Page 57 of A Bride for the Devilish Duke
“I believe we’ve reached the limits of what a dressmaker requires,” she said, breathless.
He gave a soft, almost rueful exhale. “Then I should be grateful she asked for so much.”
The tape returned, grazing lower, teasing across the top of her thigh, then rising again. His free hand ghosted along the back of her leg, where skin turned delicate. She felt the heat of his palm. She didn’t dare move. Or speak. Orexhale.
When he stepped back at last, the room felt several degrees colder.
Damien looked at her, his chest rising with effort, and though he said nothing, his expression held a thousand words unspoken. He did not touch her again.
Instead, he reached for her discarded petticoat, offered it silently, and turned his face away as she covered herself.
“I believe that concludes the necessary numbers,” he said, as if they had simply recited a parish ledger.
She stepped away slowly, accepting the petticoat and slipping back into it with shaking fingers.
She didn’t speak. Neither did he.
But when she glanced up, she caught him watching her with that same impossible gaze—that quiet storm that said: this was not enough. And yet it was already too much.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Emma tried not to look out of the carriage window as they drove along Regent Street towards the church of St George's in Hanover Street—and her ultimate fate. It was a sunny, bustling June Saturday. The air rang with the sounds of a busy, lively city but it might as well have been a necropolis for all the joy Emma took from it.
“Brighten up, Emma. You will soon be a celebrated Duchess and member of a respected and ancient family. Your future and ours will be secured.”
“Yes, Papa. As you say,” Emma replied absently.
Am I happy? Is it apprehension that makes my heart race and leaves me breathless? Is it excitement? I cannot tell if I dread seeing Damien or cannot wait. Do I want the driver to slow down or speed up?
“Your gown is simply spectacular. I am amazed at the speed with which Madame Rousseau produced it. You look radiant. Your mother would be very proud,” Duncan said, patting her hand.
That made Emma blush. It reminded her of how the measurements on which the gown was based were obtained.
By Damien, while I stood before him as naked as the day I was born. And I am not ashamed. I am... thrilled…
“It is beautiful. Quite the most beautiful dress I have ever worn,” Emma admitted.
“Then why so downcast?” Duncan persisted.
“Because this marriage is being forced upon me, Papa. I did not ask for it, nor to be the wife of any man. Yet here I am. Bound by my duty as a daughter and a sister,” she said plaintively.
“As we are all, Emma,” Duncan replied with a touch of irritation, “weespecially. You know from what I have taught you how many rely on our class. The farmers and workers who reside on our lands depend upon us to make the right decisions for them in our Parliament. Our duty to the Crown and to the country. Many demands.”
“Those I accept in exchange for the privilege of my status,” Emma replied, “the other I cannot. But I will continue for the sake of our family's prosperity. And I do not wish Rosie or Josie to suffer because of me.”
“That is noble, but I dislike seeing any child of mine so unhappy. If it is not your will to marry the Duke, then say the word and I shall have the driver turn us around,” Duncan said, reaching up with his cane as though to rap upon the roof.
Emma stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“I am sorry, Papa. Do not do that. Silas Sutherland would rejoice in having our family back under his power. We cannot afford to reject the Duke.”
The carriage was turning onto Conduit Street, momentarily halted by a number of other conveyances and pedestrians choking the paths. The church was nearby.
I will not fail my family. My feelings are immaterial. I do this for them but must conceal it better. Papa is more than capable of throwing caution to the wind and snatching me away if he thinks I am desperate not to be married. Then, matters will be significantly worse and without hope.
“I am simply in the grip of a bride's nerves. It has been the fate of new brides for time out of mind, I fear,” Emma said, smiling for her father's benefit.
“Quite,” Duncan returned the smile, squeezing her hand. “All will be well,” he murmured in an attempt to reassure her.
