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“I think I regret my decision to marry you now,” she said as he picked her up and placed her gently back in the bed.
He ignored that, asking, “Are you hungry?”
“Si, very hungry.”
“In English si means yes.”
“Y-es.”
“Excellent. I’ll be right back.” He kissed her quickly.
“Yes,” she said again and heard him chuckle all the way down the stairs. She had made him happy. Her concerns were still there, but with Tomas by her side, surely, she could be a good wife to him. She could learn English, and their children would learn both English and Spanish. She would grow Spanish oranges in a house of glass and other plants and flowers. She would get some seeds in Cadiz before they left. Chamomile, yarrow, and carnations, of course, and she could keep bees for honey. And she must grow poppies for their milk. She would like to start a new garden to put her own roots in the soil of England. Perhaps going to England would not be so bad.
The next two days she spent sleeping and eating and generally being bored. Tomas was busy organizing their wedding in the local church and hiring a carriage for them to travel to Cadiz after the wedding. Yesterday he turned up with a trunk to put their clothes in.
The doctor turned up to see how she was mending, and she liked him far more this time. His female assistant changed her bandage and got her into a new dress, and they talked about remedies for seasickness when the assistant found out she was to go to England on a ship.
“Ginger tea and peppermint will help with nausea and chamomile for easing motion sickness.”
“I am nearly out of chamomile, and I do not think I have ever had peppermint tea.”
The nurse pulled a small bag from her pocket. “Here, have this candied ginger as a parting gift from me to you.”
Elena was surprised. She was the one who usually gave things out to others. “That is so kind.”
“You will be able to get everything else you need in Cadiz, Just do not let them swindle you and overcharge you.”
“Thank you for the warning. I am so grateful to you and to Doctor Aldana,” she said as she took the bag of ginger. She had ginger in her father’s bag, but it was dried and would be perfect for tea, though she had never thought to candy it.
When the nurse had gone, she realized that she could be a nurse or at least assist the local doctor if he was amenable to it. Perhaps she did not have to give up everything.
Tomas returned to find Elena eager to tell him about her conversation with Señorita Aldana and show him the candied ginger.
“Make a list of what you think you will need, and I will ensure that we get it before we go.”
“How did it go with the priest?”
“He made me go to confession,” Thomas said with a bemused expression.
“What did you tell him?”
“I stated that I had killed a French soldier who had injured my fiancée. I think I got off lightly, though you will have to tell me how to do a Hail Mary.”
Elena laughed, though it hurt to do so; she could not help it. She was suddenly looking forward to marrying Captain Tomas Markham in a Catholic church.
Chapter Fourteen
The church bells rang out in the village the day Elena Diaz and Thomas Markham became man and wife. A black wedding dress and veil was brought out of a trunk in someone’s attic to help the poor couple marry. Elena wore orange blossoms arranged in a circle around her head and held a bunch of white carnations. Tomas wore the clothes he had worn to Carlos’s son’s wedding, and she nearly didn’t recognize Tomas at the altar as he was clean shaven again. She had not thought he could get any more handsome, but with his blue eyes and shapely jaw, he was gorgeous. He smiled at her when she reached him and mouthed the words, te amo to her. They had no party but instead hopped straight into a carriage and onto the road to Cadiz. Their final destination.
In the carriage, he pulled her carefully closer to him. His lips came down on hers in an urgent rush. “I have been waiting all day to kiss you,” he said. Her heart swelled, and tears of joy welled in her eyes. There, in the blue depths of his eyes, she saw the truth of his words. He had married her in her church, had said his vows and placed a ring on her finger. He had arranged everything, including her dress. It must have cost him a lot of plata to get this all done so quickly. He had thought of everything. A huge basket full of food and drink sat on the floor.
This was not how she pictured her wedding day, but it certainly was not disappointing. Her only regret was that neither her father nor her brother had been able to walk her down the aisle. Instead, she had Doctor Aldana take her down. It somehow seemed fitting.
“I’ll get you settled in the hotel room and then duck out to meet my contact. I shouldn’t be too long.”
“You had better not be. I need my husband by my side.” Elena took his hand in hers. She had no ring for him, and she rubbed the spot where his ring should be.
“I will get a new signet when we get to London, and you can put it on my hand when we get married at St Georges.”
