Page 23 of Married to the Forbidden Duke
The first guests began to arrive, mostly lords and ladies curious about the marriage and the new Duchess, and the pair greeted them together. Frederick hid his irritation—all these people who had been gossiping about him behind his back—behind smiles and words of welcome. Alice, too, was everything that was gracious, as though she was oblivious to also being a notorious figure within Society.
Still, as he stood and watched the full ballroom, some of the tension left his shoulders. They had overcome the first hurdle; they had hosted a ball and guests had attended. Whatever the reason, they were here, and he had not lost his position as one of theton’smost prominent leaders.
Alice looked up, her smile dropping as she faced him. He could hardly begrudge her for that, especially when she had been so welcoming to all their guests. “I think we have done enough,” she whispered. “Do as you would and have fun. Do not feel you cannot dance on my account.” She gestured at her skirts. “You know I cannot.”
“Not yet, at least.” He smiled at the conflicted expression that crossed her face. She wanted to hate him, and perhaps she did,but she also wanted to walk again. That desire was written across her face also. And if he could find a way of making it happen, perhaps that could go a way toward undoing the sins of his past, too.
They would both be free of something of his own making.
Denshire caught his gaze and as though Alice had noticed, she dropped her hand from his arm. “Go,” she said. “I will introduce myself to all these people.” There was another flash of challenge in her eyes, and he wondered briefly what ‘introduce herself’ could mean, but quickly dismissed his concerns. If she still wished to ruin him—and he expected she did—then he didn’t think she would choose such a public event to do so.
He crossed the room to his old friend instead. The first dance was announced, but of course, Alice was not dancing, and so he would not, either. He had never been particularly fond of dancing anyway.
“Well?” Denshire asked. “She seems to be enjoying herself so far.”
Frederick turned to see Alice accepting a glass of wine from a footman and offering a dazzling smile as she introduced herself to the Countess of Lancashire, one of the most notable gossips in the room. Naturally—he didn’t know how she had sussed out the woman so quickly, considering she had not been part of society in such a long time.
“I think she is enjoying being mistress of the house,” Frederick nodded absently.
“You mean you are seeing her now?” Denshire raised his brows. “And… is that a pleasant experience for all involved?”
“It is an experience,” Frederick shrugged.
Denshire snorted. “Are you going to keep pretending to all and sundry that yours was a love match?”
“I hardly think anyone will believe that, but she stood on my arm and greeted guests with me; I doubt anyone will claim that I forced her into anything. And once they understand that she is not a nobody I married out of shame, the rumor mill should stop churning.” A little more of the weight left Frederick’s shoulders. “Then we can live our lives in peace. Maybe she’ll even come to tolerate me.”
“A man has never wished for so much from a marriage before,” Denshire said dryly.
“Considering the lady I married, I think it an entirely realistic goal.”
Denshire shook his head as he sipped at his wine, but he didn’t mention the accident or anything pertaining to it. Frederick was glad. This was his bed, and now he must lie in it. A man was nothing more than the choices he made, and he was determinedthat the choices he made when he was a young man would not rule him for the remainder of his days.
He made his way around the room, stopping and speaking with people as he went. At all times, he found himself aware of where Alice was and who she spoke to. With a burst of disquiet, he noticed her speaking consistently to theton’sgreatest gossips.
Not ideal.
“Tell me more about your marriage,” Lord Renshaw said jovially, the claret in his glass almost sloshing from its rims. Frederick looked at it with distaste.
“What of it?”
“Well, it was going around that you were to marry Lady Penelope. Nowthatwould’ve been a good catch.” He paused, scanning the room, but of course, Lady Penelope and her family were not in attendance. Frederick wasn’t even rightly sure if they had been invited. After Alice had shown interest in being involved, he had only ensured that she had not made any largefaux pas.
Perhaps he should have checked these things.
Lord Renshaw leaned in conspiratorially. “Though, on that topic, I also heard Lady Penelope has already had another offer of marriage.”
Frederick found his gaze returning to Alice, where her laughter gurgled like a spring. “No doubt she has. She is a wonderful lady, and I understand her reasons for not wanting to join herself with me.”
“Because of your current wife, no?” Renshaw perched even closer, his breath heavy with the stench of champagne. “Did you have her as a mistress?”
“Of course not,” Frederick huffed. “I am not in the habit of ruining respectable young ladies.”
“Mm.” Renshaw looked back up at him, brows lowered. “That’s not what I heard.”
“And what, precisely, did you hear?”
“Oh—just a load of nonsense, I’m sure,” he said, regaining himself. “I mean, just that everyone knows she came to the church where you were to marry Lady Penelope, and now she’s being courted by other gentlemen while you are here with your new wife—that very same lady. Makes one think.”
