Part 18 (1/2)

He therefore asked, ”Can you manage to dress yourself?”

”Of course,” Ula smiled, ”it is something I have always done.”

”Then hurry,” the Marquis said. ”When I saw you coming to the house, I sent one of my grooms to tell the Vicar to be waiting for us in the Church and I don't wish him to become impatient.”

Ula laughed.

Then, as the Marquis left her alone, she pulled off her gypsy clothing and put on the white gown that was even more beautiful than the gowns the d.u.c.h.ess had bought for her.

It was a wedding dress that any girl would gladly dream of possessing.

Fortunately in one of the cupboards of her mother's room was a mirror attached to the back of the door.

Standing in front of it she was able to arrange her hair with the few hairpins she had left and to cover it with the veil and the orange blossom wreath.

Then, feeling excited, as if the whole world had turned topsy-turvy, but was amazing in a manner that defied expression, she opened the door and started down the stairs.

The Marquis was waiting for her in the hall and, as she looked at him, she knew that he was the most handsome and attractive man she had ever seen.

There was now vibrating from him everything she had wanted from him but which in the past she had missed.

She realised that they were the vibrations that came not only from his mind but from his heart.

Because he was in love everything that had belittled his grandeur and his n.o.bility had disappeared.

Now he was exactly as she wanted him to be.

He was a man who would do great things not only for her but for other people, because, as her father would have said, a Divine Power was flowing through him.

At the moment, although all she wanted to do was to tell him of her love, as his eyes met hers, there was no need for words.

They were already so close and belonged to each other so completely that even the Sacrament of Marriage could not make them any closer than they already were.

Holding her hand, the Marquis drew her through the front door and outside, where she saw his phaeton was waiting.

He picked her up in his arms and lifted her into it.

As the grooms climbed up behind, Ula saw that there were two outriders riding ahead of them to lead them the short distance to the Church.

She thought that they were there not only for protection on the roads just in case they should be held up by highwaymen.

They were also there so that neither the Earl nor the Prince, nor anyone else, could stop the Marquis from marrying her.

There were only a few old villagers to look at them in surprise as they drove up to the porch of the West door.

The Marquis put down the reins and, rounding the phaeton, took her in his arms to lift her down.

”I adore you!” he said in his deep voice. ”And when we are married I will be able to tell you how much.”

She slipped her arm through his and, as they entered the Church where she had wors.h.i.+pped all her life, she could hear the organ playing softly.

She felt that both her father and her mother were very close to her and she could feel their presence as she and the Marquis were joined together by the beautiful words of the Marriage Service.

When he put the ring on her finger, she felt as if there were angel voices singing a paean of praise, while the Church was filled not with people but with love.

Then as they knelt and received the blessing, Ula told herself that no one could be luckier than she had been.

Not only in finding the man she loved but in knowing that he loved her as her father and mother had loved each other.

'Thank You a oh, thank You a G.o.d!' she said in her heart.

She vowed that her whole life would in future be an expression of grat.i.tude for what she had received.

They walked down the aisle and the Marquis once again lifted her into his phaeton and drove off, but not returning, as she had expected they would, to her home.

”Where are we going?” she asked.

Because she could not help it, she moved a little closer to him so that she could lay her hand on his knee.

He looked down at her with a smile.

She knew he was feeling as she was that they were dedicated in their grat.i.tude because they were together and now no one could ever separate them.

”We are going to spend the night in a house I have been loaned by the Lord Lieutenant, who is a friend of mine,” the Marquis replied. ”No one can possibly find us there and there will be no disruptions.”

He smiled as he went on, ”Then tomorrow we are going to my home in Oxfords.h.i.+re, which will be yours, my precious, in future. After that we are setting out on our honeymoon, which will be a surprise.”

”It sounds a too perfect,” Ula murmured.

Then she gave a little cry.

”The gypsies! I must let them know what has happened to me.”

”I thought of that and, while you were dressing, I sent one of my grooms to tell them you were to be married and also to express your grat.i.tude and mine for their kindness in a more practical manner.”

”I hope they will not be insulted that you gave them money,” Ula said quickly.

”I told my groom to be very tactful,” the Marquis replied, ”and I also informed them that any gypsies would always be welcome on any estate I own.”

”You could not have given them a better present!” Ula exclaimed.

They drove on and came to the house where the Marquis had been staying while he waited for her.

It was very pretty, beautifully appointed and she learned later that the Lord Lieutenant had been preparing it for one of his relatives who had been abroad for some time.

Everything about it was fresh and bright and, Ula thought, very beautiful, as well as a perfect background for the occasion.