An Unacceptable Arrangement (5 page)

Her hair was pronounced finished and then she
was dressed. The dress fit perfectly and no longer smelled of
cedar. Now it smelled like lavender. The maids turned the looking
glass towards her so she could see her reflection - so she could
look upon the happy bride. Suddenly Cassandra felt like retching.
She looked as pale as a ghost; white had never been a flattering
color for her and her eyes looked sad and disturbed. The dress was
old fashioned and dowdy. The only thing about her that looked at
all presentable was her hair. The maids had done a good job on it.
But then a veil was produced. It was basically a piece of tulle
that was thrown over her head. Perfect, now even her hair looked
bad. Was there no tiara in this household to hold her veil in
place? Evidently not one that she was allowed to don. Cassandra
shrugged and turned away. She was ready for this travesty of a
wedding, as ready as she’d ever be.

Lord and Lady
Newblythe appeared in the doorway of Cassandra’s bedroom. They
stood there silently, staring at their beautiful daughter in her
wedding finery.

Upon seeing them Cassandra cried, “Father, I
must speak with you before - "

Her father hushed her and spoke loudly, as if
he were offering a toast at a formal dinner. “And here is our
precious daughter, ready for her wedding day. Sweetheart, you look
like a true princess!” Her mother smiled and dabbed at the corner
of her eye.

Cassandra snarled. “Father, please a word...”
she begged. “It’s not too late.”

At the mention of the time, the room came to
life. Her father glanced at his pocket watch and exclaimed, then he
and her mother stepped forward and held her by the upper arms,
escorting her out of the room. The lady’s maids followed behind,
holding up the back of her skirts. She was bustled down the
hallway, down the stairs and then out to the waiting carriages. Her
slippers barely touched the ground. A few of the servants had lined
up to see her go, all of them smiling happily.

Idiots!
Cassandra wanted to shout.
I should be going to St. Paul’s Cathedral and marrying a
high-ranking member of the British nobility, not some foreigner in
the family chapel!
How could anyone be smiling about this
day?

Before she could speak, she was thrown into
the second carriage, at least that’s what it felt like and her
father did not climb in beside her. Against tradition, she rode in
the carriage alone, her parents and siblings leading in the first
one. Her cowardly father was definitely avoiding her. Well that
wasn’t surprising; why should her unfeeling father want to spend
her last few moments as his child with her? Cassandra had a
fleeting urge to signal the driver and have him keep going once
they reached the chapel, not even to slow down. The thought made
her smile, a brief respite from her dismay about the terrible fate
about to befall her.

The carriages pulled to a stop and the doors
were instantly opened. The footman produced steps and helped her
down. She could hear music, the doors of the chapel were thrown
open and she was led by the footman to where her father waited,
just inside, along with her little sisters looking adorable in
their finest dresses.

Lord Newblythe was awed; Cassandra truly was
the most beautiful bride he had ever seen. He suddenly felt sad
that he wasn’t giving her away in front of his community. As she
got close enough to see her face through her veil, he looked into
her eyes and offered his arm. “You...” he started to speak, to tell
her how exquisite a bride she made, but the expression on her face
rendered him speechless. Her expression was glacial, the only look
in her eye one of pure hatred. His heart dropped, Cassandra clearly
was still very, very angry. She truly was his pride and joy and his
most beloved child. He realized that the last time they’d
interacted was when he’d birched her. No wonder she was still so
angry. No matter, he shrugged; he would speak to her at the
reception and clear up the tension between them.

Cassandra watched her little sisters timidly
walk up the aisle, performing their flower girl duties. Emily, the
six-year-old, was resolutely tossing rose petals, but the littlest
one, Violet, didn’t seem to want to part with hers. She hung on to
her basket with a death grip and shook her head, her fair curls
bouncing, as the wedding guests smiled at her antics.

Her father held out his arm and she
reluctantly hooked her hand in it. Cassandra felt a moment of sheer
panic. She looked behind her. The forest was very close. If she
bolted now... but then her father stepped forward to start down the
aisle. She remained firmly rooted to her spot. She could see
through the doors and down the aisle to some male figures waiting
at the altar. Her father gave her a tug and she gathered her
courage. Bolting was not practical. She’d be too easy to spot
running through the woods in a white dress. There was nothing to do
at this point but get it over with.

Woodenly she began to walk. She wished the
ground would open and swallow her up, she’d rather disappear into
the center of the earth than to walk forward and see the stranger
she’d be sitting across the breakfast table from for the rest of
her life - the stranger her unfeeling father had selected for
her.

The wedding march started and the
congregation, such as it was, rose. There were probably a couple
dozen people in the chapel, family members and some servants. She
recognized her old governess and even her nanny, whom she hadn’t
seen in years. She tried to manage a shadow of a smile in their
direction. She grimly looked ahead at the altar. There was the -
what was he, a minister? A vicar? He was wearing robes – a judge?
No one she recognized - and to her right was her brother serving as
Best Man. Facing her stood the man who must be her groom. She gave
a start of recognition! It was he – the gentleman at the ball who
had kept staring at her but hadn’t asked for a dance. It was The
Mystery Man. He must have known then that she was destined to be
his bride. Why hadn’t he introduced himself? As she reached the
altar, the music stopped and she found herself looking up into sky
blue eyes. She flushed prettily; something about the way Sir
Frederic Von Dresden was staring at her was most disturbing. She
felt a responsive throb deep inside, in a private place.

He was not bad looking, tall and straight
with a shock of brown hair. She did like a full head of hair on a
man. She was right about his being military - he was wearing some
sort of uniform, she had no idea what kind, and his posture was
impeccable. He had a sword in a scabbard strapped to his waist. She
noticed he had a few pockmarks on his tanned face but they didn’t
detract from his appearance. If anything, they gave his face
character and made those startling eyes stand out even more. Now
those eyes were looking upon her with a burning intensity. She felt
like asking, “Do I know you sir?” but realized that would be a
strange thing to say to one’s fiancé at the altar.

The vicar began to speak and then she
wondered - did her fiancé even know English? Perhaps they wouldn’t
even be able to communicate, for she certainly didn’t know German.
But her husband-to-be spoke his vows in perfect English. He didn’t
stumble over any of the words, and he spoke with only a hint of an
accent.

When it was Cassandra’s turn to recite her
vows, she politely looked into Sir Frederic’s eyes and spoke about
loving and honoring and obeying him. She promised herself to this
man, this complete stranger, and only to him for the rest of her
days. She felt dazed, speaking as if in a dream.

The vicar asked for the rings. Cassandra
turned and handed the bouquet that had been shoved into her hands
to a woman standing next to her. Her Maid of Honor turned out to be
her future sister-in-law, Teresa. She smiled at her and then turned
back to face Sir Frederic. She looked at her fiancé expectantly and
he turned, confused. He began to fumble, running his hands through
his pockets and looking around. There were no rings. Perfect, the
perfect ending to a surreal experience.

Cassandra looked back at her father
pointedly. Apparently this wedding had been as much of a surprise
to her groom as it had been to the bride. So much for her father
putting “a great deal of time” into making the arrangements. Her
parents tried to remove their rings but were unable to get them
off. Cassandra gave a barely perceptible shake of her head and
lowered her eyelashes, not wanting to stare at her groom as he
fumbled. Finally he leaned over and said something to the vicar,
who looked stunned and then flipped forward in his prayer book and
to the pronouncing them husband and wife part.

Cassandra immediately developed a new
philosophy to see her through the rest of her life: Expect nothing
and you won’t be disappointed. The vicar pronounced them married
and then her husband grabbed her and cheekily gave her a lusty
kiss. Cassandra was stunned and almost fell back when he released
her. The kiss had shocked her with its intensity. He hadn’t pressed
hard or gotten sloppy, but she had definitely felt something when
he’d pressed his lips against hers, as though a bolt of electricity
had shot between them. She opened her eyes and looked up at him,
surprised. He smiled confidently down at her and then suddenly
everyone was swarming around the happy couple, congratulating the
groom, giving best wishes to the bride.

After the ceremony, the entire party walked
through the grove back to the house. It was a lovely day and the
setting was magical. Cassandra had never seen the overhead branches
look quite like they looked this day. Perhaps it was the way the
sun was shining after the hard rain of the day before. The trees
seemed to sparkle and, as they emerged into the gardens, there was
a rainbow in the sky.

They entered the family house and stood in
the foyer quickly forming an impromptu receiving line. Cassandra
had an opportunity to greet each of her wedding guests and
introduce them to her new husband. They then headed into the dining
hall where the bridal couple was greeted by the sight of an
exceptional amount of china and crystal on the tables. There was
quite a spread; Cassandra realized that her mother had really
outdone herself. She had never before seen a brunch quite this
extravagant. There were side tables with steaming dishes of bacon,
a plump pink ham, fried tomatoes and onions and mushrooms.
Cassandra’s favorite little crisp rolls were served in bowls and
the kitchen staff was frying up eggs to order, right there at the
tables! There was fried bread, sausages, smoked salmon, black
pudding, hot toast wrapped in white napkins, fresh breakfast rolls,
platters of fruit, including her favorite - figs and dates. There
were several different kinds of marmalades, jams and jellies, honey
and sweet cream. The footmen were traveling amongst the guests
serving champagne or hot coffee – a drink she was becoming very
fond of - and tea, of course.

Cassandra and Frederic sat down and ate;
everything was most delicious. Cassandra stole a peek at her
husband; he seemed to be enjoying himself. While the ceremony
itself had been somewhat happenstance and the venue a joke, the
menu could not be faulted.

After everyone had eaten, there was some
mingling and chatting. The string quartet playing in the church had
relocated to the reception hall and a few of the guests indulged in
a bit of dancing. There were no toasts; evidently no one had time
to prepare one. Hayden came and sat at their table, introducing his
Teresa to Frederic. Teresa wasn’t the prettiest of girls, but her
sweet nature was evident. Her love for Hayden shone from her eyes.
Cassandra blanched at the realization that this had been taken from
her, the opportunity to marry someone she was in love with. She
quickly lowered her eyes, hoping her fiancé - husband - had not
seen her expression.

Cassandra composed herself and focused once
again on her brother and his fiancée. She realized that she liked
Teresa very much. Too bad she would not have the opportunity to
really get to know her. She and Frederic thanked the two of them
for serving as their attendants. As the four sat together, the
vicar approached with their marriage license. Hayden and Teresa
witnessed their signatures and then put down their own. Cassandra
surprised herself with her willingness to sign the license without
hesitation, now that she knew who her groom was.

Then the bridal couple danced their first
dance together as man and wife. Cassandra looked upon her groom. He
seemed handsome enough and pleasant enough and he smelled good.
Most of all, she liked his carriage, his air of authority. It
wasn’t his fault that her father had ruined her life and he too had
to suffer through this pitiful excuse for a wedding. She certainly
didn’t want to poison her new marriage with a bad attitude. She
decided to take advantage of the opportunity to apologize to his
Lordship.

“My Lord, I do apologize for this wedding. I
appear to have fallen out of favor with my father and this is the
result. I’m sorry it had to affect you as well. You surely deserve
better.”

Frederic looked confused and taken aback.
“You do not like your wedding?” He looked around at the good food,
the musicians and the pleasant company. “What is there not to
like?” He was as far from snobbish as it was possible to be for a
man raised to rule a kingdom. He had enjoyed the casual and
spontaneous event; it was much more fun than their formal wedding
would be.

Cassandra had no response to that. The poor
man, he thought this was a nice wedding! As she’d suspected, he
must be somewhat downtrodden. She smiled sweetly at him, feeling
protective.

Arthur asked his daughter to dance and to his
surprise, she accepted.

“Well child, this wasn’t so bad was it?” he
began. “Your groom is handsome, the wedding most charming. Have you
forgiven me?”