“Yes, I do, but…”
“Nae, ‘buts’. Do ye want tae marry me?”
“Yes.”
“Then come with me tae Gretna Green. We will bring yer Aunt Caroline and Mrs. McGrath, and I will bring my friend Jacob Glickman. They are the people who mean the most in our lives that we have remaining tae us. Love is all that matters, lass, and we have plenty o’ that.”
Unable to resist the pure unadulterated love shining back at her from his eyes, Cleo nodded her head. “I will marry you.”
Grinning from ear to ear, Arthur picked her up and kissed her firmly upon the mouth. “Arthur,” she whispered, looking all about them to see if anyone had noticed, but they were now standing alone upon the grass outside of the office building.
“Ye had better get used tae it, lass, for I plan tae kiss ye everyday o’ our lives until the day that they bury me beneath the ground.”
Smiling, Cleo stood on tiptoe and kissed him back in reply. “Like that?” she asked, a gentle teasing light in her eyes, it was a beautiful moment.
“And like this,” he kissed her again, “and like this, and this, and this…”
Chapter 27
When they arrived back at the house to announce their intentions to wed, they were met by a very happy Aunt Caroline and Mrs. McGrath. When they told them what had happened to Mr. Standish, they instantly understood the urgency of the situation. “Gretna Green it is then?” Mrs. McGrath answered in her usual no-nonsense manner.
“I must go and speak with Jacob but will return for you in the carriage as soon as is possible,” Arthur promised. “Please remain inside until I return. The killer is getting bolder, and we cannae risk it that he will nae come after ye simply because ye are a woman.”
“I will do as you ask and prepare for the journey. I worry about leaving all of father’s things unprotected.”
“I understand, but we will return, and those are just things. I cannae, and I will nae risk yer life over them.” Arthur pulled her into his arms one last time, then left the house, telling them to lock the door behind him.
Cleo packed her bags, then sat and anxiously awaited Arthur’s return. In her mind, he was in just as much danger as she was, and she would not rest easy until he was standing by her side, safe and sound.Hurry, my love. My heart cannot take the worry.
Moments later, she heard Arthur’s carriage pulling up in front of the house. “They are here,” she announced to her aunt. Mrs. McGrath bustled in with a basket full of good food and bottles of cider for the journey.
“Then let us go and see you wed.” Aunt Caroline answered taking Cleo’s arm in reassurance.
“When my friend Gwendolyn ran away to Gretna Green to wed the man she loved, I thought she had gone mad, but now I understand what she must have been feeling. It is a terribly wretched desperation that drives a person to such extremes, but the thought of living one day without him by my side is untenably far worse.”
“Your reputation will recover, my dear, but only if you are alive long enough for it to do so,” Aunt Caroline reminded. “Lead us away from this place.” Nodding, Cleo stepped out into the darkness and the waiting arms of her future husband.
The road to Gretna Green would take the remainder of the day and into the night. Cleo bounced along in the carriage firmly wedged between Arthur’s broad shoulders and that of his friend Jacob Glickman. The time passed much as one would expect of such a journey, but for the fear that clutched at her breast. When they arrived in Gretna Green, they awoke the officiate and dragged him from his bed to perform the ceremony. Grumbling, the minister took up his Book of Common Prayer and opened to the page on wedding ceremonies.
“Are ye Christians then? Have ye been baptized in tae the church?” he asked, eyeing them suspiciously.
“Aye, we have.”
“That is something then,” he nodded, his frowning easing some the more he awakened. “And ye have witnesses?”
“Aye,” Arthur nodded, gesturing toward Jacob, Caroline, and Mrs. McGrath.
“Verra well, let us begin.”
Arthur took Cleo’s hand and they all gathered around the makeshift altar. “Are ye ready, lass?” he whispered lovingly.
“I am ready,” she answered, her heart so full that she could hardly speak.
The officiate cleared his throat and began reading from the book.
“Dearly beloved: We have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless the joining together of this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony…
The officiate peered over his glasses at the couple before him. His eyes were boring into them the serious nature of what they were about to undertake. “Are ye certain about this, lad?”
