Regency Romances Page 17

  By the time the Duke’s coach pulled up at their front door, the clock had just begun to strike seven o’clock. Having heard nothing but praise for the Duke all day, Jane watched for him, expecting no less than a golden-haired demigod to step out of the carriage.

  Indeed, he did look very handsome, with his hair swept back across his forehead, and a silk cravat tied with an intricate Celtic knot around his neck. His dark woolen coat was lined with purple silk on the inside and festooned with shining gold plated buttons. For all the finery of his clothes, he wore them with the casual grace of a man for whom they were nothing but a second skin. He was most pleasant as he greeted them all, even presenting Margaret with a full bouquet of fresh lilies. When he greeted Jane, his eyes passed over her with relative disinterest, except for a split second when he locked eyes with her.

  In that split second, Jane felt her world tilt, a sudden dizziness coming over her. She clenched her fists to regain herself, and the moment had passed. The Duke showed no emotion though those that knew him best would have sensed a slight puzzlement in his manner.

  As they led him into the parlor, they could feel his eyes searching the house, looking for Susan. Jane felt a rush of shame. Through the afternoon, Jane had insisted that Susan should be ready on time. Although she had spent all day lounging about in bed, saying that she wanted to be at her freshest that evening, Susan had very deliberately refused to begin dressing until it was far too late.

  When Jane had protested, Susan had laughed. “After all.” She said. “I cannot have him thinking that I am too eager for his company. Jane dear, you must keep a man on his toes. You cannot give him an easy victory, or his interest in you will be lost.”

  “There is no need to give a man easy victories, but surely you have no need to be rude,” Jane said. “He has been invited to our house as a guest, and we must treat him with courtesy.”

  “Oh, he’s been invited to see me,” Susan said. “But he’ll have to do some work. I must make him wait for otherwise, he will imagine that I have nothing better to do than eagerly await his arrival.”

  “But you do have nothing better to do.” Jane pointed out. “Surely you can be ready on time, Susan. If not for him, think of the help. They’ve spent a lot of time on the food, and they’d be disheartened to serve it later than it was meant.”

  Susan had waved aside this objection, and when Jane continued, had begun to look upset. This was a signal for Margaret to step in and hurriedly tell Jane not to upset her sister. Finally, Jane had given up.

  Now, as they waited in the parlor for Susan to join them, shame at her sister’s behavior seemed to flood Jane’s body. The Duke, from all appearances, did not seem to notice Susan’s absence, but Jane’s parents made it worse by commenting on it.

  “Susan is always like this.” Michael laughed. “I always said to Margaret that it’s a sign she was meant to be in more hallowed halls than ours, you know?” His laughter hurt his sensitive young daughter even more, but her mother’s groveling apologies simply embarrassed her.

  “I cannot think why she is so late,” Margaret said anxiously. “She is never late, I assure you, Duke Seymour. My dear girl has all the virtues that make a woman lovely, including that of being punctual. I simply hope she has not fallen ill in the last hour.”

  The Duke, to his credit, did not let this affect him, and simply commented, “Well, with such exquisite company already present, I should scarcely be as greedy as to ask for Susan’s. I’m sure she’ll come as soon as she can.”

  “Indeed,” Jane said with a smile, trying to throw light on the situation. “After all, it is a beautiful woman’s right to keep a man waiting for a little while, don’t you agree, your Grace?”

  His eyes fixed on hers, and once again, Jane felt that dizziness. This time, she dismissed it as a result of extreme shame for her sister’s conduct. It could not be that the near turquoise shade of his almond shaped eyes was causing her heart to flutter. Despite Susan’s faults, Jane considered herself very loyal to her sister, and would never try to steal attention away from her. Besides, no man would possibly pay attention to her when Susan was nearby.

  The Duke on his part felt a mild irritation at having to wait for no reason but felt quite grateful to Jane for handling it with ease and guiding their conversation to light and happy topics. After all, just moments ago, her mother had looked anxious enough to burst into tears. Yet here they were now, laughing as Jane recalled a time when Susan was ten years old and had fallen asleep in a closet after throwing a tantrum about some sweets. It had scared them all into thinking she’d run away, and she’d emerged three hours later with no idea of the chaos she’d caused.

  He noted too, that while her parents treated him with some deference, Jane treated him much as she would a friend, even teasing him lightly about his occasional glances at the stairway.

  When Susan finally appeared, all conversation ceased. An hour had passed since he had arrived, and the Duke was now feeling pangs of hunger, aided by the delicious smell of roast lamb and fried onions that wafted through the house.

  He had to admit that she looked quite stunning. Her hair was tied in a complicated braid and then looped around her head while subtle rouge made her cheeks brighter. She wore a green dress of taffeta that seemed to hide and reveal her curves as it billowed about her. Her chin was held defiantly upwards as she dared him to take his eyes off her. After posing in this manner for a second, she slowly descended. Then, making no excuse for her lateness, she greeted the Duke with gently fluttering eyelashes and a breathless voice.

  “What a hot night it is today.” She exclaimed. “Why mother, we should invite the Duke out to the garden with us.”

  “Why dear, I’m sure the Duke would rather have dinner now.” Margaret protested.

  But Susan, who wanted to take this chance to show off her dress and the way it complimented her body, would not take no for an answer. “Dinner can wait.” She proclaimed. “Can’t it?”

  The Duke, ever a gentleman, offered her his hand. “As my lady desires.” He said with a smile.

  “Oh. Well… perhaps Jane can accompany you.” Margaret said. Susan gave a smile though the Duke could detect some impatience underneath it.

  “Of course, mother.” Jane rose at once.

  “Be back soon,” Margaret said.

  “Take your time!” Michael said at the same time.

  Susan smiled at both of them and led the way. When she had posed on the stairway, there was a brilliance to her beauty, rather as if someone was shining a candle on her skin. Up close, however, the Duke could see the downward tilt of her mouth, and a rather icy look in her eye as she glanced at Jane.

  “Poor Jane would much rather be reading a book indoors, I know,” Susan said.

  “Oh yes.” The Duke nodded. “You mentioned yesterday that your sister had a cold.” Turning to Jane he asked. “I hope all is well now, my lady?”

  “How could anyone be unwell when blessed with my lord’s company?” Jane smiled. “My rest had me restored to good health, and meeting you yesterday certainly had something to do with my sister’s good health.” Thus diverting attention back to Susan, Jane discreetly took a step back.

  Susan puffed a little. “Yes, the dance yesterday was wonderful.” She said. “I could live out my entire life at dances. There is no greater occasion to meet sensible and refined people and share a laugh with them. Isn’t that what life should be about? We have such short lives, and one should make merry as often as possible.”

  “That is certainly a view I should take seriously.” The Duke smiled. “I have been known on occasion to be a little too somber for my friends’ tastes.”

  “But you are too modest, Colonel Riley loves you,” Susan said. “Why he spent all of yesterday singing your praises to my father.”

  “Riley does get a little animated after a few turns at the punch bowl.” The Duke grinned. “I’d say he’d be very embarrassed if you reminded him of his words. So would I.”


  “He said you are a brave, gallant man who saved his life twice on the battlefield,” Susan said. “And once in a duel in Paris.”

  The Duke suddenly felt uncomfortable. The last thing he wanted to talk about was Paris. Susan, however, seemed oblivious to this.

  “I always said to Jane how much I’d love to visit Paris.” She said. “Unfortunately, Papa’s never taken us. But I’ve always wanted to visit. Do tell me how it is over there!”

  “It’s a city like any other.” The Duke said. “There are good people in it, and bad. People of refined taste, and those who lack class. The food, however, is spectacular.”

  “And the ladies?” Susan asked.

  The Duke winced. “The ladies, madam, are like a jewel-encrusted sword, beautiful but deadly.”

  “I’ve heard…” Before Susan could go on, Jane stepped in, sensing the Duke’s rapidly rising discomfort. “But isn’t it true that no city in the world is quite as beautiful as our very own London?” Jane asked.

  “Well, Bath gives London some competition as to beauty.” The Duke said, smiling admiringly at Susan.

  With this, Susan forgot all about Paris, and instead blushed and tittered, encouraging the Duke to continue his praise. At the back of his mind, he felt once again, grateful to Jane for rescuing him from that particular conversation. He snuck a look at her, while Susan was bending over to examine a flower, and gave her a thankful nod. Jane, however, looked amused. He wondered why.

  Jane, on the other hand, wondered why the Duke was nodding to her while her sister so deliberately bent over to examine flowers, and give the Duke a chance to examine her. A true gentleman, however, he deliberately chose to overlook this.

  Although she had never been one to worship her social superiors, Jane couldn’t help but agree that just this once, her father had been right. The Duke was indeed a very cultured man, readily apparent by his knowledge of several fields. Although he did not boast of these, instead made offhand comments that proved he was a well-read man. Susan however, did not seem to notice his intelligence but seemed satisfied that he had praised her more than once for her beauty.

  Chapter 3

  A Trip To Lyme Regis

  All that night, after the Duke had taken their leave, Susan went over each word he had said to her with Jane listening patiently. Happily, Susan recounted how he had compared her to a jewel, and with a huge smile, she talked about how he had looked “particularly stunned” when she had appeared at the stairway.

  “I was stunned myself,” Jane said. “Grateful too, for I was dying of hunger by the time you appeared!”

  “Oh Jane, don’t be nasty. Wait and see. What I said is true. He will have far more affection for me because I didn’t give him the kind of attention he desires. You on the other hand, oh you were simply jumping to talk to him.”

  Jane felt a knot in her stomach. Had she really been a little too eager? She had laughed at the Duke’s jokes when Susan had not, but that was because Susan had simply been unable to understand them. Surely that did not mean, surely the Duke couldn’t think...

  “Don’t worry, dearest. The Duke's probably going to laugh about it later.” Susan said with a cutting smile. “Perhaps when he and I are married, he will even tease you about your little fondness for him.”

  “I am not fond of him!” Jane said hotly. “I think he is a good man and that he would make anyone a good… friend.”

  “Not a good husband?” Susan asked, a mocking smile on her lips.

  “That too,” Jane said.

  “Oh, Jane.” Susan hugged her. “Forgive me. It must be hard on you, mustn’t it? To always be in my shadow? It is sad, but it is life. I have been cursed with a terrible beauty. John Fowles once said that I was like Helen of Troy. It is not easy, you know, to handle so much attention from men. Sometimes I grow weary. Women refuse to be friends with me because of it, and men, well men have never made good friends for women! I would be so unhappy if my little sister were to become jealous of my beauty too.”

  Jane resisted the urge to give her a little pinch. With a sigh, she said. “I am not jealous of your beauty, sister. Nor do I have any hopes or interest in becoming the Duke’s wife. I simply feel that he is a good man. If you choose him, and if he chooses you, I will be happy for both of you.”

  “What do you mean if he chooses me?” Susan asked. “Of course, he will choose me. Wait and see, my little ploy will have left him thinking about me all night! No doubt we will hear from him tomorrow!”

  But when one day passed, and then another, and there was no news from the Duke, Susan’s high spirits began to wilt. She had almost dismissed him in her mind as a charlatan who could not recognize beauty, when, one evening, they received a letter inviting the family on an excursion to nearby Lyme Regis.

  Delighted, Susan began running around the house, and making a nuisance of herself by demanding that her favorite clothes be washed, dried and readied at once! When Jane had reminded her that the excursion would certainly not be one that lasted overnight, Susan ignored her.

  This time, Susan was very punctual, ready even before Jane was, eager to see the Duke again. Margaret and Michael too were equally eager. The plan was for the family to meet the Duke, his sister and her family at the church. By 8:00 a.m. they would leave for Lyme Regis and return later that night.

  Margaret and Michael were to accompany the Duke’s sister and her family in another carriage, leaving the two girls with the Duke and his friend Colonel Riley to follow. To Jane’s shock, however, two open carriages pulled up instead of the one she was expecting.

  “I beg your pardon, gentlemen.” Jane protested. “Am I to understand that my sister and I will be traveling alone in one carriage?”

  “Of course not.” Colonel Riley smiled. “The Duke intends to accompany your sister, while I will give you company, my lady.”

  “I’m afraid I have to object, Colonel Riley,” Jane said. Her stomach twisted. She never had in her life dreamed of objecting to the Duke, but to ride alone with a man she barely knew, worse, to let her sister ride alone with a man who was courting her, this was unthinkable.

  “Don’t be silly, Jane,” Susan said, a little heat in her voice. “The Duke has been kind enough to make arrangements for us, and you must give him the courtesy of appreciating them.”

  “I feel very obliged and grateful to be invited on this trip,” Jane said, addressing the Duke. “Unfortunately, My Lord, I think it wholly inappropriate to ride in an open carriage.”

  “Oh, there you go again with your morality,” Susan said with a slight shudder. “Just this morning you were asking me not to wear my jewelry because it is better to dress simply while traveling. I tell you, Jane, you need to understand that not everyone is as prudish as you.”

  Jane looked almost tearful at her sister’s barrage, but she held firm. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Susan.” She said. “I simply can’t allow you to go with the Duke.”

  “You’re my younger sister, you can’t say a word about this!” Susan exclaimed. “Honestly, Jane you’re too overbearing sometimes!”

  “She isn’t entirely wrong, however.” The Duke said. “I’d hate to waste our time, and our companion’s time, by arguing about this more. I’d also hate for Jane to feel unhappy while we traveled. I’ll call for a more suitable carriage that can accommodate us all.”

  True to his word, the Duke had found a better carriage in fifteen minutes, and half an hour later, they were all seated together, on their way to Lyme Regis. Colonel Riley had teased Jane a little about her being “quite a proper lady.” but let it go after receiving a warning look from the Duke. Susan, however, was furious at Jane for what she thought of as interference.

  “I often tell my mother that Jane has the soul of an eighty-year-old,” Susan exclaimed even as they rode. “She has always been far too conscious of rules. Now, I am one who understands that it is important to hold oneself to certain standards of propriety, but Jane here tends to take it all a little too seriously. W
hy there is nothing improper in taking two carriages. I’m sure in Paris, it’s what people do. It’s just that Jane is so sheltered, and she does not understand these things.”

  “I’m sorry, Susan,” Jane said, a little miserably. “I still feel that going together was the right thing to do. Mama and Papa would have disapproved.”

  “If they had disapproved, they wouldn’t have trusted us to the Duke’s company in the first place,” Susan said. “Why Jane, it’s downright rude of you to behave so uncivilly. The Duke was looking forward to spending time with me, I’m sure. You have been most rude as to tell him he was wrong in the way he made arrangements.”

  Rather taken aback at the maliciousness in Susan’s voice, Colonel Riley tried to interrupt with a weak, “Well, it’s all in the past now, my lady. Let us forget about it.” Susan, however, was in a fine temper and had no compunctions about taking it out on Jane.

  “Honestly, Jane, I’m not surprised at all that you haven’t found a suitor yet. It’s disgraceful behavior, is what it is. If you are always trying to get in between people when all they want to do is have fun, why, no one can possibly want to be around you!”

  Jane blinked and set her lips together very firmly. “Susan, we can talk about this later.”

  “Why should we? These gentlemen surely agree with me, don’t you, sirs?” Susan smiled at them both. To her surprise, the Duke looked mildly repulsed.

  “I must apologize again.” The Duke said. “First, if I gave the impression that I wanted to pressure you into doing something improper. Second, if I gave the impression that any member of your family is less important to me than the other. My Lady Susan will forgive me, but the cost of a carriage is well worth a smile on my Lady Jane’s face.”