Chapter Fifty-Two

Duke’s London Townhouse, the Wedding Day

Raven asked question after question of Randall, who advised him the servants of Winston House were enlisted to assist his staff. A royal confectioner was engaged to provide the family wedding luncheon, compliments of the Regent, which was in itself a grand affair despite the short notice. With such a provider, there was no cause to worry about poisoning. Yet Raven worried. He wanted the day to be perfect for him, his bride, and guests.

He was resplendent in his brocade attire. Samantha wore her formerly purloined betrothal gown that matched his groom outfit. The color well suited her. They exchanged vows in the smaller drawing room and gazed at each other in wonder. There were tears shed by the family and selected close friends who were beside themselves with joy for the couple.

After signing the register making their marriage official, now man and wife, the Duke and Duchess of Ravensmere were introduced with all due formality. Lady Minerva expressed delight at the short but beautiful marriage ceremony performed by the Archbishop.

Raven sighed with relief…and happiness to hold his bride. The weight and strength of his name would protect his child. Amen.

The crisp accented voice of Prince Nicholas toasted them with champagne, and offered a few words of congratulations. “Let us toast our bride and groom and wish them a life filled with joy and many children.”

Fluted champagne glasses were raised high. The guests sipped. Nicholas laughed. “Raven, if assistance is needed because of your injury, I am at your service.” His comment caused the guests to chuckle.

Raven smiled in reply. “Highness, I do believe my bride and I can manage without you; therefore, your kind offer is refused.”

The guests cheerfully grinned.

Raven’s bandaged chest and shoulder smarted. He kissed Samantha a moment too long. The fatigue of the long day took its toll, yet he could not let her out of his sight. The conquest of his courtship tested him, but his resolve endured. She was his…at last. The babe was protected. He would have an heir to raise, tutor, and most of all, to love.

Raven and Samantha sat at the head of the table. Perhaps unusual, but her nearness brought him comfort. When the late luncheon was over, and the servants had finished their chores, the family prepared to depart.

Aunt Minerva whispered in Samantha’s ear, “Don’t let him exert himself, niece. Strenuous activity would not suit. We need him to stay alive.”

“Oh, Aunt”—her smile was Madonna-like—“don’t worry, I want a father for my babe that will live a long life.”

Lady Minerva gathered her nephew, his friends and the Prince. “I believe it is time we left this couple alone. He does appear a bit drained.”

After the guests left, a hush overtook the townhouse. Samantha, along with a servant, assisted her husband up the stairs to his chambers. His valet prepared his master for a short evening. The door between her room and his remained open. The sound of Raven whispering to his servant was of no concern to her.

Diandra, the maid from Ravensmere, prepared her mistress for bed. “My lady, wear the lavender peignoir. It goes so well with your hair color. He can feast on you with his eyes.”

“You are a romantic. Words can have special meanings, too. The fact he lives is my reward.” Samantha gazed in the mirror at her image. She appeared rather flushed, but that could be because of the excitement and exhilaration of the ceremony. She was his wife now, his beloved wife. The wretched morning sickness had abated, and in its place she radiated motherhood.

The servants left.

She raised her gaze and saw in the mirror that his handsome presence was in the doorway to the rooms. “My lady, will you grace my bed tonight?”

She rose from the vanity chair, ran to him and kissed him with genuine warmth. “Is it wise? I am fearful to hurt you, husband.”

His eyes scanned her face. “Well then, at least, help me to my bed.”

She did so with great care. He patted for her to lie alongside him.

Samantha cast a wary eye on him. “You scheme, you wretch, I am on to you, Raven.” Joy bubbled in her heart, for there was nothing that would hurt them now.

Propped up with pillows, he reached over to the bed table and poured two glasses of brandy with one hand and gave her the snifter. Samantha accepted and savored the scent.

“To us and our bright future together, I love you, wife, my lady Samantha of the Stars.”

“And I love you my honorable husband.”

With brandy still on his lips, his lips feathered hers. “At least I can still do this, but I’m not sure which satisfies more, the liquor or your mouth. I seem to remember the last time we imbibed, I did pour the contents over you in the most interesting forbidden places.”

“My husband, I would like for you to do that again, but not now.”

“You spoil my plans, you sorceress.” He leaned toward her again and his tongue flicked hers. “I wish I could do more, but my energy wanes.”

“My husband, I need you to behave.” She moved away. “I cannot breathe.” Samantha took the snifter from his hand, and placed it on a tray. He pulled her to him. She stilled, so afraid he would open the wound.

“If you will listen and not pull away from me, there are things I must say so you can understand what happened that made me call you by the late Duchess’s name.” She stiffened.

“It’s best to discuss this now and put it to rest forever.” His hand caressed her hair as she laid her head on his good shoulder. “When Liana was at death’s door, just before she expired, I made a promise to her that I would never love anyone again. I was bereft,” said the duke in a soft whisper.

“To love someone with every essence in your being is a gift. To lose that love is a tragedy. So I never allowed myself to become emotionally involved with Lady Louise. I would have been unfaithful to that deathbed promise. It’s important you understand and believe me, my lady wife.”

He continued, “There was so much anger in me at my unbearable loss. Every reason I had to live was taken away with such abruptness. I asked myself what kind of God sought out innocents and slaughtered them. It might as well have been that. My grief overwhelmed, and it impaired my logic for a long while, but it also froze my heart.”

He agreed with Samantha she was correct that Ravensmere became a shrine to the late duchess, almost a living mausoleum. He further explained, he did drink too much, but after one particular hangover, reality set in, and he vowed he must survive for the sake of his dukedom.

“My loveless life went on. Then I met you, my lady. Oh, how I wanted to love you, my irrepressible, insolent, irreverent lady of the stars. New urges and new emotions tempted and then tortured me.”

The firelight on Samantha’s hair burnished. Just the touch of his fingers to her silken curls pleased.

“Ever mindful of my promise to my late wife, I engaged in a game with myself. If I pretended you were Liana, then it would not be a broken promise. Can you now fathom my logic? I wrestled with this inner demon who demanded I honor my deathbed promise, and in so doing, I hurt you.”

“Raven, it’s not necessary to continue. I don’t want you to tire,” she whispered.

“No, I must have you believe me that in the boathouse, when I tried to conjure up her face, all I could see was yours.” He turned her head to engage his eyes. “You had dispelled the late duchess, but you also forced me to recognize that sometimes promises cannot be made in grief. I concluded that ten years of mourning was more than enough. I wanted so much to start my life again, and with you, dear wife.”

Tears flowed down her cheeks. “Raven, if I would have known about the promise, I would not have been so angry.”

“If I had known about your virginity…if you had known about my deathbed promise…if, if, if…” His voice faded. “We have now and forever, my lady.”

“Oh, my dear sweet, honorable man, how I have made you suffer. You taught me the truth about honor.” She kissed his lips with tender warmth and deepened the touch.

“Yes, you did make me suffer, and I shall have to extract some recompense from you. Do you have any ideas?”

She placed her hand on his cheek and let it linger, savoring the moment.

“Numerous ideas that I should like to explore with you at another time.” She tried to pull away from him, still fearful of his wound. “Raven, please. I don’t think I could endure seeing your blood in a puddle on the floor. Promise to behave. I need you alive and well.”

“I’m not that foolish, Samantha. It’s our wedding night and I can’t exert myself. Let me pretend. Nothing will happen.”

Oh, the wink he just gave her was naughty.

“I have something for you. It is under the pillow. Will you get it?”

Samantha’s eyes lit up as she reached and found a velvet box, a large one, behind an even larger pillow.

“For me?” she asked with glee. “I love presents.”

“So do I. I remember well the one you gave me that first night in the boathouse. The catch is a little tricky.”

Animated with pleasure and excitement, she viewed the tiara in overwhelmed silence, lifting her damp eyes to his. “Raven, A crown for me?”

“Has it occurred to you that you are a duchess, my Duchess of Ravensmere?”

“We were too busy playing silly games with each other. I never thought about it.”

Samantha climbed off the bed to his Cheval mirror to place the stunning piece on her head. In the center was a large diamond crescent moon. In between were their two signs of the zodiac. His was in sapphires and hers were in emeralds. A small angel resided in the crown piece. She turned, and preened, as she glided toward him and exaggerated the sway of her hips.

“Do you like the way it looks?” she asked in a flirtatious tone.

“I like the way everything looks,” he said in mischief. “I might just recover.”

“Whenever did you find the time to purchase this?” she asked in a light manner.

Raven said, “It was a number of weeks ago. I had it designed as a wedding present for you. I confess. I had hoped you would change your mind and marry me.” He thought to joke with her, “And if you would not marry me, there would be another duchess, but I would have to search far for one who liked the stars.” He observed the proud look that crossed her face and her arched eyebrow. “That was a jest, dear.”

“This must have cost a king’s ransom.”

“Come to me.”

She returned to his bed and sat on her knees. “I love you, my husband. I can’t say that word often enough. It conveys all I feel for you in four letters, and seems inadequate, for there is nothing I wouldn’t do to keep your heart.”

At times she was such a child, and he loved her all the more for it. And at other times, she was a tempting morsel.

“I have things to say to you. There should be no secrets between us.”

His hand skimmed her cheek and fell to her lips. He told her he would like to go to Ravensmere as soon as possible, by the end of the week. While he knew it was a long ride, he needed to return there. He explained he had planned much for her arrival, and never gave up hope she’d marry him. “I want for our child to also be born at the manor.” He saw her pout.

“Now my lady duchess”—he pulled her close to him, and enjoyed the lavender scent of her hair—“I know there was help from family and friends in order to court you. Don’t be angry with me and don’t be annoyed with them. You could say all of this preparation was ordained by the heavens. Please let me finish before you interrupt me.”

Raven told her he had the crimson roses removed to the far side of the mausoleum, and replaced with white ones. “For purity,” he said, “because that is what you gave me. I was indeed the first. That is irrefutable.”

He said his master gardener was told to plant lavender roses because he liked the way the color looked on her. Her signature Star Gazers were ablaze in all the flower beds.

“It is important you see them, because they do have a limited life span since they are a tuber.” He grinned. “In actuality, it is a good excuse to get you to agree to go there sooner. My concern is if we travel and you are too far along in your pregnancy that something could happen. Coach rides over long distances can be uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous dependent on the season and weather. I have a great fear for your welfare. I couldn’t bear another loss. So will you indulge me and give me peace of mind?”

“My concern is for you, husband. Pregnancy is not a wound.” Samantha raised her head and looked into those eyes that were so deep now that she wanted to swim in them. His complexity revealed so many hidden parts of him, and she wondered at his courage, strength and dignity. These same things she used to fling back at him in their arguments caused her to realize how wrong she had been in so many things.

“The ducal carriage will take us, and the coachman has been instructed to make it a gentle ride. We will have many pillows to cushion us. The footmen have been doubled. Our joint chambers have been refurbished. Yours is in lavender and mine is in sapphire blue.”

His voice sounded weary to her. “The priceless heirloom bed in my chamber is the same one. The four-poster in yours has been hand painted with stars and crescents in shimmering silver. Your former chambers will make a nice nursery. Is that suitable to you? You can teach the child astrology at a young age,” he said.

“Oh, yes, Raven, you scoundrel, you knew in your heart I would give in and marry you?”

“How could you not marry a duke as handsome and virile as me? You could not resist my arrogant charm. No, you cannot strike me. I am still a wounded man.” He feigned sickness and placed his hand over his heart. “Truth be told, Samantha, I’m tired and my shoulder hurts.”

“During my illness, my lady, my laudanum dreams were strange yet wonderful, and you were always a part of them. Come close to me and lay alongside me. Just your nearness will be a pleasure for I don’t believe I can do anything else.”

She gently touched his furry chest above the bandage. “I, too, am tired. Shall we just try to sleep and then talk again when we awaken?”

He dozed in her arms. She tried to extract herself so he could become more comfortable, but his good arm pulled her back to his side. “No, don’t leave me, my lady. I need the solace of your arms around me tonight. Promise you’ll not go.” He raised his eyes to hers. “These bandages will be gone soon.” He paused to catch his breath.

“I promise, but I need to remove this tiara.”

The jewels caught the firelight and it blazed in a kaleidoscope of color. She placed the crown on a bedside table. Samantha leaned back against the satin pillow to cushion him in her arms, his head on her shoulder, and managed to draw up the covers as the moonlight streamed through the room. She gave a silent prayer for this wonderful man, who was now her husband. He was her elemental man. Much in love and grateful, sleep possessed her.