Chapter 3:

The days have begun to blur together and several weeks have passed since our encounter. I've gone out of my way to limit my meetings with Lewis, but I fear it does me no good.

Five weeks have passed and I've not had a cycle. I can scarcely believe that there is a possibility of being with child after eight years of having been in a fruitless marriage with my late husband. But I must come to terms with the fact that my period is late and I've never been late.

I hear a knock at my door. “Enter,” I say absentmindedly.

The door opens and Lewis steps in, shutting the door behind him. “When should I send out the marriage invitations?”

My head jerks up. “Excuse me? H-how did you know?”

“It's been more than a month and you never came to tell me you weren't with child,” he says.

“I'm still not even sure,” I say. I don't want to believe that I'm with child and then my cycle come in the end.

“You know, Ms. Eliza, and you know it well. You know your body better than anyone else.”

“I don't want to believe it. I tried for eight years to conceive with George and then for the possibility of being pregnant after spending a few moments with you during one night just seems unreal.”

“It was not just a few moments, Ms. Eliza. We went on for many hours. I took you time and time again, just as I will once we're married.”

His words make me blush. I still have not regained full memory of that night, but sometimes bits and pieces come back and what I do remember makes my body come alive with heat. Still, I must not weaken my resolve. “I have told you already, I will never lay with you again.”

He smiles, but I see something much darker behind his eyes. What could it be? Passion, perhaps? “You say that now, but your resolve will be put to the test once we're married. I'll send out the invitations. Next Saturday we are to be married.

“Next Saturday? That's just a week from now!” I protest.

“If we put it off any longer, then people will really start to talk. We must save face where we can. I'm only thinking of your reputation, Ms. Eliza. I care not for my own.”

He steps towards the door. “Have you anyone in particular you'd like to invite?”

“No. I have no living relatives. Oh, we will surely burn in hell for this. A man should not covet his brother's wife.”

He strides over to me. “I never coveted you. My brother had already passed when we met. I had only ever heard mention of you through other people. I knew nothing of you. The only sin we have committed is fornicating outside of marriage, but a holy union will rectify that. If what I have done sends me to hell, then so be it. It was worth it.” He presses his palm against my cheek and unlike before, I don't recoil from it. George had never delivered so passionate a speech to me before.

My face grows hot at the touch of his palm and fingers against the flesh of my cheek.

“You did not recoil from me. Dare I attempt a kiss?”

“Don't push your luck.” But despite my words, a part of me wishes he would. The part of me settled between my legs. The part of me that I've sworn never to let him have access to again. I may not recall that night with him fully, but my body does and his touch awakens it.

He leans forward, but at the last moment just before his lips touch mine, he pauses. “You'll come to me first.” With that, he withdraws and strides over to the door. “Remember, Saturday.” Then he walks out, leaving the door open behind him.

The nerve of that man! To think that I'll be the first to seek him out? Only in his dreams. I'll never do such a thing and I won't let him seek me out either.

I rise from where I'd been seated and stride out into the hallway. “It won't happen!” I call after him.

He's at the far end of the hallway and turns to me with a smile. “We'll see.” He then proceeds to descend the stairs to the lower level of the house.

I grumble some unpleasant words under my breath and return to my room. As I sit, I'm suddenly aware of a tenderness in my breasts that I've never felt before. I'd heard before that it was a sign of pregnancy with some women. Could this truly be the case? I still don't allow myself to hope. I won't until it can no longer be denied and I have irrefutable proof.

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Saturday

I feel my chest tighten as I stare out the window of my old room and down below at the people amassed in the garden. After the wedding, these will no longer be my quarters. I fought this matter and I fought it hard, but I lost the battle. Tonight, I will move to new quarters that are adjacent to Lewis’. I do not wish to be somewhere so close to him, but I don't have a say in the matter.

As I continue looking down at the people gathering and conversing I wonder if there's more than two people present that I am even acquainted with. All I see are strangers, but then again this is a very public matter as most weddings are. The best of society must be invited.

“Are you ready, ma’am?”

I turn to look at the servant who's addressed me. She's a young girl, probably sixteen or seventeen years of age. Her name is Jane, I believe.

“Yes, as ready as I'll ever be,” I reply, my voice sounding much more confident than I feel.

Before departing the room, I take one last look at my reflection in the mirror. I'm wearing a stunning white gown and my hair is pulled up off my shoulders and adorned with white pearls. The dress is beautiful, but still it all feels unreal, as if it's all a lie somehow.

But as Jane leads me out of the house and towards the gathered mass, I know that this is very real and this is really happening. There is no going back now. Nothing can return to what it was.

Chapter 4:

As I walk down the aisle and towards Lewis I hear hushed whispers of scandal.

“She hasn't even mourned the death of her husband for a full year and she's marrying his brother.”

“She likes to keep it in the family, so it seems.”

“A rushed wedding? Clearly something else is happening here.”

“They've been living in the same household for three months and both of them are widowers. Who knows what they've been up to.”

I clench my jaw and ignore the whispers. I do not wish to cause a scene. It's just as Lewis said, people talk. They've nothing else of importance to do.

As I reach Lewis, he raises an eyebrow. Clearly he's noticed my facial expression and clenched jaw.

“It's just talk,” he whispers so that only I hear.

The priest is upward of seventy years of age and wouldn't be able to hear him anyway.

“Even still...,” he silences me as he takes my hands is his.

“Pay them no heed. They need a purpose.”

“Gossiping is a poor choice of purpose,” I remark.

“Shall we really give them something to talk about?” he asks in amusement.

As I'm about to ask him what he means by that, the priest suddenly speaks up, addressing the guests and effectively silencing them as well. Thus, the service begins.

This priest is quick and straight to the point. I like that. My first marriage with George had been long and drawn out and such a drull. This service, however, was much different, lasting a total of fifteen to twenty minutes at most. I now understand why this priest was popular and very sought after.

“Now, I pronounce you man and wife. Mr. and Mrs. Wingate.”

I just know that will stir up comments in the crowd about how I didn't even have to change my last name. I just switched from one Wingate brother to the next. Who knows, maybe next time it will be a cousin.

“You may now kiss the bride if you so choose.”

Wait, what?

Without a moment's hesitation, Lewis sweeps me up into his arms and his lips come crashing down onto mine with a passion I've never known. My face immediately turns beet red. It's over quickly though because just as soon as the kiss had started, it comes to an end.

“I told you I'd give them something to talk about,” he whispers with a playful gleam as I'm left recovering, trying to catch my breath and regain my composure. He's still very close to me and even though he's adopted a playful tone, I see that tinge of desire back in his eyes.

“A warning would have been nice.”

“Then it wouldn't have had the same effect.”

Our time to talk comes to an end as people begin to approach us and congratulate us. The same gossipers and naysayers who had no issue shaming us before the service began.

After the service, we have a grand reception where a large meal is served at tables set up under elaborate tents. Everything is much finer than my first wedding and I wonder just how wealthy Lewis is. And to imagine that all of this was planned and made reality in less than a week. The connections and power he must have as well.

“Wine?” Lewis asks, approaching me with a glass. I'm seated at a special table meant for just the two of us.

“No thank you. I'm aware of what happened the last time I drank with you.”

He takes his place beside me. “Very well. Is there anything I can get you at all?”

“Can you make these people leave? I wish nothing more than to get out of this dress, put on some warmer clothing and settle down by the fireplace with a good book and perhaps a bit of hot chocolate.”

“You could pretend to faint,” he suggests.

“My, you have a dramatic flair. First the kiss, and now fainting. Do you have any other bright ideas?”

He chuckles. “I have ideas, but ones that are better left unsaid.”

“I can only imagine.”

“We can make them a reality.”

I feel my face flush again at what he's insinuating. “Lewis, must you always......,” I find myself trailing off as he gently takes my hand in his and intertwines his fingers through mine.

“We're married now. This is a commitment I take very seriously. I shall always be here to support and provide for you and our children in whatever manner I can. I will do my very best to make you happy. We will be a family, Eliza. A whole and complete family. I only want you to be happy and no longer be in a state of unease.”

My heart beats fast in my chest. It's hard not to be moved by such a speech. George had never said such things to me. Ml

As if to seal his words into a promise, he brings my hand up to his lips and kisses my wedding band before placing a sensual kiss on my knuckles. My flesh prickles at his touch.

“I believe I'll faint now,” I say.

He smiles mischievously. “Make it convincing, love.”

On command, I go limp and he takes me into his arms as I hear surprised gasps from the guests.

Lewis lifts me into his arms. “Nothing to worry about, esteemed guests. My wife is known to have fainting spells from time to time. It must be the cool winter air. Please, eat, drink, enjoy yourselves. I must get my wife inside where it's warmer.”

He then proceeds to carry me away from the crowd and rush me inside the house. He doesn't set me down until he's reached our adjacent quarters. He sets me down gently on my bed.

“Was that believable?” I ask.

“You were magnificent, my dear,” he boasts, falling onto the bed beside me. We face each other as we talk.

I can't help but smile. His demeanor has changed significantly from the closed off man I met nearly four months ago.

“Now they can go back to their homes and really talk,” I say.

“Yes, I daresay that we've made the day an interesting one for everyone at the very least.”

“I agree. What fun,” I say with a giggle. It's been a while since I've felt so lighthearted, even if it's just for the moment.

“Yes, what fun.” Suddenly he leans forward and kisses me without warning.

Perhaps I'm just caught up in this rare moment of bliss, or maybe it has something to do with his words spoken at the reception, but regardless of what my reasons may be, I find myself returning his kiss.

Whatever surprise he feels at my returned kiss is fleeting as he almost immediately deepens the kiss, occasionally nibbling on my bottom lip and tracing it with the tip of his tongue. As his hand begins to trail down my hip there's a knock at the door.

“Mr. and Mrs. Wingate, I'm the doctor. I've been summoned by a concerned party. I must attend to Mrs. Wingate.”

Lewis pulls away. “Perhaps we were a little bit too convincing,” he says with a sigh, rising from the bed. “This will only take a moment. He will just do a quick examination.” He approaches the door to let the doctor in.