Authors: Stella White
I said yes, and he jumped across the table and brought me into his arms, cradling me like a child.
Postscript
It is the night before we tell our families and friends and associates as I write this: tell them of mine and the Duke’s love. I have written this account so those who find it – whoever they turn out to be – will know the story of the unusual courtship of Sarah Archer and Francis Seymour, the Duke of Somerset. Undoubtedly there are those among you who would have him discredited. All I can say to that is, why? Why discredit a man who married a woman he loves? Far more deserving of discredit are the men who marry women they despise, and spend the rest of their lives making her miserable.
Only the Duke and I know of our marriage; tomorrow that shall all change. He has arranged a meeting. Father is to be there. I wish I could say the meeting gladdens me, but in truth the only gladness I feel is at the thought of Francis visiting me in my rooms tonight. I have worn this quill out completely and I do not think I can write anymore. When I began the sun was rising; now it is deep in the night.
I would write more, but there is a knocking at my door.
He whispers my name. It is Francis.
I must go.
I must be with my love.
*****
THE END
The Devil’s Dance – A Regency Romance
Bertrand Collins Margrave- Bertie to his friends- looked at his reflection in the
full-length
mirror and was quite pleased with the image that looked back at him. His official title was Lord
Haverbrook,
and he had reluctantly made the unpleasant journey from London to his stately pile in Derbyshire. Bertie preferred life in London by a long chalk and was happy that his elderly aunt resided in the Haverbrook estate. She looked upon it as her own and Bertie was
happy
to let her believe that as it kept her acid tongue under control. His London
town house
was elegant and close to everything he loved. Bertie loved theatre, art and most of all everything fashionable and the latest crazes. Aunt Agatha had sent word that she was ill and he needs must come to visit immediately. When Bertie arrived at the large and
resplendent
residence,
it was to find his aunt in robust good health and she desired him to make changes to the house
in accordance with
her wishes. Bertrand Collins Margrave
was not amused
in the least and had gone to bed in
a fine
old mood wondering how soon he could return to London.
The next morning he twirled in front of the mirror and took in the elegant riding clothes that he wore.
Tight-fitting
trousers and a short jacket with a smooth line across the waist and
elegant
tails behind. The waistcoat was blue brocade and the white cravat elegantly tied. The
narrow
riding boots accented his well-muscled
legs,
and he thought to himself that Badger
Tomkins
would not look half as fashionable. “Still be good to see the old boy again.” He thought and smiled as he thought about the surprise on Badger’s face when he rode up to the door. Bertie was, in fact, a handsome young man and much pursued by young ladies in London who had their eye on becoming Lady Haverbrook. He was tall for the times and stood at about five feet ten inches with dark, slightly curly hair that
was currently cut
in the latest style with sideburns and a great deal of hair on the top of his head.
He
actually
didn’t need to make himself look
taller,
but that
was what had driven
that particular fashion. He had dark brown eyes that could look meltingly appealing and surprisingly, the man
was toned
and fit.
Bertie left his manservant to sort out his wardrobe and went to visit his stables. He still kept
a fine
collection of horseflesh despite being away such a lot of the time. For that
matter,
he
kept
a fine
selection in London as well. He had sent word ahead for his favourite mount to be ready and the stable hand was waiting with reins in hand. Haverbrook slid into the saddle with
easy
grace and slipped a top hat onto his head. He knew he was riding through the woods and fields but still fashion was
fashion,
and he donned the hat. Then set off
at
an easy walk until he was clear of the gates and urged the stallion to a gentle jog. Bertie enjoyed riding and settled to enjoy the ride to visit Badger. The way to his friend’s
rather
beautiful residence was through the land belonging to Lady Tupperham. The old lady had always let Bertie treat the
land
as if it was his own and he knew the way through her estate well. The track passed through woodland and then came out at some paddocks behind the stables. It was not far until he would enter Badger’s gates but suddenly he saw in the stable yard a young woman. She saw him at the same time and stalked, yes that was the word, stalked to the gate and shouted at him. “I say who are you riding through here?
This is
private land.”
Bertie steered the horse in her direction and stopped in front of the obviously annoyed young woman. “I might ask you the same, young
woman
.
This is
the land of Lady Tupperham. You appear to be trespassing.” She put her hands on her hips and observed the newcomer with a look that told him she was not the least impressed by what she saw. “Lady Tupperham was my aunt.
This is
my
estate,
and you still have not told me your name.” She almost but not
quite
, stamped her foot. Bertie slid from the horse and found himself face to face with the woman. It
was not lost
upon him that she was wearing a most up to date riding outfit in light grey. She was about five feet four inches high and did not step back as he stood in front of her. “Did you say ‘was’?” He asked. “Lady Tupperham. Did you say was?” He demanded
again,
and the girl nodded.
“Yes, sadly, my aunt passed away three months ago.”
Bertie
was taken
aback. “Nobody let me
know,
” he said almost to himself and then remembered his manners. “I am so sorry to hear
that,
” he told her. “I am Lord Haverbrook from the next estate. I am on my way to visit at the
Tomkins
residence. Lady Tupperham always allowed
us
passage across her land.” The girl was not impressed and said that maybe he should ask permission in the future. Bertie was not used to treatment of this sort and felt a sudden rush of anger which was most unusual.
“I most certainly will
not,
” he answered. “I will
simply
go the long way round- Miss?”
“Caroline
Carstairs,
” she told him and held out a hand. “Aunt Mary left me the estate.” Bertie took the hand to shake and was unprepared for the jolt of lightning that shot up his arm and through his veins. He went on shaking the hand for some seconds and looked quite dreamlike. Caroline smiled for the first time and extricated her hand from his. “I have to
go,
” she told him and walked away leaving him still wondering what he had just experienced. At the same time though she rubbed at her
own
hand as if the same sensation had happened when they touched. Bertie shook himself into activity and mounted his horse. The he watched the rather elegant riding outfit with the delightful decoration on the rear of the jacket disappear into the stable yard.
*****
The beautiful façade of Badger’s house appeared in front of
Bertie,
and the manicured gardens were as trim and smart as ever. Badger was a traditionalist and liked his place to look well groomed. The two men had been friends since childhood even though they were as unlike each other as it was possible to be. Bertie rode around to the yard at the
rear,
and a man came out at a run to take the horse. Bertie took his tall top hat in his hand and strode around to the garden door where he knew he would find his old friend. The staff looked on in horror as he should have
been announced
but the man
simply
pushed open the door and announced himself. Badger looked up from the paper on his desk and took a second to realise who had
appeared,
and then he leaped to his feet and rushed across. The two men threw arms around each other and jigged around the room like a couple of
ten-year-olds
. “
Oh,
Bertie. What a delight. I did so need you to cheer me up.”
“Me too, old man. My aunt had me trail up here on a wild goose chase.” Bertie
answered,
and Badger pulled the cord that brought a man servant rushing to see what was required. Relieved that the master was not furious that his guest was unannounced the servant retreated to find food and drink and the two friends sat down to catch up.
“I must
say,
” Badger commented eyeing Bertie’s extremely tight trousers. “Those are not pantaloons. They are very revealing.” Bertie stood up and did a sort of twirl around to display his up to the minute fashion. “You
really
do have to get up to date, Badge. These are all the rage in town.” Badger was not impressed because he was a fan of country pursuits and tradition. He laughed off his friend’s suggestion and asked if Aunt Agnes was well.
“In rude good
health,
” Bertie
answered
“And as annoying as ever.” He paused “But she never told me that Lady Tupperham had passed away. She was a great old
girl,
and I never knew she had gone.” Badger nodded and said that it was sad. “The estate now belongs to her only living relative.”
“I met her this morning. Caroline
Carstairs
she said her name was and told me I was trespassing.” Bertie said with a wave of his hand and his friend laughed out loud. “
Indeed,
the woman can be
bold,
and she is unusual. “He smiled “But is exceedingly
pretty
.”
“I never noticed,” Bertie said
dismissively
and Badger laughed it off.
“That I do not
believe,
and you two should get on well. She is the most fashion conscious and up to date
person,
you will ever meet.” Bertie looked at him incredulously and brushed the assertion aside. “How could she possibly be
up to date
stuck up here away from everything?”
“
Ah,
but she has lived in London all of her life up till now. She has made some
amazing
changes to the house already.” Bertie was sceptical and said
so,
but Badger was not to
be changed
. “I have been very nice to
her,
but I know she thinks I am old fashioned.” Badger smiled at
himself,
and Bertie said “Well you are old fashioned. You were old fashioned when you were ten years old.” He clapped his friend on the back and went on to say that as he had come all this way on a wild goose chase, he would make some modernisations to the house. “There are some new items for the kitchens but- And he paused dramatically. “Have you seen the new flush away waste systems?” Badger
Tomkins
gave a grin that threatened to split his face in two. “Well yes, actually, I have.” He was rewarded by the stunned look on the face of Bertie Collins Margrave and he laughed out loud with glee. “You
see,
” he added with a sort of flourish. “The young lady who has taken over Lady Tupperham’s house has installed not one but two in The Grange.”
“
Well,
I’ll be damned.” Bertie replied and sat down
into
a nearby chair with a sudden thump. Badger told him that Caroline had made other
changes,
but it had only been three months and some things were taking more time. “She apparently wants the decoration to be like the top houses in London. Her clothes have come down
specially
and I hear that some of them come from Italy and France.” Bertie could find no suitable reply. Badger was pleased to have the better of his friend for once and told him that Caroline was an excellent
horse woman
. “No doubt you noticed that she is also
extremely
pretty
.” He
finished
and Bertie realised that he had indeed
noticed
that the dark blonde hair and
blue grey
eyes were part of a slender and
rather delicious
package. He thought to himself but did not say to Badger that he also noticed that the riding clothes were very similar to the choicest apparel worn around the city. It was a lot to take on board and then he reminded himself that she was also arrogant and had ordered him off her land. “Hmph.”
Was all he managed in reply and Badger was delighted.
They sat and talked about other things that interested young men of the time and Bertie made an arrangement to go riding the following day. Badger had thought to include friends and make the occasion a bit more of a social
occasion
. His
own
sister would have been furious if he had not told her that Bertie was back in the area. Bertrand
himself,
took his leave and rode back to his stately home by the road.
This took
considerably more
time,
but he had no notion to be caught trespassing again.
*****
Bertie arrived home and left the horse to
be tended
,
threw
the top hat on a chair and strode
through the house
to find his aunt in the sitting room that she used the most because it let out onto the garden. The garden was a source of delight to Agatha and Bertie wisely left her to make all decisions in that regard. He knew she would be there but stopped short in the doorway when he realised she was not alone. Sitting taking tea with his normally grumpy old relative was the new neighbour- Caroline Carstairs.