Page 59 of Her Wolf of a Duke

“I know, and I will should the opportunity arrive.”

He called her agreeable, but he knew the truth. She was being complacent. She had not been angry with him for anything, not for ruining her, nor for telling her that he wished to spend little time with her, nor for any other disappointment that he had given her. It should have made him happy, but instead all it did was make the guilt even worse.

The day passed by, and Levi tried to hide away on the sidelines. It was an unsuccessful endeavor, given that he was the groom, but thankfully his new wife proved to be the more popular one. One smiling guest after another thanked her for the beautiful day, and each time she curtseyed and thanked them for attending. She was smiling by then, a real smile, and he ached to see it. She had accepted her fate, and was trying to see the good in it. She was certainly doing far better with it than he was.

“Well, Your Grace,” Miss Penton said, appearing beside him, “I hadn’t expected it, but it would appear that you kept your word. I should thank you for that.”

She was speaking to him with what he imagined was her form of kindness.

“There is no need to thank me. I am only doing what is expected of me.”

“Perhaps, but there are plenty of gentlemen that would not have seen this as their burden to bear. You did, and regardless of how I feel about you, I can accept that you have done what was necessary.”

“And what do you feel about me, exactly?”

“Do you wish for me to tell you the truth, or would you prefer the response of a polite wedding guest?”

“The truth.”

“I do not think you are good enough for my friend,” she replied bluntly. “I knew that she would one day marry, but I had always expected it to be a gentleman that was exceptionally loving, someone that could make her see the world differently. You see things even more drearily than she does, and I do not think that is fair at all.”

“Have you told her this?”

“No, and I do not believe that I ever will. She seems happy, and if she is happy then so am I. You have kept to the promise you made her sister, and as long as that continues I see no need to hate you.”

She did not tell him what would happen if he broke his word. She did not need to, and Levi wondered if she was only saying such things because she knew what he was doing, and was giving him a word of warning. She smiled politely at him and walked away, not telling him anything more.

They left for Lupton Manor soon after. He had hoped that their party wouldn’t end, as that would mean they did not have to board a carriage alone together and travel as a pair, but of course the time came and before he knew it his carriage was rumbling along and he was sitting beside a beautiful lady that just so happened to be his wife.

The wife he did not want.

“That was a perfectly lovely day,” she said softly. “Thank you for all that you did to prepare for it.”

“It is nothing, truly. It gave me something to do with my day. I actually enjoyed it far more than I had expected.”

“Then I shall charge you with the redecoration of the household. I do not believe that I will be of any use to you, although Dorothy seemed quite interested in it all.”

“I meant what I said. You may invite your friends to stay whenever you please. I would rather you had company that you enjoyed than my mother.”

“I am certain that your mother will warm to me in time,” she laughed softly. “Besides, you will be there. It is not as though I will be without friends.”

There would be no better time, he realized, to tell her the truth about what he expected.

“You see, Emma,” he began, the words paining him to say, “I meant what I told you earlier. My mother is likely to be a friend to anyone. She will not like you, for she does not like anyone. As for myself, I will be with you for a reasonable time for a honeymoon, and then I will be returning to London.”

He dared to look at her face, and in an instant he wished that he hadn’t. She looked empty, which was even worse than anger or misery. He hadn’t wanted her to feel any of those things, but at least anger was something that passed in time.

“Very well,” she replied, trying to fix her smile once again. “I shall at least have our children, in time, to keep me company.”

“Emma, we will not be having children.”

“Why not?”

“Because I do not want to have any. I have never wanted children.”

“Very well,” she replied, staring straight ahead of her even though there was nothing to look at there.

“I do not mean to be difficult.”

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