The Duke and The Governess (19 page)

‘I understand, Your Grace and it will not happen again.’ Masters said firmly.

‘Good. So now you can get me ready for bed and I won’t search the armoire for her.’ They laughed as they both relaxed.

Once the Duke was in bed and the candles were out, Masters retreated to the upstairs servant’s hall, where h
e was sharing a dormitory with seven other valets and three
footmen.

‘That was an unfortunate occurrence.’ Masters muttered to Viscount Boston’s valet in the next bed.

‘What happened?’

‘The Duke just found Lady Greyston in his bed. Fucking bitch got in there when I went for the hot water and I didn’t notice. He was steaming by the time he called me.’

‘Why would he turn away a free fuck?’ the valet asked. ‘I sure as hell wouldn’t.’

‘She reminds him of his dead wife,
title grabbing witch. She’s the type that would make eyes at him to pull him in and them once the ring is on her finger and the title before her name, she would fuck just about every other noble in London!’ Masters said disgustedly. ‘The last Duchess was just the same, but he put the mockers on her lascivious way
s
. He threatened her with a public divorce if she got a belly full with another bloke.’ Masters laughed nastily. ‘Served the silly bitch right. She played him for a fool from day one.’

Masters climbed into bed as Viscount Boston’s valet said ‘My Governor is shagging Lady Pritchard in between the maids. I feel sorry for the poor little bitches, but he accosts them when they least expect it
and then practically rapes them
.’

‘He
’
ll be lucky if he don’t end up on the end of somebody’s pistol.’ Masters murmured and was asleep in an instant.

~*~*~*~

Lady
Eleanor
Greyston was in such a rage that her maid was hiding beside the washstand.
She had only worn a housecoat to the Duke’s apartments and the sash was having a hard time keeping her overabundant assets covered up.

‘The impertinent bastard!’ she shouted. ‘How dare he have me evicted from his room like I’m some kind of money grabbing whore!’

She paced and threw things around. She
upended furniture and
smashed the mirror on the dressing table, when she threw her silver backed hair brush at it. The crashing noise made the maid
scream and brought Eleanor
’s tantrum to an abrupt end. She sat down in front of the dressing table and put her head in her hands. ‘Why?’ she asked softly. ‘Why would he send me away?’

‘Perhaps you remind him of Victoria!’ Lady
Christina
Pritchard said from the doorway. She gestured for the maid to leave and s
trolled into the room, looking
at the carnage around her. Overturned furniture and the ruined dressing table. ‘I do hope that wasn’t an antique piece.’ She said as she looked at the broken shards of mirror on top of the dressing table. ‘Be careful you don’t cut yourself.’

‘Why would I remind him of
Victoria Asquith?’ Eleanor
asked rather innocently for such an experienced Lady.

‘Didn’t you know the Duchess?’
Christina asked and when Eleanor
shook her head
,
she smiled. ‘Then let me enlighten you. Lady Asquith wanted to be the Duchess of Warwick so badly, that she started the rumours of her affair with John Farrington and subsequent pregnancy herself. He
r
idea was to entrap the Duke and force a marriage. It work
ed
superbly, as Emily Farrington was beside herself with shame over the rumours and to keep the peace in his household, John agreed to
marry Victoria.’ Christina
sighed deeply.
‘But my tale doesn’t end there, so let me warn you about chasing a man that doesn’t want you. John Farrington felt nothing for Victoria, not even respect. She killed that on the wedding night. John Farrington had the reputation of a rakehell
right from when he first appeared in the City
, so Victoria assumed he’d be able to service her just fine and she was prepared to give him the heir he needed, before satisfying her own debauched needs.’

‘What do yo
u mean debauched?’ Eleanor
asked enraptured at t
his tale.

‘Victoria had certain....proclivities.’
Christina
continued. ‘Not only was she
insatiable,
but was more than willing to
bed any number of people at the same time. Man or woman, it didn’t matter to Victoria Asquith
. Orgies
and whipping
were the order of the day, why do you think Edward Asquith took to gambling, he couldn’t keep up with his sister. He found it intensely embarrassing that she had a larger appetite for sex than he did.’ She sighed again. ‘Of course, once she married the Duke, she had to hide these tastes.
I was always surprised that he didn’t know what she was like.’ She said in wonder. ‘
But I’m digressing. The marriage ceremony went fine and everybody feted the happy couple, but there was misery in paradise. John had a problem.
A problem many men suffer from but o
ne that a rake doesn’t usually have, but it seemed that John couldn’t get hard for the venal and debauched Victoria.’
Eleanor
gasped and thought about the Duke’s britches as he stood over her and it was lax! ‘She laughed at him at the time and proceeded to vilify him at every opportunity.’

‘But she gave hi
m a daughter!’ Eleanor
said indignantly. ‘He must have doffed her at some point.’

‘I believe he did one night when he was so drunk, he thought she was somebody else, somebody called Jessica.’ Christina looked at Eleanor knowingly.

‘As in Jessica Gordon, the Governess?’ Eleanor ventured.

‘I must assume so. Although at the time Victoria told me this I had no idea who she meant. Jessica Gordon was almost unheard of on the
ton
as s
he was too well protected by her
mother Lady Helen Gordon.’

‘The Earl of Westmoreland’s daughter?’

‘The very same.
’

‘Wasn’t she caught in some scandal?’
Eleanor asked, but Christina just shook her head.

‘
I believe she
met
the Duke
on her debut and
they
danced twice. But other than th
at there was no gossip over her
at all.
Not until after Victoria had died and Jessica was forced to marry David Carruthers.
But I’m digressing again. John Farrington rakehell, can fuck where his body tells him it wants to fuck. Now I would imagine when he looks at you, he sees Victoria in all her venal glory.’ She tutted deliberately. ‘You haven’t exactly been discreet in you
r
approach to this very skittish Duke.
’

‘But I want him.’ Eleanor spat petulantly.

‘First lesson in this life. We don’t always get what we want. You know that, otherwise you wouldn’t have ended up with the aging Lord Greyston on the end of your marriage contract.’ She looked at her friend firmly. ‘Just as I ended up with the equally aged Earl of Falkirk. Now our estates have been entailed away to children from earlier marriages, which leaves us relatively penniless. So if you can’t have the dashing Duke, who will you settle for?’ Christina asked harshly.

‘You’re very cruel to mention my financial difficulties.’ Eleanor said moodily.

‘Nevertheless, you can’t rely on the one suitor. I personally have looked at Dean. His estates are in good order. And I have found sexual satisfaction in the bed of Viscount Boston. He seems to have the impression that I’m in love with him, but he’s just a dalliance to all
eviate my boredom at this asinine
party.’ She smiled brightly. ‘So who would be your second choice?’

‘I don’t know.’ Eleanor muttered. ‘I’d not really given it much thought.’

‘No, I didn’t think so. You saw yourself as a Duchess, lying under that magnificent body and taking every stroke of his cock didn’t you?’ Eleanor nodded her head dejectedly. ‘Well, it’ll take more than sneaking into his room at bedtime. You’ll need to hone your acting skills to hide the venal side of your nature
. So I would get some practice in for the rest of this week.’ She smiled brightly and left as abruptly as she’d arrived.

Eleanor, removed her dressing gown and climbed into bed, but she did
n’t sleep well at all. Her over
active imagination kept showing her the Duke with a massive hard on mounting the governess like a dog and even though she masturbated, it didn’t relieve the ache in her groin.

Chapter Ten

Jessica woke slowly and stretched luxuriously. She had been dreaming of John Farrington. Innocent dreams of innocent things, as Jessica didn’t have a debauched sinew in her body.
She climbed briskly out of bed when Annie arrived with the bath tub.

‘Good morning, Milady.’ Annie said brightly. ‘What an uproar went on last night!’

‘An uproar?’ Jessica asked as she sat on the counterpane and rubbed her face awake.

‘To be sure! Milady
.
’ Annie replied as she manoeuvred the bath tub in front of the fire. ‘Lady Greyston’s maid was crying and shaking like a leaf last night.’

‘Really?’ Jessica said absently, not really paying attention
to the servant’s gossip. She
brushed out her h
air as the maids were filling the tub
with hot water.

Annie spread out the towels and waited until the last maid left then she blurted out. ‘Oh yeah! I’ll say.
Lady Greyston was chucked out o’
the Duke’s bed last night and she was in such a rage that she demolished ‘er room!’

Jessica looked at her in horror. ‘Which Duke?’ she asked as she stripped her night gown off and approached the bath.

‘The Duke of Warwick, Milady!’ Jessica looked up and Annie nodded her head and folded her arms. ‘The very same gent ‘oo came a calling ‘ere last evening!’ she said in disgust.

Jessica bent over the bath and dunked her head under the water. ‘How do you about this?’ She asked as Annie started to soap her hair.

‘Well, ‘er
maid came back at bed time and she was all a dither. Crying and shaking and she told us that’s what ‘ad ‘appened. The Duke k
icked ‘er out o’
his bed in disgust and ‘er mistress was livid about it!’ Annie laughed. ‘I’ll never be surprised at the things nobs do.’ And then suddenly realised that she was talking to a nob. ‘Not you Milady, you’re nicer than the rest.’ She muttered and fell silent while she rinsed Jessica’s tresses
, finishing with vinegar in the last one to strip the soap residue off and make it shine
.

‘People are stupid, aren’t they?’ Jessica asked to ease the tension in her maid
as Annie wrapped a towel around her hair.

‘That they are, Milady.’ Annie sniggered. ‘I don’t like ‘er, that Lady Greyston. She’s ‘ad the ‘ots for the Duke since the first day.’

Jessica plunged her body in the water and sighed. ‘Has she?’ It was just a case of keeping Annie talking to discover all the servant’s gossip. Jessica leisurely soaped herself and rinsed while Annie talked.

‘Right put out she is, ‘specially wiv the Duke’s valet.’ Annie carried on regardless. ‘She’s run afoul o
’
‘im a coupla times. Masters, I think ‘is name is. ‘e’s shooed ‘er away before, but last night she managed to sneak into the Duke’s bed. The poor Duke arrives to find ‘is bed curtains closed!’ She held a towel out for Jessica. ‘When ‘e opens
‘em, there she is naked in ‘is bed!’ Annie was horrified, as Jessica was, that a woman would debase herself so much to hide naked in the bed of a man who was not her husband.

Jessica sat in the chair beside the fire. ‘No doubt the Duke was just as horrified as you.’ she said and
dried herself vigorously.

‘‘e was so angry that he called ‘is valet to get rid o’ ‘er!’ Annie laughed delightedly. ‘Serves ‘er right! A lady should wait for a gentleman to call. It’s debauched to wait for ‘im in ‘is bed like a common light skirt!’ she finis
hed the tale abruptly as Jessica slipped her robe on.

As she sat on the dressing table stool, Annie said ‘we’ll not get your hair dried quickly, Milady. I’ll have to leave it loose today.’
She swept it all back into a ribbon and left the pony tail
hanging down her back. Jessica had glossy dark hair, which looked almost black when it was wet. It also had a tendency to curl and she’d always found it easy to make the ringlets that were so fashionable. But her hair would turn wild without being restrained and she knew she’d have to come back to her room before lunchtime to deal with. But there was nothing she could do now. To dress the hair onto her head properly would only make it remain damp and it would stink by the end of the day.
Annie carefully handed her every item of clothing she was to wear.
She sat and slid her silk stockings on and fastened them with the garters before shoving her feet into her most comfortable shoes, rather than
her everyday boots. She donned
a lisle chemise, followed by tw
o fine lawn petticoats, adorned
with lace and completed her ensemble with a pr
etty lemon muslin day gown, split up the front to reveal the intricate petticoat
.
She draped a
small,
fine lace shawl
to match the petticoat
around her neck
, to cover her décolletage and secured
it with a broach made of iridescent mother of pearl that produced a flash of colour on the otherwise plain gown. Without even being aware of it, her apparel was tasteful and
of
understated elegance. It was obvious that she had noble bloodlines.