Much Ado About Dukes by Eva Devon

Author:Eva Devon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: marriage of convenience;historical romance;regency romance;sexy romance;duke;bluestocking;women’s rights;England;London;British historical fiction;family drama;brothers;cousins;inheritance;engagement;theater;stage plays;Much Ado About Nothing;Shakespeare;feminism;feminist;Historical Romances;Regency Historical Romance;Women's Historical Fiction;Historical European Fiction;Much Ado About Dukes by Eva Devon;The Spinster and the Rake by Eva Devon;Never a Wallflower series;Historical Romance book;Regency romance book;Entangled Publishing;Amara;Mass Market Paperback romance;single title romance;stand alone romance;series romance book;Matchmaker romance;duke romance;Royalty Romance;Women’s Fiction romance;The Duke’s Secret Series by Eva Devon;The Wallflower Wins Series by Eva Devon;Modern Historical romance;Funny Historical romance books;Books like Bridgerton;Scandalous historical romance;Rogue historical hero
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 2022-05-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

“I swear, day is night and night is day, and the ocean has turned to dust.” Margaret beamed, the morning light dancing over her shining face. As she arranged the flowers in the wedding bouquet, she exclaimed, “Beatrice, are you truly getting married? Today?!”

“Indeed I am,” Beatrice replied, hardly believing it herself. “Life is full of surprises, is it not?”

Margaret’s eyes widened, and she laughed her beautiful bell laugh. “Surprises? Miracles, more like; but when I saw you kissing him, I knew. I knew in my heart of hearts that he was the one for you.”

Margaret crossed to her cousin and placed the bouquet on her dressing table so that she could arrange Beatrice’s pelisse. “I cannot believe you are marrying before me, let alone at all. I keep thinking I will wake and find it all to be a strange dream.”

“Are you angry with me?” Beatrice bit her lower lip, her insides tight. She cared about Margaret so much, and she knew the rush of her own wedding had come as quite a shock. “For superseding your day?”

“Don’t be absurd!” Margaret exclaimed before blushing. “Well, there might have been a single moment in which I found myself wondering at it. But I am not angry. How could I be? If you’re to be happy.”

Beatrice let out a sigh of relief. “I would understand if you were put out. You’ve already planned so much of your wedding. Your name was on all of London’s lips. Now…mine is.”

Margaret gave her a kind smile. “I’m not marrying Kit to be noticed by the ton. Oh, I hope everyone is happy at my wedding breakfast. But the point of it is to celebrate our union. Just as you are about to do! Don’t you wish you had a bit more time? You could have a grand wedding. He is a duke, after all.”

She blanched. “I think if we had more time, we’d both find a reason not to.”

Margaret’s brow furrowed. “You cannot mean that. I’ve seen you two together.”

“Neither of us wished to wed.”

“Yet—”

Beatrice groaned, then laughed and adjusted her spectacles. “Never fear. We both have chosen this with clear sight.”

Margaret’s lips twitched. “Could you two do anything else?” As she smoothed the buttons, she said, “Truth be told, despite the surprise and rapidity of the date, I’m so glad that you have yielded to your love for him. And he you.”

Beatrice all but yelped, “Oh! I don’t love him. And he certainly doesn’t love me.” Her heart raced at the very idea. How absurd. Truly. She drew in a breath and said steadily, “This is simply a marriage of convenience.”

Margaret pulled back and frowned. “What could possibly be convenient about it?”

Beatrice swallowed, uncertain how to answer. “Can I not alter my hopes and desires?”

Folding her arms over the golden belt just under her breasts that complemented her peach morning gown, Margaret pointed out with little of her usual sweetness, “Of course you may, but you have always been so adamant. You don’t like the idea of marriage.

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