“It shall,” Victor said although he harbored doubts about this as well. While the license was legitimate, he could not guarantee that people would treat it as normal.
Victor narrowed his eyes and began to regret asking his brother to stand beside him. However, he didn’t have that many choices, for he had always kept people at a distance, and those he considered friends were few. This wedding was not going to be a grand affair, so he had not invited any business associates, friends, or acquaintances. While there was a smattering of cousins who had been invited due to obligation, the only guest of note to Victor was Harry.
Victor steadied himself, clasping his hands together. He looked past the flower girls, the bridesmaids, and the maid of honor. It was impossible to look at anything apart from the vision of loveliness that was Lydia.
When he commissioned the gown, he had been assured of its excellent quality, and the expense of it indicated the same. But to see it being worn by Lady Lydia gave it a liquid quality.
It flowed down her body, coming to life in a way that he hadn’t imagined it could when he saw it unworn. She held flowers in front of her stomach. Her sleeved arms were slender. Her hair was perfectly styled, framing the beauty of her face perfectly.
And then he noticed the sadness in her eyes. Victor might have earned a reputation as a cold man, but he was not devoid of empathy. Lady Lydia saw this not as a binding of two hearts but as a shackling of her soul.
There was no other way.
The Duke of Stonewood walked her down the aisle and placed her gloved hand in Victor’s. Her hand was small, fitting neatly into his palm. As he looked at their hands, he thought about Harry’s words and wondered if Lydia did indeed feel a chill. The air was scented with a sweet perfume, and for a moment, he had to catch himself.
She was his arranged duchess and nothing more. This wedding would not last forever nor would the marriage. Yet there was a sense of timelessness about this day.
His life would never be the same again.
They were led through their vows by the Reverend. The words were spoken clearly but without feeling. Lydia faced him, but her eyes looked everywhere else apart from his eyes. A strange feeling came over him, as though he was outside his body. It was surreal to think that this was really happening, and a part of him believed that something would interrupt the occasion.
But nothing did.
They reached the part where they promised themselves to each other. Victor’s voice was dry. Lydia’s was a reluctant whisper.
Victor felt a need to add legitimacy to the wedding, to show some sign that he was affectionate of Lydia that went beyond what was ordinarily expected of a groom. He winced inside, vexed by the lengths he was forced to pursue to resolve this situation.
He leaned towards her.
She remained motionless. He closed his eyes and moved as close to her as he dared. His lips brushed against hers, a touch so light that it might well have been said to hardly have occurred at all. However, it was enough to send a strange tingling sensation shooting through the core of his body.
He moved back. Everything had changed. The scandal was settled, but he was now married to a woman he barely knew, and there was an abandoned baby in his life that somehow depended on him. The baby had been left at the townhouse for the ceremony, but the presence loomed like shadowy clouds on a stormy horizon.
There was no telling what would happen next.
Chapter Ten
It was done.
Lydia felt heavy. She stood beside the Duke of Nightford, a man she could call a husband and a stranger. He was not a friend. He wasn’t a romantic partner. Fate had simply thrown them together, as though a rolling of the dice had determined the outcome of her life.
She tried not to think about the kiss. It had been most unexpected, more so because the touch of his lips against her skin had not been unpleasant. Lydia told herself that she had been overwhelmed by the occasion. It wasn’t as if there was any emotion in the kiss anyway. The Duke of Nightford was not a man to be swept away by a relentless passion.
It was all for show, hollow.
They made their way out of the church. It was a sunny day, and the light made her squint. Victor showed her to the carriage.
“We shall be in Brighton soon,” he said. “We shall just stop off to pick up the baby.”
Lydia was startled, fearing that she had misheard him.
“Brighton?” she asked. “I thought you resided in London?”
“I stop in London for business, but my main residence is in Brighton. It is a pleasant part of the country. I’m sure that you will find it pleasing,” he said although a strange look came over his face after he spoke, as though he didn’t quite have any conviction about his words.
“I thought we were going to remain in London,” Lydia said, glancing longingly over her shoulder at her family and friends. Not only was she married, but she was being taken away from everything she knew.
“I apologize if I did not make it clear. I assumed you knew that my estate was located in Brighton.”
