The Pirate's Duty (Regent's Revenge #3)(83)
Pierce stood before her, sinfully handsome and rakish, looking incredibly fine in his black cutaway redingote, suede trousers, boots, white shirt, cravat, and waistcoat. Oh, but she wished her mother was alive to share this joyous moment, to see that the love she and Pierce felt for each other would far exceed her mother’s hopes and dreams.
Mr. Pickering snapped his book closed and straightened his collar. “Shall we begin?”
Both Pierce and Oriana nodded.
“Do you, Captain Pierce Rupert Walsingham, take this woman to be your wedded wife?” the vicar asked.
Pierce winked as he placed a band of rubies on her finger. “I do.”
Light from the perpendicular windows in the nave behind the altar danced across his face. Oriana’s throat constricted, her lungs squeezed, and her heart pounded in her ears.
Their lives would be far from easy, she knew. He’d agreed to help her operate the inn and to continue her work with Mrs. Pickering’s orphans while monitoring the comings and goings of contraband in the area. The proximity to Talland, Abbydon Cove, and the Seatons also allowed him ample opportunity to provide advice to the new Black Regent, James Seaton.
Mr. Pickering’s misty-eyed attention lingered on Oriana for several tense moments. He sniffled, making her heart stir for the man who’d welcomed her into the parsonage and his wife’s heart. “And do you, Miss Oriana Thorpe, take this man to your wedded husband?”
A dizzying thrill vibrated through her as she gazed into Pierce’s eyes, and her mouth throbbed eagerly for his kiss. Then her knees quivered and her senses leaped to life, quickening her heartbeat. “I do.”
Pierce cradled her hands in his. He bent to place an erotic kiss on her knuckles and shivers of desire coursed through her, an engulfing, fiery surge anchored in the apex of her thighs as she recalled what his lips could do.
“By the power vested in me by this parish, I am proud to announce that you are now husband and wife.” Mr. Pickering swept out his arms. “Behold Captain and Mrs. Pierce Walsingham!”
Oriana eased the hem of her white satin gown aside, feeling feminine and pretty as she turned and faced the congregation with her husband by her side.
She scanned the crowd, overjoyed. She would never forget this day. It was made even more memorable by the presence of Pierce’s parents, Lord and Lady Walsingham, and Lord and Lady Underwood, who sat beside the Duke and Duchess of Blackmoor, beaming with pride. Lord and Lady Pendrim, along with their sons, began to clap.
James Seaton, in particular, looked dashing and confident, exuding a cheerfulness that no one around them understood. But Oriana did. The Seatons, Pierce, and Oriana all shared a legacy that tied them to Talland Bay, a regency, piracy, and justice, as well as a future built on the bonds of family and friends.
By the saints, love’s heady bliss intoxicated her far more than any ale she’d ever fermented in the tavern.
She leaned against Pierce and squeezed his arm, grateful that Lady Chloe had sent this daring, trustworthy captain to protect her; thankful his parents finally knew the truth about him being alive; and glorying in the magnificent new world she lived in, a world filled with kindness, laughter, and compassion.
Oriana walked down the aisle, her hand in the crook of her husband’s elbow, toward the bedrock steps that led them to the jingle that would transport them to Bath. Along the way, they passed the faces of those she loved: Mrs. Pickering and Crispin, O’Malley, Nicholas—who had completely recovered from his wounds, thank the Lord—Mrs. Farley, Mrs. Newcomb and her children, Jarvis, McHugh, and members of the Fury’s crew.
James gave Pierce a subtle salute as Pierce slung a tall black hat on his head. Together, they walked out into a sunlit day, flooded with petals of hydrangea and sweet Williams.
A footman opened the coach door. Pierce nodded to him, then helped Oriana into the carriage and climbed in to sit beside her. Now that they were married, there was a dreamy intimacy between them.
“Oh, Pierce!” she said, her eyes brimming with tears. “I’ve never been so happy!”
He picked up her hand and placed a lingering kiss on the inside of her palm. “Not even when being ravished in your bed on a moonlit night?”
Senses reeling, she searched his blue eyes, drowning in the pleasure promised in their depths. She smiled, and he captured her lips with his.
“Oh, my honorable captain and pirate,” she said as their mouths parted, “ye are a wicked, wicked man.”
About the Author
National bestselling historical romance author Katherine Bone has been passionate about history since she had the opportunity to travel to various Army bases, castles, battlegrounds, and cathedrals as an Army brat turned officer’s wife. Who knew an Army wife’s passion for romance novels would lead to pirates? Certainly not her rogue, whose Alma Mater’s adage is “Go Army. Beat Navy!” Now enjoying the best of both worlds, Katherine lives in the south where she writes about rogues, rebels, and rakes—aka pirates, lords, captains, duty, honor, and country—and the happily-ever-afters that every alpha male and damsel deserve.
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