CHAPTER 13
“Are you ready?” Marcus asked.
Lucy was not paying attention.
Her focus was saved for outside the carriage window. As the carriage pulled into the park and then started its way along the road which wound through its center, she eyed the crowds that gathered toward the lake where the picnic was taking place. And, as she did, her stomach twisted with nervous anticipation.
There is nothing to feel nervous about, Lucy. All you need to do is pretend. Be kind, act normally, and try not to do or say anything that might give the game away.
Before the carriage arrived in the park, Lucy had felt perfectly at ease. She knew what was expected of her today, and she saw no reason to worry. After all, this was part of their deal, and there was no reason that she should not be able to do as was asked.
Now, with the event in question having arrived, a change in mood took her.
It all felt so real suddenly. This marriage. This life. She was officially a duchess, she had a child to raise, and she had a husband who depended on her. What if she messed up? What if she ruined everything? What if the Duke had made a terrible mistake marrying her?
Not things that she should have cared about, but she did, and that only confused her further.
“Lucy…” Marcus cleared his throat.
“Oh!” She pulled her focus back into the carriage and found her husband watching, clearly concerned. “Is something the matter?”
Was it so wrong that she was starting to like her husband? Not in any real way, of course, but more as a person who she no longer loathed being around. While he might not have been the most personable of men, he was still kind, still understanding, and he was surprisingly forgiving where her own misguided actions and mood fluctuations were concerned.
What was more, she found that she wanted to do right by him.
His dark eyes studied her, the concern growing behind them. But it wasn’t concern felt because he thought she might ruineverything. Rather, it looked as if he was generally worried about her well-being.
“I am fine,” she said a little too quickly. “Just… I am fine.” She offered a smile that was a little too gratuitous.
“We’re here…” He studied her for a moment longer before shifting toward the door. “Remember, all we need do is pretend that we do not loathe one another.”
“I do not loathe you,” she said, hurt that he would think that.
“I know it.” His smile was soft. “Now, let us make sure that everyone else knows it too.” The door suddenly swung open and Marcus was the first to climb out. When he did, he offered his hand for her to take.
She eyed that hand and she felt her own tingle as she considered taking it. A quick memory passed behind her eyes, the last time that he had touched her…
No, none of that, Lucy. Do not be so absurd!
She gave her head a shake and took his hand, breathing a sigh of relief when she did not feel a pulse erupt up her arm at his touch. And then, she allowed him to help her from the carriage.
“I worried we might have a repeat of our wedding day,” he said as she stepped beside him. He kept a hold of her hand, squeezing it tight so there was no chance she would let go.
She grinned. “I considered it.” His face dropped and she laughed. “Jokes, Marcus. Just jokes.”
“I am still getting used to your sense of humor, if that is what you call it.”
“You will come to love it, I promise you. Everyone else does.” She winked at him and he frowned.
Now, holding hands, standing together, the two approached the gathering as man and wife for the very first time.
The picnic was centered around a stunning lake with water of aqua that glistened in the midmorning sun. By the lake stood a large pavilion and inside the pavilion was a small orchestra whose angelic music drifted pleasantly over the lake and across the park. Around both the lake and the pavilion were gathered the guests, and there looked to be at least two score of them.
Many of them were members of the peerage, and Lucy recognized a few faces. The women especially, in their elegant gowns of every color, were those who Lucy either knew well or had seen growing up. But most were of the gentry, businessmen with money who were desperate to find favor among the lords who ruled over them all.
Children were about also; they laughed and shouted as they ran to and fro. A few of the guests had their dogs with them. And Lucy saw more than one governess with a baby who she minded as her lord and lady socialized.
It was a busy event, more than what Lucy expected. For that reason, the nerves she felt earlier returned.
