Page 7 of A Bride for Brodie

In front of them stood a tall, thin man with a wide smile splitting his face. “Hello, Ross. You brought your brothers and your brides. Very good. I’ll be doing the ceremony a little differently today. I’m going to marry you all at once. You’ll serve as witnesses to each other. Now, I need the ladies’ names.” He pulled a pencil and a folded piece of paper from his pocket.

Ross nodded toward the women. “Hello, Reverend Cole. Yes, these ladies are our brides.”

Fiona introduced the ladies to Reverend Cole.

“Good. I’ve got them down. I’ll be using your first names only for the ceremony.” He grinned. “After all, God knows who you are. Do any of you object?”

All the women shook their heads.

“That’s fine, let’s begin. Ladies on my right and gentlemen on my left.” He looked at the assembled group and finally began. He angled his body toward the men as he addressed them. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God and these witnesses to join these men and these women together in holy matrimony. Do you Ross, Clayton, Franklyn, Tucker and Broderick, take these women, Fiona, Gwendolyn, Maisie, Ivy and Lottie, to be your lawful wedded wives, to have and to hold, for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do you part?”

“I do,” said each of the men.

“Very good.” Reverend Cole turned a little, so he was angled toward the women.

“Now do you Fiona, Gwendolyn, Maisie, Ivy and Lottie, take these men, Ross, Clayton, Franklyn, Tucker and Broderick, to be your lawful wedded husbands, to have and to hold, for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish and to obey, until death do you part?”

“I do,” said each of the women.

Lottie had, once or twice, pictured herself getting married, but it was nothing like this. She’d imagined that maybe she and Maisie would get married at the same time, but not like this. She crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped for the best. She was only doing this because of Maisie, just like the robbery was because of Maisie, and see how that turned out. Would this marriage be any better than the robbery? Or would she end up back in prison? No, not if she could help it. She would never go back. Never.

He paused and glanced from one end of the row to the other. “Are there rings to be exchanged?

“We don’t have rings, Reverend,” said Fiona.

Lottie wondered if they should have tried to find a jewelry shop or some place to buy rings. What else were they ill-prepared for?

“We do.” Ross reached into a pocket.

“Very well, gentlemen. Repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed.”

Lottie lifted her hand.

Brodie placed the ring at the end of the third finger on her left hand. “With this ring, I thee wed.” His hand shook a little, but he managed to firmly push the thin gold band on.

Lottie looked down at her hand, then back at him, and smiled. She was a married woman now, with all that entailed. A husband and, eventually, children. She couldn’t wait.

“Wonderful. By the power vested in me by the Lord God Almighty, the City of Prescott and the Territory of Arizona, I now pronounce you men and wives. You may kiss your brides.”

Brodie angled his head and took her lips in a tender kiss. Just before totally pulling away, he stopped and whispered. “When we get home, I’ll give you a real kiss.”

A real kiss?Considering Lottie had never been kissed before in her twenty-seven years, she thought the one he gave her was pretty perfect. She felt it all the way to her toes. Lottie was still a virgin, but very curious about relations with her husband. Would he be gentle with her? She knew Maisie’s husband had beat her but did he do it when they had relations? Maisie never discussed her marriage, so Lottie knew nothing about being married.

Ross paid the reverend.

Brodie grabbed his hat from the pew just behind them and held out his arm to her. “Shall we, Mrs. Campbell?”

Lottie giggled. “Yes, Mr. Campbell, I believe we shall.” She took his arm and together they walked out of the church.

Brodie walked to her horse and then lifted her into the saddle.

He’s so strong. I like that. Working in the prison made all of us strong and I’m glad I married Brodie as he’s stronger than I am.

After arranging her skirt to cover as much of her leg as possible, she looked down at where his hand rested on her thigh and then at his face. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

What will he expect from me now that we’re married? Will he want to have relations immediately? In a way, I hope he does. I want to get it over with, to know what it is and what it feels like. Maisie never told me and our father never said anything except innuendos to keep me frightened of him.