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moriartyluver · 1 year ago

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FALSE LOVERS CHAPTER X

"I MUST ADMIT, my lady, you are possibly the calmest bride I have ever worked with," said the wedding stylist as she styled (name)'s hair. "Most brides would be panicking about..well..everything I suppose. It seems love really does conquer all, that is why you're so well composed, is it not?"

The day for the wedding had finally arrived and although (name) was very good at concealing her feelings, as usual, she was still incredibly nervous. The wedding of Lady (name) (last name) to Lord William James Moriarty was the most spoken one of the season. Most members of the ton could all agree that the couple seemed to not only look good together but also were incredibly in love. As soon as the engagement was announced, those who had known William and (name) during their university days had spoken of their apparently 'flirtatious' relationship in their youth and one of (name)'s university friends had even said they had a bet of £90 that the two would eventually be married.

The first half of the ceremony would take place first and then the reception would be held in the Grand Duke's large celebration hall. From what (name) had seen on the guest list, there were at least 500 people apart from the family attending the wedding. She had told Albert and William that she didn't wish for a large ceremony but it appeared that her parents had other plans. Many of the upper class members of (home country) had come to visit England just for the wedding and there was even going to be British royalty at the wedding.

"Indeed, although the butterflies in my stomach are certainly there, but thanks to my family and dear William, I have no reason to worry." (Name) smiled as she looked into her reflection. She was all dolled up in a grand wedding dress, one that could put even Queen Victorias wedding dress to shame. The dress was white but cultural aspects from (home country) were incorporated into the design. Once more, only the best for (name) (last name).

A woman with dirty blond hair and green eyes behind (name) let out a girlish squeal. "Is this not so incredibly exciting, (nickname)?" She placed her gloved hand to her cheek "how I wish to find love!"

"I'm sure you'll find someone by next season, Lady Arabella," said one of the bridesmaids to the head bridesmaid.

Arabella Sinclair was a fairly close friend of (name). They had met in university but Arabella had left university only a year in to study abroad in France. She was two years older than (name) but acted a lot more energetic than her and had quite the bubbly personality.

Of course they weren't as close as (name) and her close allies such as Josephine or William but she had the role of (name)'s closest friend in the nobility and was always there for good conversation when (name) needed it. She had requested that lady Sinclair become one of her bridesmaid and her head one at that. She was a trustworthy girl and although she hadn't known anything regarding (name)'s criminal double life, her family, lead by Viscount Sinclair, was one of those families that had received the remaining Ashfordshire maids.

"Miss Winchester is right," (name) said as she turned to face her bridesmaids, all dressed in (favourite colour) dresses. "I'm sure many men will come calling for you soon, bella!"

Once her hair was done, the stylist clasped a necklace around (name)'s neck. A (last name) family heirloom. Her mother and her grandmother and her great grandmother and their mothers had all worn this beautiful necklace at their weddings so it was only normal that (name) carry on the tradition. It was a strange reminder to her that she was no longer the young girl who would 'accidentally' lock herself in her family library for hours on end to isolate herself or spar with her father or take etiquette classes with her mother which usually ended with the two of them in tears of laughter. She was now a woman with greater responsibility, and that was indeed scary.

"Oh (name)? you're not worried about the wedding night, are you?" Asked a Lady Beatrice Harrington, the only married woman out of all three bridesmaids. "I promise you, dear, it's not as scary as our mamas make it out to be."

(Name) could instantly feel her face heat up. Her throat grew dry and she could see Josephine, who was wearing a maid uniform with a (favourite colour) flower in her hair, giggling in the corner at her lady's now cracking facade. She was a lot more concerned about having to kiss William in front of everyone and would have at least appreciated a chance to practice before hand.

"You do know what happens on the wedding night, do you not?" The noir-ette asked with concern. It wouldn't be much of a surprise considering almost everything was taboo in such an era but a woman like (name) surely would have had some knowledge on the subject.

(Name) nodded furiously as the stylist attempted to reapply rouge onto her face although it seemed she didn't recall toy need it. "Of course I do! I have read enough fiction books to—"

"(Name), dear?" Her mother called out to her as she opened the door. The stylist had finally finished with (name)'s makeup and she was ready to leave to become 'lady Moriarty' soon. "your due to walk down the aisle any minute now."

"Ladies, please slow me some privacy whilst we speak," (name) said as everyone left.

(Mothers name) approached her daughter and rested her hand on her shoulder. "Being nervous is completely normal, (name). I did tell your father not to invite so many people but he insisted on showing off his precious daughter to as many people as possible..." she trailed off, and expression of concern evident on her elegant face. "Remember, as much as I approve of Lord William, as does your father, if he attempts to do anything you wish not to..well we didn't train you in various forms of combat for nothing, dearest."

"I'll be fine, mother...I just.." she struggled to find the words. "I'm afraid of..well..being regretful I suppose.."

The grand duchess looked at her daughter skeptically. "If you really love him, you won't regret anything. After our little meeting with the boy and you went aside, I could clearly see how you loved each other in your own way. Please don't feel like you have to pretended to be a certain way just for our sake, (name)." The older woman kneeled down to face her daughter "I was once like you, a girl who never thought I could love. It seemed impossible but once I had met your father..things changed. One thing you can count on is that hearts can change, and there is no shame in having your heart change." She said as she pointed to (name)'s chest where her heart would be. "Of course you dislike the feeling at first, and you try to excuse that feeling of love as hatred. But the opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference..You seem to have struggled with emotional vulnerability since your brother —"

The grand duchess paused as if she felt she had said something wrong, noticing her daughter momentarily freeze up "I'll make you late to your own wedding. Come along so your father can walk you down the aisle."

"Yes mother," (name) smiled as she leaned forwards to hug (mothers name) briefly "thank you"

As The Grand Duke took his daughter on his arm and walked her down the aisle with her bridesmaids trailing behind her, he seemed to be tearing up. Her father was possibly the most emotional out of herself and the grand duke and duchess. Her mother had a rare but completely genuine smile on her face as she sat by the side. William was stood by the alter with Albert stood behind him as his best man and Louis stood beside the brunette.

"Do you, (name) (last name), take William James Moriarty as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do..?" (Name) said, although it sounded slightly unsure as she slid William's wedding ring onto his finger.

William smiled as he watched (name) avert her gaze. She had looked completely beautiful as she walked down the aisle. Indeed the dress was gorgeous but the woman wearing it had incomparable beauty, superior to that of angels. Not only did her countenance exude an air of absolute elegance, but she had seemed, although nervous, genuinely content even though the marriage was certainly not one done out of the love they had pretended to have.

"William James Moriarty, do you take (name) (last name) to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

He slid the wedding ring onto (name)'s finger "I do." William answered with a smile, lifting up the veil over (name)'s face slowly which was the only shield to hide her flushed face and now was gone, leaving her feeling vulnerable.

(Name) turned her head slightly to see her parents who were smiling at her, and her father seemed to crying out of joy, blowing his nose as her mother consoled him.

"You may now kiss the bride"

And with that, William gently lifted up (name)'s chin so she was now facing him, multiple nervous trains of thought running through her mind. This was not her first kiss, but all the others were meaningless methods of seduction as were all her previous intimate interactions with men, however this kiss was with William, and that instantly created an attached meaning to it that (name) would rather not face.

"Keep calm, my love, follow my lead.." William whispered against (name)'s lips before pressing them together and shutting his eyes, cupping her cheek softly and shielding the sight with his hand as the crowd of nobles cheered.

(Name) felt her entire body freeze up and then melt under her now husband's gentle touch, closing her eyes with him. Just as their lips were about to part and only rested against each other, william leaned in once more with parted lips to kiss (name) again, this time a lot more passionately than the first.

Eventually, william pulled away, took (name)'s hand in his own and raised it up to his lips to kiss before taking it in his and walked back down the aisle with his newly wedded bride into the carriage to take them to the reception.

The reception was very typical for one of the era. There was a banquet and the wedding cake, which was quite tall and the details were very intricate and once the ceremony was over and (name) had thrown the bouquet, which had coincidentally landed in the arms of a certain Lady Arabella Sinclair. (Name) had acted as ladylike as possible, speaking to guests from both the country she currently resided aswell as the one she was raised in, although the greetings seemed to have been prolonged and it seemed the noble lady was attempting to make the reception last longer than it should have been as if she wished for the day to never end.

(Name) had danced with her father, who was in complete tears after the wedding, sobbing about how much his little girl had grown and how proud he was of her. It was strange to think that this same man was renowned for his strength in battles and his ruthless strategic capabilities.

"I know I've said this already, (name), but I really cannot believe how much you've grown and matured so well in my absence" Her father said to her after wiping his tears away

(Name) chuckled as the grand duke had spun her around "do you remember when you were teaching me to dance when I was but a little girl? you would twirl me around like a whirlwind."

"Ah, my dear (name), those were the days..!" (Father's name) smiled as he moved in sync with his daughter "You had the grace of a swan even then, and I tried my best to keep up with your boundless energy, so much so that your mother had to act as my second whenever I would feel too tired to continue."

A melancholic smile made its way onto (name)'s face as she remembered her fond childhood memories. "I recall the time we attempted the quadrille and ended up a tangled mess of feet. We laughed so hard, we had tears streaming down our faces. Poor mother had to help us regain our composure."

"We were a sight to behold, sweet (name)! No dancer could ever match our expertise!" The grand duke laughed as the orchestral music slowly came to a halt. The two paused and bowed there head to one another. "Promise to visit often?"

"I have never broken a promise, Father." (Name) said as he painted a kiss on her forehead as the melancholic melody of a piano slowly stopped echoing throughout the opulent ballroom.

The newly weds had ended the night with a dance and a short speech from Albert, which wasn't actually as fabricated as (name) had initially assumed it would have been. He had spoken of his observations of the two and although he lied about them seeming like a match made in heaven, it was still fairly accurate.

Eventually the time had come for (name) and William to enter their horse drawn white wedding carriage to take them on a short journey away from the (last name) ballroom, which was unattached to their large family manor in England, to sleep in their designated room.

Once they had entered, (name) had noticed the door had been locked after them and looked at william, who was about to enter the dressing room attached.

(Name) coughed, trying to appear less awkward than she really felt as she watched William pause. "Ahem..are we not meant to.." she looked away, clearly embarrassed "nevermind —"

"There wasn't anything in the contract about consummating the marriage," the blonde said as her approached (name), leaning against the wall beside her, holding her face in his hands "but of course, if you wish to do so, I wouldn't object. As long as you are the one to initiate such intimate activities..~"

The flushed bride moved away out of reflex and stuttered out a "Ha- No way..!!"

William replied with a gentle smile and left to get changed into his pyjamas while (name) attempted to remove her many accessories and put them away. Once it was her turn to get dressed, she had faced a terrible struggle.

The zipper on her dress wasn't working.

(Name) kept tugging at it, but suddenly tripped on the trail of her wedding dress and tripped over, falling to the ground.

Thud

A knock came from the other side of the door "(Name)? Are you alright? I heard a thud-"

"Get this damn dress off of me." William heard his wife grumble from the other side of the door.

A pale hand reached down to the doorknob and opened the door slowly, covering his eyes with hand as he walked into the room.

"You can take you hand off your face, I'm fully clothed." (Name) said. William did as she said and saw her lying on the floor, her hair disheveled and in quite the tangle, as if she were trying to fight the dress whilst it was still on her.

Once she was helped up and untangled by her husband, William unzipped the dress and undid (name)'s corset. Her heart was thumping so loud and her face felt so warm she had hoped he wouldn't notice. Of course, the blond has seen through her instantly and instead of acting how a gentleman should have, he found it would be amusing to rile her up even more, causing him to place a kiss to her nape.

Chu

(Name) twisted around to face him, clutching her dress to her chest dearly. "What the-" she glared "what in God's name was that for?!" William laughed softly.

"My apologies, dearest," he said as he ran his fingers through her disheveled hair "where did you place your nightgown?"

"You don't need to help me get dressed, I'm perfectly fine now, you may leave." She said as she glanced at the little garment bag hanging by the side.

William nodded and left to sleep. The two were only to sleep here for the night, as the first night of the honeymoon, and then board a ship to (home country) to leave with (name)'s parents to stay for a week before returning to London where (name) would move into the Moriarty Manor and live with William and his brothers, louis and Albert (along with Josephine who (name) couldn't dream of leaving behind to stay working for the Marquis)

They had chosen to have the wedding in summer, which had now proven to be not the best idea considering britain had all of a sudden chosen to have correctly corresponding weather to the season but at least the room had good ventilation.

"This nightgown is incredibly thin..although I suppose it is suitable for the climate I can't help but feel.."(name) trailed off as she walked towards the 4 poster bed "It's rather revealing isn't it, william?"

Red eyes looked up and down her figure. She was right. It was rather revealing, after all, it was 'wedding night attire' although not so revealing it would cause (name) to feel too uncomfortable in wearing it around her 'husband'. The gown was made of a silky like material and somewhat translucent although nothing indecent was exposed. It was also quite short so that it the gown had ended at her thigh and the top half was certainly..something. He had to admit, it looked just as beautiful as her wedding dress did on her.

"Is this your attempt at seducing me?" William asked, his voice low and sultry, (name) could have easily accused him of the same thing.

(Name)'s face flushed as she wrapped her arms around her chest "No..! I swear I didn't have any u-ulterior motives!"

William let out a soft chuckle which soon erupted into hushed laughter. His wife repeatedly asked him what he was laughing at and he finally replied as he wiped a tear away from his eye from laughing so hard " Ah, I’m sorry, darling. Were there no other nightgowns available?"

"This is a guest room so it holds none of my personal belongings, and the other options were a lot more..." she explained, her implications as clear as she could make them. "Now that you mention it though, I could always wear a robe or something of the sort over it.."

William watched as his wife climbed into the large bed with him. (Name) had specifically requested it to be so that her then husband to be would be comfortable sleeping beside her. "Nonsense, it's much too warm for that.”

“You only say that because the only country you’ve ever been is England and you have yet to face the heat that many of the countries I have visited,” (name) retorted “I’ll be perfectly fine.”

(Name) was about to get up and find a bathrobe to wear over her ‘nightgown’ only to feel william’s hand wrapping around her wrist and pulling her down onto the bed. He let go and unbuttoned his shirt as (eye colour) eyes widened in surprise.

“H-Hey I thought you said I had to initiate it..?” (Name) said as she averted her gaze, trying not to let her eyes wander.

Instead of pinning her down to the bed or kissing her like (name) had read a man would likely do, William handed her his nightshirt and as expected for the weather, was not wearing anything beneath it.

“You can wear this over it.” He said as (name) looked at him hesitantly, attempting to maintain eye contact.

She nodded and slipped the shirt on, laying back on the bed then propping herself up with her elbows. She took three of the many pillows on the bed as William tried to lie beside her and put them as a barrier between the two. “That’s your side and this is my side. If you cross the barrier I’ve set between us..I’ll…I’ll bite you..!”

“Depending on where you bite me, I wouldn’t mind” (name) instantly threw a pillow at his smug face.

After laying in bed for what had seemed like hours, (name) eventually got up to get some fresh air. The summer air had certainly gotten to her and the pillow barrier she had set up had long fallen apart. She looked over to see William to see if he was still awake or not.

“Fast asleep..lucky man..” she whispered as she brushed a strand of hair away from his face.

She turned to face the balcony doors, which were shut but the curtains surrounding them had not been drawn, allowing (name) to see the ethereal moon casting its silvery glow upon the tranquil countryside that the family manor was in.

As she was about to open the door to enter it, she felt a hand grasp at her nightgown. The (hair colour)-ette turned around to see her tired husband rubbing his eyes.

“(Name)…where are you going..?” He said in a groggy, tired voice “..stay..stay with me..”

The woman in question pried his hand off of her and smiled. “I’m just going to get some fresh air out on the balcony. I’m not leaving this room, don’t fret.”

“I’m coming with you,” he said, his voice now sounding a little less like a whining plea as he sat up and then stood up beside (name), who looked away once more.

Once they had sat at the balcony, (name) took the shirt and handed it to William again. “What's this for?" He asked, still evidently tired

(Name) thrust the crumpled shirt at him "Wear it."

"But I gave it to you"

"And now I'm giving it back." She said, glad the darkness of the night prevented William from seeing how truly embarrassed she felt. "Besides, I can't talk to you properly when you're topless. Is this your strange attempt at showing your muscles off to me?"

William let out a chuckle and gestured to his torso "Believe me ,dear (name), there isn't much muscle to show off"

"There's nothing wrong with that. In fact I would much prefer lean and slim to muscular and large." (Name) said looking him up and down. He was more slim than muscular but I here was a slight outline of abs on his stomach , although she hadn't realised what she had said until afterwards when William let out another teasing remark

"So you're saying that you find me attractive...?~"

She didn't say anything.

"Why couldn't you sleep?"

(Name) sighed and looked up at the stars, watching for any constellations. She pointed up at the sky "look, it's Cepheus.."

William looked up too, spotting another constellation besides it "and so is Cassiopeia.."

(Name) finally spoke up and answered William's question. "I was just overthinking, nothing new to me..I struggle with sleeping quite a bit anyways..it must have been too warm."

"I understand. I have a strange habit of falling asleep at various times during the day due to overexertion." William said, fidgeting with the crumpled shirt.

"You do? So do I..!" (Name) exclaimed with a smile "I suppose we have something in common then."

"Indeed we do.." William continued watching the sky then turned to look at (name) for a minute or two before speaking once more, ending the comfortable silence "the moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?"

"It's covered by clouds..and it's not that clear as it was earlier when you were still asleep, but in theory, you're right.." (name) said as she looked up, unaware of William watching her with a soft gaze.

The two continued to watch the sky in silence, until (name) yawned. She laughed slightly as she whispered a 'pardon me'.

"Are you finally feeling tired, love?" Her husband asked with a teasing grin

(Name) nodded "Don't call me-" she yawned again. "I was beginning to feel as though I would be awake forever. The fresh air really did seem to have helped."

William held his hand out to her which she took with ease as he guided them back to their shared bed. Once they had got back under the bedsheets, the blond had noticed (name) was clutching a pillow as she shit her eyes whilst she tried to drift to sleep.

"Why are you holding that pillow as if it were a real person?" He asked, turning over on his side to face her back.

(Name) turned around so they were now looking at one another. "It's cold, and holding something always helps me sleep."

"You can hold me." William said, trying to appear as confident as possible despite his heart thumping against his chest. He reached over for the pillow in her arms and tossed it aside. (Name) rolled her eyes and glared at him

"You're getting bold." She said, awkwardly wrapping her arms around his torso and resting her head against his chest, keeping her eyes shut as if she were trying to avoid temptation.

A pale hand snaked around her waist as they embraced one another. Within seconds, William could see (name) now sleeping soundly in his arms, right before he did the same and shut his eyes to sleep.

“Good night, my love.”

A/N: Hey fl what were those books you were reading???🤨🤨Also can someone get the astronomy and moon reference (including the cloud bit) please and thank you. Finally got the long-awaited wedding chapter. Also little insight to fl backstory in her mothers monologue. Fl be like “I hate William 😡” and then cuddles with him while he’s shirtless. We're gonna have a little time skip next chapter and then move onto the main plot. With that, Act I is over! Thank you all for your support, it's very much appreciated. Bye byeee