Vivian looked at Leonard with her face covered in shock. They were going to get married? She had only relayed him on what she had been told to hold on to her chast.i.ty. Forgotten how impulsive he could be at times in solving matters, she hadn"t thought that he would approach the church in the middle of the night to fix the issue.
"I believe marriage is something where both the parties should agree to it," commented Sister Isabelle giving a glance to Vivian"s baffled look.
Leonard turned his face to ask Vivian, "Don"t you want to marry me, Vivi?" When they had left the mansion, coming to the church had never occurred to her and nor was her getting married. It was too sudden for her to understand what Leo had proposed. Her first thought was that he was joking but he wasn"t.
Like many other girls of her age, she had dreamed of her wedding day. Walking down the aisle with Paul as she didn"t know she had a family. Wearing a white rented used gown with a veil over her head and a set of white roses in her hand. It wasn"t a big wedding like the ones the high society held but a simple one where she could spend and share happiness with the people who were close to her.
She felt her hand being tugged gently, breaking her thoughts and bringing attention to the man in front of her.
"For the years I have known you, I have loved you all. From my heart to every fiber in my soul. I do not ask anything from you except for yourself, Vivian. Just you and nothing more or less from it. If you allow me, I will make you the happiest bride. That happiest person and in return I will bow down to all your wishes. I will protect you from every darkness that might occur. Allow me to carry your pain," a drop of tear fell down on her cheek as Leonard spoke to her, placing his heart at her feet with sincere words. His warm hand wiped the tear from her cheek, "I will love you more and promise to look after you until and after death. Marry me, Bambi," the last words melted her heart further.
Vivian stared into his eyes, the dark red color blurring as tears hindered her gaze.
Father Connor who had been fast asleep had woken up at the murmur of the voices in the Church room. With the night clothes and a lantern which he picked from his room that had been burning in low flame, he walked to the door, peeking out with his head to come in time to hear the confession of the Duke to Lady Vivian. Holding his breath he looked at the human girl to see what and how she would respond but suddenly the girl burst into tears, making him confused.
Hurrying himself to stand next to Sister Isabelle, the man leaned to ask in a whisper so that he wouldn"t attract any attention to them nor break the moment that had been overwhelming.
"Sister Isabelle," Father Connor who was more than ten years younger to the white witch asked her to only be shushed away. Blinking he looked at the couple to see the Duke pull Lady Vivian in his arms.
Vivian who had fallen out of words, felt tears fall down one after another which refused to stop. Her heart felt so full that it was bursting out of happiness yet she didn"t understand why she was crying."Such a cry baby," he scolded to her gently, a smile on his lips as if knowing why she was crying and not needing the confirmation through words on what her answer was. But he wanted to hear them.
"I am sorry," she mumbled in his chest, the warmth of him calming her down as it reminded her of what home felt like even if they were not there in the mansion.
"What are you asking sorry?"
"I don"t have anything to give you," she said pulling back to look at him. It seemed that since the past twenty-four hours she had done nothing but cry.
"I don"t need anything from you. Just you would do," he said, tucking her hair behind her ear, "I mean it," he said when she gave the look of a lost puppy. Giving her a rea.s.suring smile, Leonard turned to look at the Sister who was smiling at them. As if she were reminiscing something of her own past which had brought a smile on her lips.
He waited for the white witch"s word, and the small smile finally broke into a wide one as she said, "Alright, you children with love. Come here. I hope you"ll be holding a grand wedding after this, Duke Leonard. It would be a shame not see you both wed in the right clothes and blessing from others."
"There will be one in the future, a grand one. I wouldn"t want to miss Vivian in a white gown being the most beautiful bride," he said with promise and hope as he looked at Vivian, "Can you wait for that?" he asked her. He hadn"t considered about what Vivian wanted but now that Sister Isabelle mentioned about it he asked for her opinion.
He saw her shake her head immediately as if she had already decided what she wanted, "I don"t need a big wedding," and she wasn"t saying for the sake of being modest.
Having brought up in a simple household, she had learnt to keep her dreams as minimalistic and realistic at the same time. She knew building castle in thin air was foolishness and though now opportunity presented itself, she didn"t know who she could call as her own to invite them for her wedding. Sadness crept back inside thinking about the man she believed to walk her down the aisle wasn"t there.
Not knowing of her own family who hadn"t come to search for her, Vivian had no other family and if there was it was only the person who stood in front of her, holding her hands.
"You deserve the world, Vivi and I will make sure you have it. Maybe not now, but I would like to hold a grand wedding for both of us. Even if the only people to be there would be you, me and the priest," his words were firm, "Sister," he said not wanting to prolong the inevitable any more.
Standing in front of Sister Isabelle as they held each other"s hand, Sister Isabelle began to murmur something under her breath. Praying for the couples longevity with a smile as she looked at the human girl who looked anxious until she saw her lover give her a rea.s.suring smile. Seeing that Leonard had given a remarkable vow to the girl and the girl who had accepted him wholeheartedly, she went to the final words of the wedding,
"Leonard, do you take Vivian to be your wife?"
"Yes," answered Leonard to have Vivian"s heart skip a beat. Father Connor stood next to Sister Isabelle his hand still holding the lantern as he stared at the trio who were performing and taking part in the wedding ceremony.
"And Vivian, do you take Leonard to be your husband?"
Vivian looked at Leo, nodding her head, she answered softly, "Yes."
"By the holiness of G.o.d and his blessings, I now p.r.o.nounce you husband and wife," Leonard pulled her close to share a simple kiss between them. As pa.s.sionate as he was in the bedroom and the four walls of his mansion, his affection was private only for Vivian and not for others to see, "Congratulations to both of you," she wished them.
When the couple left the church, father Connor who had been holding his breath finally asked he white witch, "Is the marriage complete without the ring as they didn"t exchange any," he noted.
"Sometimes you don"t need rings as proof," a faint smile adorned her lips. As she looked at the doors, she saw something move in the shadow of darkness. She stared at it long and hard until whatever she was suspicious of wasn"t there anymore.
"What"s the matter, Sister Isabelle?" Father Connor looked at the corner of the church which was near the doors, wondering what she was looking at.
"Nothing," she replied back to pick the lantern she had brought along with her, "It is rather late. We should head back to our rooms," she informed him.
"Let me lock the doors. The rain might slip water back in," he spoke worried as he was the one to clean the water every time it got in. Giving one last look towards the doors, Sister Isabelle decided to retire to her bed.
When both Leonard and Vivian returned back to the mansion, the doors were opened by Jan who appeared a little more than worried as by the time he had come at the doors, he had seen them leaving without a word. He noticed the way the master"s cloak was wrapped around Lady Vivian who wore her house clothes while the master appeared more groomed compared to her.
Bowing his head he saw the footsteps disappear from his sight as the Duke took hold of the Lady"s hand in his, taking up to their rooms. But something told him they weren"t going to spend the night alone. Not today at least.
Vivian followed Leonard, her cheeks shy and her footsteps meek. She was still trying o wrap her mind that they had married each other when he took her to his room. She heard him close the door.
She stared into his eyes that looked as wild as before they had left the mansion to the church.