As was the fashion, the wedding was to be a small family affair only attended by family and close friends. Alice had chosen Georgina and Sophia to be her attendants, and when the coach stopped outside the church, they were standing ready to greet her. Alice’s father helped her down, and Georgina and Sophia, dressed in white dresses adorned with embroidered daisies, fussed around her for a short time.
Lord Ashmeer held out his arm for his daughter and they entered the church. When Alice was almost at the altar, she saw him standing next to the Duke. It had never crossed her mind that he would be the Duke's best man, and that she would have to stand so close to him, on the day of her wedding. She felt trapped.
After the vicar had pronounced them man and wife, Alice and the Duke walked out of the church into a guard of honor. Georgina and Sophia held up an arch made from Yew branches, and when they walked under it everyone clapped.
The Duke and Alice climbed into the grandest carriage Alice had ever sat in, and they set off back to Stanley Hall.
Alice, are you alright? You looked like you had seen a ghost when you arrived next to me in the church, Philip said.
I am quiet alright. It was just something of a shock to see your brother again.
I understand, but you will see him more often from now on, he is, after all, my brother. The affair you and my brother had almost cost me my reputation, and certainly cost me any happiness I might have found with a woman I loved. I would therefore, ask you to behave normally around him.
There were thirty five people in the marques when the Duke and Alice cut the wedding cake. Alice smiled, and the Duke looked somber as the knife slid through the cake. As everyone tucked in, Reymond walked around the table and bent down next to Alice. You look lovely, my dear, and congratulations on your marriage to my brother. I didn't get a chance to kiss you at the church. It is of no consequence, however, there will be plenty of times when my brother is away on business. I visit you then and we can continue where we left off.
Alice almost fainted. Despite the Duke's best efforts, she would never be rid of his detestable brother.
When Philip and Alice arrived in London at the Savoy, they went straight up to the honeymoon suit.
Alice had changed after the wedding into a salmon pink gown and bonnet. On the way to London, Alice had tried to put the Duke's brother out of her mind. She was married now and surely her husband would protect her. She wanted to concentrate on her wedding night and give herself to him, in a way that he would enjoy.
The suit consisted of a regal bedroom, a lounge, and a bathroom. The floor was bedecked with a navy blue carpet in the lounge and bedroom, and gold and gray striped wall paper. The bed was a four poster covered with crisp cotton bed clothes.
The Duke sat and read a newspaper in the lounge as Alice busied herself in the bathroom. When she came out she was wearing a beautiful silk nightgown that clung to her breasts and hips. Her blonde hair was swept back and tied with a ribbon and her long smooth legs shone in the candle light. When Philip looked at her he saw her nipples pointing through the material, waiting for his touch. She was a picture of beauty, the like of which he had never seen before. Alice walked into the bedroom and lay down on the bed in a seductive pose. The Duke followed her and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Alice, I have to talk to you, Philip said. You are beautiful and the most seductive lady I have ever seen. But I am not in love with you. What you and my brother did together is still fresh in my mind, and I find myself unable to touch you. I do no mean to be cruel or unkind, but those are my feelings, and, until they change I will not be able to touch you, let alone make love to you.
My Lord is wise, and I bow to your superior knowledge in matters of the heart. I understand, and I hope one day you will come to see me as I really am. Not a woman of a promiscuous nature, but a woman who is kind and loving and who can make you happy. You will come to love me, and one day you will desire me. I will wait for you patiently until that day.
They slept in the same bed but did not touch each other. Alice didn't cry. She had cried all she could in the last weeks, and now it was time to stop and concentrate on her marriage and future happiness.
Alice started her married life in Winthorpe Hall, the Duke's summer residence. The Duke owned three houses in all. A summer residence, or rather palace, a winter residence in London, and a house in Scotland that he used to entertain guests during the shooting season.
Winthorpe Hall was a massive house. Far larger than Stanley Hall, or any house Alice had ever been in. It reminded Alice of pictures she had seen of the Palace of Versailles. It had a beautiful raised terrace at the rear and a large ornamental garden.
Georgina and Sophia came to stay, and they had looked with open mouths at the opulence of the place. During their stay they had talked of old times and the future. Alice had been very sad to see them go, but she was a Duchess now, and she had responsibilities. Her husband still hadn't touched her, but she had a household to run and to a small degree it took her mind off the Duke's stubbornness. The household she reigned over included thirteen maids, six footmen, five gardeners, four coachmen, a cook, and innumerable kitchen hands.