The Duke and The Governess (32 page)

‘Yes, Your Grace. Shall I inform Masters to ready your very best attire?’ the Duke nodded. ‘Very good, Your Grace.’ Butcher finished with a smile and left immediately.

As he closed the door John asked softly ‘is it true they had Lady Wilhelmina Bantock and Lady Greyston on evens at 5-2?’

‘Yes.’ Edward burst out laughing again. ‘As if you’d have anything to do with that bluestocking.’

‘Certainly I wouldn’t have anything to do with Lady Greyston.’ John replied. ‘She’s just
too much
like Victoria.’

‘I sympathise.’ Edward’s smile became warm. ‘Thank you, John. I should have told you earlier about the debts, but I was stupid and allowed it all to get away from me.’ He sighed. ‘I promise it will never happen again.’

‘I should hope not.’ John smiled. ‘Now I must go and get ready.’

‘I’ll see you at the Chapel.’ Edward said as John went out of the door.

~*~*~*~

The Clerk from White’s hurried through the door of the club and went straight to the steward’s office.

‘It was Lady Jessica Carruthers.’ He murmured at the Steward with the betting book in front of him. Carefully he checked each bet and wrote down which had laid wagers against Jessica Carruthers. ‘Good God!’ exploded from his mouth when he read the bet for a thousand guineas. ‘Close the doors. This will take some time to ante up.’ And the clerk hurried away as the Steward reckoned that they would have to pay out two hundred and twenty four thousand guineas on three bets
alone
. When he anted up all the bets that had been laid, the club would just about break even. ‘I’ll never let them lay bets of that size ever again!’ he muttered.

~*~*~*~

Jessica had slept late, very late. Mary had arrived, seen the devastation in the room and left again, waiting for Jessica to awaken naturally. The sun was blazing through the open curtains and shining right in her face.

Jessica sat up and looked in horror at the state of the gowns still scattered over the bed. She sat up and realized that she was still wearing her chemise.
John must have stripped off my gown and put me to bed before he left.
She realized. She yanked the bell and rummaged for her dressing gown, that had already been laid out on the bed.

‘Good morning, My Lady.’ Mary said brightly as she came into the room. ‘Did you have a bit of a tantrum last night?’

‘I did, with a little h
elp from the Duke.’ Jessica uttered
without thinking and then blushed furiously as she realised what she’d said.
‘I don’t....he didn’t....um!’

‘Relax, Milady.’ Mary said with a bright smile. ‘We know the Duke is sweet on you and Bennett informed the staff that he asked the Earl for your hand last evening. So I would imagine he’ll be here to propose sometime today.’

‘He’s already proposed.’ Jessica said faintly as she still sat in amongst her gowns. The smile on her face couldn’t be misinterpreted, it beamed from ear to ear. ‘I’m getting married, Mary.’ She
suddenly
looked shell shocked. ‘Today!’ Her eyes swivelled up to meet the maid’s. ‘What am I going to wear!?’ she almost demanded in panic.

‘I have just the thing, Lady Jessica. So don’t you worry about a thing.’ And Mary delved into the deepest recesses of the armoire and came out smiling, her hands filled with the exquisitely cut and embroidered ivory silk ball gown. Out from the closet she pulled two or three hat boxes until she found the one she wanted. ‘Ah! This hat!’ she said with a beaming smile and opened the box t
o reveal an ivory and pale
green
silk
bonnet. She laid it beside the dress and smiled. Mary rummaged through drawers and trunks, removing
the finest of all Jessica’s under clothes, the lisle chemise in white, the ivory coloured silk stockings, two white silk petticoats and the very beautifully embroidered stays that went with the dress. She unearthed the dancing slippers from the trunk and fou
nd the pale green satin coat
that went with the hat at the back of the wardrobe. ‘I’ll just get the maid’s started filling your bath, Milady.’ Mary said as she bustled out of the room.

After that there was no peace and tranquillity in the Earl’s residence, as the preparations for a wedding got underway. A physician was called to examine the Earl’s face and try to reduce the swelling, a footman was dispatched to order a bouquet of flowers fit for a future Duchess. The Earl’s kitchens were like an inferno as they began baking to assist the Duke’s kitchen
, as Bennett
had
contacted Butcher very early in the morning
.

Jessica was bathed in scented water, pampered and polished. Her hair was washed, set with rags and then dried in front of the fire. Her clothes were
pressed and
aired and after Mary tidied the other clothes away, her wedding outfit was laid out on the bed ready.

At the knock on the door, Mary came back into the bedroom with the letter from the Duke on a salver.

Jessica ripped the seal apart and opened the stiff velum. She read quickly and inhaled sharply. ‘Mary! Grosvenor Chapel,
South Audley Street,
this afternoon.’ She looked
at her maid with large eyes. ‘At f
our o’clock.’
She lurch
ed
out of the chair, stumbled into the sitting room and fell into the chair in front of her escritoire. She pulled a sheet of parchment towards her, flicked open the lid of the ink well and took the quill, dipping it in the ink. Carefully she penned an acceptance of the time and place and ended with the salutation, your beloved Jessica. She sealed the letter with a blob of wax and was just going to leave it like that when Mary offered her the Dean seal. In a fit of mischief, Jessica pressed the seal over the blob of wax, making it an official communiqué.

‘Send word down to the Earl of the time and venue, Mary.’ Jessica ordered as she went back into the bedroom, leaving Mary to deliver the messages.

Maids rushed in and out of her room all day and it took three of them to get her into her wedding gown. Jessica had sat patiently at the dresser as the youngest, a bright little lass by the name of Agnes, had dressed her hair and inserted the pearl encrusted pins, alongside a couple of pearl encrusted combs the Earl had purchased as a gift. An older maid by the name of Susan had skilfully applied a light dusting of make-up, just to give her a healthy look. Then Mary had dressed her from the skin out, starting with that very soft lisle chemise and finishing w
ith the very fashionable satin coat
. Instead of it buttoning up to her throat, it revealed quite a lot of her décolletage.

‘May I come in?’ Anthony asked from the sitting room and Jessica nodded as she looked at her reflection in shock, because she looked so beautiful. ‘Gosh! Don’t you look stunning!’ he said and smiled at Jessica. ‘You really are my favourite sister.’
He was dressed in his very best evening wear, down to the diamond encrusted
buckles on his dancing slippers and gold rimmed quizzing glass.

‘Oh! I’m your only sister!’ Jessica said petulantly.

‘And as such I have a gift for you.’ he smiled again. ‘A gift that David should have given you the day you married him.’ He laid before her a rather large velvet case
and Jessica gently opened the lid to reveal a complete jewellery set in emeralds. ‘This belonged to my mother and she made David promise to give it to his wife on their wedding day. And now I can do just that.’

‘Oh! Anthony. These must be a family heirloom. I cannot accept them.’ Jessica said as she looked at the facetted stones glittering in the velvet line tray.

‘No. I will not take no for an answer. These should have been yours four years ago.’ He smiled at her again.  ‘You will always be David’s wife to me, even though you are marrying a Duke and becoming a Duchess.’ He reached over her shoulder, took the necklace from the liner and gently he placed it around her throat. Against
the pale green of the coat, the stones winked
as they sparkled in the sunlight still steaming through the windows.

‘Oh! It’s beautiful.’ Jessica intoned in awe as the stones flashed in the mirror.

‘There are also the ear bobs,
a
ring and
a
bracelet.’

Ring! Jessica thought and looked down at her wedding band, still on her third finger. ‘I suppose I should remove this.’ She murmured as she span the ring around her finger. Slowly she eased it off her finger and placed it carefully in the box. She took out the earrings and ho
o
ped them quickly through her ears and then pushed the large stoned ring onto her right hand and the bracelet went on her right wrist.

Mary carefully placed the bonnet on her head and tied the ivory ribbons with a flourish under her chin.

‘Do I get the honour of giving you away?’ Anthony asked as Jessica stood and
accepted the matching reticule and a pair of the finest kid gloves.

‘O
f
course!’ Jessica said firmly. ‘Who else would I ask?’
she pulled the gloves carefully onto her dainty hands.

‘I just wondered if you would ask your father.’

‘Please don’t spoil my day!’ Jessica said quite harshly. ‘I hope he doesn’t learn of this and turn up, because I will give them both the cut.’

‘Well, prepare yourself.’ Jessica looked up at Anthony quizzically. ‘The betting at White’s had been rife and nearly the whole of the
haute ton
should be at the Chapel so that they can see for themselves that they’re not being cheated by White’s.’

‘Good God!’ Jessica cursed. ‘Gossip is the bane of my life and I think I will retire to the country to have my children.’

‘I can’t really say as I blame you.’ Anthony said and offered his arm. Jessica slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. He escorted her down to the foyer where the staff were all lined up waiting to wish her luck. Bennett stood at the end of the line, holding the bouquet
of red roses
.

‘We wish you every happiness, Your Ladyship.’ He said formally with a bow and handed over the flowers.

‘Thank you, Bennett.’ She smiled and turned to the rest of the staff. ‘Thank you all, but I’m sure this won’t be the last time you’ll see me.’

Anthony escorted her down the steps to
his very stylish landau, complete with four black horses and the coat of arms on the door. He held Jessica’s hand as she climbed the steps into the carriage and he waited until she was seated before he gave the direction t
o the footman and they were off. They drove steadily away from a mansion in chaos and the cart was already liveried to take the food around to the Duke’s. Mary sighed and went to pack Jessica’s trunks.

Chapter Seventeen

John waited for Mrs. Beaton to bring Elizabeth down. She tore down the stairs like a hoyden and as she saw her father waiting in the hall she slowed down and demurely walked up to him.

‘Well, I can see you know how to behave like a lady, so let’s see
if you remember to do so
this afternoon.’ He swept Elizabeth up into his arms. ‘Now, are you sure, Pigeon?’

She nodded her head vigorously. ‘I like her Daddy. She was kind to me yesterday when I was so frightened.’

‘You do understand that she’ll be your mother and she will have the final say over what happens to you.’

‘Yes, I understand that, but she’ll also have control over any brothers and sisters I might have, so I think that’s fair.’

John Farrington loved to hear the sensible logic that came out of a child’s mouth. ‘Do you want to walk down the aisle with me or with her?’ John had so far refrained from calling Jessica by her name
.

‘The Baroness will be preceding the bride down to the altar, Your Grace. I have a basket of rose petals for her to spread around.’ Mrs. Beaton told him and handed over the basket of petals.

John viewed his staff with a smile. ‘We will be back soon, so I expect everything ready. We could have hundreds of guests or none.’ He shook Butchers hand and led Elizabeth out to the Ducal carriage.

The coach ride was quite quick for them as they were only around the corner in Grosvenor Square, but still there was traffic congestion and John had never seen so many carriages on South Audley Street as he did that day. A majority of them were parked up with their coachmen holding the head collars to keep them under control.

As he stepped out of the carriage, his sister Verity left the group of
guests waiting outside the chapel.

‘John!’ she said as she threw her arms around him. ‘You are such a sly devil, these days! Why didn’t you tell me you were getting married?’
She quickly kissed her niece on the cheek.

John carefully set Elizabeth down on her feet. ‘Because I didn’t know until yesterday that I would be getting married.’

‘Well, I hope you will be very happy.’ She smiled so happily that John wondered how happy her marriage was.

‘Are you happy, Verity?’ John asked and placed his palm on her cheek.