Page 33 of Married to the Ruthless Duke

“Why, I am marrying the Duke. You said he was your dream suitor,” Helen pointed out tentatively.

At that, the twins burst into laughter

“Oh, silly girl,” Denise responded, chuckling while wiping the tears at the corners of her eyes. “I say that about every good-looking male in the ton. That is perhaps the reason I am still unmarried. I can’t choose,” she said, and they all laughed

“You know my sister, she has a different suitor every week,” Diana said, a mischievous smile on her lips, and then added in a mock whisper, “Dream ones.”

“Wicked girl,” Denise said, rubbing her back good-naturedly.

Helen burst into laughter; she always thought Denise was the funny one, since she was the most outspoken of the two. It appeared Diana did possess a wicked sense of humor as well.

“We are so happy for you, dearest. Promise you will enjoy your marriage with that fine man on behalf of all of us. Be happy, dear,” Diana urged, pulling her into a tight embrace.

Denise repeated the same process when her sister released Helen, pulling her into an even tighter embrace.

Of all her friends, these were her closest ones, since they lived next door to their townhouse. And at this moment, Helen was grateful to have genuine friends.

But of course, not everyone would be happy, and some of the girls started spreading rumors that Helen was pregnant, hence the reason they were having such a hasty ceremony. Some said that the Ruthless Duke has struck again, forcing an innocent into marriage with him, and he wanted a hasty marriage to avoid giving the bride an opportunity to change her mind.

On one of their promenades together, Alexander explained to her that while he didn’t usually care what the people of the ton thought, unfortunately, image was important in business, and he needed to maintain a good image in order to seal the deal with the Earl of Frampton. Hence, they hatched a plan to take rides in Hyde Park during the fashionable hours while holding hands and sharing impassioned looks with each other, enough to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they were a love match.

Alexander agreed that he first suggested maintaining a good image, but with every day, it became increasingly difficult to restrain himself from kissing her senseless in the middle of the park or whisking her to some convenient corner to have his wicked way with her delectable body.

The feel of her hands in his made him imagine what it would feel like to have his hands somewhere else on her body. He really could not wait for the wedding day to arrive because he was so sure that after an extra week of this self-imposed torture, he would spontaneously burst with desire.

It was thought by many rakes that familiarity dimmed desire, but he was finding that to be quite untrue, since every encounter with her seemed to rachet up the need even higher in such a way that made him suspect that just claiming her was not going to assuage it. Theirs might not be a love match, but he was counting on their mutual physical attraction to light up their marriage bed.

Over the course of the week between their meetings. Helen had several fittings for her wedding trousseau, which included sheer undergarments that caused a fierce blush whenever she thought of them. She had protested, but the modiste had insisted that the Duke had given her carte blanche to cater for all her clothing needs as a married lady. Hearing that, Helen had relented—since the Duke was paying, who was she to complain?

In her private moments, Helen wondered if the Duke would like the undergarments, and she imagined how he would show his appreciation. That just ended up getting her all hot and bothered. She made a conscious effort to not think of her handsome groom-to-be, but it seemed her mind wasn’t hers in recent times.

It is said that time flies, but in her case, it seemed time slowed to a crawl, building anticipation and desire so much so that every day, she was at risk of throwing herself at the man in the middle of Hyde Park for everyone to see. The man not only looked good, but the sight of his bigger, darker hand dwarfing hers when they held hands did interesting things to her body.

The wedding night could not come soon enough, and she wouldn’t be held responsible for any scandal that might ensue if she had to wait much longer.

Finally, the day arrived. Helen had a hard time sleeping the previous night; a strange feeling of nervous excitement had taken hold of her, making sleep fitful and difficult.

That morning, while she stood in her room and endured the primping of her maid and the professional hairdresser that the Duke had provided, she marveled at the fact that in a few hours, she would be married to the Duke, irrevocably tying herself to him. That fact caused mixed feelings that didn’t resolve even while she set off down the aisle on the arm of her father.

When the doors of the church opened, she locked eyes with the Duke. She felt the admiration and hunger in his eyes. Now, she saw the look her sister was talking about. Seeing the mutual hunger they both felt reflected in his eyes went ways towards quieting her thoughts.

“You look radiant, my darling,” he whispered to her when her father handed her over.

This was his first direct compliment, and it warmed her heart, sending the butterflies in her stomach into a frenzy.

Helen didn’t remember much of the ceremony; she just knew she gave the right responses at the appropriate time. Her mind was fixated on what would happen after the ceremony.

After the exchange of vows, the blessings, and a brief sermon by the priest, the ceremony came to an end, and the newlywed couple emerged out of the church. On the steps of the church, they were congratulated. Most members of the ton were in attendance, making the church full to capacity, but strangely enough, she saw no signs of the Duke’s stepfamily.

Neither his mother nor his sister nor his mysterious brother was in attendance. It appeared there was a very serious strain in the Duke’s relationship with members of his stepfamily. She hoped, in the future, that he would trust her enough to tell her the reason for the tension.

Just then, a familiar blond man emerged and proceeded to pull Alexander into a tight embrace, slapping his back good-naturedly. With the easy camaraderie between the two, she guessed that this was the Duke’s best friend, the Marquess of Montgomery

“My congratulations, old man,” he said with a chuckle. Then turning to Helen, he took her hand and kissed it. “You look amazing, Your Grace. I am sure if I were to have a goddess as bright as you, I wouldn’t have any qualms about embracing matrimony,” he observed, a wide smile lighting up his face.

Helen blushed at the compliment. The man was definitely not lacking in charm, which was no surprise, since he had the conventional Adonis-like beauty that had been known to devastate a lot of unsuspecting women of the ton. She admitted she might have been one of those women if not for her unfortunate infatuation with the Duke. At the moment, she was partial to just one dark-haired brooding man.

“My thanks, My Lord. You flatter me.”

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