Worth of a Lady by Tarah Scott

Author:Tarah Scott
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Scarsdale Publishing
Published: 2017-04-29T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Six

A knock on the door of the parish chapel’s drawing room snapped Chastity’s gaze onto the plain wooden door. She stared for a heartbeat, then looked at Lucy, who sat on the settle near the window.

“Open the door,” Lucy urged.

“This is madness,” Chastity said.

Lucy silently agreed. Two days ago, she’d danced with a man who clearly had no desire to marry her. This morning, she wore an ivory gown as her wedding dress and she was about to walk down the aisle to pledge herself to this stranger.

More knocking.

“Please, open the door Chastity,” Lucy said.

Chastity looked more distressed than Lucy felt, but she did as Lucy wished.

The vicar’s wife stood in the doorway. She was only nineteen-years-old, and she appeared as nervous as the sisters.

“Are you ready, my lady?” She smiled tremulously at Lucy.

“Aye.” Lucy stood. As ready as she would ever be.

The vicar’s wife led them down a short hallway and into the parish foyer. Through the open doors, Lucy glimpsed two dozen guests seated in the ancient pews. She took a deep breath, inhaling cold air that smelled of age, incense, and candle wax. A tremor rippled through her belly. She couldn’t see him, but she knew Baron Delny stood before the vicar at the end of the aisle, waiting for her.

Her father emerged from the chapel and strode toward them. “You may go to your seat, Chastity.”.

She looked at Lucy. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

“Chastity,” the duke warned.

“Nae,” she said. “Lucy has a choice in this matter.”

“We did agree to this,” Lucy said. “Papa trusts him, and I trust Papa.”

Chastity started to reply, but the duke shook his head. “Take your seat, or go home.”

“Please.” Lucy touched her arm. “Do not leave.”

Chastity’s mouth thinned. But she nodded and headed toward the chapel. She disappeared.

The duke grasped Lucy’s shoulders and searched her eyes. “I hope you understand why I do this.”

“You want us safely wed.”

“I want you happy,” he said.

She lifted on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I know.”

He nodded, and she was sure she glimpsed moisture in his eyes before he faced the doors and angled his arm. She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and they started forward. When they entered the chapel and she caught sight of Baron Delny standing before the pulpit, her heart fluttered. She’d never seen a more beautiful man. His black tailcoat contrasted beautifully with his ivory waistcoat, and his tanned neck encircled by a crisp white cravat made her mouth go dry. They neared the pulpit and the intensity of his gaze caused her to flush. They reached his side and her father kissed her.

“Take care of her or I will shoot you.” Without another word, Papa turned and took three steps to his seat in the front pew.

Lucy stared at him. Tears stung the corners of her eyes. For all his bluster about marrying them off, he was going to miss her.

“Take her right hand,” the minister instructed the baron.

The baron did so and her stomach did a somersault at his gentle touch.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.