Authors: Kathryn Kirkwood
“Yes, your grace.” Lissa’s face had colored quickly and Robert had not missed the anxious glance that she had cast at Regina.
“My stepfather believed that education should be made available to all who lived under his roof.” Regina had spoken quickly. “He was a wonderful man, and I carry the memory of his charity in my heart as an example of what I hope I may someday achieve.”
Robert had turned to gaze down at Regina. Her face had been glowing with inner purpose and he remembered thinking that she had never looked lovelier nor more ethereal.
“You are far too modest.” Lissa had smiled at Regina and then she had turned to Robert. “Miss Regina has begun lessons at the parish to teach the children of the tenants to read. She is a wonderful teacher, your grace, and all the children love her. If not for her mother’s insistence, she would have forgone her Season to stay at Harrington Manor and continue her lessons.”
“Then I am indeed fortunate that Lady Harrington intervened.” Robert had smiled at Regina and his estimation of her character had risen another notch. Most young ladies of her station would have been more concerned with their wardrobes than the welfare of the tenants’ children.
Looking back on that moment, Robert decided that it had been a turning point in his relationship with Regina. It was then that he had begun to seriously entertain the notion of declaring
for her. While it was true that the magic of their first meeting had vanished, Robert thought they rubbed along very well indeed. Though Regina no longer stirred his blood nor caused his senses to reel with excitement as they had at their first, clandestine meeting, according to his married friends, it was a rare wife indeed who fully engaged her husband’s passions.
There was no doubt that Regina would be perfection as a wife. Her character was impeccable and Robert was assured of her loyal devotion. She would honor her husband and never dream of betraying him in any manner, large or small. Regina loved children. Robert had seen it in her eyes when she had described the reading classes she had introduced for the tenants’ children. She would be an adoring and dedicated mother.
His house would be kept in good order. Regina had been well trained in the management of a household and Robert had no doubt that she was thrifty and conscientious. She had been raised as a gentle lady and he could find no fault with her comportment. Regina also possessed a pleasing countenance, an intelligent mind, and a generous heart. She would be charitable to those who relied on him for their livelihood and fair and pleasant in her dealings with his servants.
Robert sighed. Regina was perfection itself, a veritable paragon who would meet with approval from every quarter. His mother and his sister would embrace her warmly, his staff would welcome her gentle direction, and he, himself, would enjoy her company on long winter evenings at Oakwood Castle. Regina was utterly and completely suitable to be the next Duchess of Oakwood. She would assume the duties of that exalted position gladly and perform them admirably. There was only one small impediment that stood in the path of the proposal that Robert was contemplating. This impediment had a name, and the name was Lissa.
Robert frowned as he sank down in a chair by the fireside and poured himself a small snifter of brandy. Though he knew it was utter foolishness on his part, he found himself strangely attracted to Lady Harrington’s servant. When he had first made her acquaintance,
on the morning he had paid his initial call on Regina, he had experienced the uncomfortable sense that he had met her previously in another time and at another place. At first, he had attempted to dismiss it out of hand, but it disturbed him greatly because he could not identify its origin. This uncomfortable sensation still lingered to this very day. Lissa put him in mind of someone very dear, but he could not think of who it could be.
One late night, ensconced in his library in front of a dying fire with an empty snifter of brandy in his hand, Lissa had invaded his thoughts. In that half-awake state, her imagined presence had prompted him to indulge his wildest imaginings. He had pictured himself offering for Lissa and taking her to wife to the utter horror of his friends and family. It had been a nonsensical notion, but it had pleased him immensely to imagine her life entwined with his for all eternity. Such was Lissa’s strange power over him, and Robert suspected that a similar passion had caused lovesick young swains in previous generations to do battle against insurmountable odds for a favor from their beloved.
Robert had attempted to dissect this emotion, but he had failed miserably. While Lissa was lovely, there were others who possessed greater beauty. Her wit was sharp and her mind was keen, but those attributes could be found elsewhere. Still, there was an attraction that Robert could not deny. Merely the image of her face or the memory of her laughing eyes conjured up a relentless fascination that Robert could not dismiss until he had escaped into a fitful sleep.
In the clear light of morning, Robert had realized that there must be a reasonable explanation for the affinity that drew him to Lissa. It was then that he had vowed to spend more time with her, to listen to her words as she conversed with him, and to observe her every action. Perhaps, by using all the wits at his disposal, he could solve this compelling mystery.
“Miss Regina hoped that you would call, your grace.” Melissa smiled as she took the duke’s coat and hat, and accepted his card. The corner was turned down to signify that he was calling in person, but there was no need to ask him to wait while she carried it to the Drawing Room. Jane had anticipated his call and had instructed Melissa to show him immediately into her presence.
The duke had come to call every day in the two weeks that had passed since Lady Beckworth’s ball, and Melissa had found herself anticipating his arrival with the greatest of pleasure. While other young gentlemen might ignore her, or give her, at the most, a polite nod, the duke always stopped to chat with her before he took his leave.
In the past fortnight, the duke had provided Regina with many hours of entertainment and he had invited Melissa to accompany them on every occasion. Included in a party made up of Jane, Dorothea, Regina, Lord Chadwick, and the duke, Melissa had enjoyed the tragedian Edmund Kean’s performance as Shylock in Drury Lane. She had accompanied the duke and Regina to a watercolour exhibition, a tour of the British Gallery, and an evening at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. At Vauxhall, under the lights from a thousand lamps, Melissa had been treated to a vocal concert, a daring performance by a tightrope walker, a display of equestrian feats, and a lavish array of fireworks.
There had also been several rides through the park and an
afternoon stroll in Kensington Gardens. And just yesterday afternoon, the duke had invited Regina and Lissa to partake of a surprise he had planned for them. When they had joined him in his carriage, he had promptly driven them to Carlton House, where Henry Holland had almost completed his commission to remodel the Prince Regent’s London residence.
Melissa had smiled with delight as Henry Holland, himself, had granted them entrance. From his converse with the duke, she had learned that he was a friend of the duke’s family, and he had appeared quite eager to convey them on a tour. He had explained that the style of the remodeling was predominantly French, and he’d confided that the Regent had spared no expense to decorate his residence with dazzling silver and gold.
Following in Regina and the duke’s wake, Melissa had enjoyed a lengthy perusal of the interior. Their tour had encompassed the fan-vaulted observatory, the round second drawing room, the dining hall, and the forty-foot library. The great chandelier in the center of the Crimson Drawing Room had so taken her fancy that Melissa had stood gazing up at it for several minutes while her thoughts had turned fanciful. She had imagined herself as an invited guest, seated in one of the heavily upholstered chairs which stood in two opposing rows on either side of the intricately woven round carpet. The Crimson Drawing Room would be filled with famous personages, and Melissa imagined that the famous authoress, Miss Jane Austen, might be among them. Henry Holland had permitted them to examine the three volume edition of
Emma
which had been presented to the Regent. Melissa had thought she had never seen books more handsomely bound, and she had observed that it had been “most respectfully dedicated” to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent “by His Royal Highness’s dutiful and obedient humble servant The Author.”
“Lissa.” The duke had touched her on the shoulder, startling her out of her pleasant reverie. “You have been gazing up at that chandelier for an exceedingly long time. I will grant that
it is lovely indeed, but what, in particular, is there about it that you find so fascinating?”
Melissa had quickly remembered her assumed station and she had turned to him with an apologetic expression. “I am indeed sorry if I have delayed our progress, your grace. It is merely that I fail to see how any one person could ever clean it properly without risking a broken neck.”
The duke and Regina had laughed delightedly and even Henry Holland had chuckled. Then he had explained how he had devised a system to facilitate that undertaking and was awaiting the approval of the Regent to install it. It consisted of hidden levers, winches, and pulleys that would lower the heavy cascade of fine crystal to a height where it could be more easily cleaned.
In addition to including her in his outings with Regina, the duke had been kind in other ways. When he had presented small gifts to Jane, Dorothea, and Regina, he had also thought to bring something for her. Melissa knew these small favors had been selected with great care as to her preferences. When Regina had mentioned that Melissa was skilled as a seamstress, the duke had presented her with a lovely silver thimble and several papers of pins. There was also a box of brightly colored paper on which she could copy her recipes, a slim volume containing a collection of fables, and a packet of seeds to grow her own kitchen garden of herbs.
They had reached the door to the Drawing Room and Melissa was startled out of her memories by the duke’s voice.
“Have many other visitors arrived before me?”
“Yes, your grace. There is quite a crush.”
“Tell me who is in attendance, Lissa.” The duke reached out to stay her hand as she prepared to open the door. “I shall be better prepared to be charming if I know the identity of the persons I must charm.”
Melissa laughed. “I am certain that you will be charming without that knowledge, your grace, but I shall be happy to name them.”
As Melissa conveyed the names to the duke, she thought back to their arrivals. The first to call had been Lord Chadwick, another daily visitor. When Melissa had left him, he was sitting next to Dorothea on the settee, laughing at some comment she had made. Melissa found she liked him very well indeed, as he always had a friendly word for her. And his attentions towards her stepsister had Melissa’s full approval. Lord Chadwick seemed truly appreciative of Dorothea’s charms, and Dorothea had confided that she found him very personable, indeed. She seemed relaxed and happy, basking in the light of the viscount’s admiration, and much less fearful of her mother’s disapproval.
The next coach to arrive had carried Lady Beckworth and her cousin, Lady Jennings, who had been accompanied by her two daughters. Though the young girls would not be formally presented until the following Season, Melissa had noticed that they had already caught the attention of two young pinks who had come in after them. One was the second son of an earl and the other was in line to inherit his uncle’s title. Both had come to call upon Lady Harrington in the hopes of currying favor with the duke and Lord Chadwick.
Lady Ashford had also come to pay a call, and she had been accompanied by her
cicisbeo,
Lord Wheeler. Lord Wheeler was a large man with a florid countenance that was heightened even further by the vivid red and yellow patterned waistcoat he wore. In the guise of a servant, Melissa had been privy to the latest
on-dit
about the strange coupling. It was bandied about that Lord Wheeler was tone deaf, and it was due in whole to this particular infirmity, that he could tender sincere compliments regarding the quality of Lady Ashford’s musical performances.
When Melissa came to the end of her list, she glanced up at the duke. “Shall I announce you now, your grace?”
“Just a moment, Lissa.” The duke turned to her with a twinkle in his eye. “Your Drawing Room does not contain a pianoforte on this day, does it?”
“No, your grace. It most certainly does not.”
“You may announce me then.” The duke stayed her hand
again, just as Melissa was preparing to pull open the pocket door. “But if Lady Ashford should take it into her mind to sing
acappella,
I should like you to most surreptitiously provide me with two small bits of cloth to stuff into my ears.”
They shared a smile and then, at a nod from the duke, Melissa opened the pocket doors that gave access to the Drawing Room and stepped aside for him to precede her. When he had entered, she also stepped into the room and assumed her customary place at the far corner, where she should be available for Jane’s instruction.
“I am delighted that you should join us, Duke.” Jane smiled and extended her hand in greeting. “We have many callers upon this day.”
The duke conveyed her hand to his lips. “You are indeed popular with the
ton,
madame. One can only assume that your reputation as a consummate hostess has engendered this crush. I trust this morning finds you well?”
As the amenities were observed between hostess and guest, Melissa turned to glance at Regina. There was a welcoming smile on her stepsister’s face and it was clear that Regina was eagerly awaiting the duke’s notice. Melissa quelled a sudden stab of envy and cautioned herself to maintain a pleasant expression. Envy was an emotion that ill-suited her and she would not indulge in it.
“Lissa?”
Melissa turned and observed that the viscount was motioning for her. She hurried to do his bidding and arrived at his side in short order. “Yes, my lord?”