Chapter 5
Chapter Five
“You look wonderful,” Irene assured her.
Jessamine had imagined, perhaps hopefully, that something would occur between her unconventional proposal and the wedding day to cancel the entire event. But to her dismay, she found herself dressed in wedding clothes and making her way to the small church where they were to hold the ceremony.
She touched the golden silk of her skirts. As she’d had no time to go looking for wedding clothes, Irene had taken it upon herself to furnish Jessamine’s wardrobe, including this rather spectacular yellow silk dress which she was to walk down the aisle with.
“And some unmentionables,” she’d added with a wink when explaining what she’d purchased. “For after.”
Jessamine only had a vague idea what after might entail in an ordinary marriage, but she suspected that Irene didn’t understand the true nature of this union.
This was not a love match, such as the marriage her sister shared with Henry.
Nor was it a marriage in which they were eager to create an heir as soon as possible.
The duke already had his heir in William; there was no need for any more at present.
Which meant he would not be visiting her bed. She was fairly sure that would be the arrangement.
At least, so she hoped.
Henry smiled at her reassuringly from the other side of the carriage.
Both he and Irene seemed to think her quietness stemmed from nerves, rather than from a distaste for the entire arrangement.
And she had left William behind. Though she had been looking after him for barely more than a week, she felt as though she had never been without a baby, and the thought of spending almost the full day without him made her feel queasy inside.
The carriage came to a smooth stop.
“We’re here,” Irene said, and as the door opened, she climbed stiffly down. “I had better check on Kate and ensure Button hasn’t destroyed anything.”
Henry sighed the long-suffering sigh of a man who had been pushed beyond his endurance. “That dog,” he muttered under his breath.
Button, a male English Mastiff, had been found on Henry’s estate as a puppy, and Katherine, his eleven-year-old sister, had immediately fallen in love with him. Instead of being used for hunting, as intended, he had become a somewhat unruly pet, and never left Kate’s side.
Frankly, Jessamine was astonished he had even been allowed into the church.
“He will be keeping her company,” she said with a small, private smile.
“He will be causing mayhem, that’s what. But she knows she is a duke’s sister and can get away with anything.” He sighed, rolling his eyes, and looked at Jessamine again. “How do you feel?”
“Oh no.” Jessamine held up a hand. “I’ve already had this conversation with Irene, and I will not have it with you, too. I am getting married because I have no choice in the matter, and I am resigned to my fate.”
“I’ve been making investigations, and he’s not a bad man. Stern, perhaps, but honorable. The fact he offered for you at all proves that he’s honorable.”
Jessamine nodded, allowing Henry to hand her from the carriage. The church door, an otherwise unassuming object, seemed to loom before her.
“He might be honorable,” she agreed, “but he is also disagreeable. And more to the point, he’s a stranger, and I must now live my life with him.”
“There are worse things,” Henry said seriously. “A good man makes for a good husband, and a woman could do much worse for herself than to marry an honorable duke.”
“I know,” she sighed. “Thank you for trying to make me feel better.”
“Anything for family.” He smiled at her.
Then, Henry offered her his arm, and they entered the church.
The organ played, and faces turned toward her. Mostly her dear ones—Irene and Kate, with Button sitting lazily beside her, then Temperance and Lady Marwich, and a tall gentleman she didn’t know.
And at the end of the aisle, the Duke of Knightford stood in all his formidable glory. His coat was impeccably tailored to the wide set of his shoulders, and the sheer height of him sent a shiver through her.
He was a strong man. Powerful. And it sent a new thrill through her body.
If he were a trifle less handsome, Jessamine felt as though she could bear this match more. The fact was, he was one of the most sternly handsome gentlemen she had ever met, and when he rested his sharp, blue eyes on her, she shivered a little.
He watched her approach calmly, and she felt a little as though she had stepped out of her skin and watched herself from above. The slow, definite progress of her feet down the aisle.
When she reached the end, the duke reached down to tuck her veil back over her head, and he came into even better focus.
This was the beginning of something irreversible. She wanted to turn and run away, to scream at herself that if she went through with this, she could never turn back.
When this was over, she would be his wife.
A light shone in his eyes as though he knew exactly what she was thinking, but he merely gestured for the ceremony to go ahead.
The wedding breakfast took place at the duke’s townhouse, a grand affair with a dining room larger than the entire apartment Jessamine had been staying in this whole time.
The table groaned with far too much food for the few guests to eat, and Jessamine stood to one side, feeling out of place in this grand affair.
To be sure, in her silk, she looked as though she belonged. But she was a duchess now, and nothing about that fact felt as though it could be true.
A duchess. A duchess.
If she kept repeating it to herself, perhaps she would come to believe it.
Across the room, the duke spoke quietly with the butler, no doubt conferring about the arrangements.
“What is it?” Irene asked, sipping at her fruit punch. “You are standing in the corner, frowning.”
“Do you suppose William is all right?”
Irene raised her brows. “William will be fine, dearest. He has the nursemaid, and you know she is perfectly capable.”
“I’ve not left him for this long before. What if he is stressed without me?”
“Well, he’ll be with you soon. And then you can spend all your time with him, if you so desire.”
“I do so desire,” Jessamine said. “That was the entire purpose of marrying the duke.”
Kate approached, Button in tow. The enormous Mastiff licked Jessamine’s hand in greeting, and she fondled his ears.
“The groom didn’t kiss the bride,” Kate informed Jessamine, looking as though this fact was very remiss. “When Henry married Irene, he kissed the bride.”
“Well, that’s because they were in love,” Jessamine said, but before she could explain any more, the duke approached with a dark-haired man by his side.
The stranger was the only man Jessamine didn’t already know.
“Jessamine,” he said crisply, thankfully having done away with his Lady Jessamine. “This is my good friend Nicholas Green, the Marquess of Mirthby.”
Jessamine dipped into a curtsy. “Lord Mirthby.”
“Do call me Nicholas. We are all friends here, are we not? And if we aren’t, I think perhaps we should be.”
His eyes twinkled at her as he offered her a roguish, charming grin. Very different from the stoic duke behind him. Jessamine wondered how two such different men could have come to be such good friends.
“You are twice as beautiful as I was led to believe, duchess,” Nicholas added. “My congratulations on your marriage.”
The duke sighed. “Must you, Nicholas?”
“This is Lady Katherine Punton, my sister-in-law,” Jessamine said, gesturing at Kate, who stared up at the duke in clear mistrust.
Jessamine prayed she would not bring up the lack of kissing. Kissing the duke was the very last thing she wanted to think about. Yet she suspected it would not be all that bad, which was yet another reason to avoid the prospect altogether.
“Kate,” the girl corrected, evidently deciding the duke was worthy of her favor. “You must be good to Aunt Jessie, Your Grace. Don’t hurt her, or I will set Button on you.”
Button, obligingly, let out a deep bark.
The duke stared at Kate, then at the dog, and Jessamine closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable cruel set-down.
Instead, the duke crouched, looking seriously up at Kate. “Will you now?”
“Oh yes. Button has a mean bite,” Kate assured him.
“Kate!” Irene scolded.
“No, no, ma’am, it’s quite all right.” The duke told Irene before turning back to Kate. “It’s important I understand the possible consequences. But you have my word that I will do everything in my power to ensure that I do not hurt Jessamine. Does that suffice, my lady?”
Openly delighted at being addressed in such a way, Kate pretended to think about it for a moment, then nodded. “It shall suffice, Your Grace. Thank you.”
“Capital,” he said, just as gravely. Jessamine found that the way he had spoken to Kate, rather unexpectedly, made her chest warm a little.
“Thank you,” she said quietly to him as Irene led Kate away to the buffet table. “She and I have gotten close since I moved to London, and I know she only wants the best for her.”
Andrew nodded, the movement crisp, offering no explanation or commentary. All the gentleness and ease he had adopted for Kate’s sake evaporated, and all Jessamine could think was that they were married, and everyone in the room expected certain things from them.
Things she had no intention of giving.
All too soon, the wedding breakfast came to an end, and the guests began to leave. Temperance pulled Jessamine into a hug, and Lady Marwich rested a hand on her shoulder. “Remember,” she said, her gaze drilling into Jessamine. “You are a duchess now. Don’t forget it.”
Button barked his farewell, and the butler shut the door on the remainder of the guests.
They were alone, in a house full of servants Jessamine didn’t know.
Fortunately, at that moment, the nursemaid arrived with William in his little basket.
Relief flooded through Jessamine, and she scooped him into his arms, holding him close.
The duke’s gaze was on her, but she did her best to ignore him.