Page 36 of Wicked Is the Duke
The doors unexpectedly burst open as a familiar figure forced his way in.
"I object to this marriage!" Carlisle said. How he'd managed to slip past Blackmont's staff was of little consequence now. All eyes were on him and Lady Caroline who was at his side.
Lady Caroline took a step forward. "Please tell me you haven't already married her, Henry."
Henry marched over to where the pair stood. "We are married. It's over, Carlisle. Your plan has failed."
Carlisle turned his attention to the vicar, who stood wide-eyed by what was unfolding around him. "Isn't there something you can do? I compromised the chit and had agreed to marry her. This can't be legal."
The vicar shook his head of dark curls. "I'm sorry, my lord. The marriage is quite legal."
Lady Caroline stared at Carlisle. "This isn't how it was to happen. You promised me you had everything in hand, and all we had to do was object to the marriage, and everything would be as it should."
"How was I to know the ceremony wouldn't take place in his family chapel?" Carlisle sneered.
Henry motioned for the footmen to escort the unwanted pair out of the room and off the property.
"This isn't over, Blackmont."
"You were supposed to marry me, Blackmont, not some nobody," Lady Caroline wailed. She unsuccessfully tried to evade the footman trying to show her the way out. Lady Caroline was not used to losing at anything. This was a huge blow to her, and she wasn’t going to go quietly. Everyone in the house would know her anger.
"That is my wife you're speaking of," Henry snapped. "The Duchess of Blackmont. Something you'll never be."
“This isn’t over, Henry,” she said as a footman led her away.
Right then, Anna had a new respect for her husband. Not only had he stood up for her, he'd made sure Lady Caroline knew that she, and not Lady Caroline, was the duchess of Blackmont.
The room was still as the pair was led away. Anna finished signing the papers in front of her. Henry followed her lead, smiling as he scrawled his name in the appropriate places.
"Shall we join the others on the lawn? I believe we've a wedding breakfast awaiting us," Henry said as he took Anna by the elbow and led her toward the drawing room door.
Anna quickly turned to the vicar and made sure he knew he was welcome to partake in the festivities. After what the man had just witnessed, it was the least she and Henry could do.
They walked out the door, and Henry stopped at the top of the steps. A moderate size crowd gathered as he introduced her as the new duchess of Blackmont. The announcement drew cheers from the tenants who had gathered for the wedding breakfast.
He led her down the stairs to a long table atop a riser. Norwood and Jane, along with Robert, were all standing there waiting on them. Carefully, she walked up the two steps leading to the table and sat down. Henry joined her, handing her a glass of champagne.
"Your mind is swirling," he whispered. "Let it go and enjoy the festivities. It's our wedding day."
"Do you think that's the end of it?"
"The end of what?"
She smiled. "You know exactly of what I am speaking. Don't play coy with me, Henry Blackmont."
"I doubt we'll hear anything further from either of them."
"Except at social gatherings."
"Which can't be avoided. Now, my duchess, the day is young, and I have many surprises planned for us," he said with mirth in his eyes.
His duchess. He'd called her his duchess. It was like a dream come true. After all these years, years that she and Robert had struggled through, her dream of a perfect husband had become true. She was a duchess. The Duchess of Blackmont. Her husband was a powerful figure in Parliament, and she, as his wife, would be, too. No longer would she be shunned by theton, and her marriage to Henry was a love match.
***
Blackmont hadn't beenexpecting the sudden interruption by Lady Caroline and Carlisle. By the time they’d barged their way into the house, the ceremony was done, and he and his new bride were signing the register.
In Anna, he knew he had found the perfect mate, perfect wife, and perfect duchess. She might not have been the sort people expected him to marry. In their eyes, she lacked the pedigree a man of his position should want.
