Anthony woke with the sunrise, the dewy rays entering the window in cool sheaths as he untangled himself forlornly from Sarah Jane. He has recently discovered that as much as he would like to have stayed with her in bed, he needed to procure a special license for them to marry in as much haste as they can.

In that infamous carriage ride, the duchess had offered to ask her husband, none other than the Duke of Ravensdale himself, to get one for him, but Anthony had declined, for the sole reason that he earnestly believed that Sarah Jane deserved a proper wedding. And a proper wedding will take another three months, which now seems absurd, because Anthony did not think he could last that long.

He looked at her sleeping form lovingly and resisted the urge to drop a kiss on her forehead in fear of waking her. Although she slept soundly through the night, Sarah Jane was rather easy to awaken.

With a last backward glance, Anthony quietly slipped away from the room and left a note beside her.

Sarah Jane woke in a disconcerting cold. Her hands sought for her beloved and found that she was alone. Her eyes blinked against the sunlight as her hands purchased a rough slip of paper from Anthony's side of the bed. She rubbed her eyes as they struggled to adjust to the brightness and refocused to read the note.

---
My love,

Please take your breakfast and I shall see you, eagerly, this afternoon.

Yours,
Killsworth
---

Sarah Jane smiled, clutching the letter to her chest while she celebrated the warm feeling produced by his signing of his name with "yours." Could it be possible for someone to be this happy? This mind-blowlingly excited and elated and fulfilled all at once?

After several more musings and lazy stretches, Sarah Jane had quickly dressed and eaten her breakfast peacefully while she wondered why the house had grown so silent.

She was just about to settle into a comfortable chaise in a cozy drawing room with a book when arguing male voices echoed throughout the hall. Within just a few moments, these voices matched with familiar faces, and their large male bodies filled the room with their demanding presence.

"Sarah Jane," Anthony greeted her warmly as he was being shoved by a perturbed Duke Ravensdale.

Sarah Jane eyed them curiously. What are they doing?

"My felicitations, my lady." His grace, the Duke of Creston greeted her affably as he moved towards the center of the room. "Our apologies to have come like this, but our wives have been meddling behind our backs, and we've come to escort you and Killsworth to Wiltshire for your wedding."

Sarah Jane's eyes widened. "What do you mean your wives were meddling?"And Wedding, now?

"My wife, mostly." Ravensdale chimed in, although not half as cheerful as Creston.

Anthony took a seat next to Sarah Jane, patting her hand as if to mutely say to pay these gentlemen no mind.

Ravensdale cleared his throat, "I am sure you are acquainted with my wife. She had blackmailed me to force my hand in meddling in your affairs, in which you can be safe to assume that I had no interest in doing before last night." He took his seat, crossing his legs on a large chair. "Be that as it may, I am here now as she left me no choice."

Within minutes, Lady Killsworth was in the drawing room, her face betrayed a mixture of curious and alarmed expressions. She nodded to the gentlemen and proceeded to take a safe seat on the edge of the set.

"To what do we owe this pleasure, your grace..." she then looked at the other duke, "and your grace?" Lady Killsworth inquired and casually indicated that she had rung for tea as well.

"We shan't be long; we will need to ride to Wiltshire as soon as you are capable." Ravensdale stated as he sheepishly glanced at Sarah Jane.

"Why are we such in a hurry? Has something happened?" Lady Killsworth asked while Anthony looked quite uncomfortable in his chair.

"You were gone quite early this morning." Sarah Jane whispered to Anthony who had kept her hand in his, squeezing it from time to time.

He nodded, knowing what he had to explain. "I was going to acquire a special license so that we may marry within a fortnight. However, as I was conversing with a rather distinguished member of the parliament..." he trailed and made sure Ravensdale heard the inflections in his voice, "Ravensdale and Creston accosted me in Mayfair."

"Yes, well they were looking for you, a messenger brought in a note." Lady Killsworth replied, looking from gentleman to gentleman. "It did seem as though they had important information to tell you."

"Yes, we did." Creston said, as he casually took a biscuit from a newly arrived plate of snacks and refreshments. "Ravensdale has been able to procure a special license from me this morning."

Anthony's head snapped to the cheerful fellow nibbling on his biscuits lacking all the urgency that the other duke had adopted, "From you?"

"Well yes. I did have one, courtesy of my mother, procured a little less than a year ago. I don't know which archbishop she had bribed, but the license does not expire nor is it named." he smiled gamely, "And now, you may use it to your liking."

The duke's mother was a member of the court, a princess, cousin to the Queen. One would think only her influence could allow for such demands and benefits.

"Wait." Anthony could not stand by this bullying. He had meant to take the license and talk to Sarah Jane about it. They will not be marched into marriage by these two buffoons just because Charlotte had made a silly wager with her husband.

That meddling minx couldn't keep from managing his life. This was one of the reasons why he never wanted to return to town.

Anthony cleared his throat and faced his affianced, "I had asked you to marry me..."

"I told you yes. Yes, I will marry you! What is this about?" Sarah Jane's alarm had already risen to panic as the gentlemen were spurning conversations here and there.

"I haven't asked you what you wanted. Do you want a wedding? A grand ceremony? A simple affair? When do you want it?" He sighed, there were too many people in the room. "I wanted to give you options, I want you to choose, to have a choice, always."

Sarah Jane didn't think it was possible to have her heart flutter and expand more than its current state. She must have done something right in her life to deserve this man.

Lady Killsworth tried to reason with her son, "Anthony, there will be talk if you marry her hastily. Surely three months is not that long of a wait."

"No, my lady. But three months is certainly a long time for Ravensdale to wait." Creston snickered, and dodged a piece of biscuit thrown his way.

"Ravensdale?" Lady Killsworth almost wanted to raise both her arms in defeat. What are these men up to?

Anthony speared both buffoons with a look that threatened their very lives, and then resumed to talk with his betrothed. "Tell me what you want to do."

Sarah Jane smiled at Anthony warmly and then focused her attention to Ravensdale who looked uncomfortable in his chair. "What is your concern in this matter, my lord?"

All eyes were on him now, and God help him but warmth spread in his cheeks, earning a loud guffaw from Creston who took great amounts of delight from his friend's embarrassment.

"It's the clothes, isn't it?" Anthony asked, a brow stretching curiously at the silent man. "Or the lack thereof." Ravensdale did look a little bit deprived.

Ravensdale stood, and without warning grabbed Anthony by the collar, "What do you know about the clothes?" He demanded as both ladies screeched.

Sarah Jane swatted Ravensdale repeatedly, her palms turning into fists when he wouldn't let go.

Anthony was out of breath, surprised that Ravensdale would attack him in his mother's drawing room. "Ravensdale, calm the devil down!" he managed to get out in between breaths.

Ravensdale released him abruptly and then and strode back to his seat.

"What's the matter with you!" Anthony rubbed his necks sorely, "I was merely asking if this wager with your wife has something to do with the multitude of clothes she bought from Madame De Courcey two days ago."

"It was three days ago." Ravensdale corrected, annoyed that he had lost his temper over a seemingly simple matter. "Why do you know about her clothes; did you see her in them?"

"No!" Anthony very well knew that the clothes were bought two days ago, the very morning of their dinner party, but he assumed that Ravensdale might have been struggling with his wife for quite long before that.

"What is it with these clothes?" Sarah Jane exclaimed looking as perplexed as Lady Killsworth, as both women failed to understand why the men were arguing about such nonsense—Ravensdale, the ultimate idiot, being driven to violence no less!

Sarah Jane balled her fists impatiently, "Anyone could have seen your wife in clothes, whoever Madame might have made them. What the devil is the matter with you, my lord?"

Lady Killsworth blushed, immediately recognizing the accusation tremble in Ravensdale's voice as she remembered what exactly Madame De Courcey specialized in.

She started to fan herself as she took a large gulp of tea. "We shan't discuss this any longer..."

"The hell we won't!" Ravensdale's voice boomed in the small drawing room.

"Oh, heavens!"

"I did not see her in them," Anthony repeated, his voice boomed over his mother's. The timbre explicitly rose at the mention of did not.

Creston cleared his throat, motioning apologetically to Lady Killsworth as he blamed Ravensdale for this mess. "I apologize for his behavior. He's been rather testy for a few days. Even before the clothes. Perhaps Madame De Courcey's talent truly drove him over the edge."

"Well, it's quite all right, I assure you." Lady Killsworth lowered her gaze and swallowed her tea uncomfortably.

"He won't explain this even if his life depended on it." Creston began, setting his cup on the table. "I'm afraid there is no other way to put this, but my lady, dear, dear, Lady Sarah Jane, this might not be fit for such tender ears."

"My ears are not tender."

Sarah Jane blushed as she realized what Creston meant about tender ears. Her quick reassurance meant that there was nothing he could possibly say that would surprise her. That in itself was quite loaded with meaning.

Creston's brows rose and shot Anthony with a mischievous knowing smile. "Well, then..."

Understanding what her words meant, Lady Killsworth stared at her toes, mortified that they were talking about marital relations (even without the marriage per se) in broad daylight. This is her son they were talking about!

"Please carry on," Sarah Jane encouraged as she sat back on the couch, her back softly against Anthony.

"Don't say it," Ravensdale warned at the same time as Creston opened his mouth.

"His wife has been locking her bed and has suspended any sexual relations unless she finds you, Lord Killsworth, and I quote, 'knee-shackled and happy' with you, my dear Lady Sarah Jane."

Creston darted a glance at the quietly simmering Ravensdale, his cheeks red with emotion, either from mortification or from rage, Creston didn't dare speculate. "Well, in the mention of Madame De Courcey clothes, I think I will be able to guess correctly that the duchess hasn't been making the wait easy for him either."

Anthony grinned, thinking that if any woman was mad and insane enough to demand this of her husband, it would be Charlotte.

Understanding washed over Sarah Jane as she gathered from Creston's implications that Madame De Courcey specialized not in dresses as she first guessed, but rather in the fine art of the state of undress. Well then, put it that way, the duke did have some right to be mad.

"You poor, poor, man." Sarah Jane said, gifting the people in the room with the womanliest smile full of meaning which caused Lady Killsworth to gasp in disbelief.

Creston laughed at Ravensdale's expense until he convulsed in coughing fits. Anthony sat still, his eyes crinkling at the sides as he stared wonderingly at his betrothed. He had definitely chosen a supreme woman.

"Shall we leave?" Ravensdale insisted, beleaguered and clearly having enough of this conversation, which had quickly become too tedious for him.

"Yes."

"No."

The affianced couple's voices overlapped. Sarah Jane looked at Anthony, who had surprising objections about getting married in haste. "What's the matter? I have no objections to marry you right now."

Lady Killsworth spoke to Sarah Jane, hoping that she would find the younger lady more reasonable than her son's inconsequential friends. "Lady Sarah, you must understand that three months for a proper wedding will not raise any speculations. Time will fly you by so quickly you would not notice it."

Sarah Jane knew that Lady Killsworth had just wanted to protect them both from whispers, but really, she could not care any less about what the ton thinks of them. As soon as they get married, she will keep Anthony all to herself in Wiltshire.

"I beg you to see this from our point of view, my lady." She began, squeezing Anthony's hand in hers. "If his grace had been driven to violence and almost insanity a mere three days of not being able to—"

She was cut off by another raucous laugh from Creston, who by now has clapped his hands on the upholstery, unable to contain his mirth.

"And, there is also a matter of delicacy we must consider." Sarah Jane smiled at Lady Killsworth warmly, thinking that maybe this was not the best way to start a relationship with an incoming mother-in-law. "If my belly becomes round before..."

Anthony held up his hand, "Say no more. Say no more." He pulled her up and kissed the top of her head. "Go and pack, we shall arrange things."

She nodded and started for the door, pausing only to address the two dukes who never had acted high in the in-step or arrogant with her. Sarah Jane was very inclined to like them, if not for any reason, but for pushing her wedding date to today (or tomorrow as the travel case might be).

"Will all of you be joining us? It shall be a lovely wedding party when the very best of our friends are in attendance."

The men grunted in the affirmative, even promising that their wives would also be in attendance.

Lady Killsworth had excused herself to send an express note for Lady Huntington, she of all people must bear witness to this union.

Sarah Jane hurriedly went to her room and called after Mathilda and her reinforcements. The dukes went home to their wives to inform them of their engagements for the week. Anthony had the carriage prepared as he penned an express to Kinsman Place so that the household would be ready for their arrival.

It will be a short trip, and with the best horses, six for maximum speed, they will be in Wiltshire in just a day.

Sarah Jane was happy to see that due to Mr. Collins' arrival the other night, Mathilda had already neatly packed her belongings into separate trunks. It took them only a few minutes to pack her essentials, and collect the possessions which had been taken from the baggage this morning for a day's worth of activity.

All the while, Mathilda was sniffling as they both folded her clothes and stuffed the trunk with her dainty possessions. Sarah Jane looked at her aging nurse, compassion blossoming in her heart as she placed a hand on her wrinkled arm. "What is the matter?"

"Pay me no mind, child." She sniffed, her lips wobbling in a smile. "I am very happy for you, that is all."

"You will come to live with us. There is no need for tears."

Mathilda blinked as her hands stilled on the towel she was folding. After a few seconds, she resumed folding, not once did she look up to notice that Sarah Jane sensed her hesitation. "You will live with us, won't you? Wiltshire is such a beautiful place; it is a lot warmer than Thurstason, and much cleaner than London."

Mathilda finished the last trunk, and hauled it off the bed. "His lordship hasn't indicated any reason for both Mr. Robinson and I to continue our employment."

Sarah Jane's eyes widened, surely Anthony would reconsider this if she placed a good word on their behalf. She quickly strode away, anxious to find her betrothed.

"My lady, wait!" Mathilda ran after her, panting from the sudden exertion. "Please do not go to him for this."

Sarah Jane barely gave the matronly woman a chance to catch up as she looked over her shoulder. "Whyever not?"

"Please! I shall not want to impose on his lordship. Please, my dear child, I implore you to stop!" Her feet carrying her only as half as far as the young lady, she paused, her hands on her knees as she caught her breath, and motioned to the other maids to bring the trunks down to the waiting carriage.

After a few breaths, Mathilda came sprinting down the stairs, but was too late as Sarah Jane's skirts were being hauled up in a waiting carriage by the man himself. Good heavens, what is she going to say to him?

"Anthony," Sarah Jane began as she alighted the carriage, gifting her betrothed with a lovely kiss on his cheek. "May I ask you for a favor?"

"As long as this favor would not harm you, you shall have it." He smiled, snaking a hand behind her as they settled in the carriage to wait for his mother to arrive.

Sarah Jane had a wicked thought, thinking that it might help Anthony to acquiesce to a simpler favor if he was surprised with a bigger and impossible one first.

"I shall want a fortnight. A reprieve from all marital relations with you after we're married."

Anthony paled, his mind stopped working after hearing the word reprieve. Did she say a fortnight? He could not even last an hour without thinking of getting her to his bed.

Sarah Jane laughed, and sneakily gifted him with another kiss, this time a quick smack on his lips. "My dear Anthony, I am merely joking."

He visibly relaxed, his eyes narrowed at her as both his hands began to pull her to him. She giggled and playfully pushed off from his chest. "Wait, wait. I do have a favor to ask you."

He quirked his brow, his hands strongly seizing her hips on his lap.

"It's about Mr. and Mrs. Robinson. Mathilda has been my nurse since I can remember, and Mr. Robinson has always been our butler."

"What's wrong with Barnaby?"

"Nothing is wrong with Barnaby!" She quickly rejoined, her mouth pursing to one side as she tried to think of a better way to beg him to give her guardians positions in the new household. "I shan't want to impose, because Mathilda will certainly have my head if I do, but can't you find suitable positions for them?"

Anthony considered this for a minute as he rubbed his thumbs delicately on her thigh over her skirts. "I hadn't had the time to think..." There were funds to consider, but the loyalty of these two servants might be worth more.

"I shall give you time to think when I have that reprieve." She said it so seriously that Anthony's head snapped back to her face.

Sarah Jane failed to obscure a full toothy-grin, eyes dancing of mirth, for his full view.

"Are you going to blackmail me to give in to your request?"

Sarah Jane felt so bold, especially as she was unabashedly straddling him inside a carriage. That, and the irresistible fact that Anthony was to be her husband in a day's time had made her quite shameless. "I might..." Her fingers found their way to his lips, caressing the lower lip with a feverish touch. "I should hate to do it, but I might!"

Anthony groaned. "Curse that duchess for giving you more ideas to ruin me."

Suddenly, Sarah Jane curved her spine, sucking her stomach inward as she lowered her head to the crook of his neck and placed small dragging kisses against his jaw. "Please?"

She could feel his hands caress behind her, moving up to her waist, encircling her, trailing up to the bodice, and pulling her tighter against him. Her hands cupped his face as she planted kisses along his chin, her warm lips meeting the roughly shaven skin, and then moved an inch higher to meet his lips in a fiery embrace of lips.

"You will be the death of me." Anthony murmured between her assault, but also grinning at their bad behavior. He did say that he was marrying her for her atrocious manners and savagery, especially when it suits him.

She giggled, her pleasure from his words glowing brightly from her skin. "Is it a happy death, then?"

"Delirious."

He stretched her neck with the pull of her hair, tugging her earlobe with his lips to elicit the exquisite sounds he sorely missed. "I can seduce you ten times over and you would forget about your coercion..."

She moaned as his hand found a particularly sensitive spot behind her hip, just where the cleft of her buttocks began. "You wouldn't!"

"I would."

She shook her head, enjoying their repartee as she kissed him, her legs clasping tightly on either side of his hips. The carriage was too cramped for this love play. "You wouldn't." And then she moved to kiss his neck, down the middle of the creamy taut skin where a large, hard protrusion had always beguiled her. "You're too honorable for that."

The apple of his neck bobbed tremulously, and his fingers dug under her skirt, searched and found her knee. He held its roundness across his palm, and then positioned his fingernails on top of the thin skin, dragging it open like a starfish.

Sarah Jane gasped at the tickling and electric sensation. She wriggled away from him at the shock, almost falling, but Anthony held on to her thighs fiercely, his eyes burning through her soul even as amusement swam in its blue depths.

She giggled then, mercilessly surrendering to this joy inside her. Life with Anthony will be a great thing.

A great and wonderful and splendid thing.

A knock echoed through the carriage, and Anthony reluctantly repositioned Sarah Jane beside him and crossed his legs to hide the evidence of his arousal. Sarah Jane collected herself, dragged her fingers to sweep up some straying hair, and then finally placed her palms flat on her lap.

A few ragged breaths later, Lady Killsworth was revealed by the swung carriage door, and she entered, followed by a very distressed Lady Huntington.

Lady Killsworth speared her son and her soon-to-be daughter-in-law an inquisitive glance, no doubt noticing the faint blush of their cheeks and swollen red lips.

"It is about time!" Lady Huntington barked as they all sat together in silence, her eyes hard and unforgiving as she stared at Anthony. She took her cane and rapped his boot. "You have been in love with this chit since you have brought her to London, and you took your bloody time!"

Anthony smiled, he always quite enjoyed how Lady Huntington had never missed an opportunity to express her thoughts freely, and always as brutally forthright as a bull.

"You look so lovely today, my lady. Have you caught some sun?"

"Oh pish!" Lady Huntington glanced away, hiding a small blush at his compliment and then speared Sarah Jane the same stern look. "What has taken you so long to entrap this idiot? I'm sure you had to seduce him to bring him up to scratch."

Sarah Jane's voice caught in her throat in a mortified choke. My, this woman does not mince her words.

"Pray, do not answer that." Lady Killsworth closed her eyes, bringing her fingers to rub her temples as the carriage began to lurch forward.

But Lady Huntington had never been known to stop if she was not satisfied. "Well?" she urged as the young lady began to burn bright with embarrassment.

Anthony slid his hand under her fingers as he hid a similar chagrin. She stole a quick glance to Lady Killsworth to make sure she wasn't looking, and then nodded vigorously at the old gossip, causing the elderly woman to hackle with amusement, the smile and animation allowing her to look 10 years younger.

"But for my reputation's sake, let us agree that I was the one who had done the seducing." Anthony added, wicked pleasure spreading in his chest as he watched his mother wrinkle her nose.

——-
A/N: Ah, it feels so good to write these chapters as we are nearing the closure. I feel absolutely satisfied by how everything is coming together.

How about you? I hope you are as ecstatic as I am!

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