Page 69 of A Virgin for the Duke of Depravity
“We should go,” Margaret said finally.
She closed her eyes and took a step onto the path that would lead her to Leo. When she opened her eyes, she saw him waiting for her. There was no denying that she was attracted to him.
Leo was tall and muscular—she had seen those muscles in action when he took her grandfather down. She had developed a new appreciation for his body that went beyond what he had done to her at Olympus. His dark brown eyes were fixed on her, causing the color to rise in her cheeks.
Even his dark clothes looked pristine and suave today. They were timeless in a way that was rare in London.
Theresa tugged gently on her arm. It was her way of saying that they needed to keep moving, that she could not stop simply to admire the man who had agreed to marry her.
The Beast who had beencommandedto marry her under the Queen’s edict.
They took a few more steps along the path, but Theresa drew to a halt and turned Margaret to face her. She studied her friend, how tight her expression was and the tension in her shoulders. Surely, she could feel Margaret’s uncertainty in her hand.
“Are you sure you do not want to take your vows?” she asked. “It is not too late to call this off. The Queen can find the Beast another bride.”
Margaret tried to make light of her friend’s concern. She thought about the alternative: returning to St. Agatha’s and allowing the nuns to punish her for every insolent thing she did. At least here, she would be free as Leo had promised her.
She smiled and tried to convey this to Theresa. “At least he won’t hurt me every time I make a mistake.”
When Theresa did not respond, Margaret let out a little laugh to show her that it was a joke. However, neither of them truly found it funny. Not with the scars that crisscrossed their backs—courtesy of Mother Superior.
Theresa stood in the middle of the aisle, her eyes darting between Leo and Margaret. Aaron quirked an eyebrow at his wife, questioning what the holdup was, but he knew better than to rush her.
Leo crossed his arms and glared at the two of them. He could not pretend, even for a moment, that he was happy about this arrangement. He was cold and calculating, just as he had always promised to be.
Theresa let her gaze linger on him a moment longer. “I thought…” She turned back to Margaret with a very serious expression on her face. “I suppose I thought…”
“Thought what?” Margaret pressed, trying to get her to finish before she had to say her vows to Leo. Perhaps it was something that could save her from this.
“It does not matter any longer,” Theresa said with a sigh. “This is the right thing to do, no matter what I might have thought.”
She took Margaret’s hand in her own again, and they resumed walking down the aisle. When they reached the makeshift altar, Theresa moved to Margaret’s side and took Aaron’s arm once more.
Why could she not have what her friend found in Aaron?
Why were some Beasts less beastly than others?
I will make the best of this situation.Surely, there are a few reasons why he might want to marry me.
Margaret glanced at Annie and Kitty, who were perched on the edges of their seats. The truth was that she would enjoy getting to know them better. That she would learn to love them more than she already did. She could make a big difference in their lives, even if nothing else went the way she wanted.
Already, she had seen a change in them and how they related to their uncle.
She gave them a wave. The girls giggled with the excitement of being included in such a grown-up event. She would make sure that they were a part of everyday life here at Devishire Mansion. It would be her small act of service.
Leo cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him. He reached out and took her hands in his strong, more capable ones. With great effort, she tried not to think of all the ways those hands had touched her in the library at Olympus. Of all the other ways he would be permitted to touch her now.
She was unsure what marriage to Leo would mean, but she was certain of one thing: he would make herhisnow, in every sense of the word. He could be as possessive as he wanted to be now. He could not ruin her if they were married.
It was her duty as his wife to give him an heir.
Leo had never seen a woman as beautiful as Margaret was in that dress. It hugged her figure, and the deep green shade brought out the natural flush in her cheeks. Her lips looked full and soft, and he could scarcely wait to kiss them at the end of the ceremony.
I cannot kiss her.She cannot think that this will change anything between us.
Margaret needed protection—from him just as much as anything else in London. Even without her grandfather in the picture, she would still need him to keep her safe. He thought of all the trouble she would cause with the girls.
The girls sat primly in their chairs, wide grins on their faces. He was happy to see them happy, for a change. He never thought that they would care who he wed, or if he even would. Now, they seemed thrilled that he was giving them an aunt who would love them.
