Ashley reached out and gripped her hand, Lord Nicholas came up beside her, and Maddie, in her horror, realized what Blackthorne had been saying. She was to marry Lord Nicholas.
“And do ye come here of yer own free accord?” the priest asked.
“No!” Maddie shouted. She would not marry Lord Nicholas. She wouldn’t marry anyone.
“Maddie, don’t be a fool,” Ashley hissed at her. “Your father is almost here. Do you want him to find you unwed?”
That was a rather terrifying thought. Her father was not a violent man, but he’d already shot one fiancé. Could she allow the same fate to befall Lord Nicholas? “No, but—”
“She’s here of her own free will,” Ashley said. “Aren’t you, Maddie?” Ashley poked her in the back, and Maddie nodded.
The priest frowned at a piece of paper Maddie assumed was the marriage certificate. “So it’s tae be a dooble ceremony?”
“Right,” Jack said from beside Ashley. “Now, get on with it.”
The priest began asking for their names, but Maddie didn’t listen. She couldn’t stop staring at Jack. She was about to become wife to his brother, but she couldn’t spare a glance for her intended. All she could think was that she would soon lose Jack forever.
“No, it’s Ashley, not Ainsley,” Ashley was telling the priest, “and I’m marrying him, not him.” She pointed to Jack and then Nick, and the priest nodded and wrote something down.
Oh, Lord. Maddie swallowed her fear and horror. The priest was so drunk he could barely stand. The man began trying to sort the couples out again, and Jack growled, “Hurry up, man. Hurry up.”
Maddie turned toward the door as the priest began the ceremony, a simple one. “Do ye take this woman tae be yer lawful wedded wife?”
“I will,” Lord Nicholas said.
Maddie heard the clatter of hooves outside cease and knew her father had arrived. There was an ominous silence. She clenched Ashley’s hand.
Ashley squeezed her hand back. “He’s too late,” she whispered, then turned as her name was called. “I will,” her friend answered, and Maddie felt Ashley’s pale hand shake.
The silence outside was broken as her father’s voice rose, issuing orders to his footmen. Maddie could hear stomping and yelling.
“Do ye take this woman tae be yer lawful wedded wife?”
The shouting came closer, and Maddie could hear her father’s voice raised in anger.
“Madeleine, do ye take this man tae be yer lawful wedded husband?”
Wait a moment . . .
Maddie spun round, her mind now focused on the ceremony. Could it be her turn? But hadn’t Jack just—
“Lady Madeleine, answer,” Jack demanded. “But—”
“Hurry up,” Lord Nicholas barked. Everyone was staring alternately at her and then the door. Maddie noted that someone had had the foresight to bar it, but now there was an ominous pounding on the thick wood.
“Hurry up!” Ashley said, and Maddie threw her hands in the air.
“I will.” Her head ached and she felt dizzy.
The priest swayed—either that or she was worse off than she thought—and then said, “Weel, then, Ainsley and—”
“Ashley,” they all corrected.
The priest blinked. “Verra weel, lass. Ashley and Nicholas, Madeleine and John, in the name o’ the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I declare ye man and wife.” He lifted a blacksmith’s hammer—one of two items in the shop that had anything to do with metal forging—and banged it on the anvil. He looked at Maddie and Jack. “Oh and . . . er, man and wife.” The hammer struck again.
Maddie took in one breath then another, and still the light-headedness persisted. The pounding on the door grew louder, and she closed her eyes to drown it out. But nothing could stifle the pounding of her heart. She did not dare to believe it, and yet—
“Wait.” Nicholas held up a hand. “I’m married to her?” He pointed to Ashley. “Or her?” He pointed to Maddie.
