the other.
And there were others, so many others. People who were becoming the weave of the fabric of her life. The hopeful expressions on their faces and their total acceptance of her said louder than words that she was one of them.
“You can’t refuse me,” Aidan said bluntly. Did she detect a touch of desperation in his tone? She pretended to weigh her options, and people chuckled. “What of the banns?” she asked.
“The banns?” Aidan repeated. “Anne, it’s too late for the banns. We’ve consummated the marriage.”
His blunt words surprised and delighted everyone, including Reverend Oliphant. The clergyman pretended to cough, but Anne had caught sight of the sparkle in his eye.
Before she could answer, Aidan took her hand and knelt on one knee. “Come, Anne. You already have my heart. Will you accept my name in front of my people?”
She thought she would melt right there on the spot. “Yes, my lord, I will marry you.”
Everyone clapped and even cheered. It was Reverend Oliphant who brought matters to order. “Come, now. I’m anxious to see this business done so I can have another taste of that ale you are always bragging about, my lord. Let’s get on with it.”
Indeed, the ceremony itself was simple and speedy. Aidan didn’t bother to don a jacket but married her in his white shirtsleeves. She smiled at the poetic justice of her wearing the periwinkle dress. And as he slid the wedding band on her finger, promising to love and honor her, she knew at last she had found her home.
Epilogue
1817
Being a politician’s wife was not easy for someone who could be as shy as Anne, especially when her husband wholeheartedly threw himself into the role.
Aidan arrived in London with a mission. He had much to accomplish and a difficult road ahead. There were many late nights when Parliament took precedence over social and family life.
Society was intrigued by the “mad Lord Tiebauld” who so brashly declared the task he had set for himself. He was handsome and wealthy and claimed a colorful lineage.
England was entering an age of unprecedented world dominance, an age of the Politician. New ideas were being discussed, the middle class was growing and coming into its own. Many Britons wanted to use their world power judiciously. They’d had enough of war. The earl Tiebauld and his lady wife soon found themselves inundated with invitations.
Because Anne believed in his battle, she forced herself to overcome the shyness that had held her back during her Season on the Marriage Mart. She worked to become an accomplished hostess, one who made an extra effort to see all her guests were included at her social functions. Consequently she became a success.
Her sister-in-law, Alpina, saw to it they received vouchers for Almack’s. Anne discovered the vaulted assembly rooms were a bore. She had missed nothing back in the days when they would not admit her. Of course, she’d changed much since then, too. Her values were different and not even the strong opinions of her Aunt Maeve and her beautiful cousins bothered her. In fact, once she relaxed and let down her guard a bit, they were actually decent people. Not thoughtful, but not the villains she had imagined them to be, either.
Alpina was not completely pleased her brother had returned to London only to plead the Scottish cause, but she delighted in pronouncing the marriage a success and in taking full credit. When within the first year of wedded bliss, Anne gave birth to Donner Burnett Black, no one was happier than Alpina.
“You knew it would be a boy,” Anne reminded her one day when Alpina came to visit the nursery.
Alpina sat on the edge of her chair, holding baby Donner as if he were the most valuable treasure in the world. “Oh, Anne, I was grasping at straws. I feared Aidan had involved himself with a Jacobite rebellion and I prayed the responsibility of a wife would bring him to his senses.” She smiled sheepishly. “Can you imagine such a thing?”
Anne hummed her answer, a combination of “no” and “maybe.”
Her sister-in-law placed a benediction kiss on the baby’s cheek and handed him back to Anne, saying, “Now, I can die in peace.”
Her statement startled Anne. Alpina had not been well, but she had managed to live with her illness. Now, Anne realized her sister-in-law had merely been biding her time.
A week later, Alpina’s condition took a tragic turn for the worse—but now, she didn’t try to fight. As she’d told Anne,