Page 48 of Captured By the Cold Duke
“Ithink it’s going to become a real marriage,” Cherie gushed, as she and Minerva walked arm-in-arm down the Serpentine. “I know it, Minerva! It’s going to become everything my mother wanted for me.”
It was a beautiful day, and the clear skies and bright sun seemed to match Cherie’s mood perfectly. She hadn’t felt this optimistic in a long time, and she hadn’t been able to contain herself, which is why the moment she’d awoken she had sent a note to Minerva to meet her for a promenade.
“I just can’t believe that this whole time you weren’t in a real marriage,” Minerva said, her expression still a bit perplexed, as it had been ever since Cherie had confessed everything to her about her marriage and the kiss the night before that had changed everything. “And I truly can’t believe that you didn’t tell me.”
“I’m sorry, dearest,” Cherie said, squeezing her friend’s arm and drawing her closer. “But it wasn’t anything to do with not trusting you. I was just ashamed. I’d been forced to marry a man who didn’t love me, and on top of that, who didn’t want to have children with me.”
“Oh, Cherie…” Minerva gave her a long, searching look. “I’m so very sorry. I can only imagine how awful that must have been, to think that the rest of your life would be without children, without love.” She trailed off, her expression growing even darker.
“I am surprised, though,” she said after a moment. “From the way that the duke behaves with you, I was sure that he was very much in love with you.”
“I wonder now,” Cherie said. She thought back over everything that had happened since Thomas had caught her outside of the inn “There were definitely signs that his feelings were growing, I suppose.”
“Like when he came to Chastity’s rescue,” Minerva pointed out. “I had never seen a man so willing to go to bat for a friend of his wife’s. And when I saw how he defended you when Lord Dawson tried to attack you, I was convinced he was madly in love with you.”
“The more I know about Thomas, the more sure I am that he would have helped any young lady in Chastity’s position,” Cherie said. “But I also think back to how he reacted when Lord Dawson came at me and can see now that his feelings for me were notas platonic as he let on. And it isn’t just that. Minerva, he had feelings for me for years! He told me that he’d fallen for me when I was fifteen!”
“Yes, you mentioned that,” Minerva said, laughing slightly. “And to be honest, I always suspected as much. I didn’t meet him many times when we were children, but the few times I did, it was always clear to me that he was enamored with you.”
“Really?” Cherie gaped at her. “You never said anything!”
Minerva shrugged. “It never seemed important to mention.”
Cherie shook her head. This was one of those times when she felt as if she truly couldn’t understand her best friend’s brain. Minerva had never been the kind of person to moon after men or gossip about handsome gentlemen. Ofcourse,she wouldn’t mention if she thought one was in love with Cherie. But Cherie wasn’t sure she minded this. If she had suspected Thomas’s feelings earlier, everything might have turned out differently.
Or maybe you would have been happily married to him much earlier.
“I always knew he was attentive,” she said slowly, “but I never suspected a thing. He was like an older brother to me, although even then, I knew that I was partial to him above all others. Whenever he visited I could hardly contain myself with joy. And after last night, it all makes sense. I think I may have had feelings for him all along and simply buried them deep down within me.”
Minerva raised an eyebrow. “And one kiss was enough to bring them to the surface?”
“It wasn’t an ordinary kiss,” Cherie said, then paused. “Not that I know what an ordinary kiss is.”
Both ladies laughed, then Minerva sobered.
“I’m truly happy for you, Cherie, if this means that things will change in your marriage for the better. But I just don’t want you to get your hopes up too much.”
“What do you mean?” Cherie asked swiftly, her body tensing with dread.
“I only mean that there was a reason the duke didn’t want a real marriage with you, or children, and that reason might not have changed.”
“But it has!” Cherie insisted. “He thought I didn’t have any feelings for him, that’s why he was distant with me. But now that he knows I feel the same way, things will be different.”
“Did he say that exactly, though?” Minerva asked thoughtfully. “Did you ask him exactly why he said he didn’t want children? Did he say, after your kiss, that he has changed his mind on this issue? On any of it?”
“Well, no,” Cherie said, biting her lip. She felt unfairly annoyed at Minerva for her words. Although she knew her friend wasjust trying to protect her, it still irritated her. “But Thomas and I shared the most magical kiss,” she insisted. “Of course, he has changed his mind about children and… all that.”
“Perhaps,” Minerva said, “but I think you should speak with him as soon as possible and make sure before you get your hopes crushed.”
Cherie felt so angry at her friend’s lack of support that she didn’t know what to say. They passed a group of debutantes they knew, politely nodding to them, and she took this as an excuse not to respond right away.
Minerva saw her set face and laid a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry if this isn’t what you want to hear,” Minerva said after the group of debutantes had passed. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Cherie sighed and forced herself to think rationally. “I know,” she said at last. “And the fact that you always want to protect me is one of my favorite things about you.”
“That’s what we wallflowers are all about: protecting one another. And we will help you no matter what.” Minerva hesitated. “If the duke does continue to want to live apart, and you desire an annulment, I know that we would also help you with that.”
“I don’t want an annulment,” Cherie said sharply. Even the thought of one brought a searing pain to her chest. “I want to be with Thomas. As his wife. And I am sure, after our kiss, that’s what he wants as well.”
