The people gathered looked surprised, and some of them looked rather annoyed to be missing out on the next chapter of the drama, but they began to move towards the door anyway. The people of the ton were accustomed to showing deference to a duke, after all.
Luke bounded across the chapel to where Lord and Lady Haddington stood, with Alison next to them. “Do not think for one moment,” he said darkly. “That my wife and I will ever forget how you have treated her, nay, treated us on this day. For she will be my wife, you mark my words! I do not care a fig what you people think. I will marry Charlotte, and we will remember what you have done!”
He strode out of the side door of the chapel without waiting to hear their response. He emerged out into the cold air, and the first thing he saw was Charlotte running towards him.
He opened up his arms and swept her into an embrace. “You were coming back?”
“Yes, Luke, I was coming back to you.”
His heart swelled at the sight of her. “All will be well, I promise you, my love.”
* * *
Charlotte smiled softly at the Duke. She was glad to see him, but she did not know how he could possibly be promising her that all would be well. Surely, even a man as powerful as he was could not resolve this?
“But what has happened in the chapel?” she asked. “That priest will not marry us now.”
“No, I don’t think he will since I have sent him away,” Luke said, giving her a lopsided grin. “Along with everyone else.”
“You have sent him away!” Charlotte cried.
“Indeed I have. I am the Duke of Seton, and I can do as I please.”
She met his eye and smiled again, a broader smile now. “But what is going to happen? How can you be so sure that everything is going to be alright? I cannot imagine you want to marry me now after this further blast of scandal.”
“Charlotte, how many times do I have to tell you? I do not give two hoots about this supposed scandal, and I am sure, as I always am, that it will all have blown over in a matter of days anyway. Of course, I still want to marry you. Will you have me get to my knees again and beg you?”
“No!” she laughed. “I will not make you beg. But the day is ruined now.” She looked up at the sky. The rain clouds were parting, and the sun was beginning to shine through. Perhaps the day was not ruined, after all, if he still wanted to marry her.
“It is not ruined,” he said, looking into her eyes. “You are here, and I am here. We shall do things our way. Now, my dear, will you accompany me to Seton Hall? I fancy that there is to be a wedding there this afternoon.”
Charlotte felt a giggle swelling up in her chest, and she let it burst free. Her duke. He would make everything alright. She should never have doubted him. And she promised herself that she would never doubt him again.
* * *
The Duke had promised her that it would be the work of half an hour. Charlotte sat in the orangery of Seton Hall, on the Duke’s orders, and waited while he arranged everything. She found that she trusted him entirely.
She had been there for a while, enjoying the warmth of the space and the soft scent of the flowers, when she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up and saw her sister emerging through the leafy branches.
“Martha, how did you get here so quickly?”
Martha smiled, a beautiful, open smile that filled Charlotte’s heart with joy. “The Duke sent the carriage to collect us.”
“Us?”
“Me and Lord Miller.” Martha flushed as she said his name, her cheeks matching the pink flowers that rose up next to her.
“Has he… Are you…?” Charlotte could hardly find the words to ask her sister if anything had happened between them.
Martha raised her hand and pressed her finger to her lips. “We shall not talk of that today,” she said. “Today is your day, my dear sister.”
On the way to Seton Hall, Charlotte and Luke had discussed the details of their hastily rearranged wedding. There was a small chapel on the grounds of his estate and a ballroom large enough to host an enormous wedding party, but neither Luke nor his bride-to-be wanted to have a huge party.
“We shall have a small gathering in the orangery, and if people wish to dance, they can spill out into the adjoining reception room,” Luke said. “The cook would have a fit if I asked her to arrange a banquet at a moment’s notice anyway.” He had squeezed her hand, then, as they sat next to one another in the carriage. “If one day, when you are well-established as a Duchess, you wish to host a fine party to celebrate our wedding, then that is exactly what we shall do. But my sense is that we would prefer something more intimate today. Am I reading your thoughts correctly?”
She nodded. “Always, your Grace,” she said playfully
“You must stop calling me that! I am soon to be your husband!”
