Chapter 10

2 Months Later

Diana

"I cannot believe you're marrying a marquess," Amanda, Diana's youngest sister, said, dark eyes bright with awe. Her hair was still in braids, denoting her age, but they'd been decorated with flowers, and her dress was the fanciest she'd ever worn, thanks to the Marquess' deep pockets. Out of Diana's entire family, Amanda was the happiest to take advantage of his generosity. Her parents were grateful but also worried over abusing his good nature—which, of course, meant they never would.

Amanda did not have the same hesitations, but in that case, Oliver was more than happy to play doting, rich brother-in-law and indulge her relentless litany of requests. Diana was starting to worry she was going to become spoiled.

"Me, either. How am I supposed to top that?" Margaret huffed, though she smiled as she said it. Truthfully, Diana's new station would only elevate Margaret's own status in the ton, and the Duchess of Windham had also taken Diana's younger sister under her wing. Her prospects for her third Season had improved greatly.

"Well, there are eight dukes now in need of wives and heirs," Amanda pointed out. "A duke ranks higher than a marquess. And they're all young and handsome."

"Amanda," Diana's mother scolded, looking slightly aghast at her youngest's plain-speaking or perhaps her lack of sympathy. "They all recently lost their fathers. Marriage is surely not immediately on their minds."

"It should be. They are all going to need heirs. Besides, I heard some of the old ladies talking. They're plotting to get the dukes all married off as soon as they're out of mourning." Amanda's chin went up stubbornly.

"Amanda, do not call them old ladies where anyone can hear you. Please." Mother rubbed her temples, a sure sign she was starting to lose her patience. Seeing that, Amanda sighed and nodded.

"I know, Mama. But no one here cares." She waved her finger around the room, which was full of Diana's sisters and Evie, who grinned widely at Amanda. The two of them were already getting along famously.

Evie and Anthony had been the first to know about Oliver and Diana's engagement, upon their return from investigating the deaths of the current dukes' fathers. They had been thrilled with the announcement, which was only a little dampened by the unsettling news that their investigation had been inconclusive. Most of the witnesses present had been drunk themselves, though they all agreed that the dukes had been both inebriated and several had been foolishly playing around with a small barrel of gunpowder.

Where the barrel had come from and why they had been mucking about with it remained a mystery, as did the motives, if there were any. The Duke of Hereford was well known for being a reckless twit who had done many foolish things, but there was no indication he'd had anything to do with the accident. Evie and Anthony were already investigating the heirs in case one had thought to advance his position, and Oliver was doing his best not to overly involve himself in the mess, but of course, he could not keep his hand out entirely.

Though he would today.

"We do not care only because we are used to you." Susannah chuckled as she shook her head at Amanda. As the oldest, she tended toward indulging Amanda as well, seeing her as the ‘baby.' "It is rather wonderful, though, is it not? A marquess you nursed back to health, and now, he's marrying you. It's like something out of a fairy tale."

A knock at the door had them all jumping.

"Come in," Juliana called, stepping in front of Diana. Not that Oliver would be coming to her door right now for anything but an emergency, but Juliana was determined to protect her from bad luck. Susannah might be the oldest, but Juliana still took her duties as an older sister seriously.

The door opened to reveal Josie, Evie's cousin by marriage. Dressed in a pink gown with pale yellow trim, the beautiful blonde beamed at all of them.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked as she met Diana's gaze. "The carriage is ready."

Was she ready? Ready for everything being a marchioness demanded?

She had spent the last two months learning. From Evie, who had made a study of the ton and could blend seamlessly into any group. From Josie, who had been training to be a future marchioness from the moment she'd married Evie's cousin, Elijah. From Lily, Evie's friend who had been thrust into the position of countess not long after her wedding. And from their last friend, Mary, who had also married a marquess. All of them, as well as Oliver's daughter-in-law, Priscilla, had been enthusiastically supportive of their union and jumped in to help.

She was still not sure she was ready for the position. She was not sure she ever would be.

But was she ready to be Oliver's wife? To spend her days and nights with him, to bring each other pleasure, to bicker with him for the rest of their lives?

"Yes," she said. She could not have the man without the position, and while she might never feel ready for the position, she was certainly not going to miss out on a life with the man just because of that. "I am ready."

Her father was waiting in the front hall, and when he saw her descending the stairs in her cream and gold wedding dress, his hand went to his heart, and his eyes filled with tears. Diana could not help but smile. Both of her parents were so overwhelmed by everything, especially as they had not expected her to ever marry. They were so happy to see her happily settled.

Her father's reaction was mimicked by Oliver not an hour later as her father walked her down the aisle.

The Marquess stood at the end, waiting for her, his dark eyes suspiciously watery as she walked toward him on her father's arm. Beside him was his eldest son, Elijah, serving as his best man, and then his other two sons, Joseph and Adam. They grinned at her. All of them, along with Evie, had immediately welcomed her to the family in such a way, she wondered if they had seen the writing on the wall long before she had.

"My Lady," Oliver whispered when her father put her hand in his.

"My Lord," she whispered back, making him chuckle.

The ceremony sped by in a blur. She could barely pay attention to anything other than Oliver. It felt like she blinked, then Father Nicholas was pronouncing them husband and wife. Oliver pulled her in for a brief but intensely sweet kiss.

Thankfully, their wedding was not a huge affair, which meant their wedding breakfast was not overly crowded. Most of Society had left London at the end of the Season, leaving only the political movers and shakers, of which they did have to invite a few. The shocking news about the dukes had emptied the city further, some for mourning and some who seemed to feel a need to check on their own estates after such a shocking event.

None of that was allowed to pall the festivities today. All the wedding guests fit around the huge dining room table at Camden House once it was fully let out. Since it was a more intimate gathering, they eschewed formality. Rather than sitting at opposite ends of the table, she sat at Oliver's right hand while Elijah and Josie presided over the other end.

She did keep her eye on Lady Cross, who was seated not far from Joseph and Priscilla. That situation seemed to have resolved itself nicely with Lady Cross serving as mentor to Priscilla and the couple becoming closer rather than driving them apart… but Diana wanted to make sure. It was only because she was watching the lady that she realized she seemed to be unnerved by the man on her right.

Diana had met him in the receiving line after the ceremony—she knew most of the guests but not all of them.

He was a friend of Oliver's. One who traveled a great deal for business. She suspected he did more than business on his trips and likely returned with a great deal of information for Oliver. Mr. Samuel North, that was it. Wealthy, respected, but not nobility. He'd been perfectly charming during their introduction, but something about him was disconcerting Lady Cross.

Leaning over, Diana crooked her finger at Oliver, who obligingly leaned toward her, causing Amanda to sigh with stars in her eyes. She probably thought they were murmuring sweet nothings in each other's ears, not realizing that she was asking her new husband for gossip. Ah, well, she would not ruin her sister's fantasies.

"Is there something the matter between Mr. North and Lady Cross?"

His gaze shot to the couple before he looked away, so as not to be obvious what they were talking about. He coughed, though it sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

"Ah… well. Samuel was one of her suitors before she became Lady Cross," he replied in a low voice. Diana's eyes widened. "Rumor has it, he was the one she loved, but her parents insisted that she marry Lord Cross. Samuel was not so wealthy then, and they did not look favorably on him being in business rather than being a lord."

Which did not make them so different from the rest of the ton, no matter that quite a few families lived in genteel poverty. They had the titles but not the funds. Over the years, more and more marriages had been made to cross the bridge, but those unions were never received as well. The ton was slowly being forced to dabble in business as well, but they did their best not to discuss such gauche matters. Diana shook her head.

"Poor Lady Cross," she murmured. Married to a man she did not love because her parents cared more about their position than her happiness. Once again, she was reminded how blessed she had been with her own parents. They had supported the choices she and her sisters made, even though her own choice had been wildly different from what young ladies were ‘supposed' to do.

On the other hand, here she was, now married to a marquess.

Oliver chuckled.

"I believe ‘poor Lady Cross' can take care of herself," he remarked.

Diana pressed her lips together in an amused smile. She and Lady Cross did share certain… proclivities.

She wondered if Mr. North knew what Lady Cross liked to do with her lovers.

"We should not have seated them together."

"Mmm."

Diana eyed her new husband. That noncommittal tone was hardly like him. He had helped with the seating chart since she had not known anyone.

"You're matchmaking," she accused.

"Hardly. A friend requested a favor, and I saw no harm in granting it." He grinned as she made a hmphing noise. Leaning over, he brushed his lips over her cheek. "I'd rather have you thinking about me than them, though. We are married now." The glint in his eyes told her what he was thinking about.

They'd been saving something for the wedding night, a fantasy they both wanted fulfilled. Something he'd never gotten to do before and which she'd never done. In a way, they were both going to be virgins this evening.

Just thinking about it made her smile in anticipation.