“I’m not going to kill him. But he won’t walk away from this unscathed, either. He’s not going to get what he broke your heart for. The wedding to the heiress won’t happen once I speak to her parents and his.”
“Oh, well, that’s different. By all means...”
Having heard the commotion in the hall and Brooke’s shout about Thomas giving her away, Alfreda came down the stairs smiling. She didn’t need to be told that everything had worked out as Brooke had hoped. But her smile broadened when Gabriel came through the front door. He wasn’t about to miss Dominic’s wedding and had been dispatched in the Wolfe coach to fetch the priest, who followed him in.
But Gabriel’s eyes had gone straight to the maid, and he yelled at her with a cheeky grin, “A double wedding, Freda?”
Alfreda actually blushed, but mumbled, “In your dreams, puppy.”
He sighed. “I suppose that’s better than your last resounding no.”
“Today is for my poppet. Mind your manners.”
He must have found that a promising reply because he was grinning from ear to ear when he gave Alfreda his arm to escort her into the parlor. But then Dominic drew Brooke’s attention, saying, “Do hurry if you’re going to change into that lovely wedding dress.”
“I’m not. It would be bad luck to wear it again, and you and I are done with bad luck. I’m ready to make you my husband right now.”
Brooke’s mother walked her down the improvised aisle that day. But her father did state quite clearly when asked by the priest that, yes, hewasgiving her away, which was the only nice thing Thomas Whitworth had ever done for her....
And then she was Lady Brooke Wolfe, a dream come true. The man who drew her into his arms to seal the union was a better dream come true. The joy in her heart was overwhelming. She cried. Dominic laughed at her when he saw it.
Her brother did make an appearance at the end of the ceremony. He stood in the doorway, wary about getting anywhere near Dominic even though the cause of their discord was in the room. Ella even approached him to say, “I suppose in the end you did me a favor, steering Benton to the proverbial golden goose. I’ve had enough time to realize he wouldn’t have made me a good husband. So why did you?”
“He needed help. You would have got him disowned.”
“Yes, but why didyouelect to fix that for him? Was he an old friend, a best friend? What you did changed not just my family, but yours, not to mention you might have died for it.”
“I’d never had many friends, just tagalongs who don’t really care about me nor I them. I’d only met Benton that summer, but he showed me there was more to friendship—listening, sharing, wanting to help if needed. He was probably the only real friend I ever had—and your brother’s a bad shot. The risk wasn’t all that great.”
Dominic and Brooke joined them in time to hear that. “Shall we try again with what I’m good at?” Dominic asked Robert.
“Bloody hell.” Robert backed quickly out of the room.
“I thought you were done with him?” Brooke said.
“I thought that as well,” Ella said.
“I am,” Dominic replied. “He even knows I am. I’m not sure what he’s afraid of now.”
Brooke rolled her eyes and went after Robert, stopping him at the front door. She didn’t want him plotting to retaliate if he really thought Dominic still wanted revenge. She thought she’d made it clear last night to Robert that Dominic didn’t, but maybe it bore repeating.
“He was joking, you know. There won’t be any more challenges of any sort.”
“Except against Benton now?”
Her eyes flared. “You’re going to warn him, aren’t you?”
“Shouldn’t I? Isn’t that what a friend would do?”
He sounded almost anguished, asking that, so she was careful in replying, “Yes, indeed, if he’s really a friend, but have you even seen him again since you gave him that boon and he scampered off to secure it two years ago? You got left to deal with the aftermath of that. Did he even know you were accepting duels on his behalf?”
“Yes and yes.”
She wasn’t expecting confirmation on her guesses. “And he didn’t step forward even then to fix that for you?”
“It was too late and he’s getting married this week. You got your happy marriage, Brooke, he should get his. You are happy with the wolf, aren’t you?”
“For the first time in my life, truly, truly happy. But your friend, if he really is your friend, doesn’t deserve that after everything he’s done. And he’s not marrying that poor girl for the right reasons, is he? Just for more blunt to support his gambling habits.”
