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Maybe I cannot be a good husband, but I vow this to her and to God–I will protect her.
As the ceremony came to a close, the vicar seemed to rush it. There were no hymns, no sound of celebration nor words of congratulations. The vicar merely called them husband and wife, and they were urged to turn around as the organ music began.
Slowly, James threaded Marina’s hand back onto his arm.
Marina now. Not Lady Marina anymore. Now, she is my duchess.
They took the few steps down from the altar as their congregation stood. Lord and Lady Miller were the first ones to approach, their words a little muffled by the organ music, so James had to strain to hear them. Lady Miller kissed her daughter on the cheek, but Lord Miller offered no warm words or congratulations. He didn’t even touch his daughter.
“Well, it is done then.” He nodded with the words. “Your things will be taken to your new home, Marina.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly. James could have sworn the fingers of her hand clutched his arm a little tighter, but he couldn’t be sure it wasn’t in his imagination. He was rather distracted, glaring at her father and wondering why the man would not show at least a little more warmth toward her.
“You are welcome to come and see our new home soon,” James addressed her parents. At once, Lady Miller nodded, but that nod weakened when her husband puffed his chest out a little.
“We shall see.”
James didn’t wait around for his new wife to suffer any more small slights. He walked forward, drawing Marina with him. As he passed the pews, Neil moved to the end of the row. Marina avoided looking at him, yet as far as James could see, Neil had no interest in looking at her at all.
“I am glad to see you did the right thing, James,” Neil said quietly, forcing a smile.
“So subtle.” James’ sarcasm made that smile falter. He couldn’t help feeling his brother was something of a hypocrite. For all of Neil’s wants to be seen as an honorable man, praised by the ton, James wasn’t convinced Neil would have done the same thing had their roles been reversed. It would have meant marrying a fallen woman, and Neil probably couldn’t have persuaded himself to do such a thing. “Thank you for coming, Neil.”
His brother nodded as they parted, heading for the church door. James didn’t tarry but led Marina through as quickly as he could.
Outside, rain was beginning to fall. The light could have been angels’ tears for the drops were so small. James held his arm not just over his own head but Marina’s too, shielding her from the shower until they reached the carriage that awaited them.
The carriage was not dressed in white ribbon nor adorned with flowers to celebrate. It was plain and black with the curtains pulled tight. He helped Marina inside, glancing back at the church door where family members should have thrown flower petals to wish them good luck. There were no such good luck signs today.
He sighed at the emptiness of that door and followed Marina inside. In his anger at the way their families had treated them both, he slammed the carriage door too hard. It reverberated around them, making the carriage shake, and Marina flinched.
The sight of her flinching as she sat down opposite shook him to his core.
“Marina, I do not wish you to be frightened of me.”
CHAPTER7
“Frightened?” Marina repeated the word, staring at the Duke as the carriage began to move away, taking her to her new life. “You think I am scared of you?”
“You flinched.”
“Because the door closed.” She shook her head. “I am not scared of you. Wary, perhaps, but not scared.” She chose not to tell him that her nerves were on edge because of the wedding. It was not the wedding she had pictured for herself someday, and neither did her family react as she had hoped they would do. The whole experience had left her heart feeling tender, and her hands repeatedly fidgeting with the extremely small bouquet in her hands.
The flowers had been gathered that morning by her lady’s maid as a well-wishing, for Marina’s parents hadn’t bothered to buy her any ahead of the wedding.
“Well, I am glad at least someone in this world isn’t scared of me.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I’m well aware I can be something of an intimidating figure.”
“Truly?” She affected a look of shock, rather amused when he smiled at her. There was something different in the Duke’s countenance today, something that made him seem like quite a different gentleman to the one who had called on her earlier that week and insisted they marry.
“I owe you an apology,” he said slowly, that smile dropping from his face. “I was harsh with you earlier this week. Unjustly so. It is just…” He sighed deeply before he went on, “I do not appreciate feeling trapped into anything, and this week, I certainly did.”
Marina felt a little warmth toward the man before her, wondering if the idea she had of him was the true him or not.
“I know something of what that feels like,” she whispered, fiddling with her bouquet. “I do not like that feeling either. My actions may have been wrong, reprehensible even, but I pray you will appreciate someday that I did it out of desperation – not the intent to trap you or any other.”
Her words made a quiet fall on the carriage. They remained in silence for a minute or so until she saw a hand join hers with the flowers. He gently took the bouquet from her grasp, examining the flowers.
“I understand why you did it,” he whispered carefully. “Now, you have given me a window into your heart, so I will give you a window into mine.” He pulled out one of the flowers, holding out a white chrysanthemum. “My mother once told me these flowers symbolize truth.”
