Page 138 of A Duke in the Rough

“Oh, Anne.” Honoria hurried toward her, then wrapped her arms around her friend. “If it’s not too painful, would you be my attendant at the wedding?”

“What about Charlotte or Miranda?”

“Oh, them, too. But I want you to be the primary one, with a place of honor.”

Anne smiled through teary eyes. “I should like that.”

Hugging her, Honoria said, “Somewhere waiting, there is a man who will love you more than life itself. I feel it, here.” She pressed a fist to her heart. “Would you really rather have a man marry you out of obligation?”

“No. I suppose not.” She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and gave a little sputtered laugh. “But he’s aduke.”

Honoria fought a smile. She didn’t care about that at all. She loved Drake for who he was. A man who loved her in return.

For her.

EPILOGUE

TWO WEEKS LATER . . .

“Hold still, Honoria.” Charlotte’s chastisement did little to accomplish her request.

Honoria craned her head around the doors separating the narthex from the church’s nave. “Has anyone checked to make sure he’s here?”

Miranda snorted a laugh. “As if he’d even consider leaving you at the altar. He’s only now regaining trust within society for his deception. Besides, the man is besotted with love for you.” She tucked a final forget-me-not into Honoria’s hair, then gave a nod of approval. “There. Finished. Squirm all you wish.”

Anne rushed in from the nave. “He’s here! He’s here!”

Unlike six weeks prior, when Anne had rushed into their meeting, Honoria had no need to ask whohewas.

“I’ll put away my pistol then,” her father said, chuckling. “Now, my dear, are you ready to become a duchess?”

“No.”

Her father froze, his eyes widening with horror. He’d gone to great lengths to obtain a special license, the archbishop arguing he saw no need to rush the ceremony.

Until Drake interceded and explained he had waited long enough—eight years to be precise—to know his mind. With pressure from both a marquess and a duke, the archbishop had little choice. However, Honoria suspected the archbishop acquiesced more because Drake also promised a generous donation.

She slid her hand onto her father’s arm. “But I am ready to become a wife.”

Her father visibly relaxed, his exhale audible. “Then let us get you married.”

She could have sworn he mutteredat last.

Everyone did agree on the location for the ceremony, deciding to forgo the pomp at St. George’s in Hanover Square. Garlands with late summer blooms decorated the church on her father’s Somerset estate, the fragrant blossoms scenting the air. But none were so cherished as the simple flowers in her hair. That was to be a surprise for Drake.

People spilled from the church out to the grounds around it, as all tenants were invited to attend. Although Honoria requested a quiet, private ceremony, it had been an argument she had lost with her father.

But Honoria had learned much about herself during Drake’s house party. So, as a compromise, she made her father promise to provide a sumptuous feast at the estate’s assembly hall for all his tenants in celebration.

As she stepped into the church on her father’s arm, she saw the wisdom of his decision. Friendly faces she had known her entire life smiled at her as they rose in deference. But nothing compared to the sight awaiting her at the front of the nave near the transept.

Drake stood tall and proud, as handsome as ever in his royal-blue superfine tailcoat and silver waistcoat. When she reached his side, her breath hitched in her throat. As if he’d read her mind, embroidered forget-me-nots adorned the points of his waistcoat.

Simon grinned next to him, poking Drake with his elbow. Honoria expected an endless source of amusement from Drake’s man of business.

As her father placed her hand into Drake’s, nothing else mattered. Similar to when they sang the duet, she concentrated only on him, somuch so that she nearly forgot to repeat her vows, the name Pierce Henry Quincy Pendrake sounding strange to her ears.

But as she stared into his amber eyes, she remembered to say the most important words, “I do.”

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