Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

" I will never forget the look on that man's face when he burst through the door." Sarah sighed as she sank into the settee. "All masculine and strong…" Her face reddened.

"I'd stop if I were you, Sarah. Jenny looks like she could kill you right about now." Frances laughed.

"What? Come now, I know you and Nora are married, but you can't tell me you didn't swoon a little when you saw him barging into the church to stop the wedding."

Nora rocked her sleeping baby in her arms. "I know I did. But I told my husband it was a side effect of pregnancy." Her eyes twinkled with mischief.

The women all laughed.

Jenny sat on the sofa with her teacup in hand, feeling lighter than she had in months. Tomorrow, she was marrying the man she was destined to marry, there was no doubt in her mind. David Elkins, the Duke of Marlow, had always been hers. Her heart sang just thinking of it.

She looked at her friends, who all gathered to see her before her wedding, which was taking place the next afternoon.

"Quite honestly, it all happened when I was passing out from the stress of pretending I was alright with the wedding. I missed his grand entrance."

Frances scoffed and pointed a finger at Jenny. "I'm still not happy that you weren't honest with us. You know we would have stepped in had we known your true feelings regarding the wedding."

Jenny shrugged.

"Oh, it was a sight to see," Sarah remarked. "There we were, watching this charade of a wedding take place." She stopped to look at Jenny. "I'm sorry, Jenny, you weren't fooling anyone. We all knew you didn't really want Harry."

"We just didn't know it was the Duke of Marlow you wanted," Nora interjected.

"Well, I did," Frances offered to the shocked amusement of the other two women.

All eyes flicked to Jenny, who bit her lip. "You were saying, Sarah?"

Sarah narrowed her eyes but continued. "We'll come back to how Frannie was the only one to know about David. But yes, there we all were, watching you get married, and boom! Someone kicks in the door."

Jenny's hand flew up. "Wait. He kicked in the door?"

The women giggled.

"He did. It was quite impressive," Frances said.

Jenny grumbled. "Well, now I'm even more mad that I missed it."

"How about Harry's face when he saw David charging him?" Nora laughed.

"The man went as white as a ghost!" Frances added.

"Oh, Frannie, speaking of strong, defiant men. The way your husband stood in front of everyone, daring anyone to step up and interfere with God's plan, was…" Nora kissed her fingers. "The chef's kiss."

"Oh, I know." Frances blushed. "When do you think Simon's sibling was conceived?" Her hand patted her stomach.

The women burst out laughing, although Jenny stopped when she realized Frances was talking about relations with her brother.

Sarah once again sighed. "You ladies are getting all the good men. What is left for me?"

"Well, I hear there's one back on the market. Although he does have quite the temper." Jenny shuddered.

"Oh, didn't you hear?" Sarah leaned in.

Of course, Sarah has gossip to share .

Jenny sat back on the sofa. All was right in the world. "I've been a bit busy planning a wedding—one that I actually want—so I've been quite occupied."

"Well, I ran into Mr. Winlsow. Remember her?"

"Elizabeth's nanny," Jenny offered to a confused Nora.

"She said Harry sent Elizabeth away to live with relatives because he couldn't handle her. And since she was no longer in his employ, she felt the need to tell her story."

Jenny sat up with interest. "Her story? What do you mean?"

"You definitely lucked out, my dear," Sarah started. "It seems his behavior at the wedding was not a one-time occurrence. He was known to have a temper. He never hit or struck anyone, but she said he was always yelling and had no control over that child. Mr. Winlsow hated living there, but she felt bad leaving the girl alone with him, so she stayed on."

Frances gasped. "He always seemed so in control of his emotions when he was around us. I mean even when Elizabeth lit the pastor's vestments on fire, he seemed level-headed about it."

Sarah clapped her hands together. "Apparently, it was all a ruse. He knew how to conduct himself in Society, but behind closed doors, it was a different story."

Jenny shivered at the thought of what her life could have been like. Once again, she thanked her lucky stars that David barged into that church on that fated afternoon.

Frances waved her hands. "Enough of this nonsense. What is done is done, and we're all moving on to brighter days. Isn't that right, Jenny?"

Jenny blushed. "Absolutely. I can honestly say I have never been more excited about tomorrow. I don't even think I was this excited when Thomas and I first arrived here."

Frances reached over and grabbed her sister-in-law's hand. "I remember the first night Nora introduced us. You were a bundle of nervous energy, ready to take on the whole world. I'm glad to see you haven't lost any of that lively energy. I was worried for a bit that you may have."

The women sat in silence for a moment, each recalling those days leading up to the wedding to Harry.

"You know, there is a question I need to ask you, Jenny. I wonder what possessed David to barge into the wedding like that," Nora mused.

Jenny wrung her hands in her lap. "Frannie said something to me the night before that got me thinking."

Frances looked curiously over at her.

"You told me to fight for what I want, so I did."

The women processed Jenny's words.

Frances groaned. "Tell me you didn't snuck out to his house that night."

Jenny said nothing but offered a smile and a shrug.

"Jane! What did I tell you about sneaking off to his house?!"

Nora and Sarah yelped in surprise.

"You would sneak out to go to his house at night?" Sarah was positively giddy at the thought of more gossip.

Jenny stood up. "Well, ladies, I think we should call it a night. I don't know if you heard, but I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow."

She ushered the nosy women out of the house, knowing full well they'd be revisiting that conversation later. But that was for another day. She had better things to do, like figuring out how she was going to fall asleep when she was as excited as a child on Christmas morning.

The carriage pulled up to Lady Staunton's estate. The Countess had offered her grounds for their wedding after witnessing the scuffle at Jenny's ill-fated wedding. She claimed that since their first introduction was at one of her infamous parties, it only be right that they hold the wedding there.

Thomas helped Jenny out of the carriage, his face lit with a bright smile.

She stopped. "What is your face doing?"

Thomas held out his arm for her to take. "Smiling."

"Why?'

Thomas chuckled. "Because this is how you should look like when you're getting married."

Jenny looked up at her brother. "And how should that be?"

"Radiant."

Jenny blushed. Her brother was not one for platitudes. Much like her husband-to-be, he only offered words when they were absolutely necessary. His one-word compliment meant more to her than any gift he could have purchased for her.

"I'm serious, Jenny. Frannie and I are very happy with your match. I've come to know Marlow well, and he is exactly the man I would have picked for you."

"Is that so?"

Thomas shook his head. "It is. And if I had any doubts about his character, his actions at the church put them to bed."

Jenny couldn't contain her joy. She leaned against her brother's shoulder as they turned the corner to step onto Lady Staunton's porch.

"And if, by chance, there were any lingering doubts, this would extinguish them immediately."

Thomas led her onto the porch that was decorated with floral arrangements and candles as far as she could see. A white cloth lay on the steps off of the doorway and down the path to where David was standing.

Jenny's breath caught in her throat. Small candles lit the pathway to David, while strings of flowers hung from the trees. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen—it was exactly what she had envisioned when she dreamt of her wedding day.

"If a man can go through the lengths he did to pull this off, he is a better man than me. I thought dealing with Frannie was frustrating. She has nothing on Lady Staunton," Thomas joked.

Jenny's eyes filled with tears. She couldn't wait to get to David's side. She even began tugging on Thomas's arm as they walked.

"Calm down, woman. We'll get there," Thomas chided, lengthening his strides to keep up with her.

David had never dreamed of his wedding. Hell, he had never even given it much thought. Sure, the prospect of marriage was always there. He was a duke, after all. He just assumed when the time was right, he'd find a formidable woman, and that would be that.

Never in a million years did he expect the woman of his dreams to sneak into an unlit library and upend his entire life. But she did, and he couldn't be happier for it.

He watched as Jenny and Thomas walked down the aisle Lady Staunton's men created in her garden. She never looked more beautiful. Her auburn hair was twisted up into a chignon, and a couple of stubborn curls were framing her face.

The low afternoon sun created a halo around her, giving her an ethereal glow. Which fit her perfectly—she really was an angel sent by God to rescue him.

She saved him from a life of misery and a self-imposed prison sentence. The fact that he almost lost her to Harry still caused his hackles to rise. Jenny's frightened face when Harry grabbed her still haunted his dreams. It was the same look in Heather's eyes the night she died.

David promised himself on the night he lost Heather that he would never put someone in that position again. When Harry held Jenny hostage in front of their peers, he knew it was his turn to make it right. He was forever grateful that his actions resulted in a better outcome. The thought of losing Jenny the same way would have killed any reason for living.

Now, watching Jenny walk towards him, he felt relief, as if a weight was finally lifted off his shoulders.

When Jenny and her brother reached him, Thomas reached out and shook his hand. "Good luck," he said quickly, before joining his wife and son in the chairs.

"Took you long enough." David winked at his bride.

Jenny's smile ignited a fire in his gut. He wanted to grab her hand and run for the nearest empty room, but he knew how important this day was to her.

"I'm sorry, Your Grace. I didn't realize you were waiting for me."

David took her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist. "I've been waiting for you my entire life, kitten."