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“No, no, no, no….” Annalise muttered to herself as she searched Caroline with her eyes.
“—is a betrothal between my niece Lady Caroline and the Duke of Kensington.”
At this moment, Annalise finally found Caroline standing next to the duke at the edge of the crowd. Her face was pale but resolute, her spine straight, her head held high. Next to her stood her betrothed, with a similar mask of quiet detachment on his face.
The astonished whispers and shocked gasps filled the ballroom, followed by exclamations of surprise. A few heads turned Annalise’s way, but she didn’t care about any of it.
Her panicked gaze settled on Lavinia’s stricken face. Their eyes met, and Annalise saw all the anguish, horror, and despair in her friend’s eyes. Lavinia turned and hurried away from the crowd. Annalise started to do the same, but a strong hand caught her arm in a tight grip.
“Don’t even think about it,” Blake gritted between his teeth.
She turned to him, her eyes wide. His face was dark with anger or even rage, his chin set at a hard angle, and his eyes were icy. As much as Annalise didn’t like to think of herself as a coward, she felt unaccountably intimidated by her husband at that moment. He was like a complete stranger; no, like a strange animal or even a monster.
“I-I…” she began to stutter, but he cut her off.
“You will stand here, wife,” he said in the same menacing, low voice. “And you will smile and pretend that nothing is bothering you.”
Annalise’s breath was coming in shallow gulps. She wished to twist her arm away from his grip and give him a piece of her mind. But he was right. She’d only make a spectacle of herself and him in front of the beau monde, and it was not worth it. Everybody would think exactly what Blake was thinking. That she had feelings for Kensington and was hurt by his hasty betrothal. So she put a smile on her face while she surveyed the crowd for any sign of Lavinia.
Poor dear Lavinia. She’d been so happy just a moment ago, dancing in Kensington’s arms, and now… All her dreams had been shattered in an instant.
