Clearly he was mad.
Hed been set on marrying this lady, to a point where hed quarreled with his closest friends Jonas Merrick and Richard Harmsworth. Both were converts to the joys of married bliss and they hadnt approved of Cams coldhearted plans for an alliance with the Seaton family.
Yet now he felt like he faced a stranger.
Lady Marianne gestured toward a chair upholstered in matching blue. Please sit down. I heard about the shipwreck. Im sorry about the loss of your yacht. And the brave men who perished with her.
She must have heard about his bride too. Hed expected this, but it was a devil of a way to discover that her suitor jilted her. Wishing desperately he was somewhere else, he sat. Thank you. You perhaps also know that I traveled with a lady.
The steady cobalt gaze didnt waver. She was better at concealing her emotions than anyone he knew. Or perhaps she had no feelings to hide. Neither had harbored any illusion that their marriage was more than a dynastic merger. Cam had been grateful for that. A wife who wanted his loveeven worse, a wife who would be hurt by his inability to love herwas his definition of hell. His father had loved his mother and unrequited passion had warped into anger and cruelty.
At least Pen knew that love wasnt on the agenda. Lord, she didnt love him. Most of the time, she could barely stand to have him around. He would never experience that glorious closeness with a beloved partner that Jonas had found with Sidonie, and Richard had found with Genevieve. And from the bottom of his frozen heart, he was relieved.
Yes, the papers reported the story, she said coolly.
The lady is my wife. Im sorry I didnt tell you before the rumor mill started. Its been a hectic few days and I felt I needed to see you in person.
I see. She paused with a delicacy so finely tuned, Cam heard a clear ping in the air. My congratulations, Your Grace. I hope you and the duchess will be very happy.
She was a stylish creature, he thought with sudden admiration. And brave. She deserved better than a cold, decorous marriage with a man who didnt love her. Hed offered her a shabby bargain, however shabbily he now broke it. She was better off without him.
Thank you. You have every right to be furious, and
She raised one hand to silence him. Ive enjoyed your company, but there were no expectations on either side.
A face-saving lie. Guilt and regret flooded him, but her subtly brittle air hinted that his apology was the last thing she wanted. Hed come to know her better than hed realized during their circumspect courtship.
He felt like the lowest worm in creation. Because now that he looked closely, a tightness at the corner of her lips and a wariness in her eyes revealed that she was no happier hearing that hed married another woman than he was telling her. And the hellish reality was that her jilting was no secret. The gossips wouldnt be kind to the woman Camden Rothermere had passed over.
Her slender throat moved as she swallowed, but her voice emerged with commendable evenness. There has been no mention of the ladys name. Is she perhaps Italian?
No.
An English lady, then.
The habit of protecting Pens identity was so ingrained, he had to remind himself that everything would become public in a few days. My wife is Penelope Thorne, Lord Wilmotts sister.
Shock turned Lady Mariannes expression blank. I only know Miss Thorne by reputation.
Cam could imagine. We grew up together. I went to Italy to tell her about her brothers death.
Lady Marianne studied him before comprehension lit her features. Cam had a nasty suspicion that she put two and two together and got thirteen. A long-standing attachment, then.
Yes, he said, meaning friendship and knowing that Lady Marianne pictured childhood sweethearts renewing their passion.
Why in Hades was the world obsessed with love? Surely there were more important things to worry about.
The lady has been away from England for many years. Perhaps shell appreciate a friend to help her navigate London society. I hope Her Grace will call when shes in Town.
Good God, Marianne Seaton was tip-top quality from her smooth mink-brown hair to the soles of her yellow satin slippers. Cam was seriously impressed. He wondered why he wasnt also eaten with regret that instead of claiming this magnificent creature, he married willful Penelope Thorne with her blemished reputation.
Youre very kind. He meant more than the social platitude. Again he tried to express how sorry he was. You and I
Again she waved one graceful hand. Nothing further need be said.
Lady Mariannes generosity left him very much on the wrong foot. Hed behaved badly toward this woman, but now he was committed to Pen. Hed been committed to Pen since hed saved her from the bandits. Hed been a fool to imagine anything else.
He stood. Lady Marianne wouldnt wish to extend this meeting.
Is your father in London? Cam doubted that the old man would take the news as well as his daughter had.
No, hes at the family seat. I came up to do some shopping and attend a former governesss wedding. Ill return to Dorset next week.
I wish you a pleasant stay, then, he said calmly.
As he left the Seatons tall white town house, he exhaled with unworthy relief. Today proved that Lady Marianne was too perfect for him. Pen was woefully far from perfect, but she made his blood sing. That recommended her as a wife, if not a duchess. The promise of finally possessing her set an unaccustomed spring to his step on his stroll back to Rothermere House.
Chapter Seventeen
Fentonwyck, Derbyshire, late March 1828
The baroque glories of the Rothermere family chapel overwhelmed the small wedding party. On this rainy morning, the gilt and marble interior was icy and full of eerie reverberation. The housekeeper had done her best, lighting candles and arranging what flowers she could find. But even the famous Fentonwyck greenhouses had only produced a few straggly dahlias and half a dozen pots of hyacinths.
Before the altar, Pen shivered in the most suitable dress shed discovered among the late duchesss effects. The high-waisted style left her bosom looking as flat as Lincolnshire; the silk was too light for the nasty weather; the pink that had flattered the duchesss Nordic fairness made Pen look pasty. Although perhaps she should blame her poor complexion on a run of sleepless nights and the elephants waltzing in her belly. The only good thing Pen could say about her dress was that it covered the bruises from drifting around the seabed.
The sound of Cams voice speaking a steady I will wrenched her back to the moment. She braced to make the vows that condemned her to a lifetime with a man who would never love her. Her gloved hand closed hard around the snowdrops she held, releasing a burst of sickly scent.
Her churning stomach revolted as the vicar addressed her. She swallowed, praying she wouldnt be sick. Vomiting over ones bridegroom wasnt done, especially if one wished to avoid gossip. Losing the cup of tea which was all shed managed to choke down this morning would stir speculation that the bride increased disgracefully early.
A charged silence extended and the elderly vicar regarded her with concern. She swallowed again. She could do this. Shed made the decision three days ago. The decision that had been inevitable from the moment Cam found her in Italy. She was as trapped now as shed have been if shed married him nine years ago.
The vicar coughed. Bile jammed Pens throat. She glanced wildly at Cam, who had barely looked her way since shed walked up the aisle. Beside her, her brother Elias jabbed her with his elbow. With Peter so recently gone, it was difficult to think of him as Lord Wilmott.
Pen, he prompted.
Behind her, the sparse congregation of a few senior household staff and county gentry shuffled in their seats. The wind rattled the stained glass windows, demanding her response.
She clenched her bouquet so hard that she broke the stems. Then Cams hand bridged the small distance between them. His fingers curled around hers, grounding her.
She inhaled and realized that she hadnt taken a breath in far too long. Cams grip firmed in silent encouragement.
As if fearing that the new duchess was slow of understanding, the vicar repeated his questions, his reedy tenor resounding around the stone chapel. Wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, to live together after Gods ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou obey him and serve him, love, honor, and keep him, in sickness and in health? And forsaking all others, keep thee only to him, so long as you both shall live?
At last she found her voice. She was grimly aware that what she promised would drain her soul before she was done.
I will.
Congratulations, sis. Harry hugged Pen hard. Although you could have chosen a more flattering gown.
They were in the drawing room before sitting down for the wedding breakfast. After the meal, the staff would spend the rest of the day celebrating the dukes nuptials. Pen was sure that the servants party would prove more festive than this subdued gathering.
Its lovely to see you too, she said drily, hugging him back. I wouldnt have recognized you.
Last time shed seen Harry, hed been a gangly adolescent inclined to communicate in grunts. Hed shown little sign of growing into this handsome giant. Of her three brothers, he was the one who looked most like her, with his black hair and eyes, and tall, lean build.
Best wishes, Pen. Elias turned from his conversation with Cam. May I kiss the bride?
Of course. She presented her cheek. Elias felt like a stranger. Shed always been closer to Peter and Harry.
Vulnerable and unhappy as she was, she welcomed her familys presence. But she wasnt a fool and she could count. For Elias to reach Derbyshire for the ceremony, Cam must have sent the invitation before shed accepted his proposal. How galling that His Grace, the Duke of Sedgemoor, had been so remarkably sure of himself.
She pasted a smile onto her face for the sake of her brothers and the local landowners. Pen wished desperately that Cams sister was here. A sympathetic woman would dilute this overbearing masculinity. But Lydia lived far south in Devon with her husband Simon. Not even Cams powers could waft her to Fentonwyck in time for the service.