Morington cast him an odd look. “Respectable, certainly. But they are also all quite good people. They love one another very much and support one another. I have never seen a set of siblings with such fondness between them.”
“I suppose. I had not given it much thought.”
“Well, you are not just marrying a woman,” Morington said. “You are marrying into her family, and that matters. It matters that they are good, honest people who enjoy one another’s company. I imagine they will also be welcoming to you.”
To that, Lewis had nothing to say. This was not the first time that Morington had suggested Lewis needed afamilyof his own, rather than simply a wife and duchess. It would probably not be the last time Morington broached the topic either.
But there was no point in arguing. The whisky had given everything a soft, hazy feeling, and Lewis just wanted everything to be at peace for a little longer.
CHAPTER 7
Dorothy’s advice had been sound, but when Bridget woke the next morning, she laid in her bed for nearly an hour before accepting defeat. No dashing knight was coming to rescue her from a loveless marriage to the Duke of Wheelton.
The Duke of Boredom and Stony Expressions.
“Are you unwell, my lady?” asked Amelia, Bridget’s lady’s maid.
“I suffer…” She sighed dramatically. “From a broken heart,” Bridget said. “My brother is conspiring to see me married to a monstrous man.”
Maybemonstrouswas unfair. It was not as though her groom-to-be was a demon or deformed or even unattractive.
“Oh my!”
“Obnoxious,” Bridget amended, sitting upright in her bed. “Distasteful and horrid. I have seen statues with more depth of feeling than this man seems to possess.”
And yet she could not deny how she had reacted to that man, who she had just accused of having no depth. Bridget’s whole body warmed with the memory of his touch and the dark promise that she found in his eyes. She had thought him alluring even when he behaved in ways that should repulse her.
Bridget wanted to tell herself that she hated how confident he was, but a small part of her had been intrigued by him. How could a man be so utterly self-assured? He was as bold as Sir Lancelot with none of the knight’s gallantry.
Amelia’s eyes were soft with sympathy. “I am so sorry, my lady!”
“Yes,” Bridget said, sighing. “I wanted to be the heroine of a grand romance, but I suppose I will have to settle for a tragedy.”
She imagined herself twenty years in the future, stern-faced and cold, miserable in her marriage with the Duke of Wheelton. It was not an appealing image. Bridget could not even imagine a little romance in it. She was not some tragic heroine like Ophelia. She was just…
Unhappy and unwanted.
“But you have only just met the man,” Amelia said. “Maybe affection will still grow between you, my lady.”
“Only if he is slain in some terrible accident and a kinder, more attractive relative elects to marry me in his stead.”
Amelia looked appalled. “What a…colorful imagination you have, my lady.”
“So I have heard,” Bridget said, clambering from her bed. “I suppose I might as well dress. Do not make me looktoopretty. If I look exhausted and wretched, maybe I can make Elias relent.”
She doubted it. The more Bridget thought about it, the more she realized that His Grace’s proposal would be her best shield from disgrace. It was likely that Elias had come to the same conclusion during the night.
“As you wish, my lady,” Amelia said. “However, I fear that you are already so full of natural beauty that you will never look truly wretched.”
Bridget sighed, resigned to her fate. She dressed in a pale pink gown, complemented by the delicate blossoms that Amelia put in her hair. No cosmetics were applied, but Bridget looked lovely regardless.
And to think that I have always been so proud of my beauty!
That same beauty which had once made her the envy of the Season now felt as though it was some cruel, cosmic joke. What good had her beauty done her in the end? None at all.
She was not even certain that her husband cared or noticed she was beautiful. He had made no mention of her appearance at all. Bridget was lost in thoughts of Lewis, as she walked into the dining hall.
“Good morning.” As she entered, Elias stood from his place at the head of the table. “I am glad that you were willing to join me.”
