“And she knows this?” Eastmoor asked curiously.
“She does,” Alaric assured him. Still, they watched him curiously, as if they weren’t buying it. “I would be lying too if I said I did not feel some guilt over what I did to her. The least Ican do is offer her some sense of protection from the scandal.”The moment he said it, he regretted it.
“Look who has a heart suddenly,” Cassian cooed.
“Quiet,” Alaric snapped.
“I have not seen this woman,” Ronan agreed. “But it sounds to me like there is more to it than…” He scoffed. “Convenience. What does she look like? This Lady Tremayne?”
“Like Helena, I bet,” Cassian added.
They thought they had him figured out. That this marriage was some attempt for Alaric to atone for past sins. And maybe it was, in its own way.
More or less.More lies. More deceit. But it’s easier for me to swallow them than admit to how I really feel.
He had done much thinking about Lady Tremayne of late. Far too much, for his liking. And how she looked, how she made him feel, had plagued him with more tenacity than he liked to consider – not to mention the reasons these attributes of hers were so enticing. What he thought of most was who she was as a person.
She was a kind, lost soul. Possessed of a big heart. Trapped in a situation that was not of her making. Brave too, of that there was no doubt, he could sense that there was more to her thanwhat most suspected. But her lot in life had never allowed her to explore this side, as she was a prisoner to her father and the expectations of society.
She deserved more than what she had been given. She deserved more than Alaric. In this way, he hoped to protect her. From both the scandal and from himself. Thus, his intent to deem this marriage one of convenience was done as much for her as anything else. So that she would have a chance at a future beyond the harrows of being married to the Duke of Ravencourt.
“She is nothing like Helena,” Alaric snapped at Cassian. “And I will thank you not to mention her name again in my presence.” A darkness swept over him—over the room—one which the others could feel in their bones.
“Yes, yes…” Cassian held up his hands in defense. “We are just joking.”
“Don’t.”
“I suppose it doesn’t matter,” Eastmoor drawled. “It is done now. Or it will be next week. I just hope you know what you are getting yourself into, Ravencourt.”
Alaric scoffed. “Worried for me?”
“Not for you…”
The implication hung in the air between the three men, confirming the same fears that Alaric had sat with all week. Although he knew he had to commit to this marriage, for a myriad of reasons that suited both himself and his future wife, he also knew he had to be careful.
Lady Tremayne was about to enter a dangerous new world of which she could not possibly comprehend. If she was lucky—and if he was—she would come out the other side in one piece.
Five
“Would it be a cliché to tell you how beautiful you look?” Alicia said from just over Clara’s right shoulder.
“It would be,” Clara said as she looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror. She forced a smile and then turned to see her friend. “But that does not mean it isn’t nice to hear.”
Alicia smiled, tears beginning to well in her eyes. Only, they were not tears of happiness or joy as one might suspect. Rather, there was a sadness trapped behind them.I do not need to ask why.
It was the day of the wedding, and Clara found herself in a small chamber behind the chapel with just her best friend for comfort and support. Any minute now, she would be called to walk the aisle, a moment that she was both dreading and anticipating with feigned curiosity in equal measure. Not scared, so to speak. Not worried for her safety. Merely unsure of what the future might hold.
That she hadn’t spoken to the duke once since she had stolen away to his castle did not help the matter. He had conversed with her father only, mostly through the writing of letters. And when he did visit their home one time, she was not permitted to see him. Whether this was her father’s request of the duke’s, she had no notion.
For now, all she could do was wait and wonder. She was dressed in a simple blue-and-green gown that had belonged to her mother. It fitted well but was in no way scandalous. And where she thought she looked beautiful, as Alicia had said, she also knew it made no difference.This marriage is not for that, so why would I even bother trying?
“You still have time to say no,” Alicia said, sniffing away the tears. “It is not too late.”
“Alicia…” She took her friend by the hands and squeezed them. “That makes no difference. As I told you, I am the one who sought this marriage.”
“It is madness!” Alicia cried. “The man is dangerous. He is…” She dropped her voice. “He is evil, Clara. You know this.”
“No more than my father.”
