“I own that I miss my children dreadfully, but it is delightful to think that we can be alone together for a time.”
“James and Emily will arrive with Boothby and Violet soon enough,” Phillip murmured, taking advantage of the kiss to pull her closer to him. “This is our first chance to do exactly as we please. Just enjoy it.”
They were approaching the house, and Letty eagerly looked out the window once again.
“The villa is perfectly delightful,” she said.
There was no arguing with this; the limestone of the Palladian facade glowed in the afternoon sun, a fountain played before the front door, and to one side a loggia created a shady place to sit, overlooking a little ornamental pool. The scent of rosemary and bay trees drifted on the breeze as the carriage pulled up.
The front door opened, and a manservant, followed by several additional servants emerged. While the others waited to greet them, the footman let down the steps and opened the door of the carriage. Phillip emerged and handed Letty out, and the newlyweds followed the majordomo into the villa, where Letitia was immediately enthralled by the glorious frescoes decorating the entry.
She received a jumbled impression of ornate salons, luxurious furnishings and magnificent works of art as the majordomo led them through the house, and then they mounted a sinuous curved marble stair case with ornately wrought metal balusters supporting a gleaming mahogany banister. At the top, the majordomo flung open the doors to a suite of rooms and bowed them in.
Letty gasped as she entered, for the elaborate frescoes and moldings that ornamented the walls and ceilings were remarkable for their beauty, detail, and color. A maid curtseyed to her, and led her to a bedroom off the main salon, with a spacious dressing room attached.
Anxious to be rid of the dusty garments she had travelled in, Letty allowed the maid to undress her, and hand her a dressing gown. Warm water was waiting for her in a basin and she washed carefully before searching for the valise full of clothing suited to the warmer temperatures of Italy that Isobel had pressed on her before their departure from England.
Letty found it in the dressing room and, tired of the gowns she had brought for their travels, opened it for the first time, looking for something light and simple to wear in the garden behind the sunny villa. She reached into the bag and her fingers encountered the sumptuous texture of silk. Surprised, she pulled a daring red dress that was utterly unfamiliar to her from the bag. A slow smile broke across her face, and she held it up against herself, admiring the simple lines and elegant construction of the garment in the dressing room mirror. She laid it aside on the bed, and reached into the valise once again. The second garment she found was also a red silk dress, cut even more daringly than the first. She giggled a bit, and when she pulled out a third red silk dress, she put her hand to her mouth, before bursting into gales of laughter.
Holding one of the gowns in her hand, she opened the door of her dressing room, to see Phillip lying on her bed, arms behind his head. Letty walked over to the bed, and looked down at him severely, attempting to hold a stern expression, but she could not stifle her laughter for long.
“You wretch!” she exclaimed. “Did you know that Isobel put absolutely nothing inside my valise except red silk dresses? Oh, and of course, the ‘invisible petticoats,’ which in this case are invisible due to their absence!”
Eynsford smirked at her. “She explained to me your great wish to wear red silk dresses and invisible petticoats, so I very thoughtfully asked her to oblige you. I had several cases of champagne brought with us from France as well,” he added helpfully.
“Am I to go about the villa dressed in nearly nothing for an entire week?” Letty inquired.
Eynsford reached up and took her hand. “Well, I expect to spend a great deal it in this bed with you wearing nothing at all, but I see no reason why red silk won’t do for the rest of the time,” he replied. And he pulled her down onto the bed with him, and kissed her deeply, which seemed to banish all concerns about her wardrobe from Letitia’s mind.
An Honest Deception Page 24