1884 part 3--The wedding

William paid the bill for our food, and we stepped into his coach.

There was an awkward silence, which William broke. "Clara, I wanted to ask how you feel about me."

"I like you," I said. "You are handsome, generally respectful and kind, and say what you mean."

"I realize," he said, taking my hand in his, "that I haven't asked you if you want to marry me. Would you do me the honor of being my wife, or do you only like me? To be blunt, do you like me as a male relative, or as someone you are interested in, romantically? These questions plague my mind."

I sighed. "I thought I made it clear that I am interested in you romantically, and I very much want to be your wife."

William chuckled. "I was confused because you were asking me questions about penises. I didn't know if you were curious about them, and wanted information, or if you were curious about them and romantically interested in me."

"The latter," I said, and blushed.

William kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you," he said. "I think you've made me the happiest man alive. Also, I am sorry if you did not want to be kissed on the cheek."

I kissed William back. He smelled of wine and cedar. "I don't think you were being too forward, in the least. I would like you to kiss me everywhere."

William jumped as if he had been burned. "Here, now?"

I laughed. "No, I mean on our wedding night."

William beamed. "Then, we must marry as soon as possible. How is next week?"

"Next week would be wonderful," I said.

"Oh God," said William. "How will I tell your mother about the date of the wedding?"

I leaned back in the coach. "I shall tell my mother," I said. "She will not argue with me."

My future husband exhaled. "Thank you," he said. "Do you have any family you wish to invite?"

I thought for a moment. "My mother, Aunt Elizabeth, and my lady's maid, Emily. Also, my father. He is still in Italy, but no one knows why. Is there anyone you wish to invite?"

"My father and my brother. Sadly, my mother died when I was a babe."

I squeezed his hand. "I'm so sorry."

William glanced out the window. "Thank you, but I am okay. I have no memories of her. My father has told me a lot about my mother, and I feel lucky she birthed me. My father, on many occasions, has informed me that I received my temper from her."

I grinned. "I would agree that you have a temper. I didn't know it came from your mother. I will look forward to meeting your father and brother."

"We are here, sir,'' said the coach driver.

"I shall look forward to meeting your father," said William. "Tonight, I shall prepare my invitations and will send them out at once. It will take my brother and father about eight days to reach New York City by steamship. Today is Wednesday; what do you think about next Saturday for the wedding?"

"That will work well; I said. "It will take my father about eight days to travel here from Italy."

William pressed his fingertips together. "Then, we are agreed. Excellent. Tomorrow morning, may I take you out for breakfast? With your aunt, of course."

"Yes," I said. This time I kissed my fiance on the lips. He kissed me slowly, and we would have continued if my mother hadn't called for me.

"Clara!" she said. "The hour is quite late. You had better say goodbye to Mr. McCain."

"Call me William," yelled my husband-to-be.

After I exited the coach, I went into the house. My mother insisted that I go over the evening's events. Emily was allowed to stay up late to hear my account.

"I am going to tell you some things, Mama," I said. "You might not like them, but they are going to happen, just the same."

Mother snorted. "Very well," she said. "Would you kindly tell me what is going to happen?"

"William and I will marry next Saturday."

Mother gasped. "But, you haven't been to your first ball, and people might think you are marrying quickly because you are with child."

"I don't give a damn," I said. "Balls seem dreadfully boring, and what simple-minded people think is beneath me."

Mother's nostrils flared. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"I am inviting Father, Aunt Elizabeth, you, and Emily. William is inviting his father and brother."

"Doesn't he have a mother?" said my mother.

"She died when William was a baby," I stated.

"I'm sorry," replied my mother. "Perhaps I am so angry because I am losing you."

"William and I will visit," I said.

"Maybe you will have grandchildren very soon," said a sober Aunt Elizabeth.

My mother's eyes narrowed. "How soon?" she asked.

"Mama, you are being ridiculous. William and I have only kissed."

"This is all my fault," replied my mother. "William is taking liberties with you, when you are still unmarried. I blame myself."

"Mama," I said, rolling my eyes, "stop being so ridiculous."

"I agree," said my aunt. "Anyone can see that William McCain is an honorable man."

Emily piped up. "What does taking liberties mean?"

I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "I will tell you when you are older."

Mother began to cry. "I apologize. Again, I don't want to lose you."

I held Mother's face in my hands. "You won't. Also, you will be getting an outstanding son-in-law in William."

Mother dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. "What about the wedding arrangements?"

I smiled. "I will leave those to you. Please arrange a place for William and I to marry. Next, I will need help choosing bridesmaids gowns for Aunt Elizabeth and Emily."

"I'm going to be in your wedding?" exclaimed Emily.

"Yes," I said. "You are. However, I am going to choose my own wedding dress."

Mother sighed. "I guess I can live with that."

"Clara will be beautiful in any dress she wears," said Aunt Elizabeth.

"I think the same thing," said Emily.

Suddenly, I was exhausted. "I am very tired," I said. "We can discuss more wedding plans in the morning."

My mother smiled. "Emily, would you draw Clara a hot bath?"

"Yes, Mrs. Hollaway," replied Emily, as she ran up the stairs.

"Goodnight Clara," said my mother.

"Goodnight Mama and Aunt Elizabeth," I said, smiling.

The next morning was a flurry of activity. At the crack of dawn, William arrived to take me to breakfast. Hastily, I washed, put up my own hair, and plucked an attractive dress from my closet.

When William saw me, he lit up. "You are completely beautiful," he said. He had worn a dove grey suit with a light pink tie.

"You look terribly handsome," I responded.

"Good," he said.

As I stepped into my fiance's coach, I asked where we were going.

"To the Paris cafe," he replied. "I know the owner, and he agreed to open early, just for us."

I grinned from ear to ear. "I love surprises," I said.

"That's very good to know," replied William. "I like to surprise you."

At the cafe, we breakfasted on porridge, eggs and bacon. After we were both full, William presented me with a box. When I opened it, I nearly dropped what was inside. It was a perfectly made gold engagement ring with a large diamond. I was speechless.

"May I?" said William, as he began to put the ring on my finger.

"You may," I said. The ring was an exact fit.

"How did you know the size?" I asked.

William beamed. "I asked Emily to take a ring from your jewelry box. Here it is." He produced one of my copper rings from his pocket.

"Thank you, again, for surprising me," I said.

"It is my pleasure," he said, gazing at me.

"I want to stay," I said, "but my wedding dress fitting is today."

"My New York tailor is fitting my suit today," he answered. "Can I see you for dinner, tonight? At seven pm, again."

"Yes, dinner tonight sounds perfect. I will see you, then."

"Is Aunt Elizabeth invited?" I asked, hoping she wasn't.

"Yes, please invite Aunt Elizabeth. I don't trust myself around you without a chaperone."

I sighed impatiently. "What do you mean?"

William held my hand, while looking at the ring on my finger. "It means that, without Aunt Elizabeth, I might lose control."

"Lose control of what?" I said, exasperated.

"I want you," said William, lowering his voice. "You must know this."

"Yes, I want you, too," I said. "That's why I am marrying you."

William bit his lip. "I mean that I want your body against mine."

A woman at the next table spit out the tea she had been drinking.

"Oh," I said. "I also want your body against mine."

"Then we are in agreement," smiled William. "Aunt Elizabeth will attend dinner as our chaperone."

The days before our wedding flew by. My mother arranged bridesmaids dresses for Aunt Elizabeth and Emily. These garments were both a hideous shade of pink, but I wisely decided not to say anything about them. My own dress was a cream color that suited me. The train was long, and Emily and my aunt would have to hold it as I walked down the aisle.

William's father and brother arrived. Since they had lived much of their lives in Scotland, their accents were quite heavy. It was sometimes difficult to understand what they were saying, but I could see by their body language that they approved of me as William's bride.

My father arrived from Italy and apologized for being away for so long.

My mother gave him a cold stare, but allowed him to hug her. He bought her a diamond bracelet, and this vastly improved her mood.

On the wedding day, the service and lunch flew by. As the afternoon wore on, I began to worry about our wedding night. Would my husband me happy with me? After all of the guests had finally left our hotel, William and I sat on our large bed. I had purchased French lingerie, and had slipped it on in the bathroom.

I saw that my husband had removed all of his clothes, except for his underwear. When he saw me, his jaw dropped.

"For once, I don't know what to say," he said.

"I don't know what to say, either," I answered.

"Well," I said, removing my silk top, "what do you think?"

My husband moved closer. "Let's play a game."

"I like games," I replied.

"This game is called the 'touch me' game," he said. "I will start. Please touch my chest."

With one finger, I traced a line from his neck to the top of belly button. "You may reciprocate," I said. "Please touch my chest." When he did this, I began to quiver all over. "I think I like this game," I murmured.

William said something like, "Mmmm." He seemed to be steadying himself. "Clara, I want you to touch me, here." He pointed to his groin.

"Before I touch you, there," I said, "I think we should lie on the bed."

"I agree," he said, and lept on top of the covers.

After I touched his complete groin area, I asked him to touch the place inside of me. Soon, we were panting heavily. I will leave it to the reader to imagine what happened next. I can tell you that it involved a lot of swearing, and a lot of pleasure. We woke early, the next morning, completely contented.

"I have another game we can play," I said, grinning from ear to ear.

William slowly smiled. "Tell me as quickly as you can," he said.