portrait gallery and certainly win.”
Adam chuckled. The portraits in the gallery had always been a source of jesting between them. Helms was quite insistent on keeping Adam dressed fashionably, while Adam sought to dress conservatively so as not to attract attention. More than once Helms had reminded him that his forefathers had embraced the bolder modes of fashion.
Once appropriately attired in his wedding clothes, he retrieved the black box he had removed from a trunk in the attic. Inside was a lovely coronet studded with sapphires and diamonds. He opened the box to look at the glorious item again.
The last woman to wear this had been his great-grandmother. His grandmother and mother had dared not wear it. An old family legend said that anywoman who wore the coronet must be brave—brave enough to die for love.
Shortly after they had been married and she had first put it on, his great-grandmother had saved his great-grandfather from a deadly stable fire. As a result, Adam’s mother and grandmother had been far too superstitious to wear the coronet, not wishing to tempt fate. So the coronet had sat in a trunk gathering dust—until now. But, knowing that Letty had faced death once with him already, Adam felt she could wear it without fear. He wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her.
Box firmly in hand, he stepped into the hall and entrusted it to a maid to deliver to his future bride.
James stepped into the corridor just as the maid passed by.He came over to clap Adam on the back. “Ah, there you are. Feeling squeamish?” he joked.
“Not exactly. Just worried.”
James frowned slightly. “Not about my sister, I hope?” He fell into step beside Adam as they walked down the corridor toward the stairs.
“No, toward her, I have no doubts, other than concerns about her safety. Spies have a way of turning up around every corner, and the last thing I want is someone shooting my wife on the steps of the church.”
James clasped his hands behind his back as they continued on their way. They soon reached the gatehouse door and waited for the grooms to bring their horses so they could ride to the chapel.
“Get her into the coach quickly. I suppose that’s about the only thing we can do. I understand your worries, but if you wrap her up in blankets and never let her do anything, she’ll lose her joy for life and so will you. You’ll need to find a balance between protection and freedom.”
“Easier said than done.”
He and James rode to the small chapel abutting his estate to see to the last-minute details of the ceremony. A dozen footmen had already arrived and were arranging vases of orchids around the alter. Bouquets of flowers adorned each pew. His staff had done commendable workin such a short amount of time.
It struck Adam that he was about to get married. In the last few days, he hadn’t let the gravity of the situation truly settle upon him. He’d been treating this more as a mission, a problem that needed to be solved, and not yet thinking of how much his life was truly going to change.
This was no temporary arrangement. This would be permanent. He could say he was marrying for his country, and he had even considered ways to escape once the danger had passed, for Letty’s sake.
A vicar could be bought off, a signature signed incorrectly, and an annulment achieved a few months later, so long as the marriage had not been consummated. He would bear the brunt of any scandal, and Letty would be free to continue her life as before.
But the truth was he wanted Letty, and his loyalty to his country had merely given him an excuse to at last claim that which he desired. He only hoped she felt the same way about him. Everything about their private moments together seemed to indicate it.
The vicar met them just inside the entryway. “Welcome, my lord.”
Adam shook the older man’s hand. “Everything looks well.”
The vicar’s spectacled eyes twinkled. “Your servants have been quite dedicated to the decoration of God’s house. I believe it will please your bride.”
The exotic floral scent of the orchids filled the room. It made him think of Letty.“I certainly hope it will.”
“She will love it,” James promised. “She adores flowers—but not in the way most women do, mind you. She genuinely enjoys the cultivation of them. She was always in our hothouse, meeting with our gardener to discuss herbology and flowers.”
“That is