To Seduce a Bride (Courtship Wars)

“Do you hold me in affection, sweeting?” Heath asked, his tone a tender tease.

Lily pressed her lips together. “That was a slip of the tongue. I consider you a friend, nothing more.”

“I think we have gone far beyond mere friendship. I have been inside of you, remember?”

“Will you stop that!” Lily demanded in frustration.

Thankfully, she was spared from further provocation when Marcus’s butler, Hobbs, appeared and announced that dinner was served.

Even more thankfully, Heath made no effort to approach her again that evening. Instead, he spent much of the time with Lady Eleanor-an unexpected turn of events that strangely unsettled Lily.

The image of them laughing together stayed with her as she tossed and turned in her solitary bed that night, no matter how much she tried not to think of Heath with the lively, lovely Lady Eleanor.

Lily woke late the following morning, weary and bleary-eyed, but she made a concerted effort to be cheerful when she and Arabella gathered in Roslyn’s bedchamber to help her bathe and dress. It was not too difficult since Roslyn’s high spirits were infectious. Lily couldn’t help but be sad, however, that she was losing her other sister.

Roslyn eventually noticed her melancholy and commented on it. “Lily, I know you would rather I didn’t marry Drew, but I love him dearly. More than I thought it was possible to love anyone.”

“That is quite obvious,” Arabella interjected with a fond smile at Roslyn, “from the way you look at him. And he spent the entire evening gazing adoringly at you. It is frankly remarkable to see the elusive, cynical Duke of Arden wearing his heart on his sleeve for all to see.”

“I don’t object to you marrying him if you are happy, Rose,” Lily said, feeling her throat ache with love for her sister.

“I am happy, truly. I can only wish you the same happiness, Lily, with a man as wonderful as Drew.”

A wonderful man like Heath, Lily found herself thinking. A man who was tender and generous and gentle and strong…

For a fleeting moment, Lily caught herself imagining that she was the one preparing for her wedding day just now, eager to become Heath’s bride. Doubtless, it was her unsteady emotions making her harbor such foolish musings. She should know better.

With a deliberate effort she shrugged off her nonsensical reflections and managed a laugh. “Your idea of happiness and mine are quite different, Rose. I would not be happy as a wife. But I must say that I am highly envious of your trip to Paris and Brittany. That is kind of Arden to take you to see Mama.”

“Indeed. But he realizes how much it means to me after we were estranged from her for so long.” Roslyn shook her head. “We are on much better terms with Mama than Drew is with his mother. And I admit I am very glad that the duchess will be remaining here in London after our wedding.”

Lily understood her sister’s sentiment, since she’d heard how cold and haughty the Duchess of Arden was. “The duke told me last night that you mean to remain at Arden Castle for the first week of your wedding journey.”

“Yes. Drew wants to have his family home to ourselves for a time, so he gave his mother an ultimatum-and she promised to make herself scarce for the duration of our visit to Kent.”

Arabella nodded in sympathy. “And you won’t have to endure the duchess’s company much after you are wed.”

“Fortunately not,” Roslyn agreed. “We will be living here in London most of the year since Drew has so many obligations to Parliament and the government.”

“Well,” Arabella interrupted briskly, “we had best stop chatting and get you dressed, or you will be late. You don’t want to keep your groom waiting at the altar for long. Lily, will you ring for Nan so she can arrange Roslyn’s hair? We could do it ourselves, as we did for years, but with so much of the ton sure to be in attendance, she must look worthy of being a duke’s bride.”

A large number of the ton was indeed present at St. George’s church in Hanover Square, Lily saw when they arrived. And most of those wedding guests were amazed to see the illustrious Duke of Arden willingly don the shackles of matrimony to marry Miss Roslyn Loring, whose family had such a scandalous past.

The baroque splendor of the church provided a regal setting for a society wedding. With her elegant golden beauty, Roslyn made the loveliest bride imaginable, and Arden seemed her ideal match with his fair hair and strikingly handsome features. Indeed, their union seemed like the perfect ending to a fairy tale.

Lily spent much of the lengthy ceremony trying to calm her unsettled nerves. She was much too aware of Heath sitting beside her, and too aware of how his proximity would look to the ton, rousing speculation that there would soon be a third wedding in the Loring family.

She spoke to Heath as little as possible, not only because she wanted to discourage his suit but because of the tightness in her throat. When at last the ceremony ended and Lily said her final farewells to the bride and groom, the threatening sting of tears only increased.

Mutely she accompanied the other guests as they left the church to gather on the massive Corinthian portico and see off the newlywedded couple in the duke’s coach, which was adorned with white roses and satin ribbons and pulled by a team of six white horses wearing plumed headdresses.

Heath stood beside Lily, watching as the carriage drove away. Basil had disappeared somewhere in the crowd, although she hadn’t noticed his absence until this moment. Fanny was speaking to Arabella while waiting for her own carriage.

Glancing up at Heath, Lily swallowed against the ache. “Well,” she murmured, her voice husky with unshed tears, “I believe I have fulfilled my obligation to you for today, my lord-spending time in your company.”

He merely looked at her for a long moment. Then to her startlement, he took her elbow and escorted her back inside the church.

Perplexed, Lily went along reluctantly as he led her down a maze of corridors. When they reached a deserted chamber that appeared to be a clerical office, Heath shut them inside, then turned to face her.