Chapter 3
“And have you ever been to Calder Hall before, Uncle Felix?” Georgina asked her father’s cousin as the family rode in his carriage to the Duke’s garden party.
Georgina had felt very much better of late, although Felix had taken some convincing. He was keen that his cousin’s daughter should not fall gravely ill again whilst she was in his care, and he had begged her to exercise caution and to wrap up warm, despite the fact that it was a fine spring day.
“A time or two, but many years ago. Only for very big events like the one we are to attend today. I cannot claim to have ever been to anything more intimate, such as a dinner, but rather events which tend to be open to the county.”
“And that was when the old Duke was still alive, Felix?” Georgina went on, full of curiosity.
“Yes, I have only ever been a guest of the previous Duke.”
“But you have met the current Duke.”
“Yes, Georgina, I have met the current Duke.” Felix laughed, seeming to enjoy his young relation’s curiosity and enthusiasm. “But really only ever in passing and quite accidentally when we have both found ourselves in the offices of Garrett Winstanley at the same time.” His voice trailed off. “Dear old Garrett.”
“What does he look like, Papa?” Fleur said, clearly as excited as Georgina.
“Like a young man with pale brown hair,” Felix Allencourt said with some amusement.
“No, that is not what I meant at all, Papa,” Fleur complained, and the whole party laughed at her exasperation.
“What she meant, Father, was to ask if the man is handsome at all?” Jeremy Allencourt said mischievously. “For I do believe that both my sister and my cousin intend to marry him.”
“Jeremy!” Fleur said in chastisement.
“Yes, Jeremy,” Georgina said and found herself enjoying being at the centre of such a lively family. “That is perfectly silly, two women cannot marry one man.”
“Ah, but they might fight for him,” Jeremy said dramatically.
“You really are every bit as foolish as Fleur told me you would be,” Georgina said teasing him.
“I most certainly am,” Jeremy said, a broad grin lighting up his fair and handsome features.
Jeremy had been staying with an old school friend when Georgina had first arrived at Winton House, returning only in the second week of her stay. But, just as Fleur had been, Jeremy was instantly likable, and Georgina had warmed to him immediately.
And Fleur and Jeremy had such a wonderful friendship that Georgina had come to realize just how much she had missed by being the only child of her parents. Whilst she had always wanted a sister, the short time she had spent with Jeremy Allencourt had made her begin to wish that she had had a brother also.
“I am afraid that I did not study the new young Duke with the same enthusiasm a young lady might,” Felix said with amusement, and it was easy to see that Jeremy had inherited his ready wit from his father. “So, I shall be of little use to you in this conversation.”
“Papa, you are teasing me I am sure,” Fleur said with contrived innocence. “But no matter, we can decide for ourselves when we get to Calder Hall.”
“If we ever get to Calder Hall,” Jeremy said hurriedly. “For I do believe that this fine gravel path might go on forever.”
Georgina looked out of the window and noted that her cousin was right after all. They had turned onto the drive which would lead to Calder Hall some minutes before and yet still there seemed to be no sign of the house itself.
There were many trees, and so it was likely that the house was simply obscured, but still, Georgina had the sense that she was most likely entering the grandest and largest estate she had ever set foot on.
As Fleur and Jeremy continued to chatter and tease one another with occasional interjections from their father, Georgina looked out of the window. They seemed to be crossing field after field, many of them separated by lines of trees and even a great lake in the middle of it all.
Turning in her seat to look out of the other window, Georgina could see the densest woodland, almost large enough to call a forest. It was certainly extensive, and she thought that a person might easily spend all day wandering its pathways without ever covering the same ground twice.
How fortunate the Duke of Calder was. If the outer reaches of his estate were anything to go by, the house and grounds itself must be indeed a sight to behold.
And Georgina did not have long to discover the truth of that, for as their carriage carried on along the pathway which now dropped down, the house and grounds came suddenly into view.
At the same time as Georgina’s mouth fell open, she heard her cousin Fleur gasp. Surely every visitor coming to the Calder estate for the first time must have been subject to the same sensation of delight and surprise as they came over the brow of the hill.
“Goodness me, this most certainly is a very grand pile,” Jeremy said and then laughed as he looked back and forth between his cousin and his sister. “And the ladies are speechless for the first time, which is quite a curious sensation is it not, Father?”
“What a shame that you do not find yourself so just now and again, Jeremy.” Felix laughed. “It might make for a nice break for the rest of us.”
“I know you cannot possibly mean that, Father,” Jeremy said and chuckled. “But tell me, ladies, have you recovered your tongues? What do you think of the place?”
“I have never seen anything so stunningly beautiful in all my life,” Fleur said breathlessly.
“And you, cousin Georgina? What have you to say about Calder Hall in all its glory?” Jeremy went on.
“I have never seen a place so large,” was all that Georgina could say, despite there being so many other observations she might have made.
They continued their journey in silence for a while, and Georgina was content to stare out at the ever-approaching Hall. The building itself was in three stories and of a pale beige stone with so many mullioned windows she could not count them. The main part of the hall was large and rectangular, except where it bowed handsomely around the main entrance where four immense stone columns held up a semicircular canopy over the wide stone steps.
From each side of the rectangular hall came two long and sprawling wings, again with many windows and smaller doorways, although both were only two stories high.
There were also a great many stone outbuildings here and there, each seemingly with their own courtyard and gardens.
All in all, Georgina could hardly begin to imagine that one man lived there all alone. Obviously, he would have an immense household staff, but in the main part of the hall itself, the Duke of Calder would be quite solitary.
Something about it made her feel a little sad, although she could not think why. Perhaps it was because she could see that there must surely be more than a hundred rooms in so immense a place, if not more, and she instantly imagined herself alone in a home of such size without family. Surely it must be a dreadfully lonely experience.
Georgina shook herself, remembering that a young man who was also a Duke was likely to have a great many friends and visitors and would probably never know a moment’s peace.
The gardens were also quite a sight to behold. There were great rectangular lawns everywhere, with trees on one side and wonderful box hedging cut into immaculate cubes on the other. There were other pathways, walkways constructed of box hedging which had been clipped so neatly that there could not have been a stone wall built anywhere that was more level and precise. And the gravel pathways here and there created features of their own, all of them converging upon a large square of gravel with a small round lawn in the middle, upon which sat a great circular stone with an iron sundial on top of it.
Where the edge of one of the great lawns met the gravel apron at the very entrance of the hall, there was an attractive line of trees cut very neatly into conical shapes. Georgina stared at them mesmerized, realizing that there was not an inch to choose between one tree and its neighbour. They were absolutely exact and precise, and she wondered exactly who it was who kept them so.
Beyond the great hall, Georgina could see trees and greenery far off into the distance, and she wondered if the grounds at the back were as extensive as those at the front.
No doubt she was soon to find out, for there was no sign that visitors to the garden party were gathered in the grounds at the front at all. There were many carriages already drawn up on that great gravel apron, so she knew that other guests must have surely arrived.
“Well, here we all are,” Felix Allencourt said with a curious grim determination.
Georgina immediately realized that her father’s cousin was keen to get any greetings over and done with, to see an end to that initial awkwardness before it was even begun.
And she did not envy him his position, for as head of that particular household, it was for him to lead his little party into that social occasion and for them to simply follow.
When they had all climbed out of the carriage, a very smart and handsome young footman in full livery came to guide them through a great archway in the west wing of Calder Hall and out into the grounds beyond.
Once again, Fleur gasped, although much more quietly this time. And, in truth, Georgina would have done the same had she not stopped herself, for there in front of her was such a magnificent sight as she had never seen before.
The lawns at the back were equal to those at the front, immaculate and full of interestingly cut box hedging. In the centre of the largest of the lawns was a stone fountain so large that the sound of the water falling was pleasantly all-pervasive.
The whole garden seemed to be awash with colour as ladies and gentlemen dressed in their very best paraded this way and that, admiring the rose gardens that were only just in bud, or staring up silently at one of the many beautiful stone statues that were so well placed that Georgina had the feeling that she had stepped into a wonderful painting; a painting of the most perfect gardens and the most perfect garden party, something so beautiful that it could almost not exist in real life.
There were tables everywhere and footmen and maids either serving behind them or ferrying food and drinks this way and that. Georgina had never seen so many servants in all her life but realized that there must be many more still below stairs working away to continue to provide all that was needed in the garden.
She realized, of course, that such an immense place would surely need a staff so large that they would almost resemble a small army.
“His Grace is receiving guests on the far lawn, near the fountain, you see?” the young footman said, clearly indicating that the party ought to make their way over and join the small queue of guests waiting to be greeted by their host.
“Thank you kindly, young man,” Felix Allencourt said with a smile, and the young footman bowed quickly before turning to make his way back to the front of the hall to receive yet more guests.
“Goodness me, I think that the Duke will be greeting people for his entire afternoon,” Fleur said in a hoarse and excited whisper. “Unless he only takes a minute or two with everybody he greets.”
“Oh Fleur, are we to have your commentary throughout the entire day?” Jeremy said teasingly.
“Yes, you must endure it, Jeremy. I am excited, and I do not care to hide it.” Fleur laughed. “And you will not spoil it for me with your cheeky comments.”
“I would not dream of it,” he said, and Georgina felt very touched when she saw Jeremy reach out and squeeze his sister’s hand briefly. “I truly wish you a very wonderful afternoon, my dear,” he went on, and his sister turned to smile at him.
“Can you see anything of the Duke yet?” Georgina said in hushed tones.
“Yes, there he is just there,” Felix responded quietly and lightly inclined his head in the direction of a young man who was smiling and talking with a middle-aged couple who appeared to be quite ostentatiously dressed.
No doubt they had been so keen to show their own standing in the world that they had rather outdone the Duke himself.
“Oh yes, I see,” Fleur said, inserting herself between her father and Georgina. “He is quite simply dressed, is he not? But I must say he is very well dressed. I wonder if that makes sense at all.”
“It makes perfect sense, my dear,” Georgina said with a laugh. “And you are right, he is quite immaculate without being at all overdone.”
The Duke was wearing dark cream breaches and very well made black knee boots. His tailcoat and waistcoat were of the deepest blue and both tailored to perfection. And his shirt stood out brilliantly white in the bright sunshine, its necktie full and yet not at all elaborate. Georgina thought that a young man could not be better and more sensibly dressed than the Duke of Calder.
If only she could get a little closer and study his features better still. She could see that his hair was thick and well tamed, giving the appearance of hair that could be, on a different day, quite unruly. It was a curious colour, neither brown nor blond, but rather a pale silvery brown that she thought most appealing.
As they moved ever closer to the Duke, a very smart man who must surely be the Duke’s butler approached them.
“Might I introduce you to His Grace in a moment, Sir?” The butler said with measured politeness.
Georgina thought that it was a lovely way of asking Felix exactly who he was so that he could announce it to the Duke and the Duke could give the impression of knowing exactly who Felix was.
Not that Georgina was disparaging, for there must surely be many people in the vast crowd whom the Duke did not know, or did not recognize at any rate.
“Yes, of course, my dear fellow,” Felix said and smiled at the butler warmly. “I am Mr Felix Allencourt of Winton House,” he went on, immediately perceiving the butler’s request just as Georgina had.
“Very good, Sir,” the butler said approvingly. “And perhaps I should leave you to introduce your own dear family yourself, Sir?”
“Yes, of course,” Felix said, and Georgina was pleased to see that her father’s cousin seemed to be relaxing. “Thank you kindly.”
When their turn finally came, Georgina thought herself a little nervous. She had never met a Duke before, and despite the fact that he was only a couple of years older than she was, she still felt somewhat intimidated by it all.
“Your Grace,” the butler began with a certain amount of ceremony. “Mr Felix Allencourt.”
“Ah, Mr Allencourt,” the Duke said, turning around fully so that Georgina might study his face for the first time. “I do hope you are well, Sir. And what terribly sad news about dear Garrett Winstanley.”
“Very sad news indeed, Your Grace. I know that I shall miss him terribly, for he was my attorney for a good many years.”
For a moment, Georgina was genuinely amazed. Felix had told her that their paths had crossed but twice before and yet the young man, who undoubtedly had more people to remember than he could possibly manage, had instantly recognized him. She had always imagined that a man of such status and title would be one who barely took in the details of those around him unless they were of some importance to him.
“And these are your family, Mr Allencourt?” the Duke said and looked towards Jeremy, Fleur, and Georgina.
“Yes, this is my son, Jeremy,” Felix said and paused so that the two men might greet each other with a courteous bow. “And this is my daughter, Fleur.”
“Good afternoon, Miss Allencourt. How very nice to make your acquaintance,” the Duke said and bowed.
“Good afternoon, Your Grace,” Fleur said, and it was clear that she was very nervous indeed.
“And this is the daughter of my cousin,” Felix said turning his attention upon Georgina. “Miss Georgina Jeffries.”
“Good afternoon, Miss Jeffries,” the Duke said and stared at her for a moment in a way which almost made her cheeks flush. “How very nice to meet you,” he went on after a brief pause.
“And how very nice to meet you too, Your Grace.” And, as Georgina graciously inclined her head, she had the strangest sensation that the two of them had met before.