Lord Love a Duke (35 page)

“
I will warn that your
first time in the marriage bed will likely hurt; that is your
maidenhead, the proof of your innocence, being breached. But after
that first time, ladies, I predict you will each thank me for
revealing this 'secret.' Remember, he has most likely been trained
to expect docility and timidity in a wife. The gentlemen are as
brainwashed as the ladies, if you ask me. Act the wanton. Tell your
husband what you like. Ask him what he likes. If it occurs in your
marriage bed and by mutual consent, fear nothing. I guarantee the
first time your toes curl, you
will not
be thinking of England.”

“It is rather warm in here, is it not?”
asked Miranda as she fanned her flushed face with her hand.
“Juliet, you must let us know how this advice plays out on your
wedding night. I will just disregard the fact that you are with my
brother, so pray never use his name when you tell us everything
that happens.”

Juliet had such a look of affront that Lady
Ashford could not contain her laughter. “Miranda, should you wish
to hear the details, and should Juliet be convinced to impart them,
you cannot expect to be spared the rapturous use of your brother's
name.”

Miranda shuddered and made a face. “I
withdraw my request. Please keep your night to yourself, dearest
friend. And as I do not plan to marry soon, someone else in this
room must volunteer so that we can hear all the details.”

“I volunteer,” offered Lady Temperance and
the Misses Gates and Shaw. The ladies shared a long and knowing
look with each other before breaking into peals of laughter. Lady
Margaret reached a hand to her neck, toward a necklace that was no
longer there, before focusing back on the gaiety in the room.

The morning of the wedding arrived with a
flurry of activity, cacophony of noise, and a letter from the Duke
for his bride, which was deftly intercepted by her mother.

“You cannot have any communication with
Jonas until the ceremony,” the Marchioness decreed, tucking the
thick missive into her skirt pocket. “It is the way of things. It
leads to ill fortune.”

“But Mama, it is not bad luck to merely read
a letter from the bridegroom. Surely I may read his words in his
absence.”

“Jonas is inordinately fond of writing to
her,” chimed Miranda. “He has written her each morning since he
ruined her.” All the women in the room gasped with differing
degrees of mortification at Miranda's turn of phrase, a reminder of
the indiscretion that beget the coming wedding.

“Miranda!” cried her mother, Duchess of
Dorset, “no one in this house has been ruined, least of all your
closest friend at the hands of your brother. We all know how this
courtship began and it was a most innocent mistake. And think you
for no instant that your involvement in the deed goes unforgotten,
miss. You should not –“

“Oh Mama, I do not mean
ruined
-ruined, just ruined-compromised, as
in requiring them to marry. Anyway we lose sight of the point, that
Juliet should read her note, and read it aloud,” Miranda
explained.

“Well I think we should never mention the
way this relationship began, only the way it is now, a love match
between two ideally suited people.” The Duchess drew a hand
daintily across her brow. “I would not be averse to hearing what my
son has to say to my new daughter,” she offered with a hopeful look
toward Juliet and her mother.

“It is my letter. I should be the one to
read it, especially on today of all days. Please return it to me,
Mama,” beseeched Juliet with her hand held out, palm upraised. Lady
Lansdowne fingered the missive in her pocket while contemplating
her daughter's plea. She removed the letter from its resting place
only to have it summarily snatched from her fingers by her
sister-in-law, Lady Ashford.

“
For heaven's sake, I will
read it aloud. Juliet, there can be nothing in here that we all
would not enjoy hearing. After watching the two of you these past
days I cannot imagine that we do not know your feelings for one
another.” The Countess broke the seal. “It is rather thick, is it
not?” she inquired before beginning to recite.

My Dearest Juliet,

While just one week prior
neither of us planned to be where we find ourselves this day, I
must tell you how fortunate I am that events conspired to bring
about this result. Long have I admired you; for your beauty, of
course, but also your intelligence and wit. I felt sure it was an
esteem that would remain firmly fixed as that of a man for a woman
who was not permitted to be his own. While my feelings were not as
pronounced as they are now, neither were they familial, and I knew
my close friendship with your brothers and even your parents would
prevent any attachment between us. I was condemned to forever be
your polite friend, respectful and proper. We had scarcely been in
Sussex for two days before I realized further friendship with you,
and thus the denial of any furtherance of closer feelings on my
part, would be acutely painful to me.

I must clear my conscience
and confess that I knew you to be in my room that fateful night one
week hence. I saw your reticule by the fireplace and then your feet
as you struggled to hide your presence from me. It could be argued
that it was not well done of me, but my whole being rejoiced the
instant I realized you would be effectually trapped overnight. I
did not foresee quite so boisterous an awakening as that which we
received the next morn, but I had resolved in my mind to plan a
scheme of my own – a plan to win your regard.

“Oh, this is wonderful, Juliet. What a
revelation this is,” Lady Ashford murmured in an aside before
continuing.

I knew you feared marriage
by contract but I thrilled at the sight of your father demanding
marriage. I would have gladly taken a beating from your brothers as
well if it resulted in their blessing and bestowing of your hand.
Knowing the outcome – our marriage – was assured, I determined to
pursue you vehemently this week. Strangely enough, the force of our
situation allowed me a freedom I most likely would have never felt
on my own had I courted you by conventional means. I worried no
longer that you were forbidden me. Familial and societal shackles
fell away, and I felt as if I knew myself for the first time, or at
least allowed myself to be simply Jonas, the man desperately in
love with Juliet, rather than any other title or name I hold.

I pray you forgive my
duplicity that night one week ago. I regret only that you felt any
shame or remorse for your participation in a prank gone awry, but
know this. 'Ruining' you was the best thing I have ever done in my
life, and I will never regret it.

Lady Ashford paused to fan herself with the
pages of the letter. “Saints above, this is such a declaration, but
I cannot stop now.” Juliet sat on the bed, head bowed and hands
clenched in her lap, giving no notice to her aunt. “I'm sorry dear,
but this boy is a poet and I cannot deprive us the pleasure nor
deny the fulfillment of our curiosity by not finishing his
words.”

So when we meet later this
morning at the altar of our childhood church, standing in front of
the vicar, our family, and our friends, it will be Jonas Leighton
who pledges his life and love to Juliet Quinn. Not the Duke nor the
friend of your brothers. I will honor and worship you with my body
and breath for the rest of our days. I am yours to command. I will
be your partner in all things and ask that you be mine: in matters
of family, friends, business, and leisure. My heart beats because
your gaze searches for mine and looks on me with trust and love,
and I will never take that indescribable gift for granted. My lungs
fill because you will it with your smile, your companionship, your
grace.

Today, Juliet, I give you
all that I am, both body and soul. This time right now spent in
preparation for our vows marks the final moments we each spend
alone. After we wed, whatever the circumstances, as we experience
both blessings and trials, know that we will always face them
together as two halves of a most suitable whole.

I love you Juliet.
Earnestly, fervently, completely.

I cannot wait to marry
you.

Jonas

The silence shrouding the room was deafening
save for the sniffs of Lady Lansdowne, Lady Ashford, and the
Duchess. Miranda dropped onto the stool at the dressing table with
a loud thump, disturbing the quiet.

“Bugger it, but I could almost think Jonas a
living, breathing, feeling human after that. I hate to say it
aloud, and would never admit outside the confines of this room, but
that was perfectly lovely,” Miranda breathed, her eyes wide with
wonder.

Lady Ashford snapped open her fan and began
to swish air furiously to her warmed cheeks. “I knew that boy had
it in him. I knew it two years ago when he danced with my niece at
her come out. I saw the way he looked at her, as if he watched the
sun rise each day, but this one morning it, took his breath away.
Oh, he has kept his distance out of misplaced respect for the
relationship between the families, but he has been smitten for some
time now.”

Juliet's mother reached out to take the hand
of her friend, the Duchess, before closing the distance between
them and her daughter. “Juliet, forgive us for reading your letter
aloud. I know it was meant to be private but it was so beautiful
and worth sharing with us, the three women who love you most
dearly.” All nodded their heads vigorously in agreement but
Juliet's head remained bowed and she saw not their gestures. “Will
you forgive us this trespass?”

Juliet raised her head, eyes brimming with
tears that finally spilled over her lashes at her movement. Her
hands covered her heart and her face radiated pure, unadulterated
joy. “Think no more of it; I have forgotten my earlier irritation
entirely. Who could not after hearing such words?” She blinked
rapidly before jumping from the bed and rushing to the writing desk
by the window. “Pray excuse me for a moment. I find that I need to
write a quick letter just now,” she explained as she dipped her
quill in the ink and began to quickly transcribe her thoughts on
the parchment. She was instantly absorbed in her task and paid no
heed to the others as they began to make to leave.

“Ring for Lily when you are finished,
dearest, and we will return to help turn you out,” her mother
instructed as she exited the room, closing the door.

“I hope some gentleman writes such a letter
to me one day,” mused Miranda as the four women strolled down the
hall toward their respective rooms.

“Daughter, you have been most vocal against
your brother and I in our attempts to find you just such a
gentleman to marry.”

“I do not want him to marry me,” Miranda
interrupted with a laugh. “I am simply unopposed to inspiring words
such as those, that is all.”

“My dear, if you inspire those words you had
best be in the manner of marriage or you will surely be the next
and greatest scandal. Those words will set parchment to flame first
before inciting a similar reaction to your person.” Miranda smiled
as she opened her chamber door and parted their company.

“Catherine, do not say such things to her,”
admonished Lady Lansdowne as the trio walked further. “She's an
innocent yet strong-willed enough to be pulling hard against the
goads of matrimony too much already.”

“For all that she's innocent, make no
mistake, she is not uninformed. I wager that one will be married
before the year ends. As hot as she burns, it will take a strong
man to control her flame, and her wick already seems lit.”

The Duchess opened her mouth to reply but
snapped her jaws shut as she contemplated her daughter. “I fear you
have the right of it Cathy. As Jonas will undoubtedly be occupied
otherwise, I fear it falls to me to focus my attention on my
daughter and her actions in Society. I pray I have the strength and
stamina it will no doubt take to keep up.”

“Never fear. We three shall be most
formidable in our vigilance,” declared Lady Lansdowne.

“
So say you now, but wait
until we return to Town. I wager Miranda will find new ways to
entertain herself, along with the rest of the
ton
, as she thinks there to be fewer eyes
trained on her in scrutiny.”

“You and your wagers, Catherine. You should
guard your tongue. You sound like a rake-hell.”

“Pish, Mary! I suffered too long in silence
not to make my opinions known now. And as my utterly-unmissable
husband could tell you, were he not so busy in his new tropical
clime with the devil himself for company, I never place a bet that
I will lose.”

To The Man Who Holds My
Heart,

I must tell you that I
awoke with much nervousness this morn, not because today I wed but
rather today I marry the one who holds my entirety in his hands. It
is a heady thing to love another, and I found myself in a state of
unnerve over the prospect of our future.

Then I received your
note.

A better man I have never
known. With a truer friend I will never bond. A deeper love will I
never outlast. I know not what the future holds save you, and that
is sufficient for me. We shall make the other stronger, our union
sure, our affection steadfast. Where I had felt unsure and fearful,
I now feel only confidence; the mere thought of you fulfills
me.

Today I pledge that I am
indeed yours, but never forget, my dearest, most faithful and
utterly handsome love, that you will be completely mine.