chapter thirty six - the wedding

After taking a moment to herself in order to steady her nerves, Aurora descended down the stairs, accompanied by her maid who was successfully managing to protect the bridal train from becoming scuffed or torn.

She reached the top of the house's central staircase and paused as her three brothers turned to admire her. Their faces shone with astonishment at the change between their once wild sister into a radiant young woman ready to marry.

William walked to the bottom of the staircase to greet her and held out his hand nobly.

"You look exquisite, Aurora."

She blushed, her eldest brother was not usually one for such explicit shows of endearment.

They had now joined Alexander and Julius, as together the four of them were to travel in the same carriage to the cathedral. Which in hindsight did not Secunderabad like a particularly clever idea considering their affinity for misbehaving.

Stepping into the carriage that would lead her to the next stage in her life, Aurora was delighted at the warmth of the mid morning sun. The day promised to be a sunny and pleasant one - good omens for the forthcoming marriage.

Once inside, the carriage journey was thankfully not particularly eventful. William spent most of it lecturing Julius about what would happen should he misbehave, also accidentally letting slip that he had found a 'most excellent young lady' to introduce to the youngest Grey boy. Julius was not happy.

This was ironic, Aurora thought, considering his own part in bringing about her marriage. She smirked at the thought of him having to spend the day fleeing from conniving young ladies and their determined mothers.

Westminster Cathedral was a building Aurora had grown to know well. The largest Catholic Church within easy reach of Grosvenor Square, she had spent every Sunday of her visits as a child admiring its architecture.

Never before had it felt so daunting to her. In fact, it was one of her favourite places to worship and she had developed a close connection with the persons working there, often discussing the world of the Old Testament for several hours.

But now it's previously welcoming presence filled her with terror. The building once so grand in its neo-Byzantine architecture now stared at her cold and stately.

Inside the chapel, the whole of the ton had been squeezed onto pews. Some more reluctantly than others - considering the King was in fact a Protestant and therefore Catholics were the enemy - but regardless, everyone, it seemed, was there.

Indeed, the Bridgerton family was most intrigued by the idea of such a wedding, for they had never experienced anything of the sort and, well, the gossip that had spread through the ton in recent days was nothing upon which one might be able to base serious opinions.

"Do they really chant the commandments over and over for an hour straight?" Hyacinth was very much excited by the almost barbaric suggestions she had heard.

"Do not be silly, Hyacinth." Chastised her mother, "I am sure the service will not be so very different from our own."

The air was gently scented with the warm embrace of incense. Amber, dragon's blood, and myrrh, Aurora had chosen them herself after much debate with her mother as to its meaning.

The organ's voice swung to life to the sound of - a favourite of Aurora's - and the entire gathering turned ready to witness the grand doors open, revealing the future Viscountess.

They did so just as a cloud cleared, allowing the sun's rays to shine through the grand stained glass window of the Virgin, thus illuminating Aurora in what could only be described as an ethereal light.

The ton stood in awe, but no one else seemed quite so transfixed by the young woman as her future husband.

Anthony Bridgerton had by now accepted that his previous attempts to negate love from the equation of his marriage was entirely doomed to failure. Yes, he was absolutely in love with her. He had admitted it to himself nearly two weeks ago and, despite knowing she did not feel the same way, had no qualms about the fact.

But any potential uncertainty in the matter would have been quickly put to rest upon seeing her shrouded in sunlight.

Reflective of the current fashion, Aurora's gown began with a simply Empire line neck, trimmed with a line of small pearls. The Grey's had imported Cyprian silk for the gown itself, with the bodice tightly pinched at the waist and small details of the flowers found in Chillingham gardens sewn onto it in white thread. Most would not be able to see such finery, however it pleased Aurora to know that some of her home was with her in spirit.

The skirt of the gown was somewhat less traditional, band was perhaps more in keeping with the Queen's own style of large petticoats and a wide skirt. Despite this, Aurora found she adored the style as it gave her a sense of superiority and extravagance she did not usually possess.

White silk gloves extended up to her elbows - as was the usual. And her hair had been pinned in the very same style her mother had used; a circlet integrating small white roses and diamonds.

From this circlet flowed a reasonably short ceil which lightly brushed the ground. The veil had a similar pattern of flowers that adorned the bodice, however, these were made from lightly coloured thread creating a small garden of colour along the bottom of the train.

Yes, there could be no doubt. The Viscount Bridgerton was hopelessly in love with the figure he saw before himself. To think that he had called her such crude and dishonourable things a mere two months ago!

Aurora walked slowly down the aisle to the tune of the organ, alongside her was her father whom she regretted not having seen more of in the past week. He had been busy with work and they had had hardly two minutes alone to talk like they used to.

The service dragged on for nearly three hours before the moment of great significance began.

Anthony had not anticipated it taking quite so long and he found that as the service progressed he became more and more anxious.

Aurora, on the other hand, had become increasingly at ease the longer she spent in the cathedral. The scent of myrrh made her feel at home, as did the biblical passages and hymns.

The Viscount was grateful for this though. In seeing his future Viscountess so at ease within this place he felt more able to embrace it himself. In fact, Anthony Bridgerton was unsure if he had ever seen Aurora so tranquil.

Finally came the climax of the affair; the vows.

Upon being called, the young couple arose from their seated positions at the front of the chapel and made their way to the front platform upon which they were to stand.

The Archbishop nodded at Anthony encouraging him to speak the phrase that he had spend so long studying.

"I, Anthony Bridgerton, take you, Aurora Grey, to be my wife. I promise to be true o you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health" he paused for a moment, uncertain of what came next. This was not helped by the piercing gaze of the entirety of London society.

The Archbishop raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue.

"I will love you and honour you all the days of my life." He completed, relieved he had managed to regain his place.

Aurora on the other hand knew exactly what to say and spoke without fault or fear.

"I, Aurora Grey, take you, Anthony Bridgerton, for my lawful husband, to have and to hold from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death us do part."

He confidence had spurred him on to complete the final section of the vows without concern for anyone but the two of them.

"Aurora, receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

"Amen" chorused the audience as he gently slid the ring onto her finger.

"As the great writer Seneca once wrote, Quos amor verus tenuit, tenebit. True love will hold onto those whom it has held." Declared the Archbishop.

In the pews, Julius Grey chuckled to himself at the quote - for Seneca was his least favourite classical writer and he knew Aurora had chosen the quite to spite him.

"May I, Viscountess Bridgerton?" Asked Anthony, holding out his hand to guide her down the aisle.

Aurora Bridgerton laughed quietly in response and took it, replying "you are most kind, husband."

She had simply been testing out the word, but she found she rather liked it.

And so did the Viscount.

*****

As requested, I have made this chapter significantly longer - also this is in part due to the fact that it's a Catholic wedding and we all know how long they take!

Well done to anyone who knows what the incense symbolises.

Anyway, this is quite a large moment within the relationship and I wonder how it will impact our protagonists?

Really not sure why I used a Seneca quote - I had a perfect one from Pliny the Elder but I couldn't recall if the ending was locative or ablative so I had to use this one.

Yours,V x