The Beautiful Pretender (A Medieval Fairy Tale #2)(88)
“What are you saying there?” the king shouted from the top of the staircase. “You can whisper to each other after the wedding and the feast. Come to the chapel.”
Avelina’s heart skipped a few beats.
Just then, Jorgen approached them from the other side of the room.
“Chancellor,” the king called. “Have your wife come and the two of you be witnesses to their marriage.”
If Jorgen was surprised, he did not betray it. He bowed to the king and quickly went back the way he had come.
Lord Thornbeck squeezed her hand and they started up the staircase.
In no time, Avelina found herself standing in the chapel of Thornbeck Castle facing the priest as he asked them to state their names. Avelina listened closely as Lord Thornbeck said, “Reinhart Stolten, third Margrave of Thornbeck.”
They each stated their parents’ names, and then the priest said the marriage rites. They both gave their consent. Then the priest told them, “You may seal the covenant with a kiss, if you wish.”
Avelina closed her eyes and Lord Thornbeck—Reinhart—briefly kissed her lips.
She had just married the man she had previously not even dared hope to marry. How had this come about? It was a miracle.
Odette was kissing her cheek in congratulations, smiling and squeezing her shoulder.
While the king and Lord Thornbeck—Reinhart—were talking, Odette said quietly, “You look a bit dazed.”
Avelina laughed, a nervous sound. “It was a bit sudden.”
Odette smiled sympathetically.
The feast afterward was a blur of listening to the king, who demanded their full attention for the entire long meal.
Finally, King Karl announced he was tired and would go to bed early, then was escorted out of the Great Hall by his guards and up to his bedchamber.
The knights surrounding them—their only guests now besides Jorgen and Odette—drank to their health and wished them wealth, joy, and many children.
Lord Thornbeck excused himself and his new wife, and they went the way the king had gone.
Lord Thornbeck seemed to be hurrying when he suddenly looked back at her. He pulled her into his arms and held her close. “Don’t be afraid.”
She hadn’t realized she was afraid until he said that. It must have shown on her face.
“I shall be a good husband, I promise.”
“I am not afraid, I just . . . I was not expecting to be married tonight.”
“Should I have told the king no when he pushed us to get married tonight?”
“One can hardly say no to the king. No, I do not regret it at all.”
His eyes softened and he caressed her cheek with his thumb. He leaned down and kissed her lips. “Clever, courageous Avelina.”
She ran her fingers over the prickly stubble on his chin. “I was too afraid to even hope to ever marry you, until a few hours ago. But I’m full of joy to be your wife.”
He kissed her cheek, then they went up the stairs together.
The king left Thornbeck two days later, much to Reinhart and Avelina’s relief. Before he left, he declared that he would take Geitbart back to Prague for a more official judgment, but he planned to divide the region of Geitbart into two parts and make Lord Thornbeck the ruler of half, giving it a new name, and bestowing the other half to the duke’s cousin.
Jorgen and Odette went to work organizing a wedding celebration, inviting all the noble ladies who had attended Lord Thornbeck’s bridal selection—all except Fronicka, who had left Thornbeck as soon as her father was taken to the dungeon and was probably hiding with relatives—as well as their families. The Earl of Plimmwald was particularly invited, including his daughter, if she had been found and brought back to Plimmwald by now. And in fact, she had returned home, and the earl had even granted his daughter and Sir Dietric permission to marry.
Lord Thornbeck sent for Avelina’s family and settled them into a wing of the castle. Thornbeck Castle seemed a much more pleasant place with Jacob and Brigitta there, smiling and excited to have a castle to explore. Even her father seemed more talkative and less morose.
King Karl sent his own musicians and minstrels to entertain at the wedding feast. The first night they sang the song they had written about the epic love between the Margrave of Thornbeck and his clever and courageous wife, Avelina. Some of it was far-fetched and made her laugh, and it extolled Avelina’s brave exploits, but the lines about the true love between Avelina and Lord Thornbeck made tears flood her eyes. When the song was over, everyone cheered and applauded for the margrave and his new bride.
When the first few courses of the meal were over, the cooks brought out cherry pastries, cakes, compote, and pies.
“Cherries!” Avelina exclaimed. “How did they know?”
“I remembered you said they were your favorite fruit,” Reinhart said. “We had some stored in the buttery and the cooks made all these for you.”
“Just what I wanted.” She nearly drooled at the cherry tart in front of her. Then she leaned over and kissed her husband’s cheek.
He turned to look into her eyes. He was just what she wanted all those nights she dreamed of romantic love, of her own true love asking her to marry him. Her heart swelled with tender emotion every time she looked at him. So satisfying was the way he had changed, the cheerful expressions she saw on his face, and the way he actually thanked the servants now and was kind to them. He was also kind to her father and siblings and made them feel welcomed and wanted.