Page 56 of The Duke and the Enigmatic Governess
“He’s right,” agreed Audrey. “I believe the Duke of Batton is a decent man, deceived by my brother.”
Sir Nigel walked to the front of the chapel and asked everyone to sit down. When he saw Ethan and Caroline making for the door, he gestured for the constables to stop them.
“I don’t know what’s happened here, but I’ll find out. It’s clear this lady does not wish to be married, so I suggest we go to the castle. Mr. Jeffries, Lead the way.” Sir Nigel asserted his authority as the local magistrate.
At that moment the door flung open again, this time to reveal the Dowager Duchess of Clairville, resembling Britannia with a dress sword in her hands and Mrs. Weston, struggling with a rifle. Behind them a competent looking Mrs. Driscoll carrying a bow and arrows. Audrey’s heart melted at the sight of her friends, ready to rescue her, and she knew that her ordeal was finally over.
“Erm... ladies, there is no need for those weapons,” declared Sir Nigel. “You can put them down.”
Despite the noise around them, Jude looked at Audrey as he held her in his arms. “You look beautiful,” he said. “Are you all right? They didn’t harm you?”
“Only a few bruises. I’m stronger than my brother and his accomplice, Lady Caroline,” she reassured him, holding his arm.
“Promise me, Audrey, that next time you wear a wedding dress it will be for our wedding. Please marry me?”
“Of course,” she responded. “If you kiss me.”
“In here? Amid all this noise?”
“I’d like that very much. It’s been a horrible day and I suspect if you kiss me, I shall feel much better.”
“I’ve got a better idea. Come on,” he urged and pulled her down a side aisle towards the door. In the noisy confusion no one noticed them slipping away.
There, next to the chapel, standing in the meadow, looking toward her childhood home, his lips met hers. She closed her eyes, responding to the gentle pressure of his lips. The world around them disappeared and the connection between them strengthened with every second.
The gentle pressure grew to an insistent passionate exploration. Some time later when he drew his lips away from hers, she looked around and saw that everyone else had walked past them on their way back to the castle. She had been oblivious to anything but the feel of Jude’s lips on hers.
“I knew I’d feel better if you kissed me,” she said and laughed.
“I thought I’d lost you,” he said, his voice catching in his throat. “I can’t imagine life without you Audrey.”
“They told me if I didn’t marry the Duke of Batton, they would put in motion a scheme to take Sasha to live with false parents.I can forgive them many things, but not their plan to use a small child as a pawn in their scheme.”
“I suspected something of the kind. You don’t think Batton knew you were coerced?”
“No, I get the impression he is a decent, lonely man who saw the opportunity to take a wife.”
“There’s insanity here. None of this is rational behavior. I need to speak to Sir Nigel, though I suspect Mama has already told him exactly what happened.”
“Those three Amazon warriors looked magnificent. Now, we’d better catch up with the others. Help me wind this train around my arm and I’ll race you back to the castle.”
“I believe I’ve loved you since the moment I first set eyes on you,” murmured Jude.
“In the rain? Spattered with mud?” she teased.
“In the rain, in the sunshine and under a starlit sky,” he replied, lowering his lips to hers for another kiss.
Chapter 23
“Is everything ready?” called his mother. “I’m sure we’ve forgotten something.”
“Mama, it’s perfect,” reassured Jude. “Your events are always perfect. Audrey should be ready soon and we can go and greet our guests.”
“I’m so happy for you,” said his mother. “I shudder when I think how I tried to persuade you to marry Lady Caroline.” She put her hand on his arm to reinforce her words.
“No one could know she was so evil. I almost considered marrying her. Then, what stopped me, was a memory of how happy you had been with Papa. You had a marriage with its foundations firmly rooted in love.” His eyes twinkled as he gave his mother a smile, “I knew then that I couldn’t marry Lady Caroline. I didn’t love her. I’ve loved Audrey almost from the first moment I set eyes on her.”
His mother reached up and planted a kiss on his cheek. “She’s right for you, and will make a perfect duchess. And there she is now, with Sasha, Grace, and Jane.”
