Page 11 of Stolen By the Cruel Duke
“I wouldn’t call it intriguing,” Phineas grunted. “More impertinent.”
James stepped back and admired his handiwork. “How’s that? I made it a bit looser.”
Phineas cleared his throat, then felt around the edge of the cravat. Indeed, he did find it a little easier to breathe.
“Thank you,” he said curtly. “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make any more comments about my bride beingintriguing.Our marriage is purely a business partnership. There will be no romance and no affection. Is that understood?”
“Certainly,” James uttered, but Phineas was sure that his friend was suppressing a smile. “But if you ask me, the lady doth protest too much… and in this case, the lady is you.”
Phineas didn’t dignify this with a response. He turned back to the mirror and looked himself over critically once more. He looked good, he thought. Distinguished. A true Duke of Eavestone.
Mother and Father would be proud of me if they were still alive.
“I’m sure she’ll be impressed,” James added.
When Phineas looked at him sharply, trying to ascertain if his friend was teasing him, James gestured toward the door.
“Shall we, Eavestone? I think it’s time to get you married.”
“Stop tripping,” Lord Carfield muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
“I’m not doing it on purpose,” Iris hissed.
She wouldn’t usually speak to her father so impertinently, but really, what was she supposed to do? She could barely see through the veil in front of her eyes.
Her father gripped her arm tighter and took another step forward.
They were about halfway down the aisle. Apart from not being able to see, Iris’s heart was in her throat. She could just make out the Duke of Eavestone waiting for her at the altar, and the sight made her dizzy. She couldn’t make out the expression on his face, and she wondered if it was as apprehensive as her own. But then, why would it be? The Duke was getting what he wanted, and he had less to fear of marriage than she did.
As Iris and her father reached the end of the aisle, her father made to hug her. As he did, he lowered his head to her ear and muttered, “Don’t forget, your duty is to your family first—to me. Don’t disappoint me.”
Iris didn’t have time to reply before he had released her and the Duke had linked his arm with hers. The Duke’s touch was warm, even through the sleeves of her dress, but she avoided his eyes. After her father’s words, she felt ill. The Duke released her arm, and the two of them faced the rector as he began to recite the traditional wedding sermon.
“Dearly beloved,” he intoned, “we are gathered here, in the sight of God and these witnesses…”
But Iris wasn’t listening. She couldn’t focus on the rector’s words. Her mind was still on her father’s threat. Fear filled her, and her legs began to shake. More than ever, she felt the mounting pressure to help the Duke take her father down before he could hurt her or her sisters any more.
Iris felt as if her legs were going to give out, and she swayed slightly to the side. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Duke glance at her. She tried to stand still and smooth her expression, to hide the fear that she knew was evident in every line on her face. The veil hid her face, but still, the Duke was close enough that he might be able to glimpse her expression, to feel her shaking with suppressed trepidation…
Then, to her surprise, she felt him take her hand. He wasn’t looking at her, but he was holding her hand firmly. After several moments, he squeezed it.
As reassurance radiated through her, Iris felt hot tears prick her eyes. She refused to let them fall, but she was more touched than she could have said. It was possible, of course, that her bridegroom had misunderstood her fear, that he’d assumed she was afraid of getting married—which, admittedly, she was—and not of her father. But it only made his action even kinder. Undoubtedly, he was scared as well, uncertain of life with a woman he barely knew, yet here he was, comforting her.
Confidence surged through her, and she stood up a little straighter. Her legs stopped shaking. She was able to take several deep, calming breaths. And for the rest of the ceremony, she could focus on what the rector was saying.
At last, he declared them man and wife, and the chapel burst into applause. The Duke lifted her veil, and she gazed up into his eyes, which were kinder than the last time they’d seen each other. She smiled, and while he didn’t smile back, there was a certain softness in his expression that warmed her. He turned her around, and together they beamed at the small crowd of people. Her sisters looked delighted—Violet even appeared to be misty-eyed. Her father, on the other hand, looked surly and contemplative, and he clapped only once or twice.
Iris surprised herself by realizing that she didn’t care. For the first time since she had arrived on the Duke’s doorstep,demanding that he marry her, she didn’t feel doomed. She felt only relief.
Because for the first time in her life, she was free of her father’s clutches, and she was going to make sure she never fell back into them.
The wedding breakfast was a quiet affair. Throughout it, Phineas spoke not a word to his wife. He wanted to say something to her, to reassure her that their life together could be pleasant, to make her feel at ease in her new home, but he found he couldn’t think of anything to say.
Throughout the meal, Iris kept trying to catch his eyes, even smiling at him. He tried to smile back, but the whole time he was aware of Lord Carfield’s eyes on them. It seemed too risky to show any closeness between him and Iris—that, and the idea of smiling at his wife was more frightening than he had imagined it would be.
Iris’s sisters sat close to them, and Phineas watched them covertly out of the corner of his eye. The youngest one—Rosalie, he thought her name was—talked animatedly to James between each of the courses. She was a little louder than a young lady ought to be, but Phineas supposed she was still young. The middle sister, Violet, was quieter, although when she did speak, she seemed intelligent and kind.
So these are the girls I will be protecting.My new sisters.
