Page 14 of Stolen By the Duke of Stone

“Say nothing of it. Another round, then? Let us drink until the sun comes up and toast to your future.” He poured another glass and raised it to Andrew. “To your wedding, and all that may come after.” He waggled his brows.

Andrew rolled his eyes, but he raised his glass to Nicholas and tapped it with a definitive clink, wondering just what his marriage would entail.

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.