Page 24 of A Bride for the Forbidden Duke
He nodded, giving a hum of acknowledgement. He stepped back, and she knew just how fleeting his visit would be. “Lady Veronica, Lady Grantham, there will be a carriage awaiting you the day of the wedding. You will not worry yourselves with arrangements.”
He inclined his head in farewell, making to leave as swiftly as he had entered, but Judith stepped forward, her hand raising.
“Your Grace, what—what about Veronica’s wedding dress? Surely my daughter deserves a beautiful gown as any other girl does. And especially given the short notice, we must outfit her appropriately and?—”
“Mama, it is fine!” Veronica protested, not wanting any fuss, lest her mother believe this was anything more than what it was: a necessity. An option that was only going ahead due to no other option. “I have plenty of dre?—”
“I have already contacted the modiste,” the Duke said, cutting her off. His gaze bore into Veronica, and she looked up, surprised. “Your wedding dress will be delivered on the day of the ceremony.”
He regarded them both. “Is that all?”
Surprise spread through her, and she could not quite smoothen out the pout of her mouth or the furrow of her brows in shock. “You have organized everything so swiftly, Your Grace.”
“Indeed!” Judith agreed. “I was not aware of your courtship.” She eyed Veronica suspiciously again. “You have taken care of all the arrangements, Your Grace, but is there nothing we can do at all?”
The Duke’s attention bore into Veronica. “All I require you to do is show up and say your vows.”
With that, he bowed his head in a curt, cold nod, and left the parlor, leaving Veronica and Judith wordless with surprise.
“Well,” Judith laughed, once the parlor was empty, “I do suppose I should call off the extra cake and tell Mrs. Carlson to turn away any other gentlemen visitors, for my daughter is to marry a Duke!”
Veronica’s fingers trailed daintily over the neckline of her wedding gown two days later. It was simple, framing her chest with the sleeves hugging her arms. White gloves adorned her hands, reaching to her upper arm.
A tiara nestled in her curls, a gift from her mother. “From my wedding day,” she had said.
Her chest tightened as her gaze traveled over the bodice of her gown, her corset keeping her frantically beating heart contained. The white fabric complemented her pale skin, and her brown hair stood out against the color. The skirt fell to her ankles where heeled slippers were just visible beneath the fabric.
It was simple but elegant. Clearly, the Duke had not spent a great deal on the dress. What had she envisioned for herself, anyway? Surely not a gossamer layered gown, beaded with pearls, perhaps, and a trail that swept behind her as she walked down an aisle.
“I suppose it matches everything else that he has arranged,” she murmured to herself. “Necessary without being overdone. At least the Duke has taste.”
She smoothed her skirt down and turned to the door, finding her mama looking at her with a soft smile.
“The carriage is outside,” Judith told her. “Veronica, you are a vision, dear. I understand the… situation of your arrangement, but I hope you will find comfort in knowing that His Grace will think you are beautiful.”
And it finally hit her that she would no longer live in Grantham House, and her mother would be left alone with the rest of her staff. That they would not break their fasts together nor attend parties at each other’s side, hoping that with each one, they might not be as ruined as the gossip sheets said. And Veronica, ever the solitary lady in society, would always listen for word of her brother.
There would be no more trips together to the modiste. No more afternoons at the tea shop on the main street. And there would be no more finding comfort in one another through both Robert’s absence and her father’s death. Who would be there to comfort her mama?
And while her mama was alone in Grantham House, Veronica would be in a loveless, arranged marriage, for the sake of them both remaining financially sound.
I am to live separately from the Duke once my brother returns. That shall be any day now, she assured herself.I will not have to endure the Duke’s brash mannerisms for very long.
Mustering a smile, Veronica joined her mother in retreating to the carriage. As she walked through Grantham House, she stifled a beat of emotion. She had not realized how hard it would be to leave her home, to think of her mother in the empty hallways.I must tell my mama to speak with her friends once again. All of them. She will need them.
The carriage was a grand affair, the most opulence he had spared for the day.
“A cream-colored carriage,” Judith said, in awe. “My, my. And look at these seats, Veronica! What luxury.”
Her gloved hand smoothed over the interior.
“Are you imagining your next carriage, Mama?” Veronica teased.
“Well, a lady can now dream, can she not? Our carriage is just fine, but that is all it is.Fine. I should hope for a better one soon enough.”
Together, they climbed in, and the door was closed.
The whip snapped, the horses whinnied, and the carriage was pulled along. Veronica fixed her eyes downward on her gloved fingers. She was moving to her new life.
