An Unforgettable Kiss (Captivating Kisses #7)

Chapter One

“Do we truly have to attend a wedding?” asked Viscount Samuel.

Rowena Stanhope looked at her father as a governess would a petulant child and responded, “Yes, Papa. And it is just not a wedding. It is the wedding of the Season. At least, according to the newspapers. Besides, many of your friends will be there.”

“Who is the couple? I cannot keep up with all the gossip.” He smiled benignly at her. “That is why I have you, my dear.”

“It is actually a double wedding ceremony,” she informed him. “Two brides and two grooms will be speaking their vows at St. George’s Church today.”

He frowned in disapproval. “I have never heard of such a thing.”

“The first bride is the Duke of Millbrooke’s sister, Lady Tia Worthington. She will marry the Earl of Merriman.”

Her father thought a moment. “Oh, the one who stammers. He made that awful scene at the card party we attended at Lady Swarthmore’s. Dreadful. Simply dreadful.”

Disappointment filled her. Though she loved her father, he was quick to judge others, as were so many members of Polite Society.

“You know as well as I do that Lord Balch and Lord Calley goaded Lord Merriman that evening. Their behavior was reprehensible. Yes, Lord Merriman stammered as a boy and did so that night, but he works very hard at keeping the stammer at bay. At least, that is what I am told. I have attended other events with him present, and I have yet to hear the earl misspeak.”

She and her aunt been present at the garden party a month ago, where Lord Merriman had made a very public proposal to Lady Tia.

That afternoon’s events had seemingly changed the opinions of the ton regarding the earl and Lady Tia.

Now, Lord Calley and Lord Balch were the black sheep, thrust from the bosom of Polite Society, while Lord Merriman and his betrothed were the new darlings.

“Who else will wed?” her father asked gruffly.

“Lord Merriman’s sister, Lady Delilah Drake, is the other bride. She will wed the Earl of Forsythe. I think it sweet the two siblings wish to marry at the same time.”

Her father said nothing, merely turning back to his newspaper. Rowena did likewise, motioning for a footman to pour more tea for her.

Usually, she was not much for attending weddings, but she had actually met and spoken with Lady Tia during the brief time the beauty was an outcast in Polite Society.

Lady Tia, whose dance programme filled before anyone else’s in the ballroom, had been shunned.

Not given the cut direct—since her brother was a duke—but she had been judged and found lacking by those who influenced the ton’s opinions.

Rowena thought her courageous for standing up for Lord Merriman.

She could have stayed home or even gone to the country and not returned until next Season.

Instead, Lady Tia had remained in town and braved the wrath of Polite Society.

She had taken her place amongst the wallflowers at a ball, where she had sat next to Rowena.

The two had engaged in a very interesting conversation, and she found herself liking the formerly popular girl quite a bit.

She had almost invited her new acquaintance to attend the Literary Ladies Book Society, but she held off.

Now that Lady Tia’s imagined sins had been forgiven by the ton and she wed Lord Merriman today, she doubted that the new countess would have much interest in joining Rowena’s little book club.

It was composed of wallflowers such as herself, women who had an intellect and were not afraid to show it.

Of course, by doing so, they were deemed unsuitable to wed, marked as bluestockings.

It did not matter to her. She had never held a desire to wed, much less have children.

She had her hands full taking care of her father and his household.

Besides, Papa usually left her to her own resources, and a husband would not have done the same.

Rowena did everything to make herself unappealing to the bachelors of the ton, from wearing ill-fitting gowns to donning spectacles which she did not need.

At five and twenty, she would be given access to her dowry, arranged in the marriage settlements between her parents long before her birth.

At that point, she wished to retire from Polite Society and move back to Dorset.

It was where her father’s country estate lay.

They had not visited it in many years, but she loved the green beauty of Dorset, as well as being near the sea.

Papa never wished to go to Stanfield, it being the scene of where he had lost his young wife.

Rowena’s mother had died two days after giving birth to her, and Papa had found he could not bear going through rooms without seeing his beloved wife’s presence.

Because of that, they lived in town year-round, only occasionally leaving to visit friends at their country estates.

Rowena had only been back to Stanfield three times in her life.

The rest of the time, Papa’s tenants were cared for by her cousin Ollie, the only son of her late uncle, who served as their estate’s manager.

Ollie was Papa’s heir apparent since Rowena was his only child.

Rowena finished her tea and closed her newspaper. Giving her father ample warning, she said, “We will be leaving in a quarter-hour, Papa. Be ready.”

He sighed. “I shall meet you in the foyer.”

She returned to her bedchamber to claim her reticule and don a bonnet. She knew she was not fashionably dressed. It would not matter. Hundreds would be in attendance at St. George’s today.

And not one eye would come to rest upon her.

An hour later, they were seated inside the Mayfair church they attended each Sunday.

Rowena had been to weddings at St. George’s before, but she believed this one to be special.

Simply from observing Lord Merriman and Lady Tia, she could tell they were a love match.

The same could be said of Lady Delilah and Lord Forsythe.

Love matches were rare within the ton. She herself had not truly believed in them until she had witnessed Lord Merriman’s emotional, heartfelt proposal to Lady Tia.

Still, she found the idea of romantic love odd and was happy in her decision never to seek a husband, much less love.

The organist began to play, and the doors to St. George’s were opened.

The guests all turned, watching Lady Delilah escorted down the aisle by the Duke of Reddington.

Rowena knew that His Grace and Merriman were very close friends.

Since Lady Delilah’s father was deceased—and the brother who would have escorted her to her groom was already waiting at the altar for his own bride—she thought it lovely that Reddington had stepped into the role to see Lady Delilah to her groom.

Then the Duke of Millbrooke started down the aisle with his sister on his arm.

They made a striking pair, the duke tall and handsome with his chestnut hair, Lady Tia tall and willowy, her strawberry blond hair piled high atop her head.

Red hair must run in the family because the other two Worthington siblings also possessed hair with shades of red.

Lady Tia’s twin, Viscountess Cressley, had auburn hair, while her older sister, the Marchioness of Aldridge, possessed a magnificent head of copper tresses.

Her eyes followed Lady Tia and His Grace down the aisle. She saw the bride did not look at a single guest because her focus was on the groom who awaited her.

Rowena’s throat grew thick with unshed tears, and she thought it very unlike herself.

She was most stoic in all situations and could not ever recall crying.

Perhaps it was because she had been raised only by a father, one who was level-headed and rarely showed emotion himself.

Papa had not known what to do with any child, much less a female one.

Because of that, she had been brought up more as a son than daughter.

He had taught her to ride and play cards.

She had received a first-class education, with a male tutor living in instead of a governess.

Rowena was fluent in French and Italian, and she could also write in Latin and Greek.

She excelled at maths and was not only in charge of the household accounts and paying their servants, but she also read every report from Ollie regarding their tenants and the crops produced.

It was she who replied to her cousin’s requests, not her father, and she was the de facto viscount in many aspects.

She did have a love for literature and history, also fostered by Papa.

If she could do anything with her life, she wished she could be a don at Cambridge or Oxford and guide those university students as they read history.

Being a woman, however, she would never be allowed to be a part of the academic community.

She satisfied her urge to teach others by guiding her fellow bluestockings through the book society she had founded.

The wedding ceremony took a bit longer than usual, simply because there were two couples having to repeat their vows to one another.

Knowing she would never be a bride herself had been something Rowena thought she had come to terms with, but seeing the joy on Lady Tia’s and Lady Delilah’s faces as they marched up the aisle on the arms of their new husbands gave her pause.

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of such nonsense.

She neither wanted nor needed a gentleman in her life.

A husband would put her under his thumb and expect her to do his bidding.

Rowena had a stubborn streak and the more she was told to do something, the more she resisted doing that very thing.

She would trade marriage for her freedom to do as she pleased any day.