Leticia gasped. “You don’t mean you’ve decided to go through with the wedding, do you?”
Richard did not let go of her hand, nor did he answer her question. He took the lead and marched with her through the narrow corridor. Harry followed closely behind. Once, Leticia glanced over her shoulder and shot Harry a look as she wondered if he somehow knew or understood what Richard was about to do, but Harry shrugged helplessly and motioned for her to pay attention to where she was going.
As a trio, they walked down the aisle and ascended the steps with Richard still clinging tightly to Leticia’s hand, and Harry following in their wake. When they came to stand in the place Richard and Harry had previously occupied, the vicar strode forward and bowed his head slightly. “Your Grace,” he said, his tone mild and lacking any sort of judgment, “shall we continue with the ceremony?”
It was then that Leticia took in her surroundings. Her aunt and the Dowager had returned to their seats in the front pew. Admiral Shelling sat near the end of the pew as if he meant to protect the ladies from any further disturbances. Uncle Sebastian was next to his wife, and he gave Leticia a discreet wink but then went back to staring straight ahead. The Viscount Loery and his wife were in their own pew on the other side of the aisle. The Viscount’s face was a livid crimson shade which made his blue eyes look more menacing and colder than they ever had before. His wife sat, waving a flimsy paper fan in front of her face and making a show of breathing in and out heavily.
Finally, Leticia’s eyes coasted toward the other side of the aisle. In a chair that was much like a throne, Miss Loery sat with her head held high. Her best friends, Miss Walch and Miss Drawlington were next to her, but as she was not fussing or making any noise, they looked almost bored by the situation. But it was Miss Loery who held Leticia’s gaze for a long moment. Her icy blue eyes were unnerving, and from the stern set of her jaw, Leticia knew the lady was planning a whole litany of things she wished to say to Richard when she finally became his wife and had the privilege of bending his ear for the rest of eternity.
“No,” Richard said, finally answering the vicar’s question. “I do not think it necessary to proceed with this wedding ceremony today.”
Exclamations of excitement mixed with shocked gasps filled the air, and Leticia felt Richard’s grip on her tighten. “I thought,” she began to say but stopped when Harry stepped forward and nudged her in the ribs. She looked up at him, feeling a bit dismayed, but he shook his head fervently, practically begging her to not say another word.
“Do you mean…” the vicar asked slowly, carefully measuring each word, “that you do not wish to marry Miss Loery?”
“Indeed,” Richard replied. Not once yet had he glanced toward his intended bride, and even now, as he dissolved their union, he fixed his focus on the congregation. “I apologize for the inconvenience, but I cannot and will not tie myself to Miss Loery. My true love has spoken, and, in my heart, I know it is not right to marry one lady when my heart belongs to another.” He cast a sideways glance at Leticia then, and she tried presenting a smile to the crowd, but she failed miserably as her face contorted into something like a smirk, mixed with a grimace.
“Richard,” Harry whispered hoarsely. “What are you doing?” He moved so that he stood protectively in front of Leticia. The positioning was so uncomfortable that Richard was forced to drop her hand, and as he did, she scooted away from the two of them. “You’re not really in love with Letty.”
Richard’s eyes flicked toward her for just a moment. In that brief glance, she knew what Harry said was true. Richard did not love her. But for reasons she surmised had to do with finding a graceful way to demolish his betrothal to Miss Loery, he was going to pretend as though did. He did not give voice to any of these thoughts, but instead, lifted his head high, adjusted the lapels on his jacket, and began to walk proudly down the center aisle toward the exit.
Leticia’s mouth dropped open in shock and dismay. She wanted to say something, anything, but her words escaped her. Harry, on the other hand, had plenty to say. “Letty,” he hissed, “what is the meaning of this? What did you say to Richard when the two of you were alone?”
She groped to find the right words, but all that came out was, “I told him the truth.”
“The truth?” Harry fumed. He moved so as to block her view of the congregants who were staring after Richard’s retreating form. “Do you mean to say you’re in love with him?”
“I…I don’t—” Leticia had the refusal on the tip of her tongue, but she was not allowed to speak the words as Miss Loery chose that moment to vacate her seat. She slinked the few steps across the area, closing the distance between them. The white silk fabric of her dress did not dare ripple as she moved languidly using precise and calculated movements.
“I suppose I should not be surprised that you, Lady Leticia Hudson, would contrive to steal another woman’s husband.” She lifted her chin and sniffed daintily. “But I’m warning you…this is not over. Richard and I will be married yet, and there’s nothing you can do to prevent our union from taking place.”
“But you don’t even love him,” Leticia protested, unable to keep herself from flying to his defense once more.
Miss Loery tucked her chin toward her chest, lowered her head, and looked up at Leticia with hooded eyes that seemed to burn almost serpent-like in their intensity. “You will regret stealing my betrothed from me.”
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
“Why did you keep this all a secret for so long?” the Dowager said as she sank onto the sofa in his chamber. Following the disastrous wedding ceremony and his speedy retreat, Richard had retired to his chamber at Braxton Manor, hoping to avoid having any further conversations with anyone else until he could clear his mind and gather his thoughts. But unfortunately, he was unable to avoid his mother. He’d only been home half an hour when she knocked crisply on the door to announce her presence but then entered the chamber without his bothering to invite her.
“Keep what a secret?” Richard asked, feeling rather befuddled. He’d already removed his jacket and loosened his cravat, but he still felt tightly bound wearing the formal attire that had been his supposed wedding garments.
“You and Leticia are in love with one another,” his mother said dreamily. “I should have known…I should have seen it all so long ago. Why, when you were children, she used to trail after you. Amelia and I should have been making plans for this union ages ago.”
Richard held up a hand to stop her right there. “Mother, before you and Amelia get together and start making any sort of plans, you must know that I am not in love with Leticia.”
“But you said—” the Dowager began, motioning over her shoulder as if to reach back in time and pluck forward the words he’d spoken earlier.
“I know what I said,” Richard interrupted. “But I’m not in love with Leticia. We have no plans to marry one another.”
“Oh,” the Dowager cried, “that cannot be true. I saw the way you held her hand when you walked down the aisle with her. You held her close because you didn’t want to let her go.”
“That’s true,” Richard confessed, “but it had more to do with my fear that she would strand me up there all alone. I couldn’t risk having her run away after she caused all that commotion.”
“Richard,” his mother scolded, “you cannot convince me what I saw with my own two eyes was a charade. The both of you admitted your love for each other, and from where I’m sitting, I’d say it is about time.” She huffed mightily and crossed her arms over her chest. She was still wearing the same gown she’d donned for the wedding ceremony. The jubilant yellow and gold of her dress should have looked resplendent against the crimson of the couch, but as Richard looked at her, he thought of how she reminded him of one messy catastrophe, much like his wedding turned out to be.
“Mother,” Richard breathed a heavy sigh. “I’m only going to explain this once, so I need you to understand me perfectly this first time. I have no amorous feelings for Leticia, and she does not harbor any for me. We have coexisted and even been friendly our entire lives because we have always been thrown together. But the truth of the matter is that she and I are very different people.”
“Pish-posh,” his mother replied with an airy wave of her hand. “The two of you are not so different as you think.”