“Lord Whitcomb, are you ready to let the world know about our engagement?” She looped her arm through his and entered the tall doors with him, enjoying the way heads turned as they passed. For once, she didn’t mind if tongues wagged. With such a man by her side, she would be the envy of the ton.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” There was that frown again. She simply had to find a way to cheer him up. “And you?”
This might not have been the first time the banns had been read in her honor, but it would be the best. Nothing could spoil this for her. She wouldn’t allow it. With David by her side, she could face the ton once again. “I’m simply brimming with excitement. Those who judge me may not be willing to speak to me now, but they’ll have to eat their words about how I’d never find a respectable husband.”
Feeling daring, she gave his arm a little hug, and his frown deepened.
But he patted her hand. “I’m glad to help you take a bit of revenge on those gossiping hypocrites. I know from experience just how scathing they can be, and no one deserves that.”
There he was, the loyal defender she’d fallen for, quite literally, at the Carringtons’. “My knight in shining armor once again!”
A hint of a smile twitched on his lips, and then he resumed his dour expression. “You overestimate me, my lady. But I’m happy to do my small part. They’re hissing adders beneath their fine clothes, and you should never listen to a word they say.”
She couldn’t help wondering what his story was. When had he been a topic of gossip? Did it have to do with his first wife? Perhaps Arthur could find out for her. Or maybe he already knew and just didn’t feel it proper to share with a young lady.
That was intriguing for sure. But how much worse could it have been than her own reputed fall from grace? She simplyhadto know. It was imperative if she was to win this man’s heart!
David helped her into the pew where the rest of her family sat. Her mother and father nodded at him in greeting. She took a seat beside her brother, who waggled his eyebrows at her when David wasn’t looking, and she narrowed her eyes and elbowed him in the side before turning back to David with a wide grin. He was looking around with an air of suspicion. Murmurs and whispers spread like a wave through the congregation and many glanced in her direction.Good!So the ton had taken notice of her new beau.
She hardly listened as David exchanged greetings with her family. It was too nerve wracking to be the object of everyone’s attention once again. Granted, it was gratifying to watch all those cruel gossips eat their words. The sweetness of vindication made her sit a little taller, and she smiled as bravely as she could at the murmuring crowd.
At least, until she saw Jeffrey.
What was he doing here? He never went to church. Her stomach clenched and her heart lurched at the sight of him, while he gazed straight at her. She turned her head, looking frantically at the altar, at the stained glass, at the candelabras and the statuary, at anything but Jeffrey. But she could still feel his eyes on her.
“Is everything all right? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you fret before.” David’s soothing baritone tugged at her pounding heart.
She nodded in Jeffrey’s direction, not wanting to speak his name.
He followed her gaze, and a low rumble emerged from his chest. “What does that elbow-crooker think he’s doing?”
Jeffrey paled beneath David’s glare, turning away to whisper in the ear of the woman beside him. No doubt, he was spreading more lies, the mangy cur!
At that moment, the organ began to play, signaling the start of services. Never had she been more relieved to see the minister take his place at the pulpit, even if he did usually bore her to tears with his bland, soporific voice.
She went through the motions of the service as she did every Sunday, bowing her head in prayer when she was supposed to and singing along to the familiar hymns. Through her discomfort she was delighted to discover that David had a marvelous singing voice, though he sang softly, as if he didn’t want anyone to notice. Perhaps someday she could coax him into singing a duet with her. The thought of him resting his hand on the piano, his voice twining with hers as he gazed adoringly into her eyes, made her warm all over.
The sermon was utterly lost in daydreams of marital bliss. She reveled in the heat of his body beside hers, the gentle pressure of his knee against her own, as the service droned on. His subtle scent of cedar and citrus pervaded her senses as she imagined what it might be like to have him to hold her in his strong arms, murmuring endearments in her ear. “Clarissa, I adore you. Your smile warms even the darkest corners of my heart. With you I feel whole. You were right all along. We were meant to be together, my love.” And to have his lips brush her hair, the shell of her ear, then her neck as he caressed her and held her, making her feel precious, beloved, desired, complete.
Oh dear.These weren’t at all pious thoughts. But with her fiancé so close, it was difficult to keep her mind on worship.
The minister cleared his throat and looked down at her. He couldn’t possibly know what she was thinking, could he?
But his smile was kind.
“It is my pleasure to read the banns for Lady Clarissa Wellesley and the Right Honorable Earl of Whitcomb.”
This was it—the moment she had been waiting for all week! She and David rose, and for the first time in ages, she was glad to have all eyes on her.
“The wedding will take place here at St. George’s on May twelfth at ten in the morning. If anyone can show just cause why these two people may not be lawfully united in marriage, let that person declare it, to this pastor, in writing.”
It was official! They were to wed. In only a few short weeks, she would be Lady Whitcomb!
From his pew on the other side of the church, Jeffrey turned and narrowed his eyes at her, sending a chill down to her bones. He shook his head subtly, as if warning her not to proceed. But what could he possibly do to interfere with her marriage to Lord Whitcomb? And why would he feel the need? Hadn’t he made it clear enough that he had no interest in her? She reached out for David’s hand, needing reassurance.
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, following her gaze. “Don’t worry. You’re under my protection now. There’s nothing he can do to you. I’ll see to it that he leaves you alone.”
Her knight in shining armor had appeared to be her champion. “Thank you.” She squeezed back and looked up into his golden-brown eyes, her breath catching at the fearsome fire she found there. He might have been cautious in his affections, but she had no doubt that he would make good on his word. Her knight would fight for her, no matter what Jeffrey did to try to pry them apart.
