They met with the vicar the following afternoon, and he agreed to marry them by special license since Henry would be leaving so soon to join the army. He thought it very touching and romantic. The Hemmingses did not tell him about the pregnancy, or who Charlotte really was. Their special license said only that her name was Charlotte Elizabeth White, which was on her identity papers provided by the Home Office.
The ceremony was conducted in secrecy and privacy at the church, with Henry’s parents standing beside them. Charlotte wore a simple white wool dress that she had brought with her, and carried a bouquet of white flowers from the countess’s garden. Henry looked tall and handsome and suddenly more mature in the role of groom. Then they all went home and had dinner together. Nothing more was said about the marriage. And Lucy knew nothing about their secret wedding, although she knew that Henry spent his nights with Charlotte, but she said nothing to either of them and kept the information to herself for future use.
Lucy had started eating dinner in the kitchen with the two elderly servants a while back, and barely spoke to Charlotte anymore. Her eyes burned with the fury of a scorned woman anytime she saw Henry, and he paid no attention to her. He had bigger things on his mind. And he had no patience with Lucy’s fantasies about him, and her petty jealousies of Charlotte. Charlotte was his wife now. It changed everything in his eyes. He was her protector, and had vowed to be forever. His parents were relieved that they had done the right thing for the child Charlotte was carrying, even if it meant facing the ire of Their Majesties at some point once they knew. Hopefully they would forgive them, although it seemed inevitable that they would be angry at first, with their daughter getting pregnant at seventeen and rushing into a hasty marriage, no matter how respectable the Hemmingses were.
The one thing Henry didn’t understand was why it was impossible to call them.
“You don’t tell people something like this on the phone,” his father said and refused to explain it further, much to Charlotte’s relief. Henry still had no idea who she was.
Henry and Charlotte retired early on their wedding day, and she slept in his room discreetly that night with his parents’ permission. They had to do something to acknowledge their wedding night. Charlotte was still feeling ill, but she looked happy as she sat next to him on the bed, and he smiled at her. She had tiptoed down the stairs after Lucy went to bed and she felt sure she was asleep.
“So, my darling, we are now secretly married, and are having a secret baby. Do you think your parents will forgive us?”
“Eventually, though it won’t be easy at first.” She knew her father’s temper but also his spirit of forgiveness. And they loved her, and would ultimately accept him and the baby. They had no other choice.
“I don’t know why it has to remain such a dark secret. We’re married now, our child will be respectable,” Henry said, looking pleased.
“It has to remain secret because my parents don’t know about it yet.” His parents understood it better than he did. “It’s a matter of being respectful of them, we don’t want a rumor to get back to them before we can see them in person and can tell them ourselves, about the baby and our marriage.”
“Why would it become a rumor? It’s not so remarkable really. Charlotte White married Henry Hemmings, son of the Earl of Ainsleigh. I should think they’d be pleased. The daughter of a civil servant will be a countess one day.” He acted as though it was a gift he had given her. But she had a far more important title of her own.
“Not exactly. It’s not quite as simple as that,” Charlotte said quietly, looking at her husband, who was half man and half boy. She felt like a woman now. She had grown up overnight, faced with the surprise pregnancy, and it meant a great deal to her that she was now his wife. She took their marriage very seriously, no matter how it had started.
“Why isn’t it that simple? Are they anti-monarchists?” Henry was surprised, thinking about his father’s title.
“On the contrary.” She smiled at him. “It’s about who my parents are.”
“A civil servant and a secretary. You still haven’t told me what branch of the government your father works for,” he said casually, as he leaned over and kissed her.
“Your mother and father know who my parents are,” Charlotte said mysteriously.
“Then why can’t I know too?” He looked petulant. He hated secrets that didn’t include him. And she could think of no way to break it to him other than just tell him. It was time that he knew who they were, and who she was, even if they didn’t know about him.