Page 36 of A Spinster for the Rakish Duke
Donovan nodded, feeling sadness grip him. “She told me she lost her mother at an early age. I can relate; both of my parents died when I was young.”
“Shame. Such a tragic thing to happen to children, to lose one parent let alone both. Was your loss sudden?” Mr. Bradford asked.
Donovan nodded. “It was supposedly a carriage accident.”
Mr. Bradford arched an eyebrow at the Duke’s wording but didn’t press the matter. “The same for my dear wife. She took a fall from a cliff one day while picking berries.” A pained look crossed the older man’s face but quickly passed. “Look at me, a codger looking to linger on the past when we have such a bright future ahead of us to plan.”
Donovan smiled, weakly at first but it quickly grew in strength. “I couldn’t have said it better myself, Mr. Bradford.”
The wedding would be a simple affair. Emma had only Martha, her father, and her aunt in attendance. Her father, who would be performing the marriage, couldn’t even be officially counted amongst the guests. The only one in attendance from Donovan’sside would be Mr. Herst. His brother’s absence was not brought up by anyone there with knowledge enough of the Duke to notice his absence, which was very few people.
The meal prepared for after the ceremony was anything but simple. Though they had but a humble kitchen, the wedding dinner that had been planned by the Bradford’s had already been lavish, and Donovan supplemented with his own cooks and means.
The decorations, too, had been supplemented by Donovan. Before arrangements of spring, wildflowers had been tied together lovingly. Now banners and silks put on rush order all the way from London accented everything.
It was a more beautiful wedding than Emma could ever hope for. And though Harriet’s and Benjamin’s absence weighed heavily on her heart, the opportunity to be married by her father was something she used to imagine as a young girl. The fairy tale wedding before her felt almost impossible compared to her resignation to spinsterhood less than half a year ago. Letting herself find happiness had worked out better than she would have dreamed.
Looking back, she wished that the bliss of that moment, that assumption that life could no longer harm her, could have lasted forever. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be.
They stood before their witnesses, sun shining above them in the late morning. Donovan was dressed in floral greens, accented by gold thread. Emma was in a dress of deep blue hues that madeit hard for Donovan to look away from her. Emma’s father read through the simple ceremony. There was a small pause when the priest asked a normal question, one that no one expected there to be an answer to.
“If there are any objections to this marriage, speak now, or forever hold your peace.”
“This man is not fit for this marriage,” came the cry.
The words had come from Mr. Dole, who entered followed by two brutish constables close in tow.
Emma wasn’t sure if she was angrier or more devastated by the sudden intrusion onto her perfect moment. It turned out there was no need to settle on either emotion as Donovan was angry enough for the both of them.
“Mr. Dole, I will give you one chance to put an end to this foolishness. I warn you, I may be less overt than some of my fellow Dukes, but I will not hesitate to use my full power to make sure you suffer the consequences of this egregious act.” Donovan was seething.
“A vile threat from a vile man,” Dole countered, then spoke to the group as a whole. “Why do you think I arrive with the constables at my back? They are here for you, Your Grace.” And at Mr. Dole’s gesture, the two hulking figures secured Donovan, each of them grabbing him by one arm.
“What is the meaning of this?” Emma cried.
Mr. Dole pointed at Donovan. “The Duke of Lowe is the one responsible for your missing brother, Miss Bradford. His Grace kidnapped Benjamin Bradford and has been hiding him from you to leverage your agreement into marrying him.”
“That is utterly absurd,” Donovan shouted angrily.
“You can’t just go spinning tales and pinning crimes on people,” Mr. Herst followed up and moved to Donovan’s defense, one of the constables shoving him aside.
“I have proof. Letters, in regard to the young man’s kidnapping and detainment. His Grace always had issues with solicitors. It turns out that he blamed Mr. Bradford for the death of his parents. We have a witness, too, from the Inn of Courts, another man.”
“Letters, witnesses, all of that can be manufactured,” Mr. Herst continued before he turned to the constables. “Did this man tell you that he was engaged to the woman whose marriage you just stopped? That he has a motive outside of justice?”
“If you won’t believe the evidence before you, that’s fine,” Mr. Dole asserted. “We can ask Mr. Bradford himself. I know for a fact he is being kept in His Grace’s wine cellar.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Donovan raised little quarrel over having the wedding party guests, escorted by the police, travel to his home. If anything, he was happy to have the constables accompany them and Mr. Dole, so that they could bear witness to his false accusations.
“I haven’t traveled to my estate home in over a month. I have been busy in London,” he told his betrothed, her family, and everyone else there. “It simply isn’t possible for Benjamin to be there.”
Still, the carriage ride there was tense. There was little conversation, even between Emma and Donovan. Donovan cursed Mr. Dole’s intrusion. The first carriage ride to Donovan’s home in Lowe was supposed to be a happy homecoming. Instead, he had turned it into something accusatory and filled with doubt.
But none of this made sense. Mr. Dole wouldn’t just demand they travel two hours away by carriage for no reason? Was he trying to delay their marriage? What would that accomplish once his accusation was proven false? Donovan couldn’t help but feel he was walking into some sort of trap, but what kind he was unable to comprehend.
Emma didn’t suspect Donovan. In her mind, it made absolutely no sense. And her mind was not clouded by the judgment of love. There was simply no logic to it. Donovan kidnapped her brother to make himself look good? To arrange the marriage? She knew the gentleman she was about to marry, and that wasn’t something he would do.
