Page 82 of Her Ruse with the Rakish Duke
Everyone laughed and Daphne didn’t envy Percy at all for being the source of entertainment for her family this morning. But considering all he had done, he deserved everything he suffered.
* * *
After Percy had left with his tail between his legs and drenched to the bone, Daphne looked around at everyone who’d continued in laughter and games ignoring the scene that had just happened. She’d feared ruination and scandal if it came out that she ended her engagement to Percy to marry the duke, but no one seemed to care about anything.
She watched Victor smile with her family, beaming at her mother as they played cards. Satisfaction brimmed inside her as she realized that this was the life she wanted for herself. Her entire family was together, happy and well.
And now she’d be able to build such a life with Victor by her side. He smiled at her then, eyes twinkling mischievously.
“What is it?” she asked smiling up at him when he neared her.
“Nothing.” He smiled back. “You’re just so beautiful it’s almost hard to believe you’re mine.”
She blushed shyly, “I feel the same way, too.”
“Do you want to go and sit by the lake?” he asked looking into the distance.
“I would love to.”
They strolled arm-in-arm and she watched her lady’s maid stroll some distance behind them for propriety’s sake.
Sitting by the lake, they sat close, but not too close. She had to bear this distance from him, even though she wanted to lean into him. She settled for keeping her hand in his as they stared out across the water.
“I might not always be the perfect man you want me to be, but I will do my best to make you happy,” he said suddenly, not meeting her eyes.
She took in his posture, noting the vulnerability behind his words.
“I do not need you to be a perfect man,” she told him, squeezing his hand. “And you already make me perfectly happy.”
“What then would you require of me?” he asked, finally looking into her eyes.
“Only that you keep looking at me as you do now.”
Epilogue
“We did it. We are married.” Daphne whispered into his mouth, her gaze intense, however, her smile was soft and enchanting. She pulled away and it took everything in him not to pull her back, getting another taste of those intoxicating lips.
She turned to her family, a wide grin spreading across her lips and she cheered as the pews erupted in applause. Victor did the same — an instinctive mimicry of the gestures but his eyes never left his wife.
His wife. Duchess of Kensington; Daphne Anderson.
He had already been smiling but now he was grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat, a humorous caricature of a smitten man.
He finally had her. The object of his desire for many years. The muse to his yearnings. He finally had something… many things. Love, peace, security, worth, family. She was a whirlwind of fortune, beauty, and grace. She held so much of his will and he only realized it then. In her bridal attire, with the Kensington ducal ring gleaming on her finger.
Before Daphne, he had been an empty man, too scared of the darkness within him, and too embarrassed to admit wanting an idyllic love like the novels described.
With her, he was a grinning peacock.
He wouldn’t just be an empty shell anymore. He had a taste of love now; sweet love that turned a man idiotic and he reveled in his idiocy. He wore it like a badge of honor.
She looked at him, eyes anxious, and they began their descent. She led the march as his gaze never left her down the altar. Their families rose, smiles on their faces, applauding as the happy couple walked past them. Daphne’s gaze lingered on each member of her family. Harry —Victor’s best friend— was snickering but Amelia smacked him. The Earl of Wallace was nodding approvingly, whilst his wife linked arms with his and waved. Melanie was a bundle of unrestrained rhapsody. Victor barely noticed them as he was too enamored with his love,his wife.
He wanted to say something to her because he felt foolish just staring. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked. He wanted her to know how lucky he felt. He wanted to thank her for choosing him. But he knew if he had tried to speak at that moment, he would have broken down in fits of hysteria.
As the pews faded to honorary attendees, she squeezed his hand and faced forward, into their future together.
* * *
