Page 29 of To Tempt a Scandalous Lord
The duke and duchess signed directly after her, and she appreciated their eagerness to see it done. Perhaps they sensed her annoyance or were annoyed themselves. Their reasons were not important. When the paperwork was completed, she thanked them with a smile and fled back into the church.
Effia greeted her the moment she re-entered, and walked with her back to the vestibule where she had first gathered her wits before the ceremony.
“What happened? The wedding was lovely, and you looked happy,” her friend whispered once they were ensconced in the small room.
Alicia pressed her lips together for a long moment, willing her emotions to calm. “What do I look like now, then?”
Effia considered her with a puckered brow. “Like you don’t know whether to cry or snap at someone.”
She released a bark of laughter, slapping a hand to her mouth. “That’s remarkably accurate. He can just be frustrating sometimes.”
“So he’s acting like a husband.” Effia crossed her arms over her chest. “Or so I’ve been told, of course.”
Leaning her head back against the wall, Alicia toyed with her gloves. “Do you think anyone would mind if I just stayed here for the rest of the day?”
“I certainly would,” a masculine voice growled from the doorway. “We were just married and already my wife is plotting her escape.”
…
Niall felt a measure of satisfaction when Alicia flushed to her pretty gold crown and dropped her gaze. He was certain their guests were waiting for them to proceed to the wedding breakfast, and if he were expected to parade before them as a happy bridegroom, he would not be doing it alone.
He watched as his new wife attempted to rally. “There’s no plotting being done. Effia was simply helping me with my skirts.”
Flashing a brief smile at the young Black woman, he returned his gaze to Alicia. “It appears your attire is in order, so are you ready to depart now, Lady Inverray?”
His bride appeared to startle, and Niall knew it was because of his address. But it seemed appropriate that he would be the first to call her by her new name as he was the one who gave it to her.
Her chest expanded as she inhaled, and Niall watched in fascination as the tension leached from her bones. The smile she eventually graced him with was broad…if a tad brittle.
“Seeing as I don’t have a good excuse to flee from the church now, I suppose I may as well enjoy the breakfast.”
Without another word, she marched out of the small vestibule, pausing at the main cathedral doors. Lifting her chin, Alicia glanced back at him with raised brows.
Niall bit back a sigh. He hadn’t meant to annoy his new bride, but her piqued emotions were visible in her clipped tone and firm jaw. Still, she waited for him now to join her so they could exit together, the portrait of a couple in love.
Walking to her side, he grasped her arm and wrapped it around his own. Staring down into her eyes, he asked, “Are you ready, wife?”
Her smile held a touch of melancholy. “Even if I wasn’t, it’s too late now.”
Even an hour later, Niall was still thinking about her words.
The ceremony had been well attended and executed to perfection. She had been a vision in her blue dress, her gold curls glinting in the light and casting her in an ethereal glow, while her dark eyes had contained smiles her lips only hinted at. Niall had almost swallowed his tongue when she’d met him at the end of the aisle for he’d been completely transfixed.
When the bishop had announced them man and wife, the words had jerked him from his musings like a slap to the face. Alicia was now his wife, and already he feared the power she could wield over him.
She sat next to him now, at the wedding breakfast, smiling shyly as guests offered them toasts filled with well wishes for a happy, prosperous future.
Happy. There was that word again. All assembled assumed they were happy, no doubt thanks to Alicia’s superb performance as a glowing bride. But Niall knew better. During the ride from the cathedral to Ashwood Terrace, and all through the meal, Alicia had not looked at him once. When he’d addressed her, she had responded with curt nods or one-word answers. His need to keep her at a distance had hurt her and he was sorry for it.
But he was also angry.
This marriage might have been foisted on them, but they had agreed to it and known what to expect. For her to inexplicably become upset about it now, after the whole thing was done, was unfair.
Niall vowed to honor and respect her, so he would be patient. Empathetic. So much had changed for both of them in such a short period of time, and the adjustment would not be easy.
He slid his eyes to her, watching as she pushed her pudding about her plate. When Juliana asked her a question, Alicia immediately straightened her spine and tilted her head, all interest and attention. She was playing a role, and playing it well. Would anyone guess the new Marchioness of Inverray was still unsure she even wanted the title? Observing his new bride laugh and converse with his sister, he would wager not.
Raising a glass of wine to his lips, Niall pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind for he also had to play his role as the merry bridegroom, and he couldn’t afford to spend any more time pondering them.
