Page 110 of The Devil's Accidental Duchess
“In my own way,” her mother replied after a brief pause. “But it was always a marriage of convenience. I thought love might blossom, but it did not. Although I do care for him, and I have to believe that he cares for me in hisown way. But it was when I had your brother and you that I realized that lovehadblossomed in my marriage, in the end. It did not come from my husband, no, but from my darling children.”
Selina’s heart broke a little. “I am sorry, Mama.”
“Sorry? Why are you sorry?” Charity smiled, her eyes glimmering with such hope and affection, winking in the beads of her tears. “I am content enough in my marriage, and I get to seeyoumarry the man you love and who loves you in return. There is nothing in the world that could make me happier than that. Indeed, it leaves me hopeful that the world is changing for the better, for the young ladies of society, for us all.”
Selina stepped forward and put her arms around her mother, holding her tightly.
A hug couldn’t undo the years of struggle her mother had endured, the years of being small and silent, but Selina could sense a change. A change in her mother, encouraged by the fierce Dowager Duchess.
“Will you stay after the wedding?” she asked.
“I will stay for as long as you will have me,” Charity replied.
Keen-eared, the Dowager Duchess piped up, “I have already prepared a suite for her at the dower house. It is high time I had a companion, considering it will likely not be long before Lizzy marries, and I am alone in that place.”
A short distance away, Lizzy coughed, her eyes bulging. “You might be waiting longer than you think, Grandmama.”
“Nonsense. One wedding begets another. It has always been like that,” the Dowager Duchess teased cheerfully.
Concentrating on her mother, Selina urged, “You never have to go back to the townhouse or to Father’s country estate again if you don’t want to. You are welcome here forever, I swear it.”
“I think I should like that,” Charity said quietly, before pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. “Now, I think we ought to gather ourselves, dry our eyes, and get you married! We do not want to be late on the happiest day of your life.”
Selina smiled. “Then again, it might be good to let my darling betrothed sweat a little.”
“Hear, hear!” Lizzy agreed with a grin as she discreetly wiped a tear from hercheek, too.
“You are certain no carriages left this morning?” Philip checked his pocket watch, the long hand ticking toward his bride being fifteen minutes late.
Zachary hid a smirk. “I am certain, my good man. No carriages departed, no horses are missing from the stables, and no one saw a beautiful young lady in a wedding gown fleeing across the lawns to make her way back to London on foot.”
“I am glad you find this so amusing,” Philip muttered.
In the army, tardiness was not tolerated. None of the men in his battalion would have dared to be two minutes late, much less fifteen.
Then again, he was not at war anymore, and he was not awaiting beleaguered men with muskets and sabers who jumped at his every command. No, he was waiting for the woman he loved, who rarely did what he commanded… with a couple of exceptions. The fiery, lively, remarkable woman who, with any luck, would soon become his wife.
“Do you think there is some problem with the dress?” he asked, glancing back at the closed church doors.
The rest of the congregation had already gathered, sitting patiently in the pews, whispering among themselves. However, Selina’s family and his family were notably absent.
Where on earth are they? Did I read the time wrong?
“She will be here,” Zachary said in a gentler tone. “After everything you have overcome together, she would not miss it. She loves you.”
A smile curved Philip’s lips as he remembered her confession.
She loves me… as I love her.
It was the most wonderful feeling to know that his heart was open to her, that it was capable of carrying such a precious love, when he had assumed it was a withered prune in his chest, a frozen thing that could never be thawed.
Thanks to Selina, he knew without doubt that he was nothing like his father. Hisheart could and would feel as much as it pleased, loving his wife entirely, certain that he would never let any harm or pain come to her.
Just then, as if summoned by the call of his love, the church doors opened.
His grandmother entered first, escorted by the Duchess of Barlow. Lizzy and Melody entered next, the latter offering looks of apology to the congregation, while Reuben followed behind with a similar expression of chagrin. Whatever had kept them, it did not seem intentional.
“Good luck,” Lizzy said with a wink as she passed her brother and took a seat in the front pew.
