Page 6 of The Duke and the Hellion Bride (Duchesses of Convenience #7)

Chapter Six

D iana couldn’t stop shaking. The nerves were starting to get to her and try as she might, nothing seemed capable of stopping them.

“Are you sick?” her mother asked her with worry.

“No, mother.”

“Cold then? I don’t see how. In this weather!”

“She’s not cold,” her cousin snorted. “Obviously, she is just nervous. Poor thing,” she then added with a coy wink.

“Oh.” Her mother, surprisingly, beamed. “Well, that is to be expected. What bride isn’t nervous on her wedding day.”

“I don’t want to be nervous,” Diana pouted. “And I certainly don’t want to be trembling as I walk down the aisle. How will that look.”

“Like you are nervous,” her cousin chided.

“You will look like a bride who is excited to be joined in eternal matrimony with her husband.” Her mother took her by the hands, and her expression took on one that Diana did not recognize. It looked... it looked as if she was about to cry. “You know how I have wished for this for years. How hard I have worked. The pain and effort and --” She took a breath, her chin trembling. “That is not important. What is important is that for all I have done, you are the reason this is happening. The duke saw something in you, Diana. Something that I see every day and... and... and...” She sniffed. “And I know that if you are half as good a wife as you were a daughter to me...” She sniffed again, barely able to control herself. “You will make him the happiest man in all of England. Oh, what is happening to me!” she cried out and turned away, the tears now flowing.

“Mother... please,” Diana said awkwardly, not sure how to react. Not only had she never seen her mother act this way before, but again that feeling of guilt reared its head because again she reminded herself this was not a true marriage.

“You look beautiful too,” her cousin added. “Even if I hate to admit it.” She rolled her eyes, and Diana stuck her tongue out as the two burst into a fit of giggles.

Not that this stopped her from shaking the way that she was. If anything, it only made it worse.

Technically, her mother was right, and being nervous was nothing strange for a bride on the day of her wedding. But Diana reasoned that she shouldn’t be feeling this way, for this was not a typical wedding. It was not as if she was marrying the man of her dreams. And it was not as if she was in love. So why could she not stand still!

The three women had found themselves in a small antechamber attached to the side of the church, there to wait for the beginning of the ceremony and to double check that Diana was properly put together for her big day. From the little room, Diana could hear the chatter of friends and family as they gathered in the church, eagerly anticipating the coming nuptials.

Before her was a full-bodied mirror and she forced herself to look once more, perhaps to distract herself and do something about all this shaking.

The dress was an elegant gown of silk, colored sunbeam yellow. As her mother had chosen it, it was more modest in the way it covered her shoulders and arms and chest, but it was still tight – her darn curves made sure of that. Her jewelry was mostly white pearls and rubies, a silver tiara in her hair, a pink blush to her cheeks. Her cousin was right, she was a dream come to life.

A knock at the door had her turning about, and her stomach dropped because she realized the time must be now. Only, when the door opened, it was not one of the guests come to tell them that the duke was ready and waiting. Rather, it was the duke himself.

“Your Grace!” her mother gasped at the sight of him. “What it is? Is something the matter?”

He lingered awkwardly in the doorway. Dressed in darker colors, it was his vest -- dark green -- that matched perfectly with his eyes. It had been over a week since Diana had last seen him and once again she was forced to admit that above all things, he was nothing short of perfection.

“All is well, my lady,” he said with a smile that was all teeth. “I was just wondering... I know this is not the normal procedure, but might I have a word alone with my soon-to-be wife?”

“With me?” Diana said stupidly.

“Yes, with you.”

“Of course,” Diana’s mother said without pause. She was quick to grab Evelyn by the arm and drag her across the room. “We will be right on the other side but take your time, take your time.” They reached the door and Diana’s mother was about to step through, only to stop and look back. “And Your Grace, does my daughter not look lovely?”

Diana’s entire face turned so red that she could have died.

“She does,” he said without missing a beat. “A true beauty.”

The door then closed and Diana and the duke were left alone. Not a situation that should have been as tense as it was, because they were to marry any minute. And yet Diana’s entire body shook even more violently than it had been already.

“Is something the matter?” the duke asked, noticing the way she was shaking.

“It -- it is fine,” she assured him. “You -- you wished to speak with me?”

He studied her for a moment, cool and collected. Under his gaze, Diana’s body continued to vibrate, and she was certain he was about to mock her. Such that she prepared herself to snap back, not at all in the mood for such a thing. Not on today of all days.

“It occurred to me this morning that the two of us have not had a chance to speak properly since last week,” he began finally, thankfully not mentioning her shaking. “Which might not be so strange, were it not for the circumstances surrounding this marriage.”

“I -- it is fine,” she stammered. “I... I am aware of wh – what this is.”

“That is the problem,” he sighed and then strode further into the room, right for her. Diana’s first instinct was to take a backwards step, but she remembered what the dowager duchess said about challenging the duke, so she stayed where she was. “I worry that you might have gotten the wrong impression of what is to be expected. That I...” He shook his head to himself. “That I may have given you the wrong impression.”

“Oh...” She blinked. “N -- no. You told me what this is. A marriage of convenience,” she confirmed while looking at him. “We will be married in name. You expect me to help you to raise your nieces. Fr – from the outside, we are to appear...” She considered the wording. “Content.”

He sighed. “And therein lies the problem. I fear that I made this arrangement sound almost like a business contract. Call that an occupational hazard,” he chuckled. “And where indeed there are aspects of it that might appear as such, I wanted to make my position a little clearer.”

Diana was shaking so uncontrollably now she worried the floor might begin to shake with her. It had been simple enough this past week to pretend as she had been that this marriage was nothing more than procedure and there was no need to worry about what was expected of her. As the duke had made it seem, a business contract of sorts.

Today the reality had struck her. How real it all was. And the duke being here now, confirming as such, only worked to undo her further.

She tried to look at him but could not do it. She tried to act aloof, as if this was all a simple transaction for her, but it was hopeless. She did not know what she wanted from this marriage, nor what she expected, but she knew deep down that a marriage in which she treated her husband more like a business associate than a husband could not work. And surely, he did not think it could?

“I never intended to marry,” the duke began. She could feel his eyes on her and that made her shake further, unable to look at him directly. “My brother’s death changed that. Responsibility, is to what I speak, something I am sure you have fair experience with.”

“I -- I do,” she stammered.

“But I did not choose you simply because it was easy or convenient,” he continued, his voice hardening. “My grandmother told me of what you spoke, and she is right in more ways that she probably realized. I considered for a long while before I came to see you last week. It was not a decision I made brashly, and I wish for you to know this. This marriage...” He clicked his tongue as if nervous himself. “It is not a love match. It is not expected to become one – I am not asking you to fall over yourself in obsession for me,” he chuckled.

“I will do my best,” she tried for a joke, still struggling to look at him. She didn’t understand what he was saying, and somehow it only made things worse. As if he was confirming what she had suspected all along.

“But that does not mean it needs to be difficult,” he continued. “Nor do we need to be strangers in the home that we will share. We will be man and wife, Miss Goldsmith. And I expect...” He shook his head. “I expect that we will at the very least be able to enjoy the pleasure of one another’s company.”

That had her starting and she snapped her head up to look at him.

The pleasure of one another’s company. Does that mean...

Diana felt her entire body flush pink with embarrassment. Her mind went to what Evelyn had been saying the other day and now she could not stop herself from thinking of the obvious. As man and wife, certain things were expected of her... things of which she had no experience but apparently the duke had plenty. Is that why he came here? To tell her in a very roundabout way that she was to perform her marital duties still?

Despite herself, Diana’s eyes flicked down the duke’s body. His wide shoulders. His thick chest. Further still, she found herself lingering on his waist… his thighs… her eyed widening as she remembered the other thing that Evelyn told her. Suddenly, she found her lips salivating…

“I... I... I...” she stammered uncontrollably, caught in two minds, one hand reaching out slowly as if she meant to grab him. But then she realized what she was doing and pulled it back.

A part of her she wished to tell him that he could not have it both ways. That stubborn desire to stand up for herself pushing that thought to the fore, as it was wont to do. On the other hand, she met the duke’s dark eyes, she flicked her own to his thick lips, she felt his power in how he stood over her, the command that emanated from him. And dammit, she suddenly forgot what it is she was so upset about in the first place.

He seemed to notice her shaking, the look in her eyes, and the tiniest smirk rose over his lips. “Is something the matter?”

“Yo -- you wish to – to – I do not quite under – understand --”

“Miss Goldsmith, you are shaking.” The duke took her hands in his and the effect was immediate. It sent a pulse through her hands, up her arms, and across her body which somehow calmed her nerves as if she was melting. It was a warmth that spread through her, a sensation that made it feel as if she might suddenly explode. Only, in a good way. Within half a second the nervous shakes had stopped, replaced by a tingle which she could feel ripple across every inch of her skin. “Are you cold?”

She did not speak at first, still concentrated on the feel of his hands. He squeezed them, her knees buckled, and she stepped in closer, wishing to feel the warmth of his breath against her skin.

“Miss Goldsmith…?”

“N –no,” she said. “I am...” She took a deep breath and forced her mind back to the moment, meeting his eyes as her body continued to glow. “I am feeling perfectly well, thank you.”

“Good. I would hate for you to be sick on our wedding day.”

She held his eyes, wondering if he felt the same sensation that she did right now. She squeezed his hands just a little, delighting in the way he squeezed them back. It was but a moment, but it passed between them like lightning striking a tree and setting it alight. Surely, he must have felt it too?

“So...” He cleared his throat, still holding her by the hands. Another beat passed, his eyes moving down her body, focusing now on her chest as he licked his lips and he mind went to places she did not need to guess. “You understand what I am saying?”

“I think I do...” She held his eyes, held his hands, continued to tingle throughout her entire body. Hot flushes from her face down to her loins and she wondered if he could feel the heat radiating from her.

“Good,” he said with a smile. “I am looking forward to this marriage. Despite the queer circumstances.”

“As am I.” And she realized right then that she meant it.

“Wonderful.” He released her hands, and she nearly cried out as if he was tearing away a limb. “I should be going, then. But I will see you shortly, yes?”

“I look forward to it.”

He smiled at that, and it made her heart race. “As am I.” A short bow, then he turned and strode from the room.

The room felt significantly emptier once the duke had left. Colder, somehow. Smaller. Diana’s heart was still racing. Her body was still warm. But she was no longer shaking as she had been. She was no longer nervous.

A very strange moment. A revealing one, at that. Diana hadn’t known what to expect from this marriage but thanks to the duke’s little visit, she felt that she had a better idea than she had previously. At least she thought that she did, for surely what had just occurred could mean only one thing?

Regardless, she was ready to marry now in a way she had not been even five minutes ago. A marriage of convenience? Or could it be something more?