The Duke's Masked Wife 2: The Prince's Outcast Bride-Chapter 64: Newlyweds (1)

"You may now kiss your bride," Peter said, fighting the urge to clap. He didn’t want to clap because it was a happy occasion, but due to the fact it was now over with.

Peter looked away as the couple kissed. Again, he could not be happy for them since he was certain he would be stabbed again.

Peter was certain he was either going to be stabbed by Edgar, the king, or the young fellow before him.

"That’s enough," Peter said, separating the two. "You stand before a priest. You have a long night to celebrate your wedding."

Penelope peered down at the floor. She was ashamed that she had forgotten where she stood. She looked at her hand, which was now decorated with the ring Tyrion had prepared.

When did he have time to plan this all out?

What was he going to do if she had said no?

"We are done here, right? I will have the church prepare evidence of your marriage in the morning to send to the court. I hope I don’t find myself in trouble," Peter mumbled as he walked away.

Just when he was starting to forget the past, his old life was creeping up on him.

Was this punishment for all the people he scammed in his younger days?

Peter flinched, startled by Penelope hugging him. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Thank you," Penelope said, stepping away from Peter before he fainted.

"Don’t thank me. Priests don’t turn anyone away. I once tried to hide someone wanted by the town guards from your father, and he made sure I paid for it. He haunted me as best as he could. Go on before he shows up," Peter said, shooing the pair away.

The longer they stayed here, the more chances he had of seeing Edgar again.

"Don’t inform the palace that you have seen me here. At least not until morning when news of our marriage comes out. You’ll have a lot more to worry about than being stabbed if you speak on this tonight," said Tyrion.

"Believe me, I don’t want to talk about either of you. It pains me that I am the one who wed her to you. Go on about your way so I can rest. I must go to the church early in the morning," Peter replied, sitting down.

Penelope and Tyrion could see their way out since Peter was stressed from thinking of how he would be stabbed again.

Regardless of how the priest felt, Penelope was still happy he helped them. She thought of telling her father that they ran into an old friend of his, but Penelope didn’t want to frighten Peter.

Tyrion held Penelope’s hand, leading her out of the priest’s home.

They were officially married, but they still had to stay out of sight tonight.

Tyrion didn’t trust that his father wouldn’t send out a secret search, which was why the knights were left behind, with only Damien coming in search of him.

"Where are we going now? My father wouldn’t turn us away if we returned to the estate," Penelope suggested.

Penelope had learned her lesson from staying out late in the town without a guard. The crown prince and daughter of a duke would attract a lot of dangerous attention. freēwēbnovel.com

"I’ve prepared a room for us. Damien, my guard, will meet us there. Let me lift you," Tyrion said, placing his hands on Penelope’s waist to lift her onto the horse.

"What if I had said no when you asked? What would you have done with all of this? The room and the ring," said Penelope.

"Forgot about it. I wouldn’t have given away your ring," Tyrion said as he hoisted himself up behind Penelope. "I would have gone through with my second plan to do as I was expected as the crown prince. Maybe I would have shown you the ring years from now."

"We’ll never know what could have happened. Would we?"

"No," Penelope agreed.

It was too late to worry about what could have happened.

Penelope grew tired as they rode off again, going further out of Lockwood.

The moon was well in the sky when they reached a small home which appeared to be abandoned.

"We’ll spend the night here and return to your father’s estate early in the morning before the town comes alive," Tyrion said as he helped Penelope down.

For Penelope’s sake, Tyrion wanted to leave early in the morning so she would not be spotted by anyone when they rode back home.

Penelope stared at the home, which seemed like it would fall apart if it were given a good kick. When she thought about her wedding, this wasn’t how she thought it would take place.

"It’s bad on the outside, but I assure you it is much better on the inside. I came across this years ago when I left the palace for a few days. I managed to hide from the palace guards here before I finally went back," Tyrion shared.

Penelope frowned. "I never knew you ran away. Did my father know?"

"Your family wasn’t in Lockwood at the time, and my father didn’t want news of it getting out. It was announced to the court that I went out to train with a few of my guards. Now that is out of the way," Tyrion said, picking up Penelope to hold in his arms.

"W-What are you doing?" Penelope asked, startled by him suddenly holding her. "I can walk."

"You can, but I prefer to carry my wife over the threshold. That and I like this closer view of you," Tyrion said, keeping Penelope in his arms as he walked to the door.

"The horse," Penelope said, trying to find a reason for him to put her down.

"Nice try, but that horse isn’t going anywhere. If you can’t bear with me holding you in my arms, how will we ever finish our wedding night?" Tyrion asked. "Part of it is me holding you close."

"You scoundrel," Penelope said, covering his mouth. "You’ve managed to become even more of a scoundrel, and we haven’t been married long."

"I was only speaking the truth, and I have always been this way," Tyrion replied.

Penelope was now worried about their wedding night since she didn’t have time to mentally prepare herself. She was only concerned about getting married and didn’t think about them spending the night together. She missed the chance to talk with her mother to calm her nerves.

"Don’t worry," Tyrion said, knowing what she had to be thinking of. "I won’t be a beast and eat you up tonight, but I cannot make promises for other nights."