Page 91 of The Insufferable Duke
“What?” she asked, her tone rather breathless as he leaned down toward her.
“Agree to a courtship with me.” He didn’t wait for her answer but pressed his lips to hers, longing to relive the kiss they had shared before. Her hands traveled up his biceps and found the collar of his jacket, holding onto him as they kissed. What had been chaste before became something bolder now. Emboldened by her reaction to him, he pushed the kiss further until they parted, both panting with their foreheads resting together.
“Shall I take that as a yes?” he asked, his mischief plain. She tapped him around the arm in reprimand, and he chuckled.
“You truly want this?” She lifted her head off his. “You wish to court me?”
“I do.” He sighed, no longer feeling playful for a second but wishing to be honest with her. “I know why you accused me yesterday, Helena, and I cannot blame you for it. I did a lot of thinking last night, and I understand what the issue was.”
“I was afraid for Julia.”
“It was something more than that,” he said, his tone somber. “You couldn’t trust me.” Helena didn’t correct him. She just stared, wide-eyed. “I cannot blame you for that, not after all that has passed between our families and even the two of us. If you’ll let me, I intend in our courtship to show you that my brother is not the only Moore worth trusting. If, of course, you would say yes.”
She reached up suddenly and kissed him again. He laughed into the kiss then continued it, only breaking apart to smile at her.
“That definitely was a yes this time.”
“Maybe it was,” she said playfully.
Christopher was so busy kissing Helena, indulging in the warmth of being with her, that he didn’t notice the door opened.
“You two are fortunate I am the one who found you.” Julia’s voice urged them to leap back from one another. “Come on, Helena; let us get back to the other room before our father finds you both doing that again!”
EPILOGUE
A few weeks later
The church door opened, and Helena watched as Julia was led forward by their father. Today, Julia’s bouquet was even bigger than before with the flowers bursting with color. She looked ready to run down the aisle into the arms of her awaiting groom, and Helena had to bite her lip not to laugh at the way Benjamin jerked her arm, holding her back from doing such a thing.
Taking her place as the bridesmaid, Helena followed Julia and Benjamin down the aisle. Around the pews, much had changed for this wedding. Fewer guests had been invited since the last attempt, and Helena suspected it could have been Frances’ influence over the affair, who had persuaded Anna that this time it was important to have only the people there they cared about and certainly not those who could gossip.
The pews were full of smiling faces, and on Julia’s side, Anna sat in the front pew, her smile vast and joyful. She waved at Julia in the aisle, who waved back with her bouquet. Matthew sat at her side, buoyant.
Behind the pair, Gibbs and Kitty sat together. Gibbs looked much more content than Helena had seen him in a long time though he wasn’t quite smiling as many others were.
Having talked openly to her father recently about Gibbs, and she suspected that Benjamin was leaning more and more toward forgiving him though also openly acknowledging that Gibbs held onto the past too much. Gibbs and Kitty were not invited around to the house as much as they had been before, and whilst Benjamin insisted that someday things would be as they were again, he also said Gibbs had to get used to the fact that the wedding was to happen.
There was also another happening which had stunned Gibbs, and that was the announcement of Helena’s and Christopher’s courtship. After being discovered by Julia in Christopher’s arms in the library, Julia had whisked her away before the discovery could be made by anyone else. When Benjamin had returned to the library to show him a specific book, Christopher had asked permission for the courtship which was granted willingly by Benjamin.
At just the thought of Christopher, Helena felt her breathing quiver as had often been the case over these last few weeks. She often saw him, and when in anticipation of his company, her heart began to thud, and her breathing grew uneven.
He stood from the pews, taking his place beside his brother as the best man, then turned. His eyes found Helena’s across the room, and she instantly smiled at him. He was dressed handsomely for the day in a dark blue suit. Not once did his gaze part from hers as she walked the rest of the way down the aisle.
As they reached the altar, Benjamin placed Julia’s hand in Robert’s, officially giving her away, and Julia passed the bouquet into Helena’s hand. She stood beside Julia, carrying the bouquet and looking at Christopher. The position made her imagination wander, and she considered what it could be like if their places were reversed, and she was the one wedding Christopher today.
She half wondered if he could sense her thoughts, for he winked at her, and she smiled further.
As the ceremony got underway, this time, there was no one to destroy the couple’s happiness. They made their vows sweetly and kindly. The entire time, Julia either hung onto Robert’s hand or his arm. The two were together constantly.
“Well, I can see the happy couple are impatient for my final words,” the vicar declared as he closed the ceremony. “So it is with great pleasure that I now have the chance to encourage you in welcoming our new happy couple. Lord Robert Moore and his new wife, Lady Julia Moore.”
As the pair turned to face the congregation, a cheer and a pleasant applause went up from the few faces there.
“Kiss her then, Robert!” a voice called from the pews. Many laughed, and Helena watched as Christopher turned his head to glare at his cousin. Percival clearly didn’t mind being glared at and just shouted it again.
Robert happily obliged and kissed his bride chastely on the lips. It was a pleasant moment, one that had Helena looking at Christopher and thinking of their last kiss.
They’d not had a chance to share another since that night in the library. Now in their courtship, Benjamin seemed to be making sure they were constantly chaperoned, so there was no second scandal.
