Smitty regarded Drake soberly. His reaction had been as expected—angry, defensive, stubborn.
Afraid.
“Your heart may be hardened, but your instincts tell you that she is different,” he observed wisely.
Drake stiffened. “She’s a woman.”
“She cares a great deal for you.”
“Some of the time,” Drake conceded, thinking of the way Alex responded in his arms.
“Be gentle with her, my lord,” Smitty told him softly. “She does not understand the bitterness that drives you to her and then away.”
Drake closed his eyes for a moment, and Smitty saw the struggle that raged inside him. “I will try not to hurt her, Smitty. It was never my intent.”
“I know, my lord. I, better than anyone, know the kind of man you are.”
Drake gave him a tortured look. “And what kind of man is that, Smitty?”
Smitty smiled. “I will let the future answer that question for you, Captain.” He moved toward the door, gesturing for Drake to follow. “Come. It is late. We wouldn’t want to delay your wedding, now, would we?”
Drake looked around the cabin, a new reality causing anticipation to replace his pain, heightening his senses. Tonight he would bring Alexandria here as his wife.
He glanced at the bed, imagining the long hours he would spend awakening her to her passion before he finally made her his wife in every way. Tonight, at long last, Lady Alexandria Cassel would be his.
No, he wouldn’t want to delay the wedding. Or the wedding night.
Lord Sudsbury had done his work well. The special license had been obtained, the minister was already present to conduct the brief ceremony, and a small afternoon buffet awaited the wedding participants. The blue salon had been transformed, its elegant yet dignified furnishings enhanced with sprays of pastel flowers, the fire that burned in the wide stone fireplace stoked just high enough to suffuse the room in low, filtered light.
Geoffrey surveyed the room with a self-satisfied smile. Because of her reckless and impulsive nature, Alexandria had stumbled unknowingly into the most enviable match of the Season. She would wed one of the wealthiest, most sought-after men of the ton, a man whose fortune and family name were among the most prestigious in all of England.
A notorious rake whose reputation with women should have horrified his future bride’s father.
It did not. As far as Geoffrey was concerned, Drake’s lack of reverence for women was a small price to pay for restoring Alexandria’s reputation and, in fact, raising her to the very pinnacle of society. No father could have asked for more.
A noise from the doorway made Geoffrey glance up. Drake stood with Smitty just inside the room. The bridegroom’s splendidly tailored evening clothes outlined his powerful body; the expression on his handsome face was unreadable.
“Lord Cairnham,” Geoffrey acknowledged with a nod.
Drake strode into the room, giving a cursory glance at his surroundings.
“Lord Sudsbury,” he returned. “I am ready to begin. Smitty will act as my groomsman.” He gestured toward the older man. “Also, I would ask that you cease to refer to me as Lord Cairnham. Alexandria will soon be my wife, and I shall decide upon the proper time to inform her of my identity.”
Geoffrey shrugged indifferently. “As you wish, Captain Barrett,” he replied, then lowered his voice. “As I told you when you first arrived, I have no interest in the details of your relationship with my daughter. The other guests are unaware of your rank among the peerage, so your secret is safe. How you handle Alexandria in the future is your responsibility, not mine.”
Drake gave him a dark look. “Yes, I know. You made your parental interest in Alexandria’s life quite clear to me. And to her as well.” He looked back over his shoulder, not waiting for an answer. The more he spoke to Geoffrey Cassel the more certain he was that this marriage was the right thing for Alexandria. Her father’s lack of regard for her happiness angered Drake to an irrational level. All he wanted right now was to take Alex as far from here as possible. As soon as possible.
Drake turned back to the earl. “Is Alexandria ready to begin?” he asked impatiently.
Geoffrey nodded. “She should be downstairs at any moment now.”
“I am here, Father.”
Alex’s soft voice came from the open doorway. Both Geoffrey and Drake turned at the sound. Only Smitty waited long enough to catch the unguarded look of raw emotion that registered in Drake’s eyes, then disappeared at the first sight of his bride.
Alex had stubbornly refused to wear a traditional bridal gown of white and silver, insisting that it would be absurd to do so at such an unconventional wedding as this. Instead, she wore a simple high-waisted gown of delicate blush-colored silk, trimmed at the bodice and hem with white lace. Its long, full sleeves flowed to her wrists, where they were tied with pink silk ribbons. She wore a wreath of pale pink roses on the crown of her shining golden brown hair, which hung in soft curls down her back.
She was the most exquisite bride Drake had ever seen.