Page 15 of A Duchess to Unravel (The Devil’s Masquerade #3)

CHAPTER EIGHT

“ O h, Theo, your alterations turned out lovely,” Amelia praised.

She and Seraphina were crowded around the full-length mirror on either side of Theo, smiling wide as they took in her reflection.

In truth, Theo agreed with them. She’d chosen to wear her favorite sea-foam green dress and have just a few alterations added: crushed gems around the bodice, a silk trim in a slightly darker green, a train of matching dark green added to the back of the dress giving a lovely contrast to the much lighter color of the gown.

They were simple additions, but they made the dress stand out and sparkle.

To complete the outfit, she’d chosen her white silk elbow length gloves, white satin shoes, and a simple solitaire diamond choker.

Norma had artfully covered the scar on her face with cosmetics, and had swept her long, dark curls into an elegant yet simple updo.

A sprig of baby’s breath rested behind her left ear.

Behind the three of them, sequestered on the couch within the bridal room, were Rose and Ophelia.

Neither had said much since she’d shared the news of her engagement to Alistair.

Rose only shared looks of silent worry, while Ophelia, truly displeased that Theo would not be joining her in her choice of spinsterhood, had questioned her choice until Theo broke down and gave her reasoning.

After that, she’d joined Rose in her accepting silence.

Still, they had attended wanting to show their support.

“Thank you,” Theo said warmly to Seraphina and Amelia. “And thank you all for being here. I know it was a tad late notice, but I appreciate you making the time.”

“Why was it such late notice?” Rose asked from behind them.

Ophelia looked at Theo, as if wondering if she were going to tell the others.

In the mirror Theo saw Seraphina and Amelia both frown, and the three of them turned to see the sour expressions on their two other friends’ faces.

“Would you two stop moping?” Amelia sighed.

“No,” Rose answered stubbornly, sitting up from a slouched position, “I will not be excited for my friend marrying a brute out of convenience.”

Amelia sighed in annoyance.

“I have told so already, the man is not a brute! He is much kinder than he seems,” she told her.

Rose scoffed, obviously not believing her.

“You’ve only engaged with him a few times, Amelia. You cannot possibly know what he is truly like,” she retorted.

“And you have not engaged with him at all,” Amelia replied. “You only have rumors pushing your opinion which I consider quite childish.”

Rose looked ready to argue but Seraphina spoke first.

“Might I remind you that my cousin has been quite successful thus far in his business ventures in England?”

Rose made a face.

“What does that have to do with anything?” She retorted.

“It means that even if this is a marriage of convenience, at least our dear Theo will be well provided for,” Seraphina replied.

“And, might I add, that a marriage of convenience turned out very well for me,” Amelia added.

“Good,” Theo sighed, throwing up her arms, “Let us get this out now. I will not bear complaints once this wedding is through. Ophelia. What do you have to say?”

Ophelia, who had lain on her couch, propped her head up by putting her elbow in the cushion and looking intently at Theo.

“I want to know how you feel about all of this,” she replied. “You have not mentioned it once since you told us. No happiness, no remorse. No fear or love. So, tell us. How does this engagement make you feel?”

The quiet bickering among the others stopped, and all four of Theo’s friends looked expectantly at her.

Ophelia was the only one of them that knew about Theo’s visit to the last Masquerade and had already expressed in private that she was now more worried about the man that had sent her the threatening letter than Alistair.

Theo fiddled with her gloved fingertips and let out a sigh. It was a question she had been trying to answer herself for the last five days. She too was more concerned about the man threatening her than the man she was about to marry.

“In truth I do not know what I feel,” she confessed. “I am not numb, as I was after Mama’s death … but I am … quiet inside.”

Ophelia sat up slowly, the reflection of Theo’s secret glimmering in her eyes.

“Perhaps quiet is not so bad,” she said softly.

“Ophelia!” Rose exclaimed, looking at her with betrayal. “Come, you were to be on my side with this!”

“What we should do is support our friend,” Ophelia quipped back, giving Rose a silencing look.

She then turned back to Theo, softening her voice.

“What do you think, Theo?”

Nibbling anxiously at her bottom lip, Theo turned back to the mirror. In the reflection she saw a version of herself she’d never seen before. A beautiful, delicate woman with small curves and dark curls. She thought of Alistair’s words from the garden: like a fairy.

Perhaps she was the one that looked like one, but it was Alistair that had the power to grant the wish she now needed. To be free of her stalker. To be free from it all, really. Perhaps, even, if she was bold enough to ask for it, the freedom to experience pleasure as well.

Her blood warmed at the thought of his kisses, at the touch of his rough and large hands over her body. So possessive, encompassing, and addicting that every time they were on her she thought of nothing else.

“I think that this marriage could give the duke and me what we both want,” she replied at last. “And if it cannot, then it does not truly matter. When he leaves in three months, I will have the ability to be independent and wealthy enough to not care about this ridiculous society ever again.”

“How romantic,” Rose said, her dry tone laced with sarcasm.

“You can have romance,” Theo replied, growing more certain of her decision, “I shall take practicality.”

A knock at the bridal chamber’s door interrupted them, and Tristan stepped in.

Though they had not been on the best of terms this last week, Theo smiled as she saw him handsomely dressed in his best black suit.

His eyes widened as he looked Theo up and down and to her surprise, a small, soft smile touched his lips.

“Sister, you look beautiful,” he praised.

Theo felt a ball of emotion catch in her throat at the sincerity of his praise, and her eyes grew watery.

“Thank you,” she whispered, smiling back.

“If you are ready, it is time,” he told her, offering her his arm.

Theo took her brother’s arm and then looked back at her friends. She gave them a single nod, and they walked in line out the door in front of her.

“I am ready,” she replied.

Tristan’s face tightened with worry as he took one last look at her.

“Are you sure this is what you wish?” he asked.

“I am,” she said, realizing that it was true. “Take me to Alistair.”

Tristan gave a resigned nod, placed a delicate kiss on her cheek, and the two of them made their way to the service room.

For a moment, as the dozens of guests rose for her, Theo felt a flutter in her heart.

She tried to look at all the faces, wondering who it was that Alistair had deemed worthy enough to attend their wedding, but all she saw were blurred features.

Her attention, she realized, was drawn to the specific details of one person. Her future husband.

Alistair stood, tall and impressive in his black tailored tux at the end of the aisle, and like her, his eyes were only focused on one person.

Her. Though she did not know why or where it came from, Theo found herself smiling at him as Tristan led her closer.

The moment Alistair saw it, his dark blue eyes burst with light and she watched the corners of his mouth twitch up as he shifted on his feet and reached a hand toward her.

Tristan moved Theo’s hand toward Alistair’s but stopped at the last minute.

“Take care of her,” he commanded, his tone so low only Alistair and Theo could hear him.

Theo looked at him, startled that he’d do such a thing with an audience, but Alistair appeared unfazed as he gave a single nod of his head.

“I swear it,” he stated, looking Tristan directly in the eyes.

Theo waited, her heart beginning to pound even faster as the three of them remained still.

And then Tristan gently placed her hand in Alistair’s.

The moment his large hand wrapped gently around her much smaller one, Theo felt a wave of relief crash over her, far more intense than she’d ever felt.

She thought she’d be nervous. Frightened, even.

Instead, just the feel of his hand around hers made her relax.

She looked up into his eyes again, and this time Alistair winked. She nearly laughed at it, and though she had no idea why, she suddenly felt that perhaps, despite it all, things could work out well between them. Together they turned toward the priest, and the ceremony began.

“Who are you looking for, dearest?” Alistair asked, his tone laced with sarcasm as he said the pet name.

Theo turned her head left again. Then right. Her brows dipped into an ever so slight frown as she once again scanned their reception.

“No one,” she murmured softly, then looked around again.

Alistair’s humor faded as he watched her grow more tense by the second.

Theo had been fine during the ceremony. Watching her come down the aisle toward him had been like watching an angel take flight for the first time.

He had already found her attractive, but in her wedding dress, she was downright ethereal in her beauty.

And the little smile she’d given him? It had pleased him to no end, to his own surprise.

Neither were particularly excited about the idea of marriage but when she’d smiled like that, he’d gotten the strangest sensation that perhaps their companionship could be fulfilling somehow.

Now, though, she was lying to him. It wasn’t just that she was continuously looking over her shoulder. There was tension in her stance. An air of apprehension. And Alistair knew why. There was someone she was looking for; she just did not know which face could be that of the stalker.

He had been careful with the guest list. Only invited just enough of society to make it easy for rumors of the lavish ceremony to spread through the many small cliques of the ton.

He’d vetted them all, too. Researched their backgrounds thoroughly so that the likelihood of inviting a member of Masquerade was small.

Still, there was always a risk. A risk that was now also his.

“Come,” he commanded, reaching for her chin. With great care he turned her face to look at his, and his gut clenched as he saw her panic. “Ye keep moving ye head like that it’ll spin right off ye neck.”

Theo blushed as her eyes dipped downward.

“I cannot help it,” she murmured, “What if he is here?”

The helplessness in her voice sparked a rage within Alistair. He was a man of control, of perception. Yet in this circumstance he could not control or see the danger. He could, however, remove her from it.

“We have entertained this charade long enough,” he stated gruffly, letting go of her chin only to slip his fingers around her left hand. “It is time for us to go.”

Theo’s eyes snapped up to his alarmingly.

“We cannot leave yet!” She whispered loudly. “The reception has barely begun!”

Alistair raised an amused brow as he chortled.

“We are wed now,” he replied, “We can do whatever wish. Besides, I have grown weary of being gawked at. I am taking you home.”

Alistair immediately regretted using the word as a forlorn look came over Theo’s face. She would have a new home now. His home. One she’d never known or even seen.

“You mean the Caldermere London house?” She asked, her tone laced with hope.

Alistair shook his head, hiding the flare of pity he suddenly had for her.

“Nay, lass. I need a reprieve from London and there is more business I must handle away from it. We are going to Caldermere.”

Theo’s eyes widened, and he hated the panic he saw in them. Still, he was impressed by the way she seemed to internally fight the emotion. When she spoke next, her tone held an iced edge.

“Well, can I at least bid goodbye to my friends and brother before we take our abrupt departure?”

Though annoyed with her tone and glare, Alistair gave her a stiff nod.

“Make it quick,” he commanded.

As she left his side to find her friends and Tristan, Alistair kept one eye on her and the other on the crowd. Wondering now, too, which one, if any, could possibly be stalking his wife.