Amelia Rose stared at Joshua Holden, and he at her.

The priest shifted the prayer book in his hands, "If any man may offer proof as to why they may not be lawfully wed, let him speak, or else he shall forever hold his peace."

There was a shift in the back of the church. The doors opened. She and Holden turned their heads to look out. There was a noise, a pause, then nothing.

Amelia Rose looked back at Holden. The priest rattled off some more meaningless words. She rested her hand on the fabric of her mother's full, blush colored wedding dress. It was so full she had trouble walking in it at first. The long sleeves were hot and the neckline was lower than she was used to, but her bridesmaid, Holden's dearest cousin, had told her she looked breath-taking. Amelia Rose wished she would take all the breath from Holden. Then he might just die.

"Joshua Quinn Holden, wilt thou have this woman as thy wedded wife, to go together after the stars' true ordinance in the sacred promise of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, protect her, cherish her, and give of yourself only to her, both as long as ye both shall live?"

Without hesitation, "I will." Holden stood straight up, shoulders back.

Amelia Rose tried not to listen as the priest asked her the same question, but it was numbing. It was a vile question that only had one answer. "I will."

"Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?" The priest asked.

Amelia Rose's father stepped forward and gave her hand to the priest who passed it off to Mr. Holden. She felt repulsed by the thought of touching him. He was blackmailing Aiden. Aiden told her the whole thing, and it had occurred to her, most recently, that he would have blackmailed her into marrying him had she put up a greater fight. He was a disgusting, pathetic man.

Mr. Holden smiled and held her hand up. "I, Joshua Quinn Holden, take thee Amelia Rose Wagner, as my wedded wife, to have from now until the end of our days, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to the stars' most holy ordinance."

He let go of her hand. If Amelia Rose could sigh, she would have done it as she took up his hand in hers.

And if he had really seen the whole murder, then moon above, why didn't he intervene and stop her from being abused by Mr. Tanner?

A coward, he is.

"I, Amelia Rose Wagner, take thee, Joshua Quinn Holden as my wedded husband, to give of myself to now until the end of our days..." She rambled through the other lines. She had practiced them. Now they sounded rehearsed instead of from the heart. She couldn't do anything about that.

The priest gave Mr. Holden the ring. Mr. Holden took Amelia Rose by the hand and slipped the ring onto her finger and held it there. He looked up into her eyes and smiled. "With this ring, I wed, with my body, I worship, and with all my worldly goods I endow: In the name of our constellations and all the stars in the sky, I hereby make this covenant."