Chapter Sixteen
It wasn’t until Marian was in the carriage going home that the doubts begin to assail her. Was she crazy? She’d just agreed to marry the man who had done nothing but try to take the business away from her. Yet for the first time in her life, she felt happy. A sense of belonging enveloped her when she was in Louis’s arms that she could never remember experiencing before.
In the last few weeks they both had changed. The last time he asked her to marry him, she’d known his declaration of love to be a lie. But this time, he seemed different and he hadn’t mentioned the word love, only that he cared for her more than anyone ever before.
Men were certainly not good at expressing their emotions when it came to love and commitment. And while Louis did better than Jean, he still could use some improvement. But most important, he wasn’t Jean.
Louis was a decent man, who cared about people, sometimes more than he should. He loved his family and treated her children better than their father ever had.
And though she’d promised herself never to marry again, she decided that Jean was not going to take away her happiness any more. She had let that man’s actions influence her decisions for the last time. Yes, she’d vowed never to marry again to escape the pain and heartache that being married to Jean had brought.
But marriage to Louis would be different, because he wasn’t like Jean. She trusted him, she loved him. And there was the biggest reason for saying “I do.”
God, when had she fallen in love with the man? Could it possibly have been when he’d taken her to visit his family, showing a part of himself that she hadn’t expected? Or could it have been during the pretend picnic when he’d tried to show her he was sorry for his blatant lie?
When had he broken down her defenses and claimed her bruised and battered heart? When he found her son and brought him home, giving her sister instructions to give the child love and support?
She put her hands over her face, massaging her forehead. Marriage to Louis would be good for her children. He could ensure their lives financially and be the father that Philip so desperately needed.
Louis had healed her wounded spirit and though falling in love with the man had never been her intention, she’d given her heart to him. And now she knew that though she resisted, she belonged with Louis.
The carriage pulled up in front of the house on Josephine Street and she glanced at the darkened windows of her home. Midnight had long since passed. How would her children react to the news she was marrying Louis?
Climbing out of the carriage she glanced at her servant, knowing that never before had she kept him out this late. “Thank you, Edward. I’m sorry for the late hour.”
“It’s all right, ma’am,” he said, and clicked to the horses, driving the carriage around back.
She tiptoed into the house and climbed the stairs to each of her children’s rooms. Slowly opening the door to Renee’s room, she glanced in at the child. Curled safely in her bed, her daughter slept soundly. Marian tiptoed into the room, leaned over and kissed her cheek, love for her daughter swelling within her. Then she hurried out the bedroom and quietly closed the door.
Next she went to Philip’s room and found the boy deep in slumber as she peeked in at him. The urge to protect him and Renee overwhelmed her and she thought back on the last three months of everything they had been through.
Her heart swelled at the thought of Louis and suddenly she felt certain of her decision. Yes, she would marry him and vow to stay with him until death did them part.