A Soldier's Heart by Sherrill Bodine Read Free Book Online

an hour. To think Prinny will be in attendance! I must check to see your father has ordered the carriage. We mustn’t be late.”
    Serena hove a sigh of relief at her exit. She needed a moment to herself—for the last week, she’d been feted and courted by the
ton
to the extent that she actually longed for the peace at the parsonage.
    The maid finally succeeded in placing every ringlet just so and reached for the white roses Blackwood had sent. Cleverly twisting them into a simple cornet, she positioned them on Serena’s head. But the fastening was proving difficult. Suddenly Serena’s skull was nearly pierced by a sharp jab.
    Her grimace of pain brought such a frightened look of horror to the maid’s pinched little face, Serena smiled encouragingly.
    “Don’t be concerned. I’m quite all right. You’ve done such a lovely job—there’s no need for haste. I believe the bride must be in attendance for the wedding ceremony to take place.”
    Her attempt at calming the little maid fell lamentably flat, for tears filled her pale brown eyes, and her fingers trembled as she worked again amidst the curls.
    Racking her brain at how best to alleviate this poor child’s fears, Serena hardly noticed the knock on the door. In the mirror she saw it open and a large woman enveloped in a brown traveling dress entered.
    “Buckle!” Serena screamed, twisting around to throw herself against the ample bosom of her old nursemaid, now rectory housekeeper. “The best, most wonderful surprise! However did you get here?” she asked, tearing herself out of Buckle’s arms to gaze into her dear face.
    She hadn’t changed a whit! Her cheeks still reminded Serena of rosy apples, and the huge white coil of hair hung precariously, as it always had, at the back of her head. “When did dear Papa send for you? How thoughtful of him!”
    “Dear child, it wasn’t your papa, although I’m sure he would have had he thought of it. It was Lord Blackwood. He sent his own carriage to fetch me, with a note saying you told him there were three things you missed. He’d gotten you your garden and your papa, but needed me to fulfill all your dreams.” Buckle’s tiny rosebud mouth curled up in a smile of singular sweetness, which caused twinkles of light in her watery blue eyes. “He seems just the kind of man I’ve always dreamed for you.”
    Lord Blackwood. Somewhere in the whirl of activity the last week, he’d nearly gotten lost. It wasn’t that she hadn’t been with him every evening at routs, balls, and soirees, but that they were constantly surrounded by well-wishers. Serena’s days had been so completely taken up with putting together a suitable trousseau, they’d had no time together.
    As if someone suddenly walked into the room and emptied an ice-cold bucket of water over her head, ruining her coiffure and her wedding gown, she couldn’t be more shocked. Suddenly she was awake to the fact she was marrying a stranger. She knew nothing of his thoughts. His kindness to Buckle was as surprising to her as it was touching.
    The only thing she knew was when she looked at Blackwood, she was filled with quite shocking feelings which were frightening and exciting in the same instant.
    “Lord Blackwood is very handsome, Buckle. And obviously from his kindness to you, just as handsome inside.” Serena forced a smile, feeling somewhat better. “Now you are here, everything is perfect! Rest while I finish.”
    Only after settling dear Buckle in a chair did Serena look up and notice the maid still holding the white roses in her hands.
    “Thank you, but you may go now. Mrs. Buckle will help me finish.”
    A hasty curtsy and a rapid exit showed how grateful the maid was not to have to put the finishing touches on Serena’s wedding attire. Everyone seemed to be on tenter hooks about these nuptials. Truth to tell, it was just beginning to sink in that perhaps Papa was correct—this whirlwind courtship and wedding were a bit