Page 4 of A Bride for the Beastly Duke
Perhaps I should have met with her before today.
He dismissed the thought as soon as it occurred. He could not afford for Lady Ava to change her mind, and one look at his face just might make her do that.
He finished tying his cravat and then picked up his coat and put it on, buttoning it slowly. It was too late to change anyone’s mind now.
As Ava walked slowly down the aisle toward the tall, broad-shouldered, raven-haired man, she hoped he would turn around, so she could see his face. From behind, he looked to be a handsome gentleman, well-built and standing tall and proud, but her mother’s words echoed in her mind.
Hideous.She pushed the word away, not wanting to pre-empt things by allowing her imagination to go wild. She took a deep breath and took the next step.
She expected that he would turn around and meet her eyes, but his back remained turned. Her brow furrowed, and her stomach twisted with worry.
Turn around.She tried to will him to turn, but nothing happened. Her heart rate increased as she walked closer and closer to him. She noted that his hair had a few streaks of grey gleaming in the sunlight. He had tied it into a ponytail that hung from the back of his neck, brushing against the small of his back.
It was unusual to find a man of thetonwith hair so long, but she found that she rather liked it. It gave him a rakish air that was just intriguing enough to pull her in.
However disfigured his face might be, it cannot look that bad. Not with that hair and those shoulders.
She came to a stop and turned to face him in anticipation. Slowly his head turned, and then he was looking at her with the most glittering diamond blue eyes she had ever seen. There was nothing of affection in those eyes, only distance and coldness. She gasped, taken aback, and then her eyes fell on his scars. The skin of his left side was mottled and discolored. His left eye was pulled slightly down as if it had melted. There were black pits, between the mottled skin, that told their own story of pain and suffering.
She knew she was gawking like the worst kind of uncouth person, but she could not help herself. That is until she happened to meet his eyes and see the devastation in them. Taking a deep breath, she gave him a shaky smile.
His face only closed up even more, and he turned to face the priest, his injured side facing away from her.
“Brothers and sisters, we are gathered here today…” the priest’s voice seemed to come from far away as she continued to stare at Edward, willing him to look back at her, to see her, and to know that she was not afraid of him or repulsed. She did feel an overwhelming sadness for what he had been forced to endure. The urge to tell him so was strong, even though she knew full well that this was not the place nor the time.
Finally, their vows had been repeated and rings exchanged.
“You may now kiss the bride,” the priest said.
Ava held her breath, turning toward Edward with anticipation. She closed her eyes, wanting to feel completely the sensation of his lips on hers. So, she did not see it, but she felt it as he lifted her hand and pressed his lips to it. She was torn between confusion and disappointment. She knew this was not to be a love match, but she had thought that they would try to be something like her parents—starting as strangers but over time, ending up as a loving couple who deeply cared for each other. The distance he chose to maintain told her that he had no such hopes.
Her heart sank once again.
Edward could not believe how beautiful his bride was. He had expected an old maid, washed out and tired—he had assumed that was the reason she had such a large dowry in addition to being an unwed mother. Lying on his bed last night, as he anticipated this occasion with dread and anxiety, he had consoled himself that they would at least be two ugly people barreling along together.
Ava was a shocking surprise. Her petite yet voluptuous frame drew in him the need to protect… but also, horrifyingly, to take, to devour, to own. He did not understand it. He had never before in his life had such an…animalisticreaction to a woman.
It scared him more than anything he had ever experienced in war.
When the priest said that he could kiss his bride, his mind was a mess of confusion. His hands trembled, calling in on themselves with the urge to grab her waist and pull her flush against him, smashing his lips against hers and possessing her completely. Then he turned to look at her, and he saw that her eyes were closed. She could not even bear to look at him.
That brought him back down to earth with a painful thud, and he picked up her hand and placed the lightest of kisses upon her knuckles. She surely could not complain about that. When he straightened up, she was staring at him in shock. Clearly, shehad expected more. He did not know whether she was relieved, glad, or disappointed. All he could see was the surprise.
He threaded her arm through his and led her back down the aisle into his carriage which was waiting to whisk them away to Barrington Castle. This was not a wedding to be celebrated with parties or wedding breakfasts; it was a contract that was now fulfilled.
He could feel her eyes on him as they drove away from the chapel, and he stared studiously out of the window in order to discourage any tendencies toward conversation that she might be harboring.
“I understand that we are making our way to your home. I hope you do not mind that my daughter and my lady’s maid will be joining us tomorrow.”
He sighed inwardly and shrugged outwardly. “You and your daughter may do as you please.”
Her brow furrowed, and she looked concerned. “Excuse me, Your Grace? What is that supposed to mean?”
“I mean that you do not need any permission from me on your comings and goings or those of your daughter. Just attempt not to embarrass me to the best of your abilities.”
He could feel her eyes boring into his back, but she said nothing further. Her anger, though, radiated like flames, makingthe carriage seem close, hot, and suffocating. While he did not regret his words, he really wished that Ava had waited until they arrived at the castle to begin any discussions. It would have been so much easier to walk away from her.
They stopped at an inn to change horses, have breakfast, and let Ava powder her nose. She kept close to his side, staring around herself as if she had never been out of London. He led her to one of the private rooms that the inn provided. “Stay here. I shall go and find out what meal we might have. A servant will bring you hot water, should you need to wash.”
