His Mail Order Bride Was the Prettiest Woman He Ever Laid His Eyes On
Chapter 10
The wedding became necessary sooner than expected.
Not because of the debt.
Because the law would recognize Thomas as Eleanor’s husband and protector while the inheritance dispute was settled.
But Eleanor refused to marry him merely for protection.
“I will not marry you because someone is chasing us.”
Thomas looked at her.
“Good.”
She frowned.
“Good?”
“I don’t want a wife who married me because she was afraid.”
“What do you want?”
Thomas stepped closer.
“You.”
She looked at him.
“That isn’t enough.”
“It is for me.”
“You barely know me.”
“I know enough.”
“Such as?”
“You wake before sunrise.”
She smiled.
“You’re avoiding the question.”
“You hate weak tea.”
Her smile grew.
“You noticed?”
“I notice everything about you.”
She became quiet.
Thomas continued.
“You sing when you’re worried.”
Eleanor’s cheeks warmed.
“You repair your own gloves instead of throwing them away.”
She looked down.
“You pretend you aren’t afraid when you are.”
Thomas took her hand.
“And you have made this house feel like a home.”
Eleanor’s eyes filled.
“You’re making this difficult.”
“I know.”
She laughed softly.
Then she stepped closer.
“I don’t want a marriage of convenience.”
“Neither do I.”
“I want a marriage where I can disagree with you.”
“You already do.”
“Where I can keep my own money.”
“Yes.”
“Where I can ride whenever I wish.”
“Yes.”
“Where you don’t treat me like something fragile.”
Thomas smiled.
“I never have.”
She looked at him.
“And where you tell me when you’re afraid.”
Thomas hesitated.
Then nodded.
“I can try.”
Eleanor leaned forward.
She kissed him.
It was brief.
But it changed everything.
Thomas stared at her afterward.
She smiled.
“You were saying something?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
She laughed.
“Good.”
They married three days later.
The ceremony was held in the small village chapel.
No grand celebration.
No noble guests.
Only friends, neighbors, and Samuel Gray, who stood despite his injury.
Thomas looked at Eleanor as she walked toward him.
He had thought she was beautiful the first day he saw her.
Now he understood that beauty had never been the reason he loved her.
It was the way she had entered his life and refused to remain a stranger.
