Page 13 of Trapped with her Cruel Duke

“Very well. Do not say I didn’t warn you when the Iron Harridan turns on you.”

“If our marriage goes as planned,” Christian said steadily, “she will have no opportunity to do so.”

CHAPTER 6

“Perhaps there is a passageway that you can escape through. You could simply disappear just as Lord Marcus did.”

Louise sighed. “We do not know if Lord Marcus hasdisappeared. I can only hope he is safe somewhere, or else this marriage will be truly useless. If he does eventually reveal himself, I shall wring his neck!”

She looked down at Sybella, her closest friend and most loyal supporter. Sybella was kneeling beside her, tweaking the train of her gown with a miserable expression on her face.

Louise averted her gaze from the dress, unable to believe this was truly happening.

“Besides, where would I escape to in Hanover Square?” she protested.

“I do not know, but one should never cast aside other options. I would have given anything to run from my own marriage. If there is a chance for you to escape, I shall see you seize it.”

Sybella’s blue eyes were downcast, her skin pale as it often was these days. Her husband was dead, and it felt strange to hear her speak of her marriage in such cold terms. Louise did not know what to say in response, but Sybella continued before she was able to.

“You could not look more beautiful if it makes any odds. I have never seen you so radiant.”

Louise looked at her reflection; her unhappy expression reflected that of her friend as she looked over her dress. It was a simple gown, ivory in color with very few details, and her hair was pinned in place by tiny pearl pins.

“Perhaps it is the rage beneath my skin,” Louise muttered bitterly. “It burns hot, thus making it glow.”

Sybella snorted as she rose to put the finishing touches to her hair.

On the way to the church that morning, Louise had spotted some snowdrops peeking out from the base of a tree and had plucked three of them to place in her hair. Snowdrops represented spring and the hope of a new season. She could not think of a more suitable flower to have close to her today. She pulled in a long, deep breath, drawing on her strength as her nerves returned in full force.

“I still cannot believe your father has subjected you to this humiliation,” Sybella muttered as she tucked the flowers between the tight strands. “I would commandeer a horse and kidnap you myself if I felt it would do any good.”

“I will always be grateful for you, Sybella, but there is nothing to be done. I can hardly sneak out unnoticed, and I would never escape in any case. If the Duke did not bring me back, my father would. Besides, I have had enough of gossip for a lifetime.”

Sybella turned away to put the remaining pins into a small ivory box on the sideboard. She was a lady herself, and yet she had taken one look at Louise that morning and dismissed her maid, insisting on helping herself. She was the truest friend Louise could have hoped for, and suddenly Louise found herself struggling to keep the tears at bay.

She had never felt so trapped or confined in her own skin.

When the marriage was first spoken about, it did not seem real. Now, standing above the very chapel where she would be wed, the reality of her situation bore down on her like an anvil on each shoulder. Bile rose in her throat, and she swallowed convulsively.

Her fingers were trembling, and there was a terrible fluttering in her chest that was becoming increasingly intense. She wanted to scream, to rip her dress off her body and run as fast as she could through the streets.

But I can do nothing. I am not in control of my fate, nor will I ever be.

The door opened, and her mother entered the room. Lady Northbridge looked elegant in a gown rather too dark for what should have been a happy occasion. Louise hoped it was a silent protest against what her father had done—a continuing act of defiance.

Lady Northbridge closed the door and put her hand on her chest, her eyes filling with tears as she looked at Louise. Sybella curtsied to her and then hurriedly left to give them some privacy.

Louise extended a hand, and her mother took it immediately.

“You look beautiful,” Lady Northbridge said thickly.

“I do not feel beautiful. This is not the wedding day I pictured.”

Lady Northbridge raised her eyebrows. “I rather thought you had never pictured marrying at all.”

“Quite so. None of this is what Iwant, Mama. Does that not matter?”

Lady Northbridge took her daughter’s other hand and held it in a vice-like grip. She stared down at her earnestly. “Listen to me, Louise. There are many things in life that one can control and many things that one cannot. You can shape your life with theDuke. I truly believe that. It is better than remaining forever at home with me and your father. Believe me.”

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