Her Grace's Daring Proposal by Joanna Johnson

Author:Joanna Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-03-31T13:08:38+00:00

Chapter Eight

One or two voices in the packed church muttered that the former Duchess’s remarriage had come about somewhat quickly—almost a year to the day since the expiry of her first husband—but for the most part it was curiosity rather than disapproval that drew so many onlookers that bright spring morning.

She’d spent her youth tied to a man old enough to be her father, nursing him devotedly throughout his various illnesses, and most of the congregation judged that it seemed churlish to condemn her for turning to such a handsome replacement now she was finally free. There was little reason to expect her to wait, after all. She’d been sufficiently devastated by the old Duke’s death as to garner the sympathy of the ton, their blessing not required but nevertheless it made Isabelle’s mind slightly easier as she took Joseph’s arm and allowed him to lead her back down the aisle and towards the church’s open doors.

Emerging out into the sunshine, she found a smile for the well-wishers clustered around the steps, accepting their compliments with a curtsey as pretty as the small bouquet she clutched to her chest. That they had decided to look upon the match with a friendly eye was a victory: she’d wed solely to minimise the risk of scandal, not court it, although it was difficult to remember that fact as she looked up at her new husband.

Joseph’s back was straight and his shoulders squared, a faint crease between his brows the only sign that he still wasn’t entirely comfortable with being surrounded by the best and brightest of Bishop Morton society, and Isabelle felt another flutter ripple through her. It mirrored the one that had taken hold when she’d stood at the top of the aisle, looking towards the altar where he’d waited for her to approach, so tall and handsome in his smartest coat that she’d hardly been able to move. Only knowing that so many pairs of eyes were upon her had forced her legs into action, each step taking an effort nobody watching would have suspected, and when she’d finally reached him it had come as the strangest relief to stand at his side.

Their marriage might be nothing more than a convenient arrangement designed for the benefit of both, but somehow it had felt like something else as he’d slipped the ring onto her finger and vowed to be hers until death, the unwavering seriousness in his hazel eyes coming back to her now to make Isabelle almost lose her footing on the worn stone steps.

Joseph’s bicep tightened under her lace-gloved fingers, just hard enough for her to regain her balance. It was the smallest of movements but it cast sparks into her already knotted stomach, caught between her helpless reaction to his closeness and the enormity of the leap they had just taken together.

And so now I am Mrs Carter. From duchess to mercenary’s wife in a matter of minutes—and I can only hope we don’t come to regret it.

The thought made her catch a breath, but she couldn’t risk letting her uncertainty show.

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