A moment later, her hand was placed in his. The warmth of his touch sent an unexpected shiver through her. She glanced up at him, searching his face, but the duke remained perfectly composed.
When it was her turn to speak, the words caught in her throat.
“I, Lady Catherine Harwood, take thee, Alaric Deverell…”
Her voice caught around a lump in her throat; she thought she saw the Duke’s eyes widen just slightly, but she knew it was just her imagination.
Do not be ridiculous, Catherine.
She swallowed and spoke more loudly and quickly. “To love, to cherish, and to obey, till death do us part…”
I will never love you.She met the Duke’s green eyes with her own, wanting him to see her silent vow.I will marry you, but you will never control me or my heart.
The Duke’s face was as cold as marble, his green eyes piercing into her. The light shining through the church windows dimmed as a cloud drifted across the sun.
“With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship.” The Duke’s words made Catherine’s cheeks flush a deep scarlet, panic filling her.
She had been so focused on the wedding that she had completely forgotten about what came after. When they left the wedding breakfast, it would mean one thing.
The consummation of our marriage.
CHAPTER 2
“What do you mean you will be away on business? Are you not supposed to be on your honeymoon?” Frederick Hale, Viscount of Elbury, asked.
Beside him, Alaric fought the urge to roll his eyes. They stood a little distance from the main table at his wedding breakfast. His wife was at the table, sitting beside three women. Alaric assumed they were her friends, judging by the warmth of their embrace.
He watched his wife’s face light up in the first genuine smile he had seen on her all day. His chest tightened, and he felt something stir inside of him. He stamped down on it hard. He would not let himself get distracted by her pretty face.
He turned from her, focusing on Frederick, who was watching him with an incredulous expression. “I mean precisely that. This marriage was about restoring her reputation after the scandal, nothing more. What is the point of a honeymoon?”
“You might get to know one another, after all, you are practically strangers,” Frederick pointed out.
“And I intend to remain so.” Alaric’s voice was cool.
“Why? From everything I have heard of her, she seems pleasant enough. And she is rather fetching.” Frederick gave him a sidelong look. “What is the worst that could happen?”
The scent of stale whiskey and cheap perfume rose in Alaric’s mind, making his hands clench into tight fists. He heard the distant echo of slurred laughter, a woman crying.
I will not think of that now.He pushed it from his mind, drawing in a deep breath as he met Frederick’s hopeful gaze.
“You know my views on romance, on marriage. I do not have the time nor the temperament for it. This match was a matter of obligation, honor, and propriety.” His mind went to the spark of fury he had seen in his wife’s eyes, and then the look of horror that had flitted briefly across her face as the priest had pronounced them married.
The thought made his chest ache, and he felt his head turn toward her before stopping himself. Instead, he caught a nearby servant’s eye and took a glass of champagne from him. “Besides, I suspect she wants as little to do with me as possible, and that will suit me just fine.”
Why did she look frightened of me, though?
“You are not that bad, Deverell. A little brooding to be sure, but not the worst company.” Frederick grinned at him. “I am sure once she gets to know you, she will love you.”
“That is the last thing I want.” Alaric saw a flash of green eyes in his mind, the mirror of his own, and pushed the thought away. “Romance is a fool’s game, and I have no wish to play.”
I have seen how it destroys lives, and I will have no part in it.
It was bad enough that the situation had forced them to marry; he would not add fuel to the fire.
Frederick opened his mouth as though to object and then shook his head. “You are not him.”
Yet.“I know that.” Alaric’s voice was soft,.
