The Duchess (23 page)

“Love,” Sirena said slowly, “is caring for someone even more than you care for yourself. It is wanting that person happy. It is the ability to give of yourself totally without losing yourself. I don't know if that makes any sense to you, Allegra, but it is the best explanation I can give you.”

“I understand, or I think I do, and yet I don't,” came the reply. “Perhaps it is better that I remain in ignorance. The duke feels as I do, and does not love me, nor will he ever love me.”

“And yet you will marry him,” Sirena said sadly.

“He is handsome and charming,” Allegra said. “He respects me, and will make an excellent mate, Sirena.”

“And you can give yourself body and soul to him without love?” It seemed so cold, and yet she well knew that most marriages among those of their class were made for reasons other than love. She loved Allegra.
She wanted her to have the happiness that she now possessed.

“Oh, Sirena,” Allegra comforted her cousin. “I am content with everything. Quinton is kind. Hunter's Lair is beautiful. What more is there to life than that?”

“I suppose you are right, Allegra, even if it troubles me,” Sirena said, and she gave her cousin a little smile.

“You were ever the romantic, Sirena dearest,” Allegra teased.

“And you were ever the sensible one,” Sirena replied.

“Madame Paul will be here tomorrow,” Allegra said. “Your gown is to be pale blue to match your eyes, and my wedding dress will be white and silver lace. I can hardly wait to see it!”

“You always loved new clothes,” Sirena laughed. “I vow you will leave instructions about what to bury yourself in one day.”

“I certainly will!” Allegra agreed, and then she laughed, too. “Can you imagine us as old ladies, Sirena? You will still be the romantic, I suspect, and I shall be quite crotchety, waving my cane about.”

“What cane?”

“The one with the silver dragon's head I intend having when I am a dowager. It will be polished black ebony with its silver dragon. Perhaps I shall have a whole dragon, and not just its head. Its silver body and tail could curl about my walking stick. I shall wave it at everyone who displeases me.”

Sirena laughed harder. “Ohh, Allegra,” she said, “you can be so amusing when you choose to be.”

“I am quite serious, cousin,” came the answer.

“You wouldn't wave that cane at the duke, would you?” she asked, her blue eyes twinkling mischievously.

“Particularly at the duke,” Allegra said. “He can be
very aggravating at times. But on the whole he has been quite nice to me.”

“All husbands can be difficult on occasion,” Sirena said.

“You speak with such authority,” Allegra teased her.

“Well I have been married almost four months,” Sirena replied.

It was as if they had never been apart. The next few weeks sped by. Madame Paul arrived with her assistant, Mademoiselle Francine, to do the final fittings for the wedding. She clucked with disapproval when she found Allegra had lost almost a full inch in her waistline. She purred with pleasure that Sirena, despite her delicate condition, fit perfectly into her gown.

“Another month, however,
chérie,”
she told Viscountess Pickford, “and it would be another story, I fear.”

Three days before the wedding Viscount Pickford arrived with the duke to escort the bride and her family back to Hunter's Lair. Allegra found her heart beating a bit faster at just the sight of Quinton Hunter. Still, they greeted each other with restraint; she curtseying, he bowing and kissing her hand.

“What is the matter with them?” Sirena whispered to her husband.

Octavian Baird smiled mysteriously. “Can't you tell?” he asked her, and when Sirena shook her blond head, puzzled, he continued. “They are in love with each other, but neither will tell the other, or admit to it, my adorable angel.”

“Why on earth not?” Sirena squealed, excited.

“Because each fears the other will reject such overtures. Neither has any reason to believe in love, given their family history, but love, as you know, my darling,
makes no allowances for such things. Quinton is horrified to find that he actually cares for Allegra. He feels it would be off-putting to tell her of his emotions toward her. He believes she will never reciprocate such feelings, and if there is one thing Quinton Hunter is, it is over-proud. To be spurned or dismissed by the girl he loves would be an insult he could never forgive. So he will remain silent, and so, my darling girl, must you.”

Sirena nodded. “Yes, I will,” she told her husband. “I believe that Allegra likes the duke very much, but I do not think she is in love with him despite what you think.
Not yet.”

“Do you actually believe she will admit to loving him one day?” her husband asked hopefully. “God, how happy Quint would be if that occurred! He cannot believe what has happened to him, or the delicious turmoil this duchess-to-be of his has caused with his heart.”

“She seems to get on with him, and as I have said, she likes him. They have become friends, and friendship is the best basis for a lasting love, Ocky,” Sirena said wisely. “Ohh, how I would like it if my cousin really fell in love, and was as happy with her duke as I am with you!” The knowledge that the duke loved her cousin reassured Sirena. Now she was not as fearful of the marriage as she previously had been.

Hunter's Lair welcomed back its mistress. To Allegra's delight everything she had ordered done in her absence had been completed. Her father was well pleased with the renovations to the house, and her stepmother admired the décor, pronouncing it “exquisite.” Sirena was delighted with its homey quality.

“I was so afraid it would be one of those huge grand houses that can never quite be a home,” she said, “but this is wonderful!”

Lord Morgan took the duke aside. “Mr. Trent has
seen to it that a deposit has been made to your account, sir. He will make those deposits quarterly, both for you, and for Allegra.”

“Thank you, sir,” the duke replied.

“And the architect and workmen have been settled with so you need have no worry on that account,” Lord Morgan continued.

“You have been more than generous, my lord,” the duke said.

Lord Morgan smiled dryly. “Treat her well, Quinton. I am not a man to marry off his daughter and then be done with her. She is my flesh, and I love her.”

“Allegra is a delight, sir,” the duke answered. Then he smiled a wry smile. “As well as being willful and stubborn, but I believe that we suit despite it all.”

“Yes,” Lord Morgan said, “I think this bargain that we have made will turn out quite well for all of us. Give me grandchildren as soon as you can, Quinton. Nothing settles a woman quite like a family of her own to care for and worry over.”

The guests began arriving the next day. Lady Bellingham, her good husband in tow, came first. Her jaw fell as she entered the house. “God bless me, I have never seen Hunter's Lair look so fine!” she pronounced. “Have my bags taken up. I must have a tour this moment!” Lord and Lady Walworth came shortly afterward, followed by the Earl and Countess of Aston. The Marquess of Rowley came, but without his wife. Lady Charlotte would not travel in her delicate condition, but Gussie refused to miss his favorite cousin's wedding. Allegra had also asked her father's secretary, Charles Trent, to be their guest.

That evening Allegra received her first inkling of what it was going to be like being the Duchess of Sedgwick as
she presided over her twelve guests at the dinner table. It was the first time the new dining room had been used. Its great black marble fireplace blazed with enormous logs that had been set across the silver andirons. The table was set with pristine Irish linen. The silver candelabra glittered with the reflected light of the candles. To Allegra's delight the chandeliers from Waterford had arrived earlier than expected. Two of them now hung over the table, the crystal sparkling with their many candles. Blue and white bowls of flowers from the greenhouse decorated the table. The servants were resplendent in their hunter's green with silver braid livery. Footmen stood behind each guest's chair as the lavish meal was served. Still in all it was a happy gathering of friends, and not quite as formal as it would have been in London.

Afterward when the dessert had been cleared away, the ladies retired to the drawing room next to the ballroom to gossip while the gentlemen were left to their port. The gentlemen would join them shortly, and they would play cards among themselves.

“I am so glad you decided to have your wedding here rather than return to London,” Lady Walworth said.

“They should have been wed with pomp and circumstance,” her aunt, Lady Bellingham, replied.

“Now, dearest Lady B.,” Allegra responded, “Quinton and I love Hunter's Lair. We can think of no more perfect place in which to be married than the Great Hall of this house. Besides, if we had returned to London, Sirena couldn't have been my matron of honor. The trip would have been too much for her. Here she is but an easy drive from her home. All our guests are.”

“The king and queen would have come,” Lady Bellingham said regretfully.

“They have sent us a beautiful gift,” Allegra told her.
“Four silver and gilt saltcellars. Would you like to see them? Our gifts have been laid out in the ballroom with their cards. Perkins!” Allegra signaled a footman. “Take Lady Bellingham to the ballroom so she may view the display set up there. You are all welcome to go.”

“The rest of you may look another time,” Lady Bellingham said. “Stay with Allegra. The gentlemen will be coming soon enough, but if he's in the mood for cards, Bellingham won't notice if I am here or not,” she concluded with a chuckle. Then she let the young footman escort her from the little salon.

“She won't be back for an hour at least,” Lady Caroline said. “She'll examine each gift, and its card, and have an opinion on it all when she finally returns to us.”

“Your aunt terrifies me,” Sirena said.

“Oh, you must not be afraid of her. She is really quite softhearted, although she would roast me for saying so,” Lady Caroline answered.

“It was she who introduced me to Marcus,” Lady Eunice said. “I shall never be able to repay her for that particular kindness.”

At that moment the door to the drawing room opened, and the gentlemen came in, greeting their ladies as they did. Three tables of four were already set up for Whist, and two were quickly filled by the guests. The duke did not gamble, as everyone knew, but he did not mind his guests indulging themselves as long as the play did not get too deep. Lady Caroline and Lady Eunice were still more interested in seeing the wedding gifts. Allegra sent them along in the company of a footman.

“If you are comfortable,” she said to her guests, “I beg to be excused for a moment. I must make certain that the preparations in the Great Hall are going along well.” She curtsied, and hurried from the room. In the Great Hall the servants were busily hanging the green
garlands entwined with white silk roses that would decorate the room for the festivities on the morrow. The highboard was set up as it had been in olden times. She looked about, and saw that the chairs had been placed in the Minstrel's Gallery for the musicians.

“The staff is working very hard, Miss Allegra,” Mr. Crofts said to her as he came to stand by her side. “It will all look quite fine when 'tis done.”

“It does look lovely, doesn't it, Crofts,” Allegra said. “Please thank the staff. They have worked very hard. Those who serve at the table tomorrow will receive a silver shilling each so they may celebrate on their next day off. Do not tell them though until afterward.”

“Very good, miss,” the old butler said with a small smile. The duke was very fortunate in his choice of a wife. They were all very fortunate, he thought to himself.

Allegra returned to the salon. Lady Bellingham, Caroline, and Eunice had returned from the ballroom where the gifts were displayed. They were most admiring of the generosity offered to the duke and Allegra. They could, however, speak of nothing else but the two elephants with their ivory tusks and bejeweled coverings.

“I am going to build a glass conservatory off this salon,” Allegra said. “It will be filled with plants, and I believe I can hide the elephants among the foliage. That way I do not insult Papa's nabob. I suppose he thought it was a wonderful gift, but gracious!”

Her companions laughed, and then Sirena said, “I believe the four of us are going to be very good friends. Allegra has said she will hold the duke's annual hunting parties, and so we shall see one another often.”

“Do you hunt?” Lady Caroline asked.

“I do not,” Allegra said. “I have already told Quinton that I will entertain and feed his parties, but I shall not careen about the countryside with my leg slung over a
pommel. When I ride I wear breeches. Besides, I like deer and foxes.”

“Thank heavens,” Lady Caroline said. “Now I shall have the perfect excuse. I thought I was the only one who hated hunting.”

“I don't like it either,” Lady Eunice admitted with a delicate shudder.

“Nor I,” said Sirena.

“My dearest.” Lady Morgan had come up to put an arm about her stepdaughter's waist. “You are being married at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. I think it is time for you to retire.”

“But should I leave my guests, Aunt Mama?” Allegra wondered.

“They will understand,
and,
my dearest, we must talk,” Lady Morgan said seriously.

Sirena caught Allegra's eye, and she struggled not to laugh. Her friends were endeavoring not to giggle, their pretty mouths twitching. Newly married, they had all had to endure
the talk
on the night before their weddings. They bid their hostess good night, and watched as she was escorted from the drawing room by her stepmother.

Honor was waiting for her mistress with a hot tub already drawn, but Lady Morgan put up a restraining hand and dismissed the servant for a few moments while she spoke with Allegra.

“My dear,” she began, “there are certain duties a wife must perform for her husband. I find them most pleasant, although some women claim not to find them so. Just remember that if it is done with kindness, and possibly love, all will be well.”