Match For Melissa (16 page)

Henri’s eyes began to sparkle at the story that Melissa had spun. “This royal bisque you speak of, is it lobster?”

“Yes, and very little lobster is needed to prepare it. I daresay that we shall have ample.”

“Fantastique!”
Henri’s smile was like a shaft of sunlight. “You will give this recipe to me?”

Melissa frowned. “I only wish that I could do so, but I gave my promise never to speak of the ingredients.”

“What good is it to have knowledge of a recipe that you cannot say?” Henri threw his hands upward in a helpless gesture.

“I vowed never to
speak
it to another, but I did not promise not to
prepare
it. I shall do so and you shall watch and take careful note of the ingredients. If we proceed in this manner, I will not break my vow.”

Henri laughed, and the kitchen maids began to smile. It was a most welcome sound after the screaming and crashing that had taken place only moments earlier.

“I would caution you to dismiss the kitchen maids.” Melissa turned to glance at the maids who were observing their every movement. “They may return when the royal bisque is completed.”

Henri nodded and turned to the maids. “You may go, all of you. I shall call for you when you are needed.”

The maids filed out, casting grateful glances at Melissa. The moment they were alone, Henri turned to Melissa. “I am at your disposal, Lissa.”

Melissa bid Henri to help her separate the dead lobsters from the live. When that task had been completed, she proclaimed that there were just enough. Henri, himself, gathered the ingredients for Melissa as she prepared the bisque.

While Melissa stirred the large soup pot, Henri sliced and shredded the ingredients. When it came time to prepare the lobsters, Melissa begged off, admitting to some weakness when it came to plunging live creatures into boiling water, and Henri
duly accomplished the deed. The cooked lobster and the fish would not be added until the bisque was served, but Melissa asked Henri to taste the completed broth to tell her if it needed additional seasoning.

“Magnifique!”
The diminutive Frenchman took a taste and a blissful smile spread over his face. “The strands of saffron you have added to the broth is exquisite! Thank you, Lissa. You have saved Henri from certain embarrassment!”

“You must vow never to give this recipe to another.” Melissa cautioned the chef as she prepared to leave the kitchens.

“I so vow it.” Henri nodded solemnly. “I shall take this secret recipe for the royal bisque to my grave.”

Melissa left Henri smiling and calling for the kitchen maids. Despite her detour to Henri’s domain in the kitchens, she had the preparations well in hand. The china was ready, rubbed to a high gloss that would mirror the guests’ certain smiles, and the silver was polished to perfection. The chairs were arranged at the side of the duke’s ballroom and the dais for the orchestra had been festooned with flowers.

After a brief meeting with the household staff to make certain that they knew of their duties for the evening, Melissa made a final visit to Mrs. Parker’s quarters. She found the housekeeper much improved under Emmy’s tender ministrations and smiling at the antics of Perseus, who had gained admittance to the housekeeper’s bedchamber. She presented Perseus with a bone that Henri had given her from the kitchens and took her leave, assuring Mrs. Parker that everything for the duke’s party was well in hand.

The sun was lowering in the sky when Melissa departed for Belgrave Square. She had just stepped out, through the servants’ entrance, when Harley intercepted her.

“I’m to take you in the carriage, Lissa.” Harley took her arm. “His grace ordered me to carry you home and wait there to bring you back.”

Melissa frowned slightly. “That is most kind of his grace, but I fear I shall be at Belgrave Square for upwards of an hour,
assisting her ladyship and her daughters. Are you certain his grace said that you were to wait?”

“I am certain, Lissa.” Harley nodded. “When you have finished with your duties, I am to carry you back to Oakwood House. Only when I have delivered you safely, am I to return for Lady Harrington and her daughters.”

Melissa frowned. “But Lady Harrington should arrive before me. She is to be his grace’s hostess for the evening and I am merely her servant.”

“I took the liberty of making mention of that, but his grace was most definite.” Harley lowered his voice and leaned closer. “He knows that Lady Harrington did not lift a finger on his behalf and assigned every task to you, instead.”

A delighted smile spread over Melissa’s countenance. It was obvious that the duke appreciated her efforts and held her in high regard. “Thank you for telling me this, Mr. Harley.”

“It was my great pleasure, Lissa.” Harley smiled as he helped her into the carriage. “His grace also instructed me to tell you that if he could devise a way to introduce you as his hostess without causing a scandal that would embarrass Lady Harrington’s daughters, he would be certain to do so.”

Melissa leaned back against the comfortable squabs of the duke’s carriage and smiled. Though it was gratifying to think of the comeuppance that Jane would suffer at the hands of the
ton
if the duke introduced her servant, Lissa, as his hostess, Melissa did not actively wish for that event to occur. It would cause a rift in their family that could never be mended and sides would have to be taken to the distress of them all. It was, however, the stuff that happy dreams were made of and the smile remained on Melissa’s face all the way to Belgrave Square.

“You look lovely, Gina.” Melissa stood back to survey her handiwork with a proud smile. Regina was wearing a new gown made of burgundy silk that set off her pale complexion to advantage. The gown had a wide skirt that would swirl prettily when Regina danced and puffed sleeves that disguised her thin arms. The delicate Belgian lace that overlaid the bodice made her figure appear much fuller, and the back was cut low to show her smooth, lightly powdered skin. The skirt was draped in the front and fastened higher with lace rosettes on both sides, allowing an enticing glimpse of her dainty lace underskirt.

Regina smiled as she glanced in the mirror. “I believe this coiffure suits me, Lissa.”

“Yes, it is perfection.” Lissa reached out to fluff the curls that crowned Regina’s head. “This style makes you appear taller.”

Regina laughed. “That is all to the good. The duke is tall and I am so short of stature. When we stand up together, our disparity in height brings a smile to everyone’s countenance.”

“I am sorry, Gina, but I cannot arrange your hair to a sufficient height to correct that contrariety.” Melissa laughed. “It would be such a high and mighty tower, it would surely topple before the dance was finished and pull you over with it.”

Regina laughed for a moment and then she took on a serious mien. “I fear that stature is not the only disparity in my relationship with the duke. We are hopelessly ill-suited, Lissa.”

“In which way?” Melissa sat down on the side of Regina’s bed and prepared to listen.

“He is forever introducing subjects that are beyond the scope of my knowledge. Mama has told me to smile and listen as he talks, pretending to agree with everything he says, but I am certain he will soon discover my ignorance and hold me in less regard.”

Melissa was puzzled. “What subjects are those, Gina?”

“Mythology, for one. He is highly enamored of it. I have managed to turn the conversation quite neatly several times in the past, but yet he urges me to tell him the tales of the gods and goddesses.”

“That is most strange.” Melissa frowned slightly. “But perhaps he just wishes to pique your interest and further your knowledge.”

Regina nodded. “No doubt you have the right of it, Lissa. Perhaps I should learn these tales for him since it seems to interest him so highly. Could you impart them to me, Lissa? I know that you studied them with your father.”

“I shall be happy to do so. Listen carefully and I shall tell you the story of Apollo, the son of the Greek god Zeus, who drove the chariot of the sun across the skies.”

Melissa told the tale while Regina listened, a rapt expression on her face. When it was finished, Regina smiled. “I shall do my utmost to remember all that you have told me and perhaps that will satisfy the duke.”

“I am certain it will.” Melissa nodded. “I shall tell you a tale every evening and soon you will know the old stories well.”

Regina appeared much relieved. “Thank you, Lissa. There is but one further thing I must learn. Do you know of a woman named Diana? The duke has referred to me by that name on several occasions and I am at a loss to know whether it is a compliment or a criticism.”

“Diana?” Melissa turned away and busied herself arranging the brushes and curl papers so that Regina should not see the sudden color that flooded her countenance. Diana was the name
that the duke had called her when he’d danced with her on Lady Beckworth’s balcony. “It is indeed a compliment, Gina. Diana was a goddess in Roman mythology. She was known as the huntress and is said to have been very powerful, formidable, and utterly fearless.”

Regina laughed. “I fear the duke is in grievous error to make such a comparison. I am not in the least part fearless as well you know. The very sight of a mouse scampering across the floor causes me to stand on a chair.”

“Perhaps he does not mean that you are fearless in precisely that way.” Melissa searched her mind for a way to explain the duke’s reference without giving a hint as to the clandestine moments that they had shared. “His intention may have been to commend you on your dealings with your mother.”

“Mama?” Regina looked completely mystified. “Whatever do you mean, Lissa?”

“Do you recall the first time that the duke came to call? Your mother made a disparaging remark about the flowers in the sitting room and you openly admitted that you had arranged them. That act took a good bit of courage, Gina.”

Regina burst into a delighted peal of laughter. “The expression on Mama’s countenance was worth every word of the scolding she delivered to me later. I have never seen anyone blush so rapidly or so colorfully. Mama was most discomfited.”

“I recall it well.” Melissa smiled. “That same day, you told the duke that your feelings for me were more deserving of a sister than a servant.”

Regina nodded. “And I spoke the truth, Lissa. Though we are not related by blood, you are as much my sister as Doro is. This deception Mother forces us to perpetuate serves us ill. Each letter I write to the Reverend Watson, describing our life in London, must be carefully worded so as not to let our acquaintances know what we are truly about. Though I have not asked that kind gentleman’s advice, I am certain he would tell me that it is a sin to deceive others merely to make us seem more than we are.”

“No doubt you are entirely correct.”

Regina looked thoughtful. “What would be the consequence, Lissa, if I made a clean breast of it to the duke and begged his forgiveness?”

“Heaven forfend!” Melissa’s heart beat rapidly in alarm. “Our ruse has gone too far to be set aright by mere words. If you should confess all to the duke, the Harrington name would surely suffer. We should earn the reputation of liars and braggarts and thus lose the good will that my father spent his lifetime fostering.”

Regina sighed, acknowledging the truth of Melissa’s statement. “Will there ever be a way to set it aright, Lissa?”

“I am certain there will be.” Melissa forced a smile that she did not feel. “We will think on it and do our best to devise a solution at the conclusion of the Season. In the meantime, it would serve us well to continue as we have been and not breathe word of our duplicity to anyone.”

Robert smiled as he gazed around his table. The guests all appeared to be enjoying themselves immensely. His hostess, Lady Harrington, was seated at the opposite end of the long table, accepting the compliments from the guests as her due. He found her airs nettlesome, but Robert was grateful that they were separated by the widest margin possible, alleviating the necessity for him to make polite converse with her.

“To look at Mama, one might think she accomplished all this herself.”

A gentle voice spoke very close to his ear and the duke turned to smile at Regina, who was seated in a place of honor at his side. “Precisely what I was thinking! Are you a mind-reader as well as a beauty?”

“A beauty?” Regina laughed. “Far from it, I fear. If I present a pleasing appearance on this evening, it is entirely to Lissa’s credit. I am only sorry that she could not take my place and enjoy this lovely dinner that she toiled so long to effect.”

The duke nodded. “My sentiments exactly, though I should not wish to lose your company. If Lissa were allowed to attend, where should you choose to seat her?”

“At my mother’s place, as it is Lissa who is truly your hostess.”

“Excellent!” The duke gave her a warm smile as he gestured toward a servant who had arrived at her elbow, bearing a silver platter heaped high with the next offering. “Would you care to partake of Henri’s delicious
escargo?”

Regina was about to nod her assent when she remembered Melissa’s discussion of the menu with her mother.
“Escargot
are snails, are they not?”

“Yes, with butter and garlic. They are quite delicious and I recommend them highly.”

Regina shuddered slightly. The concept of eating a creature that had crawled its way up the garden wall, leaving behind a glistening trail of slime, was repugnant in the extreme. “I think not, thank you just the same. I shall content myself quite nicely with the aspic.”

The duke shook his head. “The aspic is quite ordinary. You will forfeit one of Henri’s best achievements if you do not sample the
escargot.
Have you never tasted them before?”

“No, never. We did not have such delicacies in the country.”

“Then you must try them now.” The duke smiled, a teasing glint in his eyes. “Unless, of course, you are less adventuresome than I had assumed.”

The duke’s tone was teasing, but Regina sensed that he was testing her. The goddess Diana would not have been put off so easily by the mere thought of eating a garden grub. The famed huntress might indeed have cracked one open and popped it into her mouth while the creature still wiggled with life!