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In but a few, short, clipped sentences, that showed no consideration for Emma’s feelings, she had informed her of what her future husband would expect of her on their wedding night.
Sinking deeper into her seat, Emma had listened, fighting the deep desire to put her hands over her ears. Terrified beyond compare, she had barely slept a wink.
The thought of allowing that man into her bed had purged all breath from her body, and the shivers had started anew.
Chapter Six
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In the carriage, Emma clung to her sister, squeezing her hand as though she would be swept away if she didn’t hold on tightly.
But Sophie didn’t mind. Gently, she held her hand, here and there stroking her arm and murmuring words of comfort. Pointing out the window, she tried to draw Emma’s attention away from her jittery nerves and to the beautiful flowers growing by the side of the road and across the meadows they passed.
But Emma could not appreciate what she saw. Her gaze was focused at what awaited her once the carriage came to a standstill. At times she did her best to raise her own spirits, lecturing herself harshly for entertaining all these gloomy thoughts.
Giving in to her fear and allowing it to surround her, extinguishing every rational thought, every chance of calming herself in order to see things clearly, was a child’s way of dealing with the world she didn’t understand.
She felt her hands tremble and a sickening sensation settle in her stomach that threatened to expel the meagre breakfast she had eaten that morning.
In these moments Emma thought she would not be able to get through the day. She thought she’d pass out any second. Strangely enough that thought seemed desirable. Then, at least she would be free from her emotions, at least for the moment.
Was life only about moments? She wondered. One changing into another, turning your life upside down, defying gravity and setting everything ablaze.
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Emma hoped that the moment her heart would finally stop tormenting her would come sooner rather than later. She longed to feel at peace again.
As the carriage wheels churned to a stop, Emma’s head flew up. Peeking out the window, she found herself at Langley Manor, the estate of her betrothed. Would she soon be forced to leave her friends and family behind? Another shiver ran down her spine.
A footman opened the door, and Sophie stepped outside. For just a second, Emma felt frozen to the spot and thought that no force on this earth could persuade her to move. But then Emma felt herself move from the carriage and step outside. Although she had only seen Langley Manor from a distance before, Emma drew in a breath at the stately home that was to be hers by the end of the day.
Grand and magnificent, the manor loomed into the sky before her, and Emma wondered if only the way her own fate was tied to this house made her consider it with unease.
She couldn’t help but see something dark hiding in the shadows behind the rows upon rows of windows, and even the door opening to the small chapel seemed like a doorway into hell itself.
“Don’t be absurd!” she called herself to reason once more. “Take a deep breath! Your fears are running away with you again!”
Blinking back the tears, she took a deep breath, but as much as she tried, her heart would not slow down, hammering in her chest as though she was prey hunted by a fierce predator, desperately seeking to escape.
Murmuring her "I do" as though some unseen force had taken control of her, Emma watched in utter shock as her new husband turned toward her and lifted her veil.
As she fought to put a smile on her face, Emma saw no answering expression on his countenance. The breath caught in her throat and the lump in her belly grew heavier and heavier as the Duke of Daventry slowly leaned toward her for the celebratory kiss, sealing their marriage vows.
“You must go home with him,” her aunt softly told her. “He’s your husband now.”
Emma looked over at him, and though he knew he should probably do the decent thing and turn his attention elsewhere, he crossed his arms and stared straight at her, refusing to blink.
“You’ll have to forgive our niece, Your Grace,” her aunt began. “She’s terribly shy.”
“Oh?” He glanced at her. “She wasn’t terribly shy at the ball when we were outside.”
Emma gasped at his implication, and while something in the back of his mind warned him it was wrong to say that, at the moment, he didn’t particularly care to listen to his conscience. “Come on,” he told her. “Let’s go home.”
She slapped his hand, but he tightened his grip.
She clenched her teeth and stomped her foot on the floor. “No! I demand an annulment.”
He laughed. “That’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard. You just stood there and pr
omised yourself to me for better or worse.”
