He marched over to the hearth, waiting impatiently for everyone else to fall in line. Joseph didn’t miss when Ava and Maisie bumped their heads together to whisper to each other—more than likely regarding his bad mood—nor did he miss the fact that Lord Heaton was studying him with an uncharacteristically serious countenance. His attention was mostly fixed on Catriona, however, who seemed intent on ignoring his order and instead took that opportunity to tell Henry that they must take some time after the ceremony to talk a bit more.
He was barely holding himself together by the time she and the priest made their way over to him. And even though he was obviously staring at her, she ignored him, attention fixed on the priest.
“Let us begin,” he said.
Joseph didn’t listen to any of it. He didn’t feel the need to, especially since it was his second time being a groom. He knew the process, knew the vows, and didn’t really care to pay attention to any of it when the lady standing next to him was threatening to drive him mad.
He simply couldn’t understand why her sudden aloofness was bothering him so, and Joseph was far too annoyed to care. Right now, he only wanted to bide his time and wait for the moment to demand answers. He stayed still, waited, said his vows, and continued to wait.
“You may kiss the bride.”
He’d been so caught up in his head that he hadn’t remembered that crucial part of the wedding. Joseph turned to face Catriona as she turned to face him.
The stoniness of her expression remained. She looked at him as if she was looking at a piece of clay, uninterested. But then her eyes dipped to his lips for a moment, a flash of awareness sparking in her gaze. And when he stepped closer, he heard her breath hitch in her throat.
He should make it quick. They did not have any affection for each other after all, and this was just for formality. But that was at the back of his mind when he slid his hand around the small of her back. That reality fell to the wayside when she put her hands against his chest and that indifference melted away, revealing a soft innocence that put cracks in the walls around his heart. Making it quick might have been the right thing to do, but Joseph didn’t feel like being smart right now.
So, he kissed her softly. He felt her stiffen against him, her fingers tensing against his chest. Her lips were as soft as he’d thought they’d be, the smell of her floral perfume wrapping around him like a gentle cocoon. Joseph forgot where he was, who he was, his reason for being. In that moment, he was simply a man, and Catriona was a woman, and their kiss was the spark that ignited something long dead inside him.
She pulled away first, looking startled, an adorable blush staining her cheeks. He watched as she tried to put herself back together, slipping behind that mask of indifference once more. He swallowed his sigh.
He didn’t know what he thought would change with the kiss. For her, nothing seemed to have happened.
But for him, he wasn’t so sure he could say the same.
There would be wedding breakfast. Even though Catriona knew that from the beginning, she couldn’t help the pang of disappointment watching her family’s carriage pull away, taking away her uncle and sisters and leaving her alone in this stranger’s house.
Her house now, she supposed.
Catriona sighed and turned away from the window in the foyer, making her way up the staircase. She paused briefly to scratch Nina behind her ears, grateful that she at least had her by her side. She didn’t know where Joseph had disappeared to after the wedding. Once they’d signed the papers, he’d barely excused himself and disappeared. Mr. Henry Macdonald had enough good manners to apologize for them both before taking off after him.
She supposed she should have been glad for his departure, however. It had given her more alone time with her family. Catriona hadn’t realized just how much she was going to miss them, just how much she dreaded the thought of leaving Heaton Manor, until the moment was finally upon them. Her belongings had been taken up to her new bedchamber, and when they left,she would be alone to fend for herself in this massive house. As mistress of the house, no less.
The trepidation wouldn’t go away. If anything, it grew worse now that she was officially the Duchess of Irvin.
The head housekeeper had asked her if she wished to meet the staff, and even though she knew she should, Catriona told her that she’d do it tomorrow. For the rest of today, she wanted to pretend that nothing much had changed. Tomorrow, she would put on the full mantle of duchess.
Her bedchamber was in the same wing as Joseph’s, the housekeeper had informed her. Catriona lingered outside her door, studying the doors along the hallway, wondering which one was his. Was he inside right now?
She shook her head, trying to rid her mind of every thought of him. But as soon as she was in her bedchamber, the memory of the kiss they’d shared came rushing back. Catriona touched her lips, her heart racing as heat washed her. The way he’d held her, had pulled her towards him… Catriona thought she would have passed out if he hadn’t had his arm banded around her.
But his kiss… oh, his kiss would have brought her right back to the world of the conscious.
She never imagined that it would be so… perfect. She couldn’t describe it any other way. Even when Maisie had teased her about sharing a kiss with the Duke during the ceremony, making up descriptions on how it could possibly go, nothing could haveprepared her for the softness of his lips and the gentle force he applied as they moved against hers. She didn’t know what to do, and he didn’t seem to care. He led, guided her, brought her to a point of no return…
She wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it. That kiss had been branded into her very soul.
A soft knock on the door pulled her from her reverie. Catriona turned slowly, heart ramming incessantly against her chest at the thought of who might be standing on the other side.
The knock came again, softer this time. Catriona frowned. That couldn’t possibly be Joseph.
And it wasn’t. When she opened the door, she found a little girl standing on the other side.
“Dorothea!” Catriona exclaimed, lowering to meet Dorothea at eye level. The little girl took a step back, watching Catriona with impassive eyes.
“Welcome to Irvin Manor,” Dorothea greeted.
Catriona smiled. She’d almost forgotten how deadpan she was for a girl so young, as if she had been trained from the day she’d learned to speak how to put her manners first.
