A Lord Rotheby's Holiday Bundle (84 page)

Chatham grinned, the first
time Alex had ever seen the man smile. “I’ve secured a special
license for you. You may marry immediately.” He took one look at
his daughter and his visage changed entirely. “And you
will
marry him,
Grace.”

Excellent.

She tugged against his grasp. He
tightened his hold on her waist and pulled her closer.

“
Very good, sir. We’ll
marry in the morning.”

Grace glared up at him, pulled herself
free, and marched from the salon.

And he
still
hadn’t talked to her about
Priscilla and Harry. For that matter, he still hadn’t decided what
he was going to do about them.

There was not much time left. He had
to decide. Now.

Chapter
Twenty-Four

Aunt Dorothea’s face was alight with
joy. “Oh how wonderful. I do love weddings. Gracie, you look
breathtaking in that white silk, I’m so glad we chose it for today.
Lord Alexander will be stunned speechless when he sees you.” She
fussed about Grace, fiddling with ribbons and flowers and generally
getting in Tess’s way as the girl tried to secure Grace’s hair in
an elaborate knot.

She didn’t bother to feign excitement.
In an hour’s time, she would marry Lord Alexander, a man who didn’t
love her. A man who was only marrying her for honor’s
sake.

A man she loved
desperately.

She should be happy. She would love
her husband, she could keep her child, and she would live near her
aunt and uncle. She would have a family for the first time since
she was a very young girl. A lot of family, for that matter, and a
very interesting and entertaining family to boot.

Yet she was miserable.

It might be different if he loved
her—if he wanted to marry her and was not forced to do so in order
to save her honor.

But she couldn’t change the situation.
She would walk down the aisle and marry the man she loved more than
anything in the world, and then spend the rest of her life with the
knowledge that she was entirely and utterly unlovable.

Grace felt numb.

She allowed Tess and Aunt Dorothea to
finish their ministrations. After they completed the task and
deemed her beautiful beyond compare, and of course the loveliest
bride the ton had ever seen, she boarded the waiting carriage. She
sat next to Aunt Dorothea, across from her father and Uncle
Laurence as they traveled to the church.

No true guests would be present. Only
his family and hers, with the additions of Lord Rotheby, Sir Jonas,
and the Earl of Sinclaire would witness the ceremony.

Her father took her hand to help her
down from the carriage, then escorted her into the church. She
tried not to shrink from his touch, but found it difficult. He
couldn’t fool her into thinking he was an entirely changed man
overnight, simply from one confrontation with the Dowager Duchess
of Somerton, even if the woman was the most imposing and convincing
woman Grace had ever laid eyes upon.

Lord Alexander waited for her at the
front, next to the vicar. She couldn’t look at him. Instead, she
stared at the walkway beneath her feet, unable to look anyone in
the eyes. Father passed her hand to Lord Alexander, and the vicar
started the ceremony. It all passed by her in a fog.

Lord Alexander said, “I do,” and
pressed her hand gently.

When prompted, she also said “I do.”
She had no choice. Father had commanded her to accept, so she
did.

The vicar said a few more words, none
of which registered in her mind. They signed the register. Lord
Alexander turned her about to face their families and led her along
the aisle and from the church to yet another waiting carriage. An
open carriage—one that would proclaim to all of London that she was
now Lady Alexander Hardwicke.

He assisted her inside and climbed up
after her. The driver signaled the horses to leave, and they began
the journey to Hardwicke House for a celebratory meal.

“
Are you happy,
Grace?”

She stared out at the passing city.
“Happy, my lord?”

“
Alex. Call me Alex. I want
to hear my name on your lips.”

She hesitated before whispering,
“Alex.”

He took her hand and held it in his.
“I like that. I like how you say my name.” A few moments passed and
the tension inside her built. “I want to hear it from you more
often. But you haven’t answered me. I daresay that’s becoming a
habit. Are you happy?”

“
I don’t know.” Grace
couldn’t remember the last time she had felt happy. What would it
feel like? Would she even recognize it when it arrived? Somehow,
she doubted it.

He stroked the back of her hand, her
fingers. “I’ll make you happy. Give me the opportunity. That’s all
I ask.”

She closed her eyes and pulled in a
deep breath. The air smelled of recent rain and wildflowers, and
the warm, woodsy, masculine scent belonging to her
husband.

“
I’ll try. I can promise
you no more than that I will try.” Was she even capable of
happiness?

He pulled her hand to his lips and
placed a chaste kiss on it as the carriage arrived at Hardwicke
House. She shuddered at his gentle touch.

~ * ~

Alex wished the celebration would come
to an end. He loved his family and friends, but he had other things
on his mind. He wanted to show Grace how much he loved her. He
couldn’t live with himself if she continued to doubt him, to doubt
his affection for her. His love.

They would stay in a suite at
Hardwicke House for the night and journey to Somerton in the
morning. He didn’t want to overwhelm her on the day of their
wedding by beginning with travel and spending the night at an inn
along the way. He wanted to make this one night special for
her—perfect even.

But the celebration continued. He sat
by her side through a round of toasts, from Peter, Derek, Gil, and
Sir Laurence. The whole time she wore a fake smile, one that seemed
painted on her face. A small orchestra was assembled in the
ballroom, and Mama declared dancing would begin
immediately.

“
Would you care to dance
with me, Grace?” he asked as he led her to the ballroom.

With her pasted smile, she nodded and
took his hand. The orchestra played a waltz. He swept her into his
arms, and they glided across the floor to the music.

The world spun around them, but he saw
nothing other than his wife. “I thought this day might never come,
Grace.”

“
I hoped it wouldn’t, my
lord.” She looked away.

A single tear slid down her cheek, and
he reached up to smooth it away. It was only her pain. She loved
him. He had to remember that she loved him. “Alex. I asked you to
call me by my name.”

She only nodded in reply.

Why couldn’t she accept his love? Was
he destined to a lifetime of marriage to a woman who couldn’t allow
him to love her? A piece of his heart broke at the prospect, and he
pulled her closer in his arms, wanting to surround her with his
warmth as a symbol of his love.

Alex vowed to himself that tonight he
would love Grace so well that she could no longer deny it. He would
do whatever it required.

But Grace would know he loved
her.

~ * ~

The wedding celebration finally came
to an end, much to Grace’s relief. She could think of little she
wanted to celebrate less than her marriage. But the deed was done,
and now Grace would have to learn her new position as a
wife.

She didn’t imagine life as the wife of
a gentleman would be much different than life as her father’s
daughter had been. She would merely answer to a different master.
Life would go on as it always had in the past.

After she said her goodbyes to her
aunt, uncle, and Lord Rotheby, who would travel to Somerton
together in a few days, her husband took her hand.

“
Come with me,
Grace.”

So she went. The dutiful wife must
obey, after all. She had no right to argue or complain.

He led her through the halls and up
the stairs to a separate wing of the house. “Mama had a suite
prepared for us, so we could have some privacy.” He opened a large,
oak door and ushered her inside.

A huge canopied bed stood against one
wall, with matching tables and chairs scattered about the room.
Silks draped the bed and windows in rich gold and brown.

Alex closed the door behind them. “You
have a dressing room through here. I had a footman bring your
trunks up earlier, so you should have everything you need.” He
still held one of her hands in his firm grasp. “A second sleeping
chamber is on the other side of your dressing room.”

Her heart pounded in her chest. Would
she be allowed some reprieve then? And did she even want
it?

“
I had it prepared for you.
But I hope you’ll choose not to use it.” He turned her to face him
and placed his hand against her cheek. “I hope you’ll stay with me
tonight.”

He tilted her head and placed a soft,
teasing kiss upon her lips. She leaned in to him, her body
disregarding her mind’s commands.

But then he broke off the kiss. “I
believe Tess is waiting to assist you in your dressing
room.”

He removed his hands from her and took
a step away, granting her a chance to breathe if her lungs would
cooperate. The heat in his eyes melted her core and turned her to a
liquid pool of heat inside. She hurried away to her dressing
room.

Tess bobbed a curtsy when she walked
through the door. “My lady, your aunt prepared a trousseau for you
ma’am.”

“
That was very kind of her,
Tess.” Grace stood behind the door and pressed against it while she
regained her composure. Her pulse raced and her body ached in her
most private areas. But he had hardly even touched her.

“
We ought to get you out of
your gown, ma’am. You won’t want to keep your husband waiting.”
Tess moved to her side and removed pins from her hair. “Lady
Kensington put a nightgown in your trousseau and she told me to be
sure you wear it tonight. I’ve laid it aside.”

The lady’s maid worked briskly and
soon had Grace’s hair freed from its confines so it flowed in soft
waves over her shoulders and across her back, nearly reaching to
her waist. She moved to the buttons on Grace’s gown next. Before
she knew what was happening, she was undressed down to her
shift.

Tess moved to the dressing table where
a sleeping gown lay ready for Grace to don. It was a diaphanous
white fabric that would expose her almost completely to her
husband’s gaze.

“
I can’t possibly wear
that, Tess.” Her eyes bulged and she backed a few steps away,
grasping her shift to her chest.

“
Why ever not, my lady? His
lordship will be taking it off you, I would wager, whatever you
wear.” The girl’s eye twinkled in delight.

“
What…how do you know of
such things?” Grace narrowed her eyes and the young
girl.

Tess laughed. “We learn of these
things and a good bit more, we house servants do. Never you mind.
Off with your shift, and we’ll put this pretty thing on
you.”

Grace gawked. “When did you become so
bossy?” She had no choice but to lift her arms above her head as
her servant pulled the shift from her body.

“
Oh, I don’t know, my lady.
Maybe when I learned I’d be allowed to stay on as your lady’s maid.
Your husband offered me the position, you know. And since you will
live in Somerton, I’ll still be near my family. It’s a wonderful
situation, I believe. Far better than having you off with Lord
Barrow, or in London. I think you and I’ll do quite well with Lord
Alexander, don’t you agree?”

Tess settled the nightgown over
Grace’s head and smoothed it along her curves. “I think this will
do rather well. Your aunt is a right smart lady, ma’am. Lord
Alexander will want to eat you alive when he sees you like
this.”

Grace was already flushing in
embarrassment over Tess seeing her in such a state, but the
suggestion of Lord Alexander wanting to eat her alive only served
to multiply her discomfort.

“
Right then. Off I go, my
lady. If you need me, give the bell pull a tug, but otherwise I
will be far, far away.” Tess exited through the door to the second
bedchamber.

Grace took a few breaths to calm
herself. There was no reason to fret. She’d been intimate with Alex
before, and it had been a wonderful experience. Once she thought
she could go through the door without running in the opposite
direction, she returned to the main chamber.

Her husband stood by the hearth,
kindling a fire. Candlelight danced about the room, darkened by
closed curtains over the windows. He was barefoot and had removed
his coat, waistcoat, and cravat. She didn’t see any of his
discarded items of clothing. He must have put them in his dressing
room.

He walked toward her with his shirt
halfway unbuttoned. Auburn hairs dotted his muscled chest. His eyes
glowed in the dim candlelight. Alex stopped short of coming near
enough to touch her and devoured her with his eyes. Her body burned
everywhere his gaze rested, and she moved to cover herself with her
arms.