Chapter 2
Owen knew that something would happen at his wedding.
They had planned for every outcome, but he knew that his life was marred by misfortune, which meant that something would have to go wrong on the biggest day of his life.
What he had not expected, however, was a soft little lady with wild blue eyes to look at him and his bride and say that the match could not go ahead.
The event dissolved into chaos, of course. Regardless of whether the lady’s claim held water, an objection had been made and so the wedding had to be stopped. The guests looked among themselves, nobody knowing quite what to do, and all eyes fell on the lady standing frozen in place.
Suddenly, she ran out of the building. Owen turned to Lady Helena, who followed the peculiar young lady. Not knowing what else to do, and grateful for the excuse to leave, he trailed after them.
As he strode purposefully from the church, he saw the shorter lady pressed against the wall, breathing heavily through her tears.
Lady Helena was comforting her, which left Owen bewildered.
She had ruined the ceremony and caused quite the commotion, yet Lady Helena spoke to her in soft, soothing tones.
Owen could not understand why his fiancée was so prepared to make this young lady feel better about being the cause of all their problems.
“I did not mean to do that,” the lady gasped. “I do not know what came over me. But Helena, you cannot do this. You cannot marry that man. You looked terrified.”
“She is not scared of me, I can assure you.” Owen stepped nearer to the pair and both ladies turned to him in surprise. He eyed the woman he did not recognize keenly. “Who are you, and what business did you have at my wedding?”
“This is my friend,” Lady Helena explained. “Lady Beatrice Jennings.”
“I see. Did you plan this?”
“Of course not,” Lady Helena hissed, “and neither did she. Lady Beatrice and I have been close to one another for years. She and I were both astonished by the hastiness of this wedding. And, while confiding in my friend, I must have led her to believe I was truly distraught.” She paused and cleared her throat. “The fault is mine, Your Grace.”
“This is not your fault!” Lady Beatrice said sharply as she used a lace handkerchief to dab her tears from her cheeks.
“You did not want any of this, Helena. You do not know this man and should not be obliged to give him your hand in marriage. I wanted to help you escape this awful fate. You deserve so much more than this arrangement, Helena, but your father was not willing to act on your behalf. If he could not help you then I thought–”
“Her father?” He shot a quick look between the pair. “What has he to do with this disruption? He was against this hasty union, but I did not think he would ask someone else to speak out on his behalf during the ceremony,” Owen said firmly, and both ladies turned to look at him.
He could see the pleading look in Lady Helena’s face, and he realized in that moment that she had not been honest with her friend in the way that she had been with him.
“Helena?” Lady Beatrice asked. “He is lying, is he not?”
Lady Helena looked askance, unable to meet anyone’s eye.
“No,” she said at last. “I am afraid that I have not been honest with you, Bea. All of this– it was my idea. His Grace has not forced my hand; he was helping me escape a mistake that I made.”
“And now she has no other solution,” Owen said coldly. “I hope that you are pleased with yourself.”
“She does not know!” Lady Helena snapped. “You cannot blame her for trying to help me.”
“Then it is time for you to tell her the truth. It is far passed that, but if I were you, I would explain why you will soon have to disappear.”
The two ladies looked at one another, but neither spoke. Owen knew that people would leave the church eventually, and so he pulled them both away with him, so that they were out of earshot.
“Very well,” he sighed. “I will tell you myself. Lady Helena has made no secret of the fact that she does not love me, but this match was her idea. She wanted the Harcourt name for protection, while keeping her heart elsewhere. It was an ideal match for a man in need of a wife quickly. No, she does not love me, nor do I love her, but that does not mean that she had any less say in all of this than I did.”
He watched as Lady Beatrice tried to make sense of what she was hearing. Her face changed from confusion to betrayal to hurt, and at last she turned to Lady Helena with wide eyes.
“Your heart is elsewhere… who? Who has captured your heart? Was it one of the gentlemen who you danced with at the Everton’s Ball?”
Lady Helena crumbled in an instant, bursting into tears.
“You will be so ashamed of me,” she gasped through sobs. “You shall never want to speak with me again.”
“That is not true, Helena, and you know it. Whatever it is, I can try to help you.”
“You cannot. Nobody could. My only way to escape was with His Grace, but now the wedding cannot go ahead, and I am running out of time.”
Owen placed a supportive hand on her arm, trying to alleviate her distress. Though he did not have any particular affection for her, he respected her immensely for her courage. She came to him knowing that he could ruin her if he chose, but she was desperate.
“I am in love,” she said at last. “I visited a market, and there was a young man there selling books. He was so handsome, Beatrice, and so well-read. We talked about anything and everything, and then I began to meet him after dark.”
“But you told me that you had not tried to find love.”
“Because it was already there. All of this began two years ago, and with how strong my feelings for him were, I knew that I could never fall for another. I knew there was no use trying.”
“Is that why you say you are running out of time? Helena, being a spinster is not a bad thing.”
“No but being an unmarried mother is.”
Both ladies froze, looking at each other but not saying a word.
Owen cleared his throat, stepping between the two of them.
Lady Beatrice pressed herself into the wall, but he did not step away.
Looking at her properly, he saw her full lips, soft curves, and the way she was almost fairy-like in appearance.
There was no hatred in her face, and he knew for certain that she had not meant to ruin her friend.
He pitied her, almost, but she was none of his concern.
“I will do what I can to care for Lady Helena,” he said in a low growl, “but I can no longer marry her. Society will not look kindly upon it, and a union between us would only come under further scrutiny when a baby is born in seven months.”
“But–”
“No. This is what you wanted. I am no longer marrying your friend. Congratulations, Lady Beatrice, you have ruined my wedding and dragged all three of us into scandal. Now, what will I do with you?”
Lady Helena pulled him back, stepping between them. He could see the fury in her eyes at his words.
“Leave her alone,” she warned. “I assure you, she did not know. The fault is mine, for had I been honest about my situation, none of this would have happened. I told her that it was an agreement between our fathers, and she had no reason to believe otherwise.”
“Be that as it may, I am still in need of a wife. Not only that, but we need a way out of this scandal.” He glanced between the pair and saw that both were befuddled.
The stunned expressions on their faces urged a thought into his mind, so without waiting for them to intercede, he added, “Fear not, for I have already thought of one. All it requires of the two of you is to play pretend, and that will be easy for you, Lady Helena.”
Her cheeks flamed, and though he felt guilty for hurting her feelings he had a point to make. He had an idea, but it required commitment on their parts, so he needed them to remember just how dire the situation was, through no fault of his own.
“Here is what will happen,” he explained. “Lady Beatrice, you will confess your love for me, and I will assure everyone how much that love is reciprocated. Together, we will say the interruption of the ceremony was due to you no longer being able to conceal your feelings.”
“But that would be a lie.”
“And you will tell it regardless. Do you truly believe any man will want you now that they have seen this behavior?”
“They did not want me before,” she muttered. “This misunderstanding changes nothing.”
“I can see why,” he said coldly before turning to Lady Helena.
“You will confess that you knew, and that you understand her anger. The two of you are still very good friends, and that will not be changed because one of you fell in love with the other’s betrothed.
All the same, you will be spending some time in the country with an aunt so that you may recover from this shock. ”
“Would that not make it worse?” Lady Beatrice asked, and he groaned. “She would be seen as running away.”
“That is precisely what she is doing. She is running away. As for you, we shall give it time and then the banns will be posted again.”
She realized what he was expecting of her, and he waited for her to argue. She did not want to marry him any more than Lady Helena did, but it was what had to happen.. There was no other way through it.
And so, she did not disagree with him. She glanced between the Duke and Lady Helena before nodding faintly.
“If that is what must happen,” she whispered. “Helena does not want to marry you, and so she will not. I would rather take her place and find a way for her to be with the man she loves, than watch her live in a loveless marriage.”
“Then remember that this was your choice,” he nodded, at last stepping back. “You caused the disturbance and so, you are now agreeing to also provide the remedy. I shall arrange everything..”
His hands shook as he left the two ladies standing next to the church.
He had expected to return home a married man, but that had not happened.
Instead, he had traded one lady for another, and though he did not want to compare the two, he was at least pleased that Lady Beatrice had dark hair, so that he was not reminded of Lydia.
It was a foolish thing to think about, given all that had happened, but that was what his mind turned to.
There was a pang in his chest that Lydia should not have been at his wedding, and it was his own fault that she absent.
Had she been there, she would have scolded him for how he spoke to the two ladies and for thinking that a marriage could be arranged so tidily.
Regardless, Lady Beatrice would now have to be his wife, and she had accepted that. Meanwhile, he would have to do all that he could to protect them both, even though he did not know one of them at all and knew that the other would soon have to leave Society.
He stomped up the steps to the church, pleased to see that most guests had left. The lack of spectators made it easier to walk inside and find Lord Stanton, who was looking at him expectantly. Stanton, Owen’s closest friend, wore a slightly bemused expression as Owen drifted to his side.
“Would you mind telling me what happened?” he asked.
“Not here,” he said in a low voice. “I do not dare.”
“Is there a scandal that I should know about?”
“Not yet…not entirely… but there could well be if we do not tread carefully. Come, we will discuss this elsewhere.”
His friend followed him without question. As they walked out of the church, Owen tried not to listen to the whispers, but they were impossible to ignore.
“I thought that might happen.”
“Of course. When one is accused of such awful things, it is not easy for them to find love later.”
He shook the accusation from his head, not wanting to have yet another confrontation that day. He was far too busy to concern himself with a rumor that had existed for thirteen years.
Besides, he had a wedding to plan.