The Decadent Duke (30 page)

Her breathing became uneven.
I wonder if your father is watching us?
“Thank you, Johnny. Did you enjoy your trip to Tavistock?”

“Oh, yes. I had the best Christmas ever.”

Johnny and Charles renewed their friendship and, refusing to be ignored, Mary joined in. While they were occupied, Georgina cast surreptitious glances about the crowd of guests gathered on the wide terrace. Suddenly, she drew in a swift breath. The tall, dark figure standing alone, his back leaning against the wall, was John Russell. She felt as if a skyrocket had exploded and showered her with stars.

Suddenly, she found the Duke of Bedford at her side and she stood up so he wouldn't sit down beside her. He carried a fox fur wrap and, moving behind her, draped it about her shoulders.

“My duty as host is to keep you warm,” he murmured in her ear.

“You are too kind.”
And much too close.
Brilliant blue, red, and green balls shot into the air, followed by a loud explosion. Georgina gasped, pretending to be startled, and stepped back onto the duke's foot with the high heel of her boot. She turned around to apologize. “Forgive me, Francis.” Her spirits sank as she saw that John Russell was no longer there.

At the finale, the sky lit up with a brilliant display and everyone began to shout and cheer. Francis swept Georgina into his arms and kissed her soundly. “Happy New Year, my love!”

Suddenly, John Russell was beside her. Their eyes met for a brief moment. “Come on, Johnny. You've seen the dawn of the New Year—it's time for bed.”

“Happy New Year, Father.” He looked at Georgina and his uncle Francis with a frown between his eyes, and then moved toward the house with his father. “Are they going to get married?”

“I don't know,” John said quietly. “I don't want to know.V

Georgina's mother and sisters gathered around her, wishing everyone a happy new year, and at the same time the Prince of Wales and Lord Lauderdale clapped Francis on the back and proposed that they drink a toast to the year that had just dawned.

When everyone held a glass of champagne, Francis proposed something dear to Prinny's heart. “I declare this a good year for a Regency.”

Prinny preened, and Lauderdale said, “I'll drink to that.”

“You'll drink to anything,” Georgina teased.

Lauderdale winked at her and, in his thickest Scots' brogue, led the guests in singing “Auld Lang Syne.”

When their glasses were drained, she excused herself on the pretext of helping put her sisters' children to bed.

“They have nursemaids for that,” Francis protested.

“Yes, but I want to make sure Charlotte gets to bed too.”

Mary, who had been avidly listening to their conversation, said, “Mother is going to have another baby—I hope it's a girl.”

Francis glanced down. “I'm sure she hopes for a son.”

“You're the old man's brother—what do you know about it?V

Georgina hid her amusement. “You'll have to forgive her, Your Grace. I have been giving her wicked lessons.”

He squeezed Georgina's hand. “Go and put the chit to bed, then come back and give me wicked lessons.”

When Georgina returned she stayed close to either her brother, or her friends Henry and Beth. It was four in the morning before the party broke up and everyone retired.

Francis, who had impatiently bided his time, took her elbow. “As your host I claim the privilege of escorting you to your chamber.” He took her the long way around, and the moment they were alone, he stopped walking and took her hands.

“So elusive, but I fully intend to have you for my duchess. Georgina, you know I'm in love with you.”

vFrancis, I don't want to hurt you, but my answer is still no.”

“Why the devil is it
no
?” he demanded.

“Because I'm not in love with you.” She pulled her hands from his, removed the ring he had given her, and gave it back to him. “Good night, Your Grace.”

 
Breakfast was served at eleven the next morning, and afterward the Duke of Bedford asked the Duchess of Gordon if he could have a private word with her.

Jane's heart began to hammer with anticipation. “Your Grace, it would please me above all things. I have enjoyed my stay at Woburn, brief though it has been. We must do this more often.”

“Lady Gordon . . . Jane . . . my feelings for your daughter run deep. I would like to recruit you as an advocate, if you are willing.”

“Your Grace . . . Francis . . . you could not possibly find a greater advocate than myself. Our interests are one and the same.”

“When we return to London, your daughter and I will meet at myriad social events where I will openly court her. But what I need is time, some
private
time, where I am free to woo Lady Georgina and we can get to know each other more intimately. I cannot invite her to Woburn without her family, so I ask your help in arranging a rendezvous in a romantic setting where we can find a little solitude and further our relationship without the world looking on.V

“I will give it my full attention, Francis, and I shall be in touch with you when all the arrangements are in place.V

“Lady Georgina is lucky indeed to have a mother who has her best interests at heart. Your daughter is rather elusive, which is an admirable quality in a maiden. I'd prefer it if you didn't mention our plans to her. I would like it to be a surprise.V

“My dear Francis, you are a romantic at heart,” she said coyly. “You may leave it all to me.V

Jane could taste victory. She was convinced that if she arranged a private rendezvous for the couple, Francis Russell would propose marriage. There was no doubt in her mind that the duke had chosen Georgina to become the Duchess of Bedford.

The moment she returned to London, she told her closest friends, in the strictest of confidence of course, that Francis Russell had given her daughter a ring. She told them that the duke was such a private man that he wished to keep the engagement a secret until they made a formal announcement in the press.

Within hours, the Duchess of Devonshire heard the devastating news and rushed to her friend Lady Melbourne. Both women were outraged. The duchess had lost to her greatest rival the prospect of a ducal son-in-law. It was also a bitter pill for Lizzie Melbourne to swallow, that the man who had been her lover had succumbed to the charms of a young virgin who was thirty years her junior.

By the middle of January, Georgina had attended four balls where she had had no dance partners other than Francis Russell, Prince Edward, and Lord Holland. She thought that George Howard, heir to the Earldom of Carlisle, was about to ask her to dance, but he walked past her and partnered her friend Dorothy Cavendish instead. This was the umpteenth ball where she felt like a wallflower, and when she mentioned it to her friend Henry he explained it to her.

“The Duke of Bedford has made it plain to the young nobles that if they partner you, they're encroaching on his private preserve.”

Georgina was furious. “His arrogance is beyond the pale! It is barefaced audacity. He has no claim on me whatsoever! How you can be a close friend to such a man is beyond my understanding.V

“Well, actually, it is John who is my close friend. Francis and I are friendly acquaintances who move in the same circles. Georgy, if he hasn't asked you to marry him, I'm sure he will.”

“But I don't want to marry him.”

“Are you sure, my dear? There has not been a young Duchess of Bedford for three decades. You could not achieve a greater match in all of England or Scotland.”

“I am aware that Bedford is England's premier duke, and Woburn Abbey is the most magnificent holding in the country, but titles and wealth do not guarantee happiness.”

“Perhaps you are too young to realize it, but nothing guarantees happiness, Georgy,” he said gently.

“Yes, I
am
young, and I don't see why I have to rush into marriage in my first Season.”
Your wife, Beth, did that and then she fell in love with you and ended up in a messy divorce.

“My best advice is to trust your own instincts.”

“Thank you, Henry. You are very kind to listen to me.V

She agreed to take supper with Francis, then to spite him, granted Prince Edward's request to escort her. The two friends bristled and made cutting remarks to each other.
This is a cockfight, and I caused it.
She vowed not to do it again.

On the carriage ride home in the early hours of the morning, she told her mother, “I'm weary of balls. In London you meet the same people over and over until you want to scream or die of boredom. I understand why Father spends his time in Scotland.”

“You need a little change. It's Susan's birthday on February 2. Why don't you visit Kimbolton Castle? There was such a crush of people there over Christmas, you never got to visit with your sister.”

It would be a wonderful chance to escape from London
. “Yes, Mother, I would enjoy that. We are going to have an early spring; the snowdrops and crocuses should be in bloom by then.”

“I don't think I'll come. I don't find London society boring. I find it stimulating. Dear Henry Dundas has invited me to the theater on Friday. But you sound like you need a change.”

Aha, that's why you want me out of the house.
“Let's go shopping tomorrow. I want to get Susan something special for her birthday. You'll have to lend me some money.”

“We shall have the bills for Susan's birthday presents sent to the Duke of Gordon. After all, he
is
her father.”

Jane went directly to her writing desk the moment Georgina went upstairs to bed. For the second time in a week she wrote a letter to Susan, and then penned a separate letter to her son-in-law, William Montagu, Duke of Manchester.

“My compliments on your driving, Toby. You got me to Kimbolton in record time.”

The young coachman grinned. “That's because the Duchess of Gordon wasn't on board, Lady Georgina. Would you like me to carry your luggage inside?”

“No, you take care of the horses. You can leave the large box in the stables, and I'll get one of the Manchester footmen to come for my luggage and the other two boxes.” It was the first day of February, and she wanted to give Susan her present early. The gifts from her mother and brother could be opened tomorrow on her actual birthday.

Susan, waiting for her at the front door, embraced her warmly. “It's lovely to have you alone . . . I mean without Mother.”

“I know what you mean. Though I love her dearly, I needed a breather away from her. She is constantly pushing me to make a commitment to the Duke of Bloody Bedford, and throws a fit if I as much as look at any other man.”

Susan changed the subject. “You are just in time for lunch.”

“Good. After I unpack, why don't we go for a ride? We could take young Jane with us. The woods must be teeming with wildflowers. I love it when spring comes early. The birds are already building their nests.”

“That sounds marvelous. I'll leave howling baby George with his nursemaid. This outing will be strictly for us ladies.”

After lunch the two sisters changed into their riding dresses, then made their way to the stables, with seven-year-old Jane chattering excitedly.

“Happy Birthday, Susan! I want you to open my present today.”

The wooden crate held a red leather saddle decorated with silver bells. “Georgina! It's absolutely beautiful. Now I know why you wanted us to go riding.”

When the stablemen had readied their mounts, Georgina tucked her drawing materials into her saddlebags, and the two sisters, with Jane riding between them, rode toward Kimbolton's woods.

“I want some jingling bells, Mama.”

“Ask your father,” Georgina said, laughing. “He is Mr. Moneybags.”

They came to a small glade in the woods that was carpeted with bluebells. The heady scent and brilliant color were irresistible, and the three dismounted. Jane bent to pick some, and her hands became sticky with sap from their soft stems.

“Go and wash your hands in the stream,” her mother instructed.

“Jane, I'd like to sketch you sitting amid the bluebells,” Georgina said. “When we get back, I'll paint in the colors.”

The three spent a happy hour, talking and laughing, while Georgina did a sketch of her niece, then one of Jane and Susan together. Jane was delighted that her aunt had drawn her as a flower fairy with delicate wings, and in one corner was a baby rabbit peeping from under a burdock leaf.

The sketch of mother and daughter was more serious and showed the marked family resemblance.

That night Georgina asked to give two-year-old George his bath.

“Georgy, you will make a far more devoted mother than I will ever be,” Susan said.

“I truly envy you your children, Susan.”

“I just found out I'm having another,” her sister confided. “I enjoy making them, but carrying them for nine months is a tedious business. William soon loses interest when I start to expand.”

Georgina sighed with sympathy. “That's why I'm in no hurry for a husband. I'd rather wait until I find one who truly loves me.”

“No point in waiting, Georgy. All males have roving eyes . . . and hands . . . and cocks!” she declared.

“Cynical at only twenty-six,” Georgina teased.

“Twenty-seven tomorrow.”

Around ten o'clock that night, Georgina decided to explore the atmospheric chambers where Katherine of Aragon had spent the last months of her life.

At the foot of the gallery staircase that led up to Queen Katherine's private chapel was a large oaken chest in which she had kept her clothes and jewels.