Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

T he weather on the morning of the wedding was strangely calm, totally opposite from the chaotic state of Victoria’s mind. After the intense visit she had from Anthony several days prior to the wedding, she had been a ball of intense emotions swinging between extremes of worry, desire and giddiness.

Although his reactions the days before were not those of a man that was totally reluctant, especially going by the glint of desire that shone in his eyes anytime they met.

The man could blame her all he wanted but it was obvious for everyone to see, that he wanted her just as much or even more than she craved for him, sending her gifts over the last few days that would make any woman blush..

But even while she enjoyed the gifts, she had been haunted by the image of a very angry Anthony stomping away from her Father's study.

Curious, she had inquired from her father about the contents of his discussion with the Duke, but her father had been strangely tight lipped about the matter and had claimed the discussion was related to her marriage and her dowry.

Even with how much sense it made, she sensed a falsehood. It might be foolish but she thought she knew enough about the Duke to know that he would not throw a tantrum simply because of dowry.

She sensed that there was more that her father was not telling her and the way that his eyes kept avoiding hers during her Inquiry proved her theory that he was indeed hiding something and he was clearly not ready to share.

Victoria accepted the fact that she would eventually find out from her husband in marriage. She just hoped that whatever fond feelings the Duke had for her far outweighed his resentment towards her.

It was with this resolve that she arose that fateful morning to prepare herself to walk down the aisle.

After hours of primping and being poked and prodded, the maids managed to transform her into one beautiful bride.

" You look like a princess," Diana said her voice filled with wonder.

Looking at her reflection the blurry silver In front of her, she really felt like one. Her maid who had a flair for hairstyling had managed to arrange her hair into an artful collection of curls leaving some wisps of hair to caress her face.

Even she thought she made a beautiful bride, she just hoped that Anthony thought the same.

Charity walked in behind Diana and swept her arms around her in a hug.

Victoria closed her eyes to soak in the warmth that she didn't know that she needed.

Apart from the uncertainty that she felt about her marriage to Anthony, another issue that weighed on her was how much she would miss the companionship of her sisters.

" What are you thinking so hard about that you are frowning?" Charity asked in a whisper beside her ear, wrapping her arms around her shoulders from behind

" Remember you are supposed to be a blushing bride not a frowning one" she said in an amused tone.

Victoria sighed and tried to smile

" Now you look like you have swallowed freshly squeezed lime" Charity said laughing

" Dearest Victoria, I wish you a blissful marriage with your duke and I am confident that you would happy with him"

" You truly think so?" She asked fragile hope in her voice

" Yes, the man is besotted with you. No matter what he says, his eyes do not lie" Charity answered ' I am sure the mam will be thoroughly speechless when he sees you walking towards the alter"

Victoria reached for hand and squeezed it with gratitude.

At that moment, her father came in to inform her that it was time for them to leave for the church.

When she stood in front of the giant doors of St. Alphonsus Chapel. The feeling of apprehension returned once again but when the doors opened, she took a deep breath and began the long journey towards the altar.

As she got closer to the altar, she became enraptured by the man standing at the altar, a slightly stupefied look on his face. He must have just freshly washed hair that curled at his collar, he was clean shaven and well dressed in a dark suit. He had always been handsome but at this moment in time he was simply.... arresting.

When she got to the altar and stood beside him, he leaned towards her

"You look ravishing, wife," he said in his deep voice.

" Thank you," she replied self-consciously, turning to face the bishop, feeling the heat creep up her cheeks.

Looks like she was going to become the blushing bride after all.

As the ceremony began, the bishop droned on about marriage and importance of family, her mind travelled as she imagined what her life would look like after the ceremony. She would have to leave with the Duke and begin a new life far away from the family she had always known.

While a part of her was excited about having a home she could call hers, she also felt apprehensive especially when she remembered the argument that she had with him a week earlier and the possibility that he resented her for forcing him into a marriage he didn't want.

She might have saved her sister from him but had ended up trapping herself with him. To her mind it just might be the equivalent of locking herself in a lion's den and hoping fervently that she didn't get devoured.

"Miss," the bishop called, startling her out of her reverie.

She looked up to see Anthony and the elderly bishop peering at her with identical expressions of concern

Apparently it was time for her to repeat her vows but she had been to distracted to say them.

She apologized and repeated her vows, clearly and loudly and when Anthony recited his and slid the plain gold band on her finger, she could swear that she heard the sound of a door in her head clicking shut.

Anthony cradled her neck and caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers, his eyes glinting with a strange cocktail of emotions that she couldn't identify

The butterflies in her belly took flight and she trembled with barely leashed passion by the time he slanted his lips over hers, she was certain that she would have melted like butter if he had not placed an arm around her waist to anchor her to his hard body

By the time he released her, she felt dizzy with passion and a place low in her belly ached with longing.

The man that was now her husband had the audacity to flash her a smug smile, obviously satisfied with his ill-gotten ability to reduce her to a ball of longing that only required relief from him. It was shameful how he managed to reduce her to a puddle simply with a simple look.

When the ceremony ended, he tucked her arm in his and walked down the aisle, exchanging greetings with the guests that had grace their wedding.

They then headed to the hall for their wedding breakfast and while they wined and dined, she accepted congratulatory messages from all and sundry. All this could not bring calm to her sense instead her mind moved a mile per second as she anticipated what followed next.

Soon Anthony stood up and announced that he must now leave with his wife, so as to travel to his estate which was about a half day's journey from Mayfair.

Victoria heard herself trying to delay him by staring that she had not packed her belongings.

In answer, he assured her that her maid could bring her luggage when she joined them later.

After a tear filled goodbye with her family, Anthony helped her onto his carriage and they soon set off on the journey to the Devlin estate

For most part of the ride, he was quiet as he read the neatly pressed newspaper in his hands effectively ignoring her presence.

As she watched and admired his face in profile, she came to terms that she was now married to the Devil's Duke and she was now in fact a duchess.

* * *

When the carriage stopped as it came to a stop in a beautiful driveway, Victoria jolted out of her slumber, she had been reading "Pride and Prejudice" by A Lady, to pass the time in the uncomfortable silence of the carriage, she must have fallen asleep at some point.

She looked in Anthony's direction to see him giving her an amused smile.

She touched her face and saw she must have drooled while she was out in dreamland and she didn't want to contemplate the state of her hair.

She could feel the familiar burn of embarrassment and she scowled at him in disapproval.

Instead of being remorseful he burst out in to laughter causing her scowl to grow even deeper. She bent over to pick up her fallen book, making sure to flash him an annoyed glance when she straightened to her sitting position.

The look seemed to send him to another episode of uncontrollable mirth as he laughed until tears came out of his eyes.

" You should see your face, Duchess, you look absolutely ridiculous but in an adorable way."

" I hardly think that is a suitable compliment to give your wife".

" Well, I do not think I owe you any compliments," he said dismounting when the footman opened the door of the carriage. Standing on the ground, he stretched out his hand

" Come, let's go inside" he said, every sign of mirth completely gone as he transformed back into the cold gentleman that had shared the carriage with for the past few hours.

She took his hand and alighted. Placing a hand at her waist he led her to the entrance of the mansion where the he staff stood lined up smartly to be introduced.

She counted not less than forty staff including the footmen, chamber maids and the kitchen maids. She had managed a household before but it constituted of less than ten servants especially after Father's financial problems began. She secretly panicked at the prospect of having to manage an even larger household.

At last she was introduced to the housekeeper, who called herself Mrs. Hamlich, she was a middle aged woman who had her black hair caught at the back in a severe look, the inviting smile on her face was however warm and immediately put at her ease.

With such an efficient looking housekeeper she was sure her journey to adjusting to her new home might just be easier. She truly hoped so.

After the introductions, Anthony left her in the hands of the housekeeper to show her round the mansion stating that he had some things to do in the Estate.

Mrs. Hamlich took her on a tour around the massive mansion explaining the rich history of the building.

Apparently, it had originally been built as a royal retreat for King Charles I, but the king had granted it along with its surrounding estate to his loyal friend who had saved his life on the battle field.

The title had been in the family for at least two centuries and since then the mansion had undergone several renovations including addition of a new wing that was now specialized for the duke.

In the new wing, she showed her to her chamber of rooms that shared an adjoining door with the Duke's chambers. After the long tour, she returned to her chambers to see that her maid had arrived with her luggage.

She would have loved to meet her new mother-in-law, the only surviving member of Anthony's family, but was told that she was away on a trip.

In lieu of that, she settled for watching the sunset from the window of her bedchamber. She already loved the room simply because of the unique view it gave her of the sunset

The sunset was her favorite thing to watch, and she swore that there was nothing more beautiful than the sight of the sun setting in bright shades of orange as it gave way to the appearance of the moon.

There was a knock on the door, and when she called for the person to enter, Betsy, her lady’s maid, stuck her head in to inform her that it was time to go below stairs for dinner.

At once, her sense of calm evaporated at the thought of having to encounter the duke again.

That short moment of laughter they had in the carriage gave her hope that he just might not be as cold with resentment as he acted.

But she still had to sit with the man at dinner and endeavor not to make a complete fool of herself.

She dressed carefully in a beautiful dark blue creation that she had been told complimented her skin. Betsy did a good job of arranging her hair and soon she was ready for dinner.

When she arrived at the dinner table it was to see that Anthony was already seated and he stood up to recognize her presence.

This evening he was dressed casually in his shirt sleeves that was open at the throat. He had rolled his sleeves to reveal his strong forearm with a fine sprinkling of hair, the thought of those hands or her body sent warmth to her lower parts.

She had to make a conscious effort to stop herself from ogling the man, in her defense, the man was just too attractive for his own good.

She walked to her chair opposite him and sat. Dinner went quietly and she kept stealing looks at the man from beneath her eyelashes.

She did not know much about what happened in the marriage bed seeing as her mother that would have performed the task was dead.

She had to settle for Betsy's vague descriptions of a lock and a key and the rumors she had heard from her married friends in society who claimed that it was the best thing to ever exist

The available opinions on the matter was conflicted and did nothing to ease the apprehension inside her at the thought of performing the marital act.

But she reckoned that if the act involved having her body pressed to his and access to his skin and more of his drugging kisses, it could not be all that bad in her opinion.

When she finished eating, she stood and excused herself to go upstairs. Then she got upstairs she changed her clothes to a sheer crimson lingerie that the mischievous modiste had claimed will make her husband crave her.

Victoria felt embarrassed putting on the lingerie, she blushed so much that she was sure her face might have been as bright as a tomato.

The dress if she could even call it that was so sheer that she could as well be naked. She belted the matching robe over it with the hope that it would make it at least a little more modest.

She picked up her hairbrush and set about brushing her hair while she waited for her husband to join her to finally consummate their marriage

* * *

He was not sure if he could classify his wedding day as a happy one but one thing he was sure of, was that it was that it was a tortuous one.

Right from the moment he saw his bride approaching him at the church escorted by her father looking as innocent as an angel, he had been ensnared by her beauty.

He had to quickly remind himself of her deceit to being some control to his senses

But the more time he spent with her the more he kept on grasping desperately for his anger that was slowly dissipating until he had no shield from the intensity of his feelings for his wife.

The moment he was away from her, his mind was filled with thoughts of her and when she had come down for dinner he knew the true pain of unrelieved arousal as he watched the creamy skin of her bosom revealed in that daring gown

For the half hour that it took him to finish dinner, he learnt a new painful lesson in arousal and desire

The ache that had been building throughout the day had coalesced into an aching pain and he had been heartbeats away from dragging her onto the table, clearing the dishes and having his way with her.

The lusty thought shocked him but it only showed the state of mind that he would consider taking his wife in the dining room where anyone could see them.

It was only the fact that she had stood up at that moment had prevented him from turning his imagination into reality.

It was also the reason he was heading outside to the lake for a cold swim. If he tarried any longer, he just might storm into her room and pounce on her like a wild animal confirming the rumor that he was a beast.

After the swim, he headed to his chambers to change to his clothes. He looked at the adjoining door, he could see tendrils of light from the door edges indicating that his new wife was still awake or she might have forgotten to put off the candle. He was only going to check to prevent the possibility that she might burn down the castle. That was definitely the reason why he tightened the sash of his robe and opened the door to her room

When he stepped into the room, he was struck dumb by the picture In front of him.

She was seated at the vanity mirror her hair cascading over her shoulder gleaming in the candle light, she could as well be a siren because he found himself walking towards her and pulling her hair aside to expose the expanse of her neck.

" May I?" He said in a hoarse voice that he scarcely recognized as his.

She handed him the brush and he set out on the task of brushing her hair as he was assaulted by the scent of lilies.

It became so intoxicating that he found himself fighting the urge to kiss her neck and lick along it's length. He was not the only one affected, because he could hear the increased rate of her breathing

He dropped the brush so quickly it might as well be on fire then turned to flee

" Where are you going" he heard her breathy voice ask him stopping him in his tracks.

She stood up because he heard the rustling of material behind him

" Anywhere, away from here"

" Why?" She asked a curious tone in her voice

" You know why" he answered tightly

" I am not sure that I do. I think I deserve an explanation if my husband wants to leave me alone on our wedding night"

At that he snorted " We are hardly truly married. If we don't consummate it. You could file for annulment and have it revoked you would be free."

" What if I do not want that?" she replied coming to stand close to him and taking one of his hands in hers.

Her breathed deeply in the hopes of regaining his sanity as the scent of her body was messing with a good sense.

He turned to order her to leave him alone but he became stunned Instead by the vision before him

His wife was wearing a nightgown if he could call it that when the material revealed more than it covered.

In the light of the candle he could swear he could make our the pink tips of her breasts and he watched, they beaded as if begging for his mouth. He swallowed hard in the hopes of controlling himself.

" I want you, Anthony" she whispered, her tone sultry. That was it. Anthony lost his precarious hold in his self control and all hell broke loose.

The next moment, he dragged her to his body, slanted his mouth over hers and proceeded to kiss her senseless. She had been prodding the beast, she definitely deserved to be devoured.