By the River

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER 15:

The wedding was a beautiful ceremony that did not take too long. Cecilia cried as her husband walked their niece down the aisle. She could not believe her sweet baby niece was now an officially married woman and soon to be mother. She sighed knowing she had one left and then all her children and niece and nephew would be married and start families of their own. She suddenly felt incredibly old and did not like the feeling at all.

She shook her head off her silly thoughts and let the happiness of the day move through her. She sat quietly eating as she watched the new couple talk amongst each other. She knew the more she saw of Enrique and how he acted that she had made the right decision by letting them marry. Though in reality she did not have much choice, she knew that if they had been presented in society and met, she would have approved of him.

Dria smiled happily at her friends and kept listening to them all banter back and forth. She looked over at her husband and marveled at how amazed she felt to be married and no longer have to worry what would happen to her. She slid her hand under the table and slightly rested it on her abdomen.

She wondered what kind of life her child would live and hoped for the best for all of them. She turned her head and glanced at her brother who was currently conversing with Isa. She smirked to herself as she watched the way her friend had a slight blush upon her cheeks and her brother seemed to be hanging onto her every word.

She let a small chuckle slip from her lips, and she felt her husband’s head turn towards her in question as he raised a brow at her. She looked at him and shook her head at him letting him know it was nothing. He raised his brow further but when she remained silent, he shrugged and went back to eating.

Harold stood once the meal had been cleared away and raised his glass tapping his knife to the side as he cleared his throat getting everyone’s attention. Everyone’s eyes turned towards him, and they all slowly stopped talking. Once the room was quiet, he began to speak.

“Good evening, everyone. As you all know we have been gathered here to watch the joining of my niece Alexandria and Duke Enrique in holy matrimony. Now that we have witnessed this joining and had our bellies filled with a superb meal, it is time for a toast and then we can retire to the drawing room. I would just like to say that though this may not have been the way we had planned for this to turn out I am extremely happy with the choice of groom.

He has a good head on his shoulders and is a good-hearted person. I hope that you both may share many happy years with each other and your children that are to come. Happiness is often overlooked, and I hope that you will remember you must always stand strong even when times are rough because happiness is there in the light. You just have to remember to look for it.

Also, if it can be helped do not ever go to bed mad. You are not always guaranteed to wake up the next morning and never let regrets rule your life. With this being said I wish to congratulate the young couple and wish them a many happy years. Now let us retire to the drawing room and enjoy the rest of the evening. Perhaps my niece can play something for us.” He finished with a toast. They all drank for the new couple. Once everyone had finished their drinks they stood. Enrique held his arm out to his new bride and smiled down at her. She shyly looked back up at him and tentatively placed her hand on his arm. The rest of the party paired up and headed to the drawing room as they all made small talk.

Dria could not believe that life had changed so quickly in two months’ time. The whole incident that brought them all together was still very fresh in her mind. Even though she had married, and they had fixed the damage she knew it was not over for them yet. She was still terribly upset and knew it would take a lot to have her forgive him, but she had to try and get over her anger and fear for herself and her baby or it would be a miserable existence for them all.

She sat down on the settee next to her husband and watched as he declined a brandy offered to him from her brother and had to smile to herself. She was happy to see he was not drinking, she just hoped it was not just a show for her family. She did pause for a moment as her mind began to turn.

What if it was just a show for her family? Would she have to constantly be on guard? She did not know his character but then again, his sister always spoke so highly of him. She relaxed slightly and turned when she felt fingers on her brows. She jerked back and looked at her husband who had a confused look on his face.

“Why are you thinking so hard you are furrowing your brows? What has you so worked up?” he whispered to her as he drew his hand back and placed it on his thigh.

“Are you a drunkard?” She whispered back to him and slapped her hand over her mouth when she realized what she said. Her face morphed into a look of pure horror as it slid past her lips.

He burst into load boisterous laughter that had everyone in the room pause and look over at him. “Pardon us my wife said something very amusing. I apologize.” They all smiled at him and nodded their heads as they went back to what they were doing before the interruption.

He turned back to her, and his smile died down at the look of annoyance on her face. He reached for her hand, and he felt her stiffen and tried to pull back, but he held tight. “No, I do not make it a habit to drink like I did when we first met. I can never truly apologize for what I have done. But I promise I will try to make up for it. We can talk about this more when we are alone and not on our special day.”

She smiled at him and relaxed again praying she could trust her instinct. Her gut was telling her to believe him and trust his words. She nodded her head at him and let him hold her hands for a few more moments before she slipped them out and he let her. She turned to Lily who was eye bawling her and raised her brow at her. She mouthed they would be talking later tonight.

Dria imagined she probably heard their conversation and wanted all the details. She nodded her head and mouth okay back at her.

“Alexandria, would you care to play something for us? You play so well, and I know I will not have as much of an opportunity to hear you play or practice once you leave this home.” Her uncle smiled at her.

She stood up and walked to the piano forte and sat down on the seat. She pulled out her favorite sheet of music and got comfortable. “Lily, would you like to turn the pages for me?” Dria glanced over at her friend and smiled.

“I would be delighted to. I do love it when you play. It is incredibly beautiful and soothing.” Lily said as she approached the piano. She reached up and prepared to turn the pages when needed.

Dria sat up straighter and slowly slid her fingers over the keys before she found the first note to the song she was going to play. She let her fingers fly over the keys as the music began to flow forth and around the room. The music began at a slow tempo and gradually began to build up. As the music slid across the occupant’s ears, feet began to quietly tap to the beat.

Dria slowly began to hum the song before into turned into words and she began to sing to the magical tune she wove around the room. She smiled as she sang the song while everyone’s attention became more and more enthralled with the music and the singing. Enrique and the others leaned forwards as they watched her fingers dance across the keys again and again creating an enchanting sound. He could not believe how her fingers flew and the voice flowed from her lips. He was extremely impressed with how wonderfully she played and how sweet her voice truly was for he would never have guessed her true talent.

Once the song came to an end the room was silent and you could hear a pin drop. After a moment, the room erupted into loud boisterous clapping and cheering. Dria stood up and did a small curtsy as her face blossomed into a bright red blush. She felt very embarrassed by all the attention that was focused on her. She looked up when she felt someone grab her hands and watched as green eyes smiled brightly at her.

“That was amazing my dear. You sure are full of surprises, aren’t you?” Enrique smiled at her.

“I suppose we all are until we truly get to know each other. But we will have plenty of time for that now wont we?” She replied. For a moment she got lost in his eyes as she stared into the magnetic green eyes. It was almost as if the entire world had disappeared, and they were the only two people left in the world. The chatter and sound of the room faded away to a mere whisper then silence.

Enrique started to lean in as he was drawn into the liquid blue eyes. As he got closer to her plump lips a throat clearing brought him crashing down to reality again. He jerked back and looked around the room that had gone suddenly quiet as they all stood staring between the couple. Dria lowered her head and felt her face flame even more then before as she realized he was about to kiss her in front of everyone.

He took a step back and dropped her hands so she could move away as well. Once again, my throat cleared, and the silence was broken again. “Well, that was not awkward now, was it? Other than that, you play amazingly Dria. You will have to teach me how to play as well as you when you come to live with us.” Isa said as she watched the couple with a big grin on her face and mischief flashing through her eyes.

Enrique raised his brow at his sister as she seemed to be very much enjoying their discomfort. He shook his head and moved back some more as the room once again began talking after his sister’s announcement. He glanced over and saw Cecilia with a small smirk on her face as she observed them. She turned her head towards him and tilted her head to the side and kept the smirk on her face. Enrique smiled at her then cleared his face and put it back into a neutral look as he turned towards the rest of the occupants of the room.

“I believe this has been a wonderful day and even better evening, but it is getting rather late, and we must take our leave so we may get our home ready for its new mistress.” Enrique said as he looked over at his sister and raised a brow again.

“Yes, it is getting rather late brother you are right. There is much to do before Dria arrives in two days. I shall come back tomorrow and see you. Thank you for your superb hospitality, Lord, and Lady Northbourne. We deeply appreciate everything you have done.” Replied Isa.

“You are both very welcome. Please feel free to visit anytime, even if Dria is not here any longer and in your home. We love having you and you know this Isa. Make sure your bother takes safe care of our Dria and he brings her around often. It will be noticeably quiet I fear now that our beautiful girl is gone. Oh well I will just have to wait for grandbabies I fear.” Cecilia smiled at Isa then winked at Enrique as she spoke.

Enrique had just lifted the teacup he had poured earlier to his lips to finish when it came spewing back out and he looked over at Cecilia. His face morphed into one of horror for a moment before he cleared his face and left it blank. He shook his head at her and looked over to Dria who had a look of shock on her face as well. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath then placed a smile on her face and opened her eyes. She looked over at her aunt and raised a brow at her.

Cecilia shrugged her shoulders and smiled mischievously. Dria shot both brows up and stared at her aunt with a look Enrique could not read. Cecilia let out a soft giggle almost like a schoolgirl and looked away towards her husband as they shared a look.

Isa looked over at her brother and they both shared a confused look also. Isa walked towards Dria and gave her a big hug and smiled at her. She then walked towards Lily and Gemma who had been noticeably quiet throughout the whole last half of the evening. She smiled at them and hugged each one in return. They both smiled back and returned the hugs as well.

“We will see you soon and much more now than before, I am sure.” Lily giggled as she looked towards Dria and spoke.

Gemma nodded her head in agreement at Lily as she spoke. She knew they were going to grow close until they left for Spain. Gemma’s happy mode deflated a little as she thought about the future and what and who might not be in it anymore. She sniffed slightly and turned away when Lily looked over at her with a concerned look on her face.

“It’s all going to change.” Gemma murmured.