never been a saint,” Kitty replied. “This is just another one of his schemes.”
“Are you three going to come into the room, or do you plan to stay out there during the ceremony?” Roger called out.
“There’s a choice?” Lilly asked, a teasing tone in her voice.
He tried to look serious, but Kitty noted the amusement in his eyes.
Since she wasn’t going to get out of this, Kitty entered the room. Her friends followed, and, to her relief, they stayed near her. She gave them a smile to express her gratitude for their support.
Roger and Benjamin put their drinks down and walked over to them.
“Now that everyone is here, we can get this blessed event underway,” Willard said, looking much too happy about the wedding.
Aaron rolled his eyes but stood up.
Kitty glanced away from Aaron before he made eye contact with her. She didn’t need for him to look directly at her to know he resented her as much as he resented her brother. For all she knew, he assumed she was in full agreement with what her brother had done.
If the vicar noticed the unease in the room, he didn’t show it. He simply opened his book and began speaking.
Kitty was barely aware of the words the vicar spoke. She’d been there when Emilia was married. She recalled the beautiful words that went with the ceremony. It was actually lovely to think of two people uniting their lives together, promising they would have no one else. If she and Aaron even had a cordial acquaintance, the words might have convinced her that marriage wasn’t such a bad thing for someone like her. But she and Aaron didn’t even have a situation where they could offer one another a polite greeting. So the words were meaningless.
The ordeal went on far longer than she remembered Emilia’s wedding being, but that was probably because she opposed the union. Whenever one didn’t like something, it was bound to go on for too long.
Aaron let out a defeated sigh once in a while as the ceremony progressed, but she pretended not to notice. What was the point? All she would have done was roll her eyes. Did Aaron think he was the only person who didn’t want to get married? Didn’t it occur to him that this was as painful for her as it was for him?
When the vicar was over, she could feel that everyone in the room was relieved. She hadn’t realized the others had picked up on the tension between her and Aaron.
“That was a splendid ceremony,” her brother said.
The vicar murmured some kind of reply, and her brother said something in return. She turned from her brother. She had no interest in anything her brother had to say. As of this moment, she was free of him.
Free of one gentleman but under the thumb of another.
She ignored the thought. She needed to look at what little good there was from this. At least wives were respected more in London than spinsters. No one would feel sorry for her. She would be accepted more easily with other ladies. And, if her husband were to die before her, she would have the benefit of real freedom.
“You were a beautiful bride,” Lilly whispered to her in an attempt to lift her spirits.
Kitty smiled her thanks. “I don’t think anyone looked as lovely as Emilia did on her wedding day.”
“My parents spent a fortune on my gown,” Emilia whispered. “I don’t think anyone noticed me in anything that fancy.”
“You two shouldn’t deny yourself a compliment when someone gives it to you,” Lilly told them. “Emilia, you are beautiful no matter what you wear. That’s why Benjamin never noticed your drab clothes. He was too busy looking at your face and figure. And Kitty, your face and figure are beautiful, too. While some ladies pick ugly friends in order to make herself more attractive, I don’t do that. You two are just as attractive as me.”
Emilia’s lips curled up into a smile. “You have a way of complimenting yourself while complimenting others.”
Kitty chuckled. “She’s always been that way.”
Someone cleared his throat behind them, so Kitty turned. She blinked in surprise when she saw it was Aaron. Up to now, he hadn’t spoken to her. She thought it’d been her brother, Roger, or Benjamin who had wished to interrupt their conversation.
“I suppose I should take you with me,” Aaron said, his tone letting her know he would rather leave her here but knew he couldn’t.
“If you allow