Page 84

Gabriel’s hand tightened around Eleanor’s. He was ready to act if he needed to.

Sebastian stood before them, saying nothing for a couple of seconds, but it dragged out and felt much longer. Finally, he raised his glass to chest height.

“I’d like to toast you both as a newlywed couple,” he said, forcing a smile.

“That’s very kind of you,” Gabriel told him. He picked up his glass and raised it.

Eleanor followed suit.

“To the duke and duchess,” Sebastian said quietly.

Eleanor smiled politely. She and Gabriel didn’t reply with the same toast, but raised their glasses and then each took a drink. Sebastian drank from his glass and licked his lips before his smile disappeared, and a thin sadness filled his eyes.

He stood before them, still and silent.

Eleanor took deep breaths, her smile tight.

“I wish you both a life filled with happiness,” Sebastian told them. “You really do make a wonderful couple. Some things in life are not to be, and others are fated. I harbor no ill intent, and I am excited to see where life takes me next.”

“I appreciate that,” Gabriel told him.

Sebastian took a breath and nodded. Then he left them.

Eleanor let out a breath in relief. Everything went unspoken between the three of them, but she sensed the test for Sebastian had come when he stood before them. If he were ever going to say anything, it would have been then, and now that the interaction was over, they were safe from him revealing what had happened.

Eleanor brought a hand up and rubbed her forehead. Still, the relief didn’t bring warmth. She did not know what would bring her warmth other than the duke declaring to her that he felt the same way she did.

She didn’t believe that he did. Perhaps in time, he would fall in love with her, but he would not do so as quickly as she had fallen for him. She felt foolish to have done so, but that would not change how she felt.

Gabriel let go of her hand and picked up his fork to eat more of the pheasant that had been caught on his grounds and roasted fresh that morning. Eleanor watched him out of the corner of her eye; he looked content. She should be content with all that she had been given.

Then she did smile genuinely.

She couldn’t help it when she saw her mother walking toward them, happiness etched across her face. She smiled broadly, and her eyes lit up. Margaret looked only at Eleanor as she approached. It was a look of pride.

“What a beautiful, beautiful couple,” Margaret gushed. “I am so happy today.” She placed her hand over her heart. “To see both of you sitting here... I have dreamed of this day for a long, long time, and now that it is upon us, it is far more than I could have ever imagined or hoped for. What a wonderful occasion.”

“We are glad that you can share it with us,” Gabriel replied. “I was only just commenting on what a splendid job Eleanor has done with the decorations.”

“She has outdone herself,” Margaret admitted. “Both with the wedding itself and the man to whom she is now wed.”

“Mother,” Eleanor complained happily.

“I never expected you to marry someone so powerful and handsome,” Margaret said. “There is no shame in admitting that. You have done better than expected, and you should be happy about that.”

“You didn’t expect me to marry someone awful, did you?” Eleanor asked.

“Of course not, but someone like His Grace?” Margaret looked at the duke and shook her head. “You are a very lucky woman, Eleanor.”

Eleanor opened her mouth to respond to that, but the duke beat her to it.

“We are both very lucky,” he said.

Eleanor didn’t let herself grow giddy at the compliment. She was a regular lady, and he was a duke. He might have a stern reputation, but many women in London would jump at the chance to marry him. It was a welcome compliment, but she knew he was only saying it to please her mother.

“That is the truth,” Margaret agreed. “My daughter will never blow her own trumpet, so I will do it for her. She is the finest woman in all of London, if I don’t say so myself. I truly believe that, Eleanor.”

“Thank you, Mother,” Eleanor said.