Married By Midnight

by Julianne MacLean

  Anne could not ignore the fact that it was the first time she had set foot in a place of worship since her very public fall from grace.

  She glanced uneasily at the others who were smiling and laughing, then looked up at the high arched ceiling and felt a wonderful rush of joy to be there without being judged a harlot.

  She closed her eyes and took a few deep cleansing breaths, then opened them and looked around.

  It was a small, private chapel that would seat fifty people at most, but it was an inviting space with fine oak paneling and tapestries behind the choir stalls. She slowly made her way up the center aisle, running her fingers over the backs of each empty pew.

  A stained glass window provided an ornate backdrop for the altar, but she could not make out the colors or details in the glass for there were only a few candles to light the way.

  “What a lovely place,” she said, deciding to return at some point to see it in full light. She would be married here after all. It was an almost inconceivable notion.

  “I haven’t been here in years,” Garrett said. “It seems smaller than I remember.”

  She watched his eyes settle upon the white statue of the Virgin Mary at the base of the arched window and wondered what he was thinking as he held the candelabra high over his head.

  Meanwhile Devon had already found a secret door behind the pulpit. He unlocked it with a key that was stored beneath a loose stone in the floor.

  “I wasn’t sure if the key would still be here,” he said, handing it to Garrett who slipped it into his pocket. “Are you ready ladies?” Devon asked. “If you’re frightened, it is not too late to change your minds.”

  “Frightened?” Charlotte replied, aghast. She was the first to join him at the door. “We most certainly are not. In fact, I will go first.”

  Anne and Rebecca followed, but Anne stopped suddenly when she peered into the darkness. “Oh, my. I didn’t imagine anything quite like this.”

  A steep set of stone stairs led down to the underground tunnels beneath the chapel, but it was pitch black beyond the meagre light provided by their candles. A dank, musty smell reached her nostrils and her heart began to race at the prospect of venturing into those dark unknown depths.

  “Perhaps it would be better to do this during daylight hours?” she found herself suggesting, just as Rebecca had earlier.

  “It wouldn’t make any difference,” Charlotte replied. “It’s just as dark down there during the day.”

  None of them said a word.

  “Where do the tunnels lead?” Rebecca asked.

  Devon slid an arm around Rebecca’s waist. “The corridors twist and turn, and fork off in different directions. It’s rather like a maze down there, but there are only two ways out, as far as we know. Here in the chapel, and another door a few hundred yards away in a thick grove of junipers.”

  “We couldn’t possibly return that way.” Rebecca said. “It’s too cold outside and we’re not dressed for it.”

  “We will retrace our steps back to this door,” Devon replied.

  Charlotte turned to explain more to Anne. “Some say the corridor was dug out by the canon who wished to sneak out to meet his lover in the village.”

  “That’s devotion by any standard,” she replied. “Imagine how long it took him to tunnel such a distance.”

  “That’s just a romantic legend,” Garrett said. “The passages have been here since ancient times, probably as an escape against invading Vikings or Norman conquerors. Though I don’t doubt the canon used it to meet his paramour. How else could he have managed the affair without anyone learning of it until the woman gave birth to a child?”

  Again they fell silent as they stared down the steep steps and Anne contemplated the lengths the canon had gone to in order to be with the woman he loved.

  “Shall we march on?” Charlotte asked. “I am brave enough if the rest of you are.”

  That was a challenge none could refuse. Anne nodded gamely at her future sister-in-law, and together they led the way.

  The deeper they went, the chillier and damper it became.

  “What’s that smell?” Rebecca asked. “It’s rather disgusting.”

  “It’s just your husband,” Garrett whispered, and laughed as Devon shoved him into the wall of the stairs.

  When at last they reached the bottom, Charlotte held up her candle. “The passageway goes straight for some distance, then it forks to the left and right. Shall we proceed?”

  Anne winced as a cold drop of water went plop on her forehead. There were a number of shallow puddles at her feet, but at least they weren’t frozen solid.

  They continued moving forward together until they reached a T at the end.

  “Left or right?” Charlotte asked. “I cannot remember the correct way to reach the other door. It’s all very vague in my mind.”

  “If I remember correctly,” Garrett said, “both tunnels lead there eventually, but we might go around in circles for a while before we reach the other side.”

  “Then we will have to find our way back here,” Anne mentioned.” With a shiver of apprehension, she glanced back in the direction of the chapel door. “That won’t be locked when we return, will it?”

  “I have the only key right here,” Garrett replied, patting his waistcoat pocket.

  “Then I shall stay very close to you,” she replied, slipping her arm through his.

  “There, you see?” Devon smiled at Rebecca. “You ladies are quite safe with us.”

  Charlotte elbowed him in the ribs. “Speak for your wife, not me. I am not frightened in the least. Here is what I propose. Garrett and Anne—since you are newly engaged—you must test your togetherness by taking the left corridor, while Devon, Rebecca and I will take the right. The team that reaches the other door first wins.”

  Garrett held up his candles. “I accept the challenge. Let’s go.” He grabbed hold of Anne’s hand and dashed off to the right.

  “Wait a minute!” Charlotte shouted after them. “You were supposed to go left!”

  “Too late!” he called over his shoulder. Anne laughed and followed.

  As soon as they reached a fair distance, they stopped at another T in the tunnel and paused to catch their breath.

  “Which way?” he said, swinging the candelabra left and right, and creating an eerie yellow glow that danced and glistened upon the damp walls. “You choose.”

  “Let us go left this time,” she said. “But look at this.” She touched the rough bumps in the wall. “Try to remember this shape in case we end up here again.”

  “It looks like the letter A,” he mentioned.

  “You’re right.” She clasped his hand as he led her down the corridor that was narrower than the first. Eventually it curved to the right and brought them to another fork, where they turned left again.

  Anne was enjoying the sensation of his large warm hand wrapped around hers, yet had to remind herself that this attraction she felt for him was not something she should encourage, for soon after the wedding day, they would part ways. She must take care, therefore, to guard her heart from him. She certainly hadn’t entered into this agreement to cause herself another broken one.

  The corridor slowly narrowed until they were passing through it side-by-side, holding their breath.

  “I remember this section,” Garrett said. “It will widen again soon. We are on the right path, I believe.”

  “Wait,” Anne said and squeezed his hand. “Do you hear something?”

  They both stopped and listened.

  “What is that?” she asked as a hot ball of fear dropped into her belly.

  They were deep in the underground, trapped in a set of allegedly haunted passageways, and she could barely breathe. Now she was hearing ghostly howls, just as Charlotte had described. “Do you hear it?”

  Garrett turned his head to the side to meet her wide-eyed gaze.

  The candles danced in a cold draft that snaked around her ankles and drifted up her gown, but
none of that unnerved her as much as the gorgeous blue of Garrett’s eyes as he smiled at her.

  “It’s Charlotte,” he said. “She is toying with us. Or rather, she is toying with me. Seeking vengeance, no doubt, for all the times we left her alone down here and howled like ghosts.”

  “What terrible brothers you were,” Anne replied.

  “Yes, we were a bad bunch. Are you sure you want to marry me?”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

  His smile vanished into a frown, and she wished she could pull the words back, for they suggested a romantic devotion she did not mean to convey when it was obvious he had only been teasing her.

  “I think I’ve had too much brandy,” she added, hoping it would excuse her remark.

  Still, he gave no reply. He merely stared at her for an intense moment before turning to lead them further along the narrow passageway.

  At last it widened and she emerged beside Garrett with a sigh of relief. “I’m not sorry to be out of there. How much farther, do you think?”

  He held the candles aloft. “I’m not sure. There are a few more turns, and we could end up back at the chapel if we take a wrong one.”

  “Let us hope luck is with us tonight.”

  “Indeed,” he said, taking hold of her hand again.

  The warmth of his touch caused a spark of response in every part of her body.

  Together they forged on. They took another left turn, then heard the sound of the wind howling up ahead.

  “I believe this is it,” Garrett said, moving faster.

  Anne held tight to his hand until they reached a small set of wooden steps leading up to an ancient-looking door, barred shut.

  Garrett set the candelabra down on the ground, climbed the steps and raised the heavy wooden bar. He shoved the door open a crack, but a fierce wind blew in, so he shut it again and set the bar back in place.

  “It appears we are the victors,” he said, descending the stairs to join her. It was difficult not to stare at his muscled thighs and hips, and those strong, broad shoulders. Instead, Anne forced herself to glance elsewhere at the damp walls, and shivered. “I wonder how long it will take the others to arrive?”

  He immediately shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. The warmth and musky scent of his body still lingered pleasantly inside as she slipped her arms into the sleeves.

  “Is that better?” he asked.

  She smiled and nodded while admiring the impressive contours of his muscular shoulders beneath the clean white shirt and fine tailored waistcoat.

  She’d read a lot about sailing large ships and suddenly she was caught up in a romantic fantasy of him standing on the deck of his boat, using those strong hands and powerful muscles to hoist a mainsail, then turn a wheel hard to bring it about while crossing a wide open emerald sea. How heroic he would look, commanding a yacht with the wind whipping through his thick golden hair and the waves crashing up against the hull.

  She couldn’t bear to imagine the accident, however, and the boat sinking beneath him. What a terrible ordeal it must have been.

  “We’ll sit on the steps and wait,” he suggested and placed the candelabra on a convenient shelf of rock.

  The mere sound of his voice sent little tremors of excitement through her body, which she fought to ignore, for she must be very careful. It must be this dark place and her imaginings that were taking her thoughts where they should not be. She was growing more and more attracted to Garrett by the minute.

  As she sat down beside him, he slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to keep warm.

  She would have preferred to remain indifferent about his nearness and the touch of his steady hand on her shoulder, but it caused a noticeable warming of her blood.

  “Are you feeling warmer now?” he asked, brushing his lips lightly across her ear. The moist heat of his breath caused a tingling sensation in her core.

  “Yes, that is much better.”

  But was it? She wasn’t so sure.

  She couldn’t seem to conquer the desire that was now coursing through her body. She wanted to lean closer, to feel his other arm wrap around her too. To feel his lips on hers in this dark cold place.

  “Do you think they are taking their time on purpose?” he asked, his voice like warm silk in her ear. “Charlotte seemed particularly eager to send us off to be alone together.”

  “Maybe with all their ghostly howls, she expected me to throw myself into your arms and beg to be held.”

  His lips were soft on her cheek as he spoke with gentle allure. “I wouldn’t have objected if you had.”

  The implications of that statement aroused her senses to an alarming degree. She couldn’t help but look up at him, and when she did, she became instantly lost in those moody blue eyes and the idle way his hand was stroking her shoulder.

  His gaze dipped lower to her lips and held there for a sizzling moment of contemplation.

  Anne was shocked at her own eager response as he lifted her chin and slowly touched his lips to hers. Shivers of delight followed the lush heat of the kiss, and her body went weak all over. If not for the chill in the air, she might have fainted from the searing pleasure that came next as his lips parted and his tongue swept inside.

  Her body melted. He let out a husky groan of need.

  His passion caught her completely off guard, for he had been so cool and distant in every other way. She was confused by the change, but had no will to resist, for it was deliciously wicked and he was the most wonderful kisser.

  Garrett stroked her cheek and turned his body to lift her onto his lap.

  “Your lips are like sweet honey,” he whispered with a smile, tasting her lightly and kissing down the side of her neck.

  An exotic euphoria poured through her, though she was not entirely comfortable with any of this. She had been seduced once before with dreadful consequences, for she had given herself to a man before marriage and did not wish to repeat that mistake. It didn’t matter that she’d signed a contract. They were not yet married, and anything could happen between now and then.

  A ghostly howl echoed through the underground and the candles flickered in the draft that blew in under the door.

  “I think they’ll be here soon,” Garrett calmly mentioned as he kissed down the front of her throat.

  “That’s probably a good thing,” she replied, tilting her head back to allow him greater access, “because we really shouldn’t be doing this.”

  “Why not?” he asked. “I see nothing wrong with it. We are engaged to be married.”

  “In name only,” she reminded him. “And just because I was ruined once does not mean I am an easy conquest.”

  There. She’d said it, and she was glad she did, for she did not wish there to be any misunderstanding.

  Garrett’s hand stilled at the small of her back and he slowly blinked, then drew back and beheld her with some concern. “I never thought that.”

  “No?” She posed the question as a challenge, for she would not be taken advantage of. “Are you sure about that?”

  The voices and laughter grew closer.

  He didn’t have a chance to reply before she slid off his lap to sit on the step beside him.

  Her cheeks flushed with heat. Anne took a moment to touch her hair and make sure everything was in order, but felt Garrett watching her.

  “Forgive me,” he said. “I didn’t plan to kiss you, but I swear on my life, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met.”

  Taken aback by the passion in his words—and the frustrated desire that was clearly evident in his eyes—she was barely conscious of the others rounding the last corner and appearing before them, out of breath, with candles blazing in the darkness.

  “Upon my word!” Charlotte said, staring at them on the steps. “You two look like you’ve been waiting for hours! You must have chosen every turn correctly.”

  “It app
ears we have been soundly defeated,” Devon added.

  “Was there to be a prize?” Rebecca asked.

  Garrett rose to his feet and spoke with easy humor, which completely masked the intense emotion he’d revealed to Anne just now. “We never discussed that, did we?”

  She was thankful for the distraction, for she was still reeling from the kiss and feared everyone would see the indecent wantonness in her eyes, and regret their choice of a bride for Garrett.

  “A prize...” Charlotte said, gazing down at Anne, who had not yet risen to her feet. “It should be the lady’s choice. What would you like, Anne? A special cake prepared in the kitchen tomorrow? Or perhaps Garrett should buy you something. A pretty bauble?”

  “But he is a winner, too,” she declared. “He shouldn’t have to present me with anything. I will therefore choose the cake as prize—something we can all enjoy.” She turned to him. “Do you like chocolate, Garrett?” she asked him.

  He wet his lips, and heaven help her, she melted all over again. He smiled.

  “Very much so.” He helped her to her feet and their eyes held for a few heart-stopping seconds before he turned to address Devon. “Getting out of here is another contest entirely. Do you think we’ll make it back to the chapel before dawn?”

  He was still holding her hand, and her whole body tingled with awareness at the warmth of his flesh and the discernible might of his large, strong hand, wrapped snugly around hers. Everything about him was so very male and invigorating.

  Then he let go, and the connection was broken. A single breath sailed out of her.

  Anne watched him lead the way out and felt a powerful surge of lust as she recalled what he had said: I swear on my life, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met.

  It was flattery, nothing more, she tried to tell herself, and she must remember that she had been led astray by pretty words once before.

  Nevertheless, as she followed the others out of the catacombs and through the church, then across the cold courtyard, and into the luxurious warmth of the palace, she was overcome by an unfathomable wave of joy that left her feeling bewildered.

  It had been ages since she’d felt part of anything, and this family, that had so warmly welcomed her into their fold, was like a force of nature. There was so much history here, so many secrets she could sense...but did not know the answers to. Life had been difficult here, yet there was laughter.