Read Online The Sinner by Madeline Hunter - Free Book Online Page A

the shawl was probably new. The white kid gloves appeared fresh too. The bonnet with its blue bow near her right temple, bringing out the rosy tint of her cheeks, was more fashionable than her normal millinery.
    She had not had time to have a wedding gown made, but in the two days before they left she had done what she could to deck herself in new finery.
    It would not be much of a wedding, but it was all that she would ever have. He realized that her request had been the first thing she had said since entering the carriage this morning. He noticed now the worry glistening behind her serene composure.
    She was unsettled, as well she might be. He gave up almost nothing in this marriage and gained considerably. She was the one taking all the chances.
    He took her hand. “Of course we can stop and remain as long as you like. But today why don’t we just cross back and go to Newcastle and stay over at the Versailles? It is one of the finest hotels in England, and contains all of the newest conveniences.”
    “That sounds like fun.”
    He held her hand in reassurance until they entered a large village. They pulled to a stop in front of a stone church. It was well before noon, and he sent the coachman off to find the vicar and another witness. While they waited they strolled through a lane of shops and he bought a hothouse rose from a flower girl.
    He handed it to Fleur when they returned to the church door. “It will not be the prettiest flower present. You look even more lovely than usual today.”
    She blushed and looked down, biting her lower lip.
    “You can change your mind. I will understand,” he said.
    “I do not want to change my mind.”
    Again he experienced that sense of sharpened reality. The immensity of what they were about to do pressed on him.
    He took both her hands in his. “Inside we will speak the traditional vows, but I promise you now that I will take care of you and protect you. I will never raise a hand to you and will never knowingly hurt you.”
    She looked up. Her eyes moistened and her smile trembled. “And I will take care of you, and be a true friend and helpmate, and stand by you through times good and bad, as long as you want me at your side.”
    He offered his arm. “Ready, then?”
    She took a deep breath. “Yes.”
             
    They strolled in the churchyard while they waited for the carriage.
    “Married,” Dante said. “Getting accustomed to the idea will require some time.”
    “It certainly will.”
    “Do you want to dine before we go?”
    He could be a very considerate man. It was one of his appeals to women, she suspected. Did he show the same thoughtfulness when he made love? It would explain much. Other men who were just as handsome were not as successful.
    “I could not eat now. Perhaps when we get to Newcastle.”
    They meandered down the path of the small garden. “You probably always thought that if you married you would have a grand wedding at St. Martin’s,” he said.
    “I never dreamt of that. This was perfect.”
    It
had
been perfect. Just the two of them exchanging vows of friendship in a little stone church on a bright day. The quiet privacy had stirred her emotions.
    She glanced to his hands and remembered how he had held her face at the end. Strong, gentle hands. No one else had existed but the two of them for that moment. His dark eyes had been luminous male depths that seemed to look into her heart. She had felt so connected to him, and her soul had filled with the honest affection of his two kisses. One on her forehead, the other on her lips.
    She wondered if he kissed his lovers like that. She imagined that second kiss deepening, and those hands moving. The strange, scurrying excitement that she had known in the cottage scampered through her, followed by a poignant regret.
    It seemed that her nature would permit vague wonderings. A fantasy posed no danger. Reality would leave her paralyzed.
    Just as well. He did not want her like that. This