Bertrice Small - The Duchess

"The duke is in love with Allegra!" Sirena exclaimed, and then she clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.

"She promised not to tell," Allegra said dryly.

"Well, of course he's in love with her. You mean you didn't know, Allegra?" Eunice, Countess of Aston was surprised.

"I thought everyone knew he was in love with Allegra," Lady Caroline Walworth said. "Gracious, he told both Bain and Dree; and Ocky was, of course, the first to know."

"But I didn't know," Allegra said. "I thought my marriage was one of convenience. That is what I wanted. That is what I expected."

"To be loved is far better," Eunice remarked with a shy smile.

"Are you in love with him?" Caroline demanded, very much to the point, and like her formidable aunt.

"I don't know," Allegra admitted.

"A woman can't help but love a man who loves her. He's handsome and amusing. The love is sure to come," Caroline said firmly. "Now, why on earth are we here but four days after your wedding? You and the duke should be off somewhere billing and cooing, darling."

Allegra laughed, and once again explained the situation to her friends. She finished by saying, "I have also invited Lady Perry and Lady Johnstone. Both are widows, and are very lively, I am told."

"I wonder which one Prinny will take to bed," Caroline said mischievously.

"Probably both," Eunice said drolly. "Or possibly he will share with young Mr. Brummell."

"Brummell wouldn't take such a healthy woman to his bed," Caroline riposted. "She might muss his hair, or his garments. Do you think he is as elegant in his nightgarb as he is said to be in his clothing?"

"Is it true he wears black to dinner?" Eunice wondered aloud.

"He does," Allegra said, "and frankly I think it extremely elegant. Far more so than suits of peach or sky blue silk. You will find him most charming as I have."

"He barely acknowledged us in London last season," Caroline recalled. "Aunt thinks he is too high-flown."

"I asked him about it," Allegra said. "He told me he finds debutantes tiresome and boring for the most part. Marriage, he says, makes a woman far more interesting."

"Lord, how superior the man is. I vow I am terrified to meet him," Eunice said, and they all laughed.

Crofts came, and offered to escort the ladies to their bedchambers. "Lady Perry and her sister are arriving, your ladyship," he told Allegra. The others hurried off, and Allegra went out to greet the last of her guests to arrive.

They stepped from their carriage. Lady Perry was a petite blonde in her late twenties, and her sister a bit older and plumper.

"Duchess, how kind of you to invite us," Georgianna Perry said in an elegant, well-modulated voice.

"I am in your debt, both of you," Allegra responded charmingly. "The prince arrived unexpectedly," and then she went on to explain the situation to the two attractive widows.

"We shall, of course, keep your secret," Margot, Lady Johnstone said. "How sensitive of you to protect the prince's feelings."

"I am seating you on either side of him at dinner," Allegra told them.

"Of course," Lady Perry replied, understanding the situation immediately. "My sister and I shall endeavor to keep Prinny amused."

"Do you hunt?" Allegra asked them. "The gentlemen go out at dawn."

"Do you?" was the response.

"No," Allegra admitted.

"Then we shall be more than glad to follow your lead, Duchess," Lady Perry told her hostess. "Amusing Prinny in the evening is one thing, but I believe we are wiser to leave the gentlemen to their blood sports while we get our beauty sleep. Don't you agree?

"Oh, yes!" Allegra said with a broad smile, and then she escorted her guests into the house.

The dining room at Hunter's Lair was filled with laughter and clever banter. The mahogany table was covered with a beautiful white damask cloth from Ireland, edged in lace. A large silver bowl filled with late yellow roses and greenery was centered, and flanked on either side by magnificent silver candelabra burning pure white beeswax candles that were scented with rose oil. There were twelve at the table tonight, and each place was set with a beautiful silver service and fine china from Dr. Wall's Royal Worcester pottery. Behind each chair stood a footman in green and silver livery, while other servants passed around the dishes being offered this evening.

The fish course consisted of fresh raw oysters served from a large bowl, steamed mussels, fat prawns with a mustard sauce, and sliced salmon and trout, both of which had been poached in wine and were placed on silver platters amid a bed of fresh cress. Next came the meats, poultry, and game. There was a side of beef that had been packed in salt and roasted over a slow fire. There was venison, partridges cooked to a golden turn, rabbit pies oozing brown gravy, a turkey stuffed with bread, apples, and chestnuts, and two large hams covered with cloves and brown sugar, as well as several silver plates of lamb chops, the prince's favorite.

There were bowls of green beans with slivered almonds, small onions in a cream sauce with black peppercorns, tiny whole carrots glazed with honey and sprinkled with nutmeg, and a bowl holding a large cauliflower dripping with melted cheese. There were potatoes in a Hollandaise sauce, and another bowl containing tiny potato puffs. There were several platters of lettuce and cucumbers in a piquant sauce, flavored with vinegar. And there was wine poured continuously into goblets that were never allowed to be empty.

Finally, came the sweets. There were several kinds of cheese cakes, spongy Genovese cake filled with a coffee cream, tarts of both lemon and raspberry, two soufflés-chocolate and orange, pineapple creams, and caramel custards, as well as bananas, grapes, and oranges. Small wheels of cheese were set upon the table: one of cheddar, one of Stilton. There were delicate little sugar wafers, and of course, champagne.

"Madame," Prinny said, unbuttoning his waistcoat two buttons, "a most delicious meal. I do so enjoy simple country cooking. My compliments to the kitchen, Crofts."

"Thank you, Your Highness," the majordomo said, bowing.

"Now," Prinny said, "perhaps some cards before we retire for the night. We are doing some serious hunting in the morning, Duke, aren't we?"

"Indeed, Your Highness, we are. There is, I have been told, a rather rowdy old boar in my forest who has been troubling my tenants' gardens. The gamekeeper says he should make good sport for he's a wily beast; but we must begin early. At first light."

"Excellent!" the prince approved, arising from the table, and offering his arm to Lady Johnstone. "Do you gamble, m'dear?" he asked her.

"I adore it, Your Highness, but alas, I am a widow, in modest circumstances," she replied. She was a striking woman with dark red hair, very white skin, a lush form, and warm amber eyes.

"Allow me to stake you, m'dear," the prince said, smiling broadly.

"But how shall I ever pay you back, Your Highness?" she replied.

"Not to worry, m'dear. We shall come to some little arrangement, I am certain," Prinny purred, letting his blue eyes wander to her deep cleavage. He led her off to the drawing room where the tables had been set up.

"Come, Lady Perry," young Mr. Brummell said, offering that lady his arm. "You, too, I am certain, will eventually find favor with his highness."

"Do you really think so?" Georgianna said ingenuously.

"Oh, yes," Mr. Brummell predicted, and led her off after the prince.

"If you continue to entertain like this you will never get rid of him," Caroline teased Allegra when Brummell was out of their hearing.

"You certainly picked him the right partner for his evening's entertainment," Eunice told her hostess mischievously. " 'Oh, how shall I ever pay you back, sir?' " she mimicked Lady Johnstone.

"I would die if he looked at me that way," Sirena said, shuddering.

"Allegra chose just the perfect guests," the duke said quietly. "Both Lady Perry and her sister are women of the world, and experienced. They will keep Prinny amused in the evenings. Then perhaps he will not remain up all night playing cards, and we can go to bed with our beautiful wives."

The other gentlemen laughed, as the ladies blushed prettily.

"Poor Quint has been forced to make a fourth at Whist before we arrived, but refused to play for stakes," Ocky said. "Prinny wasn't very happy."

"They played for English counties instead. Quinton was given Worcester, Hereford, and Wales to start; but he would have been king of England in just another night the way Prinny plays," Allegra said frankly. "I am not certain he fully understands the game at all. He wants to win, but he is too rash."

"We had best join our guests," the duke told them, smiling at his wife's little sally.

The prince, Brummell, and their two ladies were already deep into a game when the others entered the drawing room. There was another table set up. Lord Walworth, the earl, and Ocky, along with Lady Walworth, sat down to cards. Allegra went to the piano and began to play while the duke turned the pages for her. The other women sat talking and listening.

"You are amazing," Quinton Hunter said softly to his wife. "We have been married less than a week, and you are entertaining as if you had been my duchess your whole life, Allegra. The prince has already told me half a dozen times how much he is enjoying himself." He dropped a kiss atop her dark head.