Chapter 16
The palatial residence of the Duke of Huntsdown sprawled across the entire end of the park. The drive before it was laid with perfectly cut stone. As London houses went, it was as large as they were built and positively majestic.
Meredith had been to London. Of course, she had. But she had never, ever been given cause to arrive at such a residence or go inside.
The coach door swung open as they halted before the torch-lit house and a liveried footman stuck his hand inside.
After nearly a week of travel, Meredith had never been so happy to see a perfectly attired footman in her life.
She smiled at Lady Andromeda. Then she took the offered hand and veritably leapt down.
Though she attempted to feel undaunted by her surroundings, she tilted her head back, taking in the massive four-storied, carved edifice. The Corinthian columns were as tall as the greatest oak trees in Scotland and certainly more intimidating.
She’d never been impoverished, but this kind of wealth was beyond all real imagining of a regular person.
Even John’s castle, whilst massive, was rougher, wilder and in some need of repair. This? This was perfectly calculated grandeur. ’Twas meant to instruct all who came within its reach of the importance of its owner.
If she had ever been in doubt, the palace of a home made it clear the Duke of Huntsdown was one of the most powerful men in the country.
As soon as she’d taken a step forward towards the colossal structure of stone and hundreds of winking windowpanes, the footman reached back in and assisted Lady Andromeda.
Andromeda nudged Meredith once she had descended. “Ye’re gaping, lass. Have ye no’ been here before?”
“No,” she breathed, unable to truly dismiss her awe, even if Andromeda clearly could.
“Och, ’tis a grand place, indeed. But, no doubt, it’s as cold as a tomb. The duke and duchess are no’ overly snobbish or, at least, no’ that I’ve observed.”
“Thank you. But I know the duke.”
“Well, as yer benefactor, I’m sure—”
“I don’t like him,” she said with little emotion. There was no point in lying. She was grateful to him but that was very different.
The footman looked away quickly.
Lady Andromeda coughed. “Well, dukes are a notoriously difficult lot. Still, sometimes it’s good to keep one’s cards close to the chest, if ye take my meaning.”
She nodded, realizing that her tendencies towards honesty could get her into a great deal of trouble. “I do.”
“If ye dinna wish to be here,” Lady Andromeda said carefully, “I have a small house over towards St. James—”
“No. This is where I’m meant to be.”
Lady Andromeda took her arm and urged her forward. “Well then, off ye go.”
Drawing in a slow breath, Merry squared her shoulders and mounted the wide stairs. Arm in arm, she and Andromeda swept in through the double doors.
The butler, an older fellow doing his best not to appear perplexed at the unexpected, travel worn ladies, took their cloaks.
The black and white marble floor stretched on and on in the foyer as big as her childhood home. This time, she craned her head back only to spy the remarkable painting overhead of Greek gods, a glowing moon and stars.
A pair of giant, black and white mastiffs bounded down the burgundy carpet-covered stairs. Behind them, a young woman with blond hair, luminescent skin, and a wicked smile followed. The skirts of her emerald silk gown flowed about her like frothy sea waves.
“How do you do?” she called brightly, seemingly unflummoxed by their visit.
Merry’s heart pounded. Really, there was only one person this could be. The beautiful, self-assured lady moved with the sort of power and authority that was generally elusive to the general populace.
“Your Grace?” Merry queried.
“Indeed,” the young woman replied, grinning. “I am the Duchess of Huntsdown. And I can guess who you are.”
“Can you?” Merry asked, curtsying.
“Oh, yes.” The duchess stopped before them and offered her hand. “You’re Miss Meredith Trent. . . And your companion?”
“Lady Gateshead, the Marchioness of Schollingbrook,” the lady answered.
“Marvelous, have we met before?”
“Only very briefly, Your Grace,” Andromeda replied as if she were born to such exchanges.
“I thought as much. I’m delighted you both are here. I assume you shall stay, too, Lady Gateshead?” The duchess sped on with her welcoming words without a hint of repercussion. “I do like company. This house is far too big for just the two of us.”
“And the servants, of course,” Meredith pointed out, trying to hide a smile.
The duchess laughed. “There is an army of them, true. I’m still getting used to it. I grew up quite differently, you know.”
Merry shook her head. “I’ve been rather hidden away this last year.”
“Of course. Of course,” the duchess enthused. ”James did tell me a great deal. Not all, mind you.”
It was tempting to ask how much was a great deal. But such things shouldn’t be aired in front of the servants lest she wished all of London to know before breakfast.
“Follow me,” the duchess called as she turned and strode off. Strode. Really, there was no other word for her remarkably determined gait.
Both Andromeda and Merry turned to each other and stared. This was definitely not the formal, stiff reception that Merry had expected.
Truthfully, she’d half-expected to be put up in a room in the far rafters of the house. She thought they would deal with her as a nasty little secret and then shunt her off as quickly as possible to a decent husband.
Instead, she was being treated like. . . Family.
The duchess paused and looked back over her shoulder. “Ladies, surely you’re parched?”
Lady Andromeda nodded. “We are that.”
Merry followed then without a word. Andromeda grinned and, being the sister of a duke, took the meeting in stride.
As they headed into a beautifully appointed blue room, she felt herself out of place. It was a circumstance she hadn’t anticipated.
All her life she’d been on the outskirts of the ton. One of her uncles had attempted to marry his daughter, Emmaline, into society and that was where John and his manipulations had come in, destroying those hopes.
Frankly, she wasn’t sure if she felt like being pleasant with these people. Still, the duchess had never done anything unkind. And what else was she here for if not to be pleasant and to make her way? While she might not care for the Duke of Huntsdown, it seemed exceedingly small to extend that feeling to his wife. So, she determined to be her friendliest.
“Champagne,” the duchess said, clapping her hands together.
“Just the thing,” Andromeda agreed.
The duchess leaned forward, her breasts pressing at the daring neckline of her gown. “Now, I’ve told my husband to hie off so that we might get to know one another. I did see you descend from the coach. My small sitting room overlooks the park and drive.”
Merry blinked, trying to imagine anyone telling the Duke of Huntsdown to hie off. That man was a solider, a duke, and well. . . Someone who had thought he knew all that there was to know about absolutely everything.
As if she could read Merry’s thoughts, the Duchess of Huntsdown laughed cheerfully. “James and I have a rather good understanding. He knows he can be a bear but I keep him dancing rather than roaring these days. Later, he will be about to make a full apology to you. But I thought it would be nice if we had our first evening full of the future’s promise and pleasure rather than the ill feeling and the past. Don’t you think that good?”
The more the duchess spoke, the more Meredith couldn’t help but admire her. “I do.”
“Marvelous,” the duchess gushed triumphantly, clapping her hands together. “So, we shall have champagne. Then you both may have a chance to freshen up and we shall attend the theater.”
“The theater?” Merry echoed. “I have nothing to wear, at present.”
“Oh, never mind about that. You shall borrow one of my gowns. We shall make due until we can kit you out. I am positively determined that we shall go.” The duchess nodded, quite seriously now. “I’ve planned out every night of my week so that I am doing some interesting activity. I don’t do well sitting at home, you see. You can rest when you’re dead, you know.”
Merry laughed. She couldn’t help herself. The young duchess was now smiling but she clearly meant what she said. “I’ve grown accustomed to a quiet life, Your Grace.”
“A quite life can be quite nice. . . But it’s not for me.” The duchess grew quiet then asked kindly, “Is it for you?”
Merry thought for a moment. “I do enjoy it very much. I loved the quiet of Scotland but I am ready to try the adventures of city living.”
“Good! And I already know Lady Andromeda likes the theater, for I have seen you in your box.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Lady Andromeda confirmed. “I do. It will be a pleasure.”
The butler, as if knowing exactly what had been desired, entered then with two large bottles of champagne nestled in a silver urn on a tray. Three glasses waited beside it, empty, to be filled.
Within moments, three perfect, bubbling flutes were poured and handed out.
“I know this is all very strange but, Miss Meredith, I want you to be happy here.” The duchess spun her glass between her fingers. “I want. . . The Duke and I wish to make amends for the misdeeds of the past.”
“Your Grace, it is very kind of you both.” Meredith stared into the bubbles racing to the top of her champagne. “Not many know of such misdeeds.”
The duchess touched Merry’s hand. “None shall, either. I care not about such things. My family is remarkably scandalous. But society can be the devil if one isn’t prepared.”
Lady Andromeda looked back and forth. “I’m clearly one of the unknowing in regards to said misdeeds. No’ that I mind. I’m most pleased to join the fun without knowing the details.”
Meredith pinned the Duchess of Huntsdown with a curious stare. “Do you know?”
The duchess’ brows rose quizzically. “Know?”
“My part in all those misdeeds.”
With all seriousness, yet no condemnation, the duchess replied, “James told me he had wronged you. That you had been wronged. That it was scandalous. . . And that was that. I’ve read a bit between the lines. . . But James has not spoken a word more than that.”
Nibbling her lip, Merry wondered if she should confess. John’s voice echoed firmly in her head, no. Though she and Lady Andromeda were on the way to becoming friends and she liked Duchess Olivia already, really she knew little of either women and it would be the height of foolishness to say what had occurred.
Hadn’t Andromeda just instructed her to keep her cards to her chest? So, she kept her secrets tucked away and nodded gratefully.
“I’m glad to hear he has been kind and quiet about my role in the unfortunate affair,” she said at last.
“James has his faults but he always means well,” Duchess Olivia pronounced.
The love in the duchess’ voice was clear.
Meredith wondered what it would be like to have such love. She doubted she’d ever know. It was highly unlikely she’d ever find anyone to marry who’d inspire the passion and affection she saw in the young lady’s eyes.
Oh, she’d felt passion. . . Her thoughts turned to a castle in the Highlands and its master. For a brief moment, the longing she felt was pure pain. She shook the thought away. That could never be.
“Now, we must see that you conquer London, Miss Meredith! I’m glad you’ve found such an excellent companion, too.”
Merry frowned and studied Andromeda. Of course, Andromeda was wonderful company but there seemed to be more to the duchess than merely acknowledgement of a good person.
“You don't know, do you?” the Duchess of Huntsdown said, fairly gaping at her.
“Know what?” Merry queried.
Andromeda shook her head and held up a hand. “No, truly-”
Duchess Olivia tsked. “Your companion is one of the most successful hostesses the ton has ever seen. Her literary salons are legend. She must know every famous author alive today.”
Andromeda groaned before finally admitting, “It is true.“
“You sound almost ashamed,” the duchess observed.
“Ashamed?” Andromeda’s brow furrowed. “No. But I should like to have a friend. . . A friend who wishes to ken me for myself and no’ my parties.”
Merry grinned, stunned to realize her newfound friend was so terribly important and cultured. “Well, you’ve succeeded. Do you imagine I’d race across the country with just anyone?”
“How true.” Lady Andromeda’s demeanor lightened. “Well, that’s heartening.”
“We shall be quite a group,” the duchess said confidently.
“I have little to recommend me,” Merry pointed out.
“That’s not what I have been given to understand,” the duchess countered with a surprising wink. “And after I’ve shown you about, you shall be a legend of your own.”
“Will you be creating a fiction then?” Meredith sallied. She wondered how on earth the duchess thought to make her so exceptionally alluring.
“Do I need to?” she asked. “James said you were quite something on your own.”
Oh, dear. Was that a compliment? She wasn’t sure.
Clearly spotting her concern, the duchess smiled and assured her, “Dear girl, whatever your past, whatever you’ve done, know that I come from a family as wild and as scandalous as any to ever grace England. I would be greatly saddened if you were as boring as porridge. What would I do with something so bland, I ask you? Nothing. I’d do my duty of course. But if you’ve a touch of boldness about you, I’ll be far happier.”
Boldness. There was that word again. Well, she had that. That was one thing she was certain about.
Meredith laughed. She couldn’t help herself. “Your Grace, I’ve been told that I am bold beyond compare.”
“Marvelous,” the duchess exclaimed, lifting her glass in salute. “Then we shall all get along splendidly. And you are going to be the talk of the town when I am done.”
Feeling the first rays of possibility and acceptance of herself that she hadn’t felt in far, far too long, Merry lifted her glass in answer. How had she fallen into such remarkable company, surrounded by two strong, interesting women? However it had happened, she was exceedingly grateful.
The Duchess of Huntsdown raised her glass a little higher and toasted, “Let us excite the gossips, tonight then, shall we?”
“We shall,” Merry agreed and then she took a long sip of the sweetest, bubbliest champagne she’d ever tasted. Without thinking, she knew that this was the beginning of a very new path and she could not wait to dance with eager feet upon it.