Emma looked down the aisle. Saw Charles standing at the altar in his dress uniform. Dark blue coat with gold buttons perfectly fitted. His posture military straight. His dark hair was combed back. His expression serious. And then he turned. Saw her. And his entire face transformed. The seriousness melted into something raw and vulnerable and utterly overwhelmed. His eyes went wide. His breath caught visibly.
And Emma realized with stunning clarity. He couldn't believe she was real. Couldn't believe this was happening. After 18 years of searching. After weeks of fighting. After everything they'd survived. She was here. Walking toward him. About to become his.
Emma felt tears prick her eyes. She blinked them back, smiling. The organ began. Something classical and beautiful. Thornhill squeezed her arm gently. Let's get you married.
They walked down the aisle slowly. Emma barely saw the guests, the flowers, the ancient stone walls. All she saw was Charles. The way he watched her approach like she was something miraculous. The way his hands gripped each other behind his back, knuckles white with restraint. The way his eyes never left hers.
When they reached the altar, Thornhill placed Emma's hand in Charles's. His palm was warm. Slightly damp. He was nervous, too. The realization steadied her. They faced the priest together. An elderly man with kind eyes who'd known Charles since childhood.
Dearly beloved, he began. We are gathered here today to witness the union of Charles Edmund Blackwood, Duke of Winterborne, and Emma Catherine Ashford in holy matrimony.
The words washed over Emma. She heard them distantly, but all her focus was on Charles. On the way his thumb traced circles on the back of her hand. On the way his breathing matched hers. On the way he looked at her like she was the only person in the world.
Marriage is not to be entered into lightly, the priest continued, but reverently, deliberately, and in accordance with the purposes for which it was instituted by God. Emma thought about those purposes. Companionship. Support. Love. They'd had all of that before the vows. The ceremony was just making official what had been true for 18 years.