“Welcome home, your grace.”
“Our congratulations!”
“Such a lovely bride!”
“Your grace.” A straight-backed, gray-haired man extended one white-gloved hand to Kendra, presumably to help her down.
She paused before putting her fingers in his, looking about in utter confusion. “Your grace?” she repeated under her breath.
“Your grace,” Trick confirmed, helping her to the gravel. Two grooms appeared from nowhere and took the caleche while more servants scurried to join the double line that flanked the tall, carved front doors.
Trick grasped Kendra by the elbow and guided her toward the steps. “May I present my wife, the Duchess of Amberley. I trust you will all do your best to see she’s happy here.”
Happy? She nodded and smiled stiffly, all the while planning Trick’s murder.
Which would come right after her brothers’.
Fourteen
“YOU’RE A DUKE!The Duke ofAmberley, no less!” It was unbelievable. No wonder Colin had said the amber bracelet was fitting. She hooked two fingers through it, barely resisting an urge to rip it off.
“Such venom. Hearts wounds, you say it as though a duke is the worst sort of knave.”
“In this case, he is.” Kendra paced the red-velvet-hung bedchamber. “How dare you keep such a secret from me!”
“I don’t hold with lying, Kendra. But your brothers asked me not to tell you, and I reckoned it was harmless enough, in the scheme of things.”
“Harmless? You tricked me! I would never have married you had I known—”
“Rubbish. You were in love with me.”
Kendra wanted to slap the smug look off his handsome face. “Love, hah! Why, I don’t even know you. Wherever did you get such an absurd idea?”
“Your brothers told me.”
“They knew nothing about it.” Feeling color creep into her cheeks, she hastened to add, “It wouldn’t matter, anyway. Whatever I may or may not have felt for you was destroyed by your lie, not to mention last night.”
“Hearts wounds, not that again.” Trick sighed and dropped onto a tufted brocade chair. “I told you, it was only the first time. It won’t hurt from now on.”
She only looked at him, her jaw set.
“And what, pray tell, is so bad about being a duchess? Most women would be thrilled beyond words.”
“I am never beyond words.”
“Why does that not surprise me?” Trick returned dryly. He crossed his long legs at the ankles. “I really don’t understand this, Kendra. How can marrying a duke be such a disastrous occurrence?”
“It’s too hard to explain.”
“Try.” He crossed his arms. “I’m listening.”
With a huff of impatience, she sat on the red velvet bed. She parked her hands behind her and looked up, trying to think. Above her loomed the underside of a gathered silk canopy fit for a king.
Or a duke, ranked above everyone but royalty.
“Your grace, it isn’t the title itself that sets my teeth on edge, but what it symbolizes. To me. To the world in general. All the good people who weren’t lucky enough to…”
This wasn’t working. Feeling beyond words after all, she sat straight. But the dazed look in Trick’s eyes only frustrated her further.
