Sentence:  No, Sir Priest or Sir Preacher, Catherine is not my wife— [...] she is not my wife, but she is <WSD>handfasted</WSD> with me, and that makes her as honest a woman. [...] When we are <WSD>handfasted</WSD>, as we term it, we are man and wife for a year and a day—that space gone by, each may chuse another mate, or, at their pleasure, may call the priest to marry them for life—and this we call <WSD>handfasting</WSD>. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To betroth by joining hands, in order to allow for cohabitation before the celebration of marriage; to marry provisionally.