"Excellent," Devon said with satisfaction. "Then we shall await our guests in the drawing room. Though," he added with a meaningful look at his bride, "we shall require some private time before the festivities begin."
The knowing smile that passed between husband and wife was not lost on the assembled staff, who discretely withdrewto allow the newlyweds their desired privacy. As soon as they were alone, Devon pulled Arabella into his arms with desperate hunger, his mouth claiming hers with the sort of passion that had been building between them for months.
"My wife," he groaned against her lips, the possessive satisfaction in his voice sending shivers of pleasure down her spine. "My beautiful, brilliant, impossible wife."
"Your wife," she agreed breathlessly, her hands touching his dark hair as she gave herself over to the intoxicating pleasure of his kiss. "Always and forever, your wife."
They remained locked in passionate embrace until the sound of arriving carriages forced them apart, both breathing heavily and looking thoroughly debauched despite their brief interlude.
"Our guests," Devon said with obvious reluctance, smoothing his hair with hands that trembled slightly from suppressed desire.
"Indeed," Arabella agreed, attempting to restore some order to her own disheveled appearance. "Though I confess I find myself rather impatient for them to depart again."
"As do I," Devon replied with the sort of heated look that made her pulse quicken with anticipation. "But we must play the gracious hosts for now. Later... later, my dear duchess, I intend to show you exactly how much I have missed having you in my arms."
The promise sent liquid fire coursing through her veins, andArabella found herself counting the hours until they could be alone together without the constraints of propriety or the fear of discovery. Tonight, she would finally be able to love him with the freedom and abandon that marriage granted, and the thought filled her with such anticipation that she could barely concentrate on the social obligations that lay ahead.
As their wedding guests began to arrive for the celebration breakfast, Arabella reflected on the extraordinary journey that had brought her to this moment. From the desperate woman who had entered Devon's employment to escape social ruin, she had become a beloved wife whose happiness was now the primary concern of one of England's most powerful men.
The transformation seemed almost too wonderful to be real, yet the ring upon her finger and the warmth in Devon's eyes assured her that this was indeed her new reality. She was the Duchess of Ravenshollow, and more importantly, she was deeply, completely, irrevocably loved.
The wedding breakfast passed in a blur of congratulations and toasts, with even former enemies like Lady Huxley offering their felicitations with apparent sincerity. The dramatic circumstances of their union had captured London's imagination in a way that more conventional matches could never achieve, transforming what might have been a scandal into the season's most romantic story.
As the afternoon wore on and their guests finally began to take their leave, Arabella found herself growing increasingly aware of Devon's presence beside her. Every casual touch of his hand, every whispered comment in her ear, every heated glance sent anticipation building within her until she felt as though shemight spontaneously combust from sheer desire.
"The last carriage has departed," Devon announced as he closed the drawing room door behind the final guest, his voice carrying a note of satisfaction that had nothing to do with their successful entertainment.
"Has it indeed?" Arabella asked with assumed innocence, though her pulse quickened at the predatory look in his dark eyes.
"Indeed, it has," Devon confirmed, moving toward her with the sort of deliberate purpose that made her breath catch in her throat. "Which means, my dear wife, that we are finally, completely alone."
"And what," she asked with growing boldness, "do you intend to do about that, Your Grace?"
Devon's smile was positively wicked as he reached for her, pulling her into his arms with gentle but inexorable force.
"I intend," he said softly, his mouth hovering just inches from hers, "to spend the rest of the evening showing you exactly what pleasure my love can give to you and that it was worth every moment of torment."
As his lips claimed hers once more, Arabella surrendered herself completely to the knowledge that she was finally, truly home. In Devon's arms, she had found not just love but the courage to be entirely herself; passionate, intelligent, strong, and deeply, completely happy.
The future stretched before them bright with infinite possibility, and for the first time in her life, Arabella faced that future without fear or reservation. Whatever challenges lay ahead, they would meet them together as husband and wife, equals in love and partners in all things.
And tonight... tonight, she would finally discover what it meant to be loved completely, and without the need to hide, by the man who had proven himself worthy of her trust through actions rather than mere words.
Chapter 19
"My darling wife."
Devon's voice, rough with barely controlled desire, sent shivers of anticipation racing through Arabella's entire being as he swept her up into his arms with effortless strength. The drawing room of Ravenshollow Manor fell away around them as he carried her toward the main staircase, her ivory silk skirts trailing elegantly over his arm whilst her hands instinctively came up to circle his neck.
"Devon," she breathed, her voice catching on his name as the reality of their situation finally settled over her. They were married, truly and legally wed, free at last to express the passion that had been building between them for so many months without hiding. The knowledge filled her with equal measures of exhilaration and nervous anticipation.
"Do you long for it? Like it is the first time, without constrictions, without hiding and without regrets?" he asked gently, pausing at the foot of the staircase to study her face with tender concern. "We need not... that is, if you require time to accustom yourself to the idea of marriage..."
"No," Arabella interrupted with surprising firmness, her green eyes meeting his with steady determination. “I do want it. I want to experience the feeling from the beginning. Free of guilt and shame. I trust you and I know tonight will be a whole new experience.”
The trust implicit in her words sent such profound emotion coursing through Devon that he had to pause for a moment to regain his composure. Here was the woman he had nearly lost to another man's greed and cruelty, now gazing up at him with complete faith in his ability to cherish and protect her as she deserved.
"I love you," he said with quiet intensity, the simple words carrying more weight than any elaborate declaration could have achieved. "I love you beyond reason, beyond propriety, beyond everything I once thought I understood about the nature of human feeling."
