining of hands; I pronounce that they be man and wife together, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.” He closed the book.

Lucy couldn’t bring herself to look at Quinn as he rose, then pulled her to her feet. He kept hold of her hand and they followed the vicar to the register, which lay open on a stand to their left.

Quinn first signed his full name, then she did the same. They faced the guests and Lucy’s gaze met Chastity’s. A strange sense of finality settled over Lucy.

***

Lucy sat beside her husband at the wedding breakfast table, overwhelmed by his attention.

“Would you like more tea?” He lifted a brow, waiting.

She nodded and he filled her cup.

He picked up the platter of ham. “Do you like ham?”

“Yes.”

He smiled and placed two slices on her plate.

“Thank you.” Lucy returned his smile, but she had no appetite and, instead, sipped her tea as everyone else ate ravenously. Except Chastity. Lucy’s heart went out to her sister. Chastity seemed to be waiting for Lucy to reach the end of the plank she walked and fall.

Sir Stirling sat to Chastity’s left. Like the duke, he ate with gusto, but Lucy didn’t miss the worried glance he cast Chastity’s way. She pushed her food around her plate, and Lucy suddenly understood. Chastity might be worried for her, but she also worried for herself. She hadn’t truly expected Sir Stirling to be able to marry Lucy to anyone, much less in two days. All this meant that Chastity was one sister closer to a marriage she didn’t want.

What frightened her so much about marriage? Was it Chastity’s ‘adventure,’ as she called it, with Lord Everson four years ago when he whisked her away to a parson to marry her? Chastity had been twenty, but she hadn’t been a green girl. Lucy was certain Chastity had never been a green girl. She’d often wondered if Chastity had given her innocence to the earl. Lord Everson hadn’t betrayed her—exactly. He was in financial straits, and hadn’t told her. He’d sworn all along that he loved her, but their father forbade the marriage. For some time after the affair, Lucy had wondered if Chastity still loved the earl. Could it be possible she eschewed marriage because she still pined for him? Lucy could find no truth in the idea.

“You haven’t eaten anything, love.”

The baron’s—her husband’s—voice startled Lucy. Had he called her love? He stared at her and she realized he’d said something.

“Oh, I’m not hungry.”

He frowned. “The service was very long. Do you need to rest before we depart for Caenleigh Castle?”

A knot formed in her stomach. She hadn’t allowed herself to think about leaving home. Sadness suddenly weighed down on her. She would miss her family. Oddly, she realized her leaving would be harder on Chastity than her. Understanding struck. Chastity didn’t want her sisters to leave her.

***

The farewells were tearful, and Quinn was surprised when Stirling requested that his bay be readied to leave when Quinn and his wife set out. His wife. God help him.

 Stirling shook hands with the duke near the front door steps, then approached Quinn, where he stood waiting beside the carriage.

“Are you ready?” Stirling asked.

Quinn nodded at the carriage. “Lucy’s luggage loaded. She is taking only two bags today. The rest will be sent later.”

Stirling shook his head. “That isn’t what I meant.”

“Oh.” Quinn could find nothing else to say.

Stirling laughed and clapped him on the back. “You’ll do fine, lad.”

Quinn looked at Lucy, who was hugging Olivia. Three days ago, marriage had been the farthest thing from his thoughts. Now, he couldn’t imagine a future without this woman in his life. He didn’t know her, but he’d glimpsed her keen mind and hidden strength, traits lacking in the women he’d dallied with. He wanted a lifetime to learn everything about her. “She is beautiful, isn’t she?”

“She is.”

His heart thumped. “Thank you.”

Surprise flickered across Stirling’s face, then he smiled. “I’m pleased you’re happy, Quinn.”

Quinn regarded him. “What of your bride-to-be?”

Stirling released a breath. “She is…a challenge.”

“I’ve never known you to run from a challenge.”

Stirling laughed. “I suspect Lady Chastity will prove to be the greatest challenge I’ve faced yet.”

“Is her father’s title worth all the trouble?”

He snorted. “God, no.”

Lucy and her father turned toward them and she met Quinn’s gaze. His mind muddled. God help him, was the woman going to have this effect on him for the rest of his life? The idea frightened him. How much power would she have over him? Bloody hell, yes, for he would move heaven and hell to make her happy.

They reached the carriage. Lucy hugged her father. The older man released her, then clasped her hand and helped her into the carriage. He looked at Quinn. “Remember what I said. If you hurt her, I will shoot you.” He turned and left.

Quinn stared after him. “A man of few words.”

Stirling nodded. “And he means those words.” The door closed and they were left standing in the early afternoon sun. Stirling faced him. “You had better go. I will call on you in a week.”

Quinn raised a brow. “A week?”

Stirling flashed a smile. “I have another sister to marry off.”