“Well, that settles it then,” Rowland said, standing up.
Lady Louisa was a little shocked by his quick movement. He reached down and helped her up from her place as well.
“I am not sure what is settled, Your Grace,” she said as she leaned against his steadying touch.
“Come with me, my love, and I will have us all toasting to our futures by dinner,” Rowland declared while holding out his arm for Lady Louisa to take.
She did so and together they walked over to where the others had migrated to. It was not lost for an instant on Lady Hendrickson that her niece and the Duke had interlinked arms. The pointed stare she shot Lady Louisa made her remove her arm rather reluctantly from its place.
“I have a bit of an announcement to make,” the Duke said gathering everyone to him. “Let us retire back to our place at the luncheon so I may share it with all of you.”
Mr. Vaughan simply mumbled that his knees were quite ready to be over with all this crouching over berry shrubs and was glad that it was finally over.
As they walked back to the picnic area, Lady Louisa watched the Duke of Rowland and Colonel Jasper speak in a rapid whisper. She had no idea what he was planning but did hope that it would work.
Finally, they were all again settled in the warmth of the setting sun while the Duke stood before them preparing to speak.
“I have done much soul searching these last few months since returning to England. I am happy to say that much of it has to do with a certain lady,” he flashed a look at Lady Louisa but let his gaze linger on Miss Elisabeth.
Miss Elisabeth sat a little straighter.
“I was not the only one to find my eye caught by a fine lady either. My dear friend – brother, really - Hugh Jasper, has informed me of his intentions to marry Miss Mary Hendrickson.”
All eyes looked at the couple. Really, only Mr. Vaughan was unaware of the prospect of marriage though he had known that Jasper had feelings for her.
“Now, Lady Hendrickson,” he said turning his attention to the lady who was rather fuming at the Duke’s public announcement that attached her daughter to the Colonel. “I understand you felt some reluctance about their engagement. I completely understand. After all, it must be hard to allow one's daughter away from the safety of your home.”
Lady Hendrickson flicked her fan back and forth a few times.
“I can assure you that not only is Jasper like a brother to me, but he is also the finest gentleman I have ever known. Not only this, but I believe this connection to be but the first between our two families.”
He looked again at Miss Elisabeth. Lady Louisa’s eyes widened as his actions dawned on her. He was going to use Lady Hendrickson’s own manipulative ways to get her to publicly accept the Colonel in hopes that it would then mean the Duke would attach himself to Elisabeth. Miss Elisabeth could hardly contain herself. It was clear to her that he was speaking of a marriage between the two of them. Lady Hendrickson didn’t waste time agreeing with this.
“Your Grace, you are quite right that I did feel reluctance, for I care for my girls so deeply,” she said a little too dramatically. “But with your assurance of the Colonel’s character, I see no reason why the two should not be wed,” she added with a slick smile.
“Truly, Mother?” Miss Mary asked.
“Of course, dear. I only want your happiness after all,” Lady Hendrickson said for the benefit of the public display.
“I am so pleased to hear you say that,” the Duke said, rubbing his hands together. “Then if you don’t mind, I would like to announce one more thing. Then perhaps we can all retire to the house to toast in celebration of the future.”
Miss Elisabeth fretted with her skirts, waiting for her time to stand as the Duke publicly proposed to her. She was sure that there could be no other kind of announcement he would want to make at this time.
“I do hope that Jasper will forgive me for making my own matrimonial announcement in the same moment as his,” he said looking at his friend.
Jasper only nodded in agreement, while Mr. Vaughan, who was feeling rather drowsy at this point, perked right up at his nephew's words.
He reached down to the space between Lady Louisa and Miss Elisabeth. For just a second, she thought his taunting might be a bit cruel, but one look at Miss Elisabeth’s high held nose washed away any guilt.
“Lady Louisa, would you please come stand by me,” the Duke asked reaching his hand out to her.
She took it though blushing red and stood next to him. Lady Louisa could barely keep back the smile at seeing both her aunt and Miss Elisabeth’s shocked expressions.
“Earlier today, I asked Lady Louisa if she would be my wife. She told me no,” he said, looking down at her with a smile.
“She said what?” Mr. Vaughan asked unsure if he had heard correctly.
“She said no,” he explained to his uncle, “unless I could ensure that she and Miss Mary could share in engagement celebrations. I am happy to announce that, thanks to Lady Hendrickson, I can make that promise. So, Lady Louisa Frasier,” he asked in front of everyone present, “would you do me the honor of being my wife?”
Lady Louisa did her best to choke back the tears that threatened to escape her eyes. This man had used Lady Hendrickson’s own skills of deception to somehow perform a miracle.
There would be no way for Lady Hendrickson to deny Mary her happiness now after approving it so publicly. Of course, she had done so under carefully created misunderstandings. Though Lady Louisa was sure her aunt would never forgive her for such a thing, she was sure she cared very little for Lady Hendrickson’s approval at that moment.
“Yes, I will,” Lady Louisa responded looking up into her future husband’s eyes.