Page 45 of The Duke's Inconvenient Bride
Her future husband’s gaze locked on hers, and his storm-cloud-gray eyes swirled with unreadable emotion. Emma couldn’t look away. She was hardly aware of the floor beneath her feet or of the hundreds of pairs of eyes watching her every move. All of it fell away.
When they reached the front of the church, Lord Carlisle handed Emma to the duke—whose name she really needed to learn. They were told to face each other, and Emma lowered her gaze to the small boutonniere tucked into the duke’s pocket. Pale pink, matching the accents of her dress. Was that a coincidence?
She stood still while the minister spoke, but she couldn’t make out the individual words over the rushing in her ears.
People moved in the periphery of her vision, but she didn’t know who they were or what they were doing. It was all she could do to keep herself in the moment. Her mind wanted to run free and leave her body stuck here.
Somehow, she repeated the phrases the minister instructed her to say, and the rumble of the duke’s voice told her he wasdoing the same. Then, all of a sudden, he reached for her. She flinched backward, and heat flooded her cheeks as she realized he’d been trying to kiss her to seal the union.
She looked like a fool.
She stuck her lips out, her heart hammering dangerously fast as she waited for his mouth to brush over hers. The touch was whisper soft, his lips silken, and she sighed. A shudder rippled through her, and she closed her eyes. It was… nicer… than she’d expected.
But it also made everything so much more real.
After they were proclaimedman and wife, Vaughan escorted Emma back down the center aisle and to the open carriage. He paused to help her up onto the step before climbing in after her.
The wedding guests followed them out, cheering and chatting, but Emma’s mind seemed to be somewhere else entirely. When he nudged her, she raised her hand and waved, but her deep blue eyes were oddly vacant.
Maybe she was in shock. It wasn’t every day that a woman became a duchess, after all. Or perhaps it was the stress of marrying her sister’s former betrothed that had unsettled her mind. He’d been assured that women were delicate creatures—not that his own mother could ever have been considered fragile.
As the carriage lurched into motion, she swayed in her seat, and he steadied her.
“Are you well?” he asked as they moved away from the church toward Carlisle House, where the wedding breakfast was to be held.
“Hmm?” She turned to him distractedly. “Oh, fine.”
She did not seem fine.
“Are you warm enough?” he asked because being in an exposed carriage could be a bit chilly.
“I’m a little cold, but we’ll be there soon,” she said.
He shucked off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders. “Here.”
Her eyes widened, and it occurred to him that wearing a man’s clothing might seem scandalous to her. He hadn’t given it much thought, but her exposure to men was surely confined to ballrooms and other proper society affairs. He doubted her mother would have allowed intimacy like shared clothing.
She hunched, and drew the coat around herself. “Thank you.”
When they arrived at Carlisle House, a matronly woman wearing all green greeted them outside. Vaughan vaguely recognized her and assumed she was a relative of the Carlisles.
“Come in,” she said. “Breakfast will be ready in half an hour. Emma, you can refresh yourself in your former bedchamber if you wish. Your Grace, Lord Carlisle has made his office available for you.”
“I appreciate that.” Vaughan walked with Emma to the base of the stairs, and when she continued up them, he turned down the corridor to go to her father’s office.
He let himself in and poured himself a brandy, figuring that he deserved it for what he was going through today. Weddings were his idea of torture, especially when he was the main attraction. People everywhere, many of them staring, and all of whom hoped to exchange a few words with him at some point.
Hell.
There was a small bookshelf, so he slipped a book from it—A Natural History of Surrey—and started reading. It seemed like only a few minutes later that the door opened and Lord Carlisle let himself in.
“All well?” Carlisle asked.
“Yes.” Vaughan closed the book and returned it to the shelf.
Carlisle watched his movements. “Ah, you found some reading material, then?”
“I did. Thank you for allowing me to use your office.”
