Authors: Gloria Harchar
"
Please don
'
t make me retch. I could ruin this faultless day.
"
Her father glanced up at her. "Did you say something, daughter?"
"No, Papa, just thinking out loud. I'm all right," she added when he gave her a worried look.
"Happiness is a state of mind, you do realize." Allegro skipped a jig between the horses ears.
She waved her hand as if she were warding off a bee."
"
Now, lass, don
'
t be a crosspatch.
"
She ignored him and stared moodily at the crowd, their faces beaming beneath lavish, deep-green laurels sprigged in ox-e
ye
daisies, pink wild thyme and blue bells. Little Amy, one of Mrs. Wallis
'
s children, waved and grasped a handful of petals from the w
hite basket dangling on her arm. The young girl
threw them in front of the palomino.
"
To protect
you
from the Black Falcon,
"
she called.
An old Saxon superstition.
Nicola
bit her lip to keep from protesting. She would have to think long and hard on what to do to get rid of their false notions.
The air was sweet with fragrances of flowers and herbs. She glanced to the end of the street and the town square, where the gazebo glistened like a gilded cage. Her stomach churned at the knowledge that she would be trapped in such a cage for the rest of her days.
Allegro smiled encouragingly.
"
Come now, don
'
t be so glum. You look lovely.
You merely have a case of bridal jitters. Tis only natural. Desssstinnnnny,
"
he sang from his perch on the horse
'
s ear. The horse suddenly twitched and Allegro somersaulted through the air.
Laughter erupted from her. It sounded more like strained choking.
Her father reached for her hand. "Nicola—"
"Really, Papa. I know I'm acting strange today, but this isn't simply any day so don't I have the privilege to get the bridal jitters?"
"Of course, Nikki." Her father patted her on the arm.
The whirling Allegro had
landed on top of the gazebo. Wildflowers decorated the opening. Beaming, Allegro bent over and peered between the slats.
Nicola
halted her horse and looked inside. Ramsey stood with Falcon, who smiled at something Ramsey had said, lighting his whole expression. Her breath caught at the beauty of that smile.
He glanced at her and looked past her shoulder, then returned his attention to her, his
eyes
widening with sudden
recognition. As he inspected
her, his
gaze
glinted with approval. She had never been the recipient of such masculine appreciation, and the excitement that prickled her skin made her shiver with joy. She stared at those full lips that curved at the comers.
She fantasized
about
the
kiss
.
She had only experienced his lips on her temple and on her palm. What wou
ld happen when their lips finally met
? How much more powerful would such an experience be?
Malcolm
filled the entryway to the gazebo, his dark h
ead barely clearing the top. T
an trousers hugged
his
muscular
form
. The cut of his dark waistcoat showed off his trim
waistline and flared upward to encompass his powerful shoulders. The light
gray
of his compelling gaze was in contrast with the swarthiness of his skin. His masculine appeal made her jittery inside. She gulped, wondering how she could survive
any further intimacies with him, and keep her heart intact.
In an attempt to escape the intensity of his gaze, she lowered her own, then froze.
His cravat had been
dyed
in
Clockwork
Blue
.
Her euphoria collapsed as she remembered the reason for this farce of a marriage.
The color glistened in the early morning sun. He wore it like a conquering hero, parading his spoils for everyone to see. Her blood
boiled
.
His expression challenged her. He stepped down from the platform and walked to where she sat on her white mare. She stared at his cravat and reached up to toy with the decoration on her hat.
"
Just like the mushroom taking over the forest, you
'
re invading and taking over my life,
"
she murmured, pointing the stem of the small
umbrella like
frippery at him.
He stared at it with a puzzled
frown
…
then grinned. Laughed
.
"
What a beautiful
Clockwork
Blue
mushroom.
"
Wrapping his
strong
hands around her waist, he gently lowered her to the ground. His warm breath smelled like apples. Did he like to eat them cut in wedges or whole? she wondered frantically as the ceremony loomed nearer. He brushed his lips against her ear.
"
Invaded? Not
yet,
but
you soon will be
... tonight in my bed. And I promise that you
'
ll enjoy every moment.
"
The strange warmth she
'
d experienced when he
'
d kissed her fluttered in her stomach. Would those syrupy feelings be the same when he took her to his bed? When they consummated their marriage? Would they
burn
with the fires of passion?
Or would he find her wanting?
He took her fingers and brushed his lips against them. She could feel his breath through the white cloth of her gloves. He lifted his dark head.
"
The
Clockwork
Blue
is mine, just as you are.
"
Anger engulfed her arousal. She lifted her chin.
"
No, after this day, you are mine.
"
He gave her a startled glance.
Nicola
realized the crowd had grown silent. She glanced
around
and saw that most of their gazes snagged on Falcon, their expressions that of morbid
enthrallment
.
He drew her hand into the crook of his arm and led the way to where the
vicar stood inside the gazebo—
toward her life of bondage.
Ramsey gazed at her with a silly grin.
Vicar Thompson spread his broad lips in a smile.
"
Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God to join together this man and this
woman...
"
Nicola
half-listened, her thoughts on Falcon, this stranger she was about to wed. He was an enigma, as foreign to her as those Chinese puzzles she had seen
years
ago in London. She tried to swallow moisture down her suddenly parched throat, then glanced at the vicar
'
s bobbing Adam
'
s apple as he spoke the condemning words.
Sounds of weeping caught her attention.
Glissando
sat in a potted arrangement of pansies with a good-sized handkerchief covering his face, shoulders heaving with every hiccupped sob. Large tears splashed down on the flowers, causing the blossoms to grow and brighten before her very
e
yes
. One bloom in particular—a daffodil amid the pink and purple pansies—stretched and arched before metamorphosing into Allegro. As he took his true form, he sang:
Sorrow and doubt today,
love with a husband and children tomorrow,
will pave the way
to a destiny filled with happiness to follow.
Glissando
howled with fresh despair, even as Allegro laughed and twirled backward in an acrobatic move that bounced him off the smooth surface of the vicar
'
s bald head. The pixies
'
diversity in moods only underscored the uncertainty of her life with the Earl.
The vicar stopped talking, Allegro stopped hummi
ng—
even
Glissando
ceased his wailing—and a sense of doom penetrated the air. Before she quite realized it, Falcon was giving his vow.
"
I will take
Nicola
Moore
as my wife.
"
The expression in his
eyes
was so possessive that she
trembled.
The vicar repeated the question for her.
She turned to give Falcon a steely look. She was determined to let him know that he couldn
'
t cast her aside like one of his old Remingtons.
"
I vow to keep
Malcolm
Addison close by my side, through thick or thin, come rain or shine, if the heavens rumble and huge fissures tear apart the lands—for better or for worse.
"
A startled silence greeted her. The vicar wore a strange expression that twisted his
bushy
brows, as if he suddenly saw Allegro perched on top of her head. At Falcon
'
s silence, she slowly turned toward him. His
eyes
burned
like molten silver
.
"
My new countess will fulfill my every dream, then.
"