A Kiss Before the Wedding - A Pembroke Palace Short Story Read Online Free PDF

a
child and she had just lost her puppy.
    “I know how it is between you and Mr. Thomas,”
he gently said. “There is a bond there, for you grew up together,
but I cannot let you make this mistake, Adelaide. It is only
because he has been away for so long that you romanticize what you
were to each other.”
    She shook her head and argued, “I am not
romanticizing—”
    He raised a finger to his lips. “Shh. You must
listen to reason. Look around you. You have made it all the way to
Pembroke Palace. It is your destiny to become duchess here. The
duke adores you. He would have paid any sum to have you. You must
let go of the past and walk down the aisle tomorrow to marry the
man who is meant to be your husband. Surely you feel it. Surely you
understand that Mr. Thomas is merely a distraction.”
    Adelaide swallowed painfully over a lump in her
throat. “Of course I know that,” she replied. “I am not a fool,
Father.”
    “Good.” He dropped his hands to his sides and
headed for the door. “But just to be sure...” He paused at the
threshold. “I am going to lock you in.”
    Adelaide’s eyes widened with shock. A burning
mix of rage and terror flared through her body as she lunged
forward to stop him.
    The door slammed shut before she could reach it.
The key turned in the lock.
    “Father, no!” She pounded hard against it.
    “It is for your own protection,” he said from
the other side. “You will thank me later. You’ll see.”
    “No, I will not! I will never thank you! You
mustn’t do this!” She wrestled with the latch and kicked the door
repeatedly.
    “I will tell the duke that you are unwell this
evening,” her father said, “and that you must rest. If you shout or
continue to act like a spoiled child, Adelaide, I will come in
there and beat you senseless. Do you understand?”
    Adelaide felt suddenly light-headed, for she
knew her father well. He did not make idle threats, and he had
beaten her once before. Only once, however, for she had learned her
lesson the first time and had never defied him again.
    Or rather, she had never been caught defying him.
    Slowly she backed away from the door while her
heart pounded like a hammer. Please God... This cannot be
happening .
    She turned and rushed to the window to look
outside. The sun had set in splashes of pink and orange on the
distant horizon. Soon it would be dark and William would expect her
at the lake house.
    How long would he wait?
    What if she could not escape and he believed she
had changed her mind?
    She opened the window and leaned out. Was it
possible to jump or climb to freedom?
    No. She was too high up and would surely die in
the attempt.
    Adelaide shut the window again. Her gaze darted
about the room desperately to seek some means of escape. Her father
had said it was her destiny to marry the duke, but she could not
believe it.
    She loved William. She would always love
William, and she knew in the deepest realms of her soul that it was
her destiny to grow old with him. But how... how would she ever
reach him?
     

     
    Perhaps it was not her destiny
after all, Adelaide thought miserably as she slipped into bed at
nearly two in the morning.
    She had tried everything. She had pulled the
velvet rope and rang for her maid, pleaded every excuse she could
think of to get out of her room, but her father was always there,
sitting outside her bedchamber, watching her with hooded eyes,
listening to every word she spoke.
    Eventually she had done exactly what he warned
her against. She had screamed and pounded on the door and cried for
help, and her father had proven true to his word. He walked in,
shut the door behind him, and slapped her hard across the face. He
threatened worse if she did not keep quiet.
    Then he said something that made her blood run
cold. He promised to direct his wrath and violence toward William
if she did not do her duty and walk down the aisle as planned.
    It was now three o’clock in the morning, and her
wedding would