His lips quirked. “Though I’m happy at your belief in the strength of my powers of persuasion and charm, I don’t want anyone else except about you. You make me see the world in a new way. You are perfect.”
Charlotte’s heart quivered.
“That doctor may have made a clerical error, but it was the very best thing he could have done, for he brought us together.” Callum moved from the cart and offered her his hand. “The wedding guests are waiting.”
Charlotte was silent, still taken aback.
“You will say yes?” Callum’s voice wobbled, and his eyes seemed to grow rounder. “If you don’t desire to marry me after all—” His voice broke up, and he swallowed hard. “I’ve missed you so much. But if you have found the distance between us pleasant—”
“N-no.” Charlotte stammered. She couldn’t let him think she didn’t adore him.
“I love you. I love you more than anything.” Callum raised his chin obstinately, as if willing her to argue. It seemed easy to imagine his ancestors bravely battling. All that was missing was shining armor, though the sun glinted over his tailcoat and waistcoat with such force even that was easy to envision.
Charlotte took his hand and looked at him. Of course I love him.
She’d whispered the words to him in the dark, but now she inhaled and uttered them aloud. Her heart trembled, conscious the words would change everything.
There’d been safety perhaps in being a bluestocking. Safety in assuming a duke would never desire to marry her. Safety in withdrawing herself from the competitive nature of other debutantes. Because some people criticized her habit of immersing herself in books, she’d assumed everyone would.
“I-I love you too. I—”
He pulled her into his arms, sweeping her easily from the cart.
“Wonderful,” he said, and his lips spread into that familiar grin.
“I don’t think it’s proper to hold me like this.”
Callum leaned toward. “Good thing you’re already married.”
He strode up the steps with her, still carrying her in his arms.
Children giggled and threw petals at them, and Charlotte inhaled their fragrant floral scent. How had she ever imagined weddings were not the most wonderful thing in the world? She strode beside him up the steps. The distance to the portico was slight, but she indulged in each movement.
She wasn’t dying.
She was healthy and would live longer.
But now she knew to cherish each movement.
Callum pushed open the door to the church. For one moment, she stiffened. The church was so full, so entirely unlike their hasty elopement in Guernsey and even entirely unlike the small, intimate wedding they’d planned here once before.
“But I could have said no,” she whispered. “You would have been humiliated.”
“That wouldn’t compare to the pain of losing you,” he said.
“What compelled you?”
“I may have run into Lady Isla,” he admitted. “She was upset you didn’t say you would no longer be called a duchess.”
Charlotte smiled, conscious of the feel of Callum’s arms about her.
The last time they’d been here the doors to the church had been locked, but now they opened easily.
“Ready?” Callum asked.
“For the rest of my life,” Charlotte breathed.
Music started to play, and joy filled her. The day might be gray, an uncomfortable brisk breeze might be blowing, but it was still wonderful.
Epilogue
1825
Guernsey
A warm breeze brushed against Callum as white and pink blossoms descended around them. Callum watched their slow flight and urged the horses forward, conscious of the thick floral fragrance in the air.
“When will we be there?” Charles asked, and Charlotte squeezed their son’s hand.
“Soon,” she promised. “Very soon.”
They had been going to Guernsey every year since Charles was two. Perhaps Callum had been born in the Highlands, perhaps Charlotte had been born in Norfolk, but it was here, in the middle of the English Channel that Callum had found home.
Callum was no longer involved in Hades’ Lair. It had been a youthful endeavor, mostly spurred by Wolfe’s involvement in it. Even though plenty of people had asked if he would be fine moving to a more rural location, he’d found only contentment. He was happy to give his son the childhood he’d wished he’d had for longer.
“When are they coming?” Charles asked.
“Soon,” Callum said. “Very soon. See that ship?” Callum pointed.
“Yes,” Charles nodded.
“That is the ship with your Uncle Hamish, Aunt Georgiana and your cousins.”
Charles clapped his hands.
“I believe the cousins are the primary cause of excitement,” Charlotte said.
“That’s fine,” Callum said. “We do only have one child.”
Charlotte’s eyes shimmered.
Why was she smiling at him in that manner?
Naturally, she was prone to smile. He didn’t understand why people had thought her disagreeable. She could be precise in her words, but Callum found her most agreeable. He glanced at the way her long neck curved and the slender form of her hands.
Yes.
Charlotte was most agreeable.
In every sense.
“That’s not entirely true,” she said.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Only that Charles is not going to be the only child here.”
“Because his cousins are coming.”
Charlotte shook her head slightly. “I’d wanted to tell you before, but I wasn’t certain.”
“Heavens.”
“Is it a good surprise?” Charlotte asked tentatively.
“It’s the very best sort of surprise.”
“They’re here,” Charles said gleefully and headed toward the dock.
Callum rushed after him happily, conscious the world was becoming fuller and more delightful than anything he could ever have anticipated.
Hamish sprang down the gangway, surrounded by his family and a slew of servants. Callum smiled. There’d been a time when his twin brother had lauded the virtues of privacy, but that was firmly in the past.
“How nice to see you,” Callum said, realizing that he meant it.
Hamish beamed. “Aye.”
They embraced and walked to the town. Warmth brushed over him.
Joyful shouts and bells sounded, and they looked over to the church.
“Someone is getting married,” Charlotte murmured.
Thick brown doors opened, and a wedding couple stepped outside. Callum didn’t know who these people were, but his heart still filled with joy at memories of his own wedding. Children flung petals at the couple, and everyone applauded. The woman’s gown was not elaborate, but she wore a crown of flowers.
He squeezed Charlotte’s hand, and her eyes sparkled.
“I do adore weddings,” she said. “They always remind me of ours.”
“I feel the same.”
“But I adore our marriage more,” she murmured, and he kissed her.
THANK YOU FOR READING Dukes Prefer Bluestockings. I hope you enjoyed it.
Don’t Tie the Knot is the first book in my Wedding Trouble series and tells Hamish’s and Georgiana’s story. Order it now. The next book in the series will be about Flora and Wolfe. My Matchmaking for Wallflowers series is set in the same regency world as my Wedding Trouble series.
Matchmaking for Wallflowers
How to Capture a Duke
A Rogue to Avoid
Runaway Wallflower
Mad About the Baron
A Marquess for Convenience
The Wrong Heiress for Christmas
Wedding Trouble
Don’t Tie the Knot
Dukes Prefer Bluestockings
The Sleuthing Starlet
Murder at the Manor House
Danger on
the Downs – Coming soon!
About the Author
Born in Texas, Bianca Blythe spent four years in England. She worked in a fifteenth century castle, though sadly that didn’t actually involve spotting dukes and earls strutting about in Hessians.
She credits British weather for forcing her into a library, where she discovered her first Julia Quinn novel. Thank goodness for blustery downpours.
Bianca now lives in California with her husband.
Connect with Bianca
www.biancablythe.com
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Matchmaking for Wallflowers
How to Capture a Duke
A Rogue to Avoid
Runaway Wallflower
Mad About the Baron
A Marquess for Convenience
The Wrong Heiress for Christmas
Wedding Trouble
Don’t Tie the Knot
Dukes Prefer Bluestockings
The Sleuthing Starlet
Murder at the Manor House
Danger on the Downs – Coming soon!
Don’t Tie the Knot
A TROUBLESOME WEDDING invitation...
When Lord Hamish Montgomery learns his brother is getting married, he vows to stop the wedding. After all, his brother is intended for someone else.
A determined bridesmaid...
Georgiana Butterworth is startled when a handsome Scotsman breaks into her bedroom and brandishes money. Evidently he’s mistaken her for her newly engaged sister and is trying to bribe her into not marrying his brother. Georgiana knows one thing: she won’t permit this man to ruin her sister’s chance for everlasting happiness.
A wedding that mustn’t be stopped...
Hamish may be determined to stop the wedding, but Georgiana is intent to make certain the wedding happens, no matter what she has to do to distract him.
Order it now.
Dukes Prefer Bluestockings (Wedding Trouble, #2) Page 18
