“Then he captured all those nasty French soldiers, and killed them,” Peter added with a blood thirsty flourish.
Marcus saw Sarah smile at him, “No, Peter, remember how we set up the bridge and placed Spanish troops around it? The Spanish did not hold the bridge and the French troops were able to retreat.”
Marcus interjected, “But the battle was won and Wellington made significant gains in the Peninsula. Sarah, I think it is time for you to go change. Emily will be here soon and I have something for you.”
Sarah unwound herself from her sitting position and stood. “You have something for me?” she asked distractedly looking around at the deployed toy soldiers. “Let’s get all of these toys gathered and back into the boxes.”
Marcus envisioned her playing with their children some day, God willing. Hopefully they would catch whoever was trying to hurt them soon. “Yes, come down to my room and I will give it to you.”
“Ahem, there will be none of that, Marcus,” Lady Minerva said from the door. She turned to Sarah, “I tapped on the door of your room and found you were not there. Somehow I knew that one of these three had waylaid you.”
Marcus felt like a recalcitrant schoolboy, “I actually do have something for Sarah in my room.”
Lady Minerva turned narrowed eyes onto Marcus, “I am sure that you do but I think that Sarah does not need to have any more gossip spread about her.”
He saw Sarah’s hand fly to her throat in alarm, “There has been talk…”
“Only that horrid Mrs. Harriman and that make-bait the former Lt. Wilbur,” Lady Minerva’s hand flew to her mouth as she realized that her two youngest just heard her use cant.
Marcus frowned darkly; he was going to have to do something about Wilbur. Calling him out, while the most mentally satisfying option, was likely to cause more gossip. He would have to confer with his cousins Simon and Patrick. He just bet that the evil twins would know a good way to muzzle the man.
He saw Sarah bite her lower lip in a picture of chagrin, she said, “I am so sorry, Marcus, I feel terrible. I know that Mr. Wilbur is an utter cad and he was with the 74th at Ciudad Rodrigo. Rumors were that his actions were so horrid that only the influence of his cousin had him transferred rather than court-martialed.”
Lady Minerva made a pointed glance at the two children listening to the adult conversation with rapt attention. “Come now, Johnson considers herself quite the artist with hair and wishes to have time to study you.”
“I thought it was just a family dinner…I will be dressing up but why go to so much trouble with my hair?” Sarah said with a mild protest as she was born away down the hall by Lady Minerva.
“Marcus, are you sure you were not present at any battles on the peninsula?” Peter asked clearly disappointed at losing such a knowledgeable adult.
Marcus sighed, “No, and I did not have the depth of acquaintance to fill in all of the details that Sarah knows.” He was gratified that his family seemed to genuinely like Sarah, even Beatrice who had been hell bent on introducing him to all of her female acquaintances.
Chapter 19
Sarah, while her hair was being pulled, brushed and pinned up, had her own thoughts about who was trying to hurt Marcus. At the first opportunity, she was going to make contact with some the soldiers she knew around town and set them snooping for information in the taverns and down by the docks. She did not give a good damn about being a Duchess, she smiled at herself for the mental profanity. She just wanted to live with Marcus as his wife and make him happy. Even though he had not said the words, he must love her in order to be this determined to marry her.
“There, Miss, have a look at yourself in the looking glass,” the austere maid named Johnson said.
Sarah said as she looked at the mirror, “It’s me, only better.” Lady Minerva’s dresser had pulled her hair back in front letting several wisps of hair escape and curl charmingly on her forehead. There was a cascade of curls down from the crown of her head. It looked very attractive and too complicated to repeat. “I don’t know that I shall be able to do something this complicated,” Sarah worried.
The dresser unbent herself enough to allow for a small smile. “Miss Montague, you forget you will be a duchess soon and will have a personal maid to care for your hair and wardrobe. In fact, I was hired here in London to keep the Warrick ladies in style during their sojourn. If you do not think me too presumptuous I would like to be considered for the post of your personal maid.”
“You want to be my maid?” Sarah said in surprise.
Johnson sniffed, “It would be an honor to serve you. You are attractive, young and will be highly placed. Turning you out for parties and dinners would bring me cache’…”
Sarah sensed that there was something the women was not saying, “What aren’t you saying, Johnson?”
“It is not my place to say, Miss Montague.”
“What is it, Sarah?” said Lady Minerva walking into the room.
“Lady—,” she halted at Lady Minerva’s look, “I mean Aunt Minerva, are there rumors about me in town?”
“That awful mushroom Mrs. Harriman has been spreading rumors in town. I also heard that the tales have been taken up by those females that were here yesterday,” Lady Minerva said with a sniff.
Beatrice sighed and looked pensive, “Two of them gave me the cut direct this morning when we were out.”
Lady Minerva reached a hand out and patted her daughter’s hand, “There, there dearest, they were not true friends, just setting their caps for Marcus.”
“Lady Loraine is still speaking to me but I am not sure if she is truly my friend,” Beatrice said diffidently pleating the fabric of her blue muslin dress.
Matthew in a rare show of concern said, “Why is that, Bea?”
She looked at her mother and Sarah, “Before she spoke to us, I could have sworn she was going to walk past but Nathaniel stopped his carriage and said a few words to us, Mama.”
Lady Minerva’s eyes widened, “Oh, dear.”
“Hell,” Matthew swore.
Sarah frowned puzzled, “Who is this cousin of yours and why is he important?”
Marcus stated, “Nathaniel is Viscount Ravensliegh.”
“So, I thought Lady Lorraine’s father was an Earl?” Sarah said puzzled.
Lady Minerva, Matthew and Beatrice looked at Marcus speculatively, “He is, but my cousin Nathaniel has other charms.”
At Sarah’s puzzled look Aunt Minerva smiled and said, “You’ll see when you meet them.”
Chapter 20
Bingham entered the room and announced, “Viscount and Lady Althorpe.”
A tall, dark haired man with blue eyes and a red haired woman of medium height and impressive bosom entered the room in his wake. The woman looked annoyed, the man merely amused. She turned to Bingham, “I am family, I did not think I warranted being announced.”
Bingham’s expression softened a bit, “I wanted to be the first butler to announce you, Your Ladyship.”
The woman was clearly flustered, so much so that she nearly did not see Sarah sitting on the settee. She looked over at her and surprised delight lit her face. “Sarah Montague! As I live and breath. Michael, this is my friend from school, Sarah,” the man named Michael smiled indulgently at his flustered bride. She corrected herself, “Ahem, I mean, My Lord may I present to you my dear friend, Sarah Montague. Sarah, this is my husband Michael Winslow, Viscount Althorpe.”
Sarah stood and made a graceful curtsy to her friend’s husband. “I am pleased to meet you, Your Lordship,” she said with dignity belied by the twinkle in her eyes. “Winslow, Winslow…the name sounds familiar. Wait, isn’t that the name of the boy you were mooning over at school?”
Emily’s face flushed as she glanced back at her husband. He chuckled and said, “Mooning over me, hmm? We will discuss how hard you made me work to win your hand when we get home.”
Emily ignored Michael and said, “Sarah, what are you doing here—are you the new gov
erness to Peter and Phoebe? And Marcus, I came over here to meet your fiancée.”
Sarah bit her lip, as she again had to acknowledge to herself how unsuitable she was to be Marcus’ wife. Marcus stepped into the breach, as he said, “Actually, my dear cousin, Sarah is my fiancée.”
Emily jumped up and down squealing delightedly, “Why, Marcus, I never thought that the boy who made me play highwayman with him would have the good sense to betroth himself to my dear friend! Aunt Minerva, did you send me a letter about Marcus’ engagement?”
“No, dear, apparently they have had an understanding for some time and Marcus just managed to get Sarah to accept his offer”, Lady Minerva said smilingly. “Please, stop jumping around like a hoyden, Emily, and take a seat! You are a respectable matron now and all of you people standing about is fair to giving me a headache. Please, sit down.”
As Emily took a seat next to Sarah on the settee, Sir Horace entered the room, “My dear, I see Emily and Michael have arrived. Have the other guests shown up yet?”
“No, Horace, they must have been held up by traffic in the streets. Why don’t you serve our guests some sherry while I ring Bingham to set dinner back a bit,” Lady Minerva said while reaching for the bell pull.
Before she could pull the bell, Bingham glided into the room and intoned, “The Reverend and Miss Appleby. Lord Robert Masters, Earl of Chudleigh and Lady Shannon Masters.
Amelia and Ambrose walked into the room somewhat bemused, followed by Lord Chudleigh and a timid looking blond woman. Lady Minerva said, “How lovely you are here, Horace make the necessary introductions. Bingham, please request Miss Norris to come and take Phoebe and Peter to the nursery for their dinner.”
The twins exclaimed in unison, “Mama!”
Phoebe added, “We haven’t seen Emily in forever.” The little girl stuck her lip out, “You did not tell us that when Emily married Michael she would not live here anymore.”
“Never mind, Bingham, I will take them upstairs myself.” Lady Minerva stood and guided her protesting younger children out of the room.
Beatrice moved forward and took the hand of Miss Masters, and guided her over to introduce her to her brother Matthew. she eyed him firmly and prompted, “Matthew, remember I told you about Miss Masters?”
Matthew gallantly stepped forward and took Lady Shannon’s hand, “Lady Shannon, a lovely lady as yourself must be a trial to your brother.”
Lady Shannon looked confused and looked around her obviously not in the way of compliments. “H-how do you mean, sir?”
“He must be beside himself trying to keep you away from all of the rakes and bounders,” Matthew concluded smoothly.
Miss Masters flushed shyly, and looked down. Flustered at the compliment, she said, “No, not really…”
“I wish to be your escort into dinner, may I?” he said as his mother returned and took Lady Shannon’s arm in his.
Bingham announced, “Dinner is served.”
All of the gentlemen followed suit and soon everyone was seated at the table. Sarah found herself seated between Marcus and Emily’s husband. She looked down at a dizzying array of silverware and wine glasses. The footman came and served her the soup course. She watched Marcus and picked up the same spoon he did and began to eat.
The butler had served out an almost colorless wine for the soup course. Sarah picked up her wine glass and cautiously took a sip. It had somewhat of a bitter aftertaste. Her dinner partner on her left, Lord Althorpe, ‘accidentally’ jostled her arm. Disturbed, she glanced his way and saw him take a sip of his wine and then inhale the bouquet. She tried that and the wine taste improved immensely.
Lady Minerva cleared her throat, “Sarah, when are you and Marcus going to have the ceremony?”
Marcus answered for Sarah, “Day after tomorrow.”
Sarah had been in the middle of taking another sip of wine and she started coughing. When she could stop coughing she choked out, “So soon? Doesn’t your mother need to come from Bath?”
“Honestly, Marcus I don’t know why you men are in such a hurry to marry. Just once I would like the time to plan a proper ceremony in St. George’s with a large wedding breakfast afterwards,” Aunt Minerva said plaintively. She took a large sip of her own wine before continuing, “I just know Dorothea would shoot me for this. It was bad enough that Emily was married so quickly…you know she thinks of you as a daughter, but now Marcus wants to get wed in a hole and corner way. You will have to wait until your mother gets here.”
“But that will take time,” Marcus objected. “Someone is trying to kill us and I want to be wed as soon as possible so that I can take her to safety.”
“Your mother is already on her way,” Aunt Minerva said with finality. She cut into her fish filet with rather more force than was needed causing her to have difficulty forking the flaking fish.
Marcus tried one last objection, “Where will she stay—“
“My boy, you will just have to learn when to gracefully admit defeat,” Uncle Horace said solemnly. “Even Wellington made the rare tactical retreat.”
Sarah looked over at Lady Shannon; she looked utterly at sea at being in the middle of a family disagreement. She looked alarmed as Beatrice began to speak.
“Emily, Shannon, Sarah and I are going shopping tomorrow,” she pronounced.
Shannon objected, “I-I really don’t need anything…”
Help for Beatrice came from an unexpected quarter: Lord Chudleigh. “Nonsense, I will wager that Miss Winslow knows all of the best places and latest fashions,” he said in a tone that brooked no interference. Then he added with a twinkle in his eye, “Miss Winslow always looks well turned out no matter what she wears.”
Matthew hurriedly raised his napkin to cover a smile, and Sarah saw Beatrice grab her wine to cover an outraged expression at the man’s audacity. Sarah looked at Lady Minerva to see if she noticed this little conversational diversion into dark waters. Lady Minerva was finishing her fish and leaning back for the footman to remove her plate and another to serve her a bit of the saddle of lamb.
Sarah was amazed at the amount and variety of food being served. In her amazement she failed to note that her wine glass was filled once again. She too had finished the last course and was given a choice of lamb or beef. She contained a little giggle, at the thought of how she would look if she dined like this every night. She looked at her cousins who acted like they were well used to a formal table. She supposed they were as they had grown up on a country estate.
The footman approached her chair with a new wine choice. He asked discreetly, “Burgundy or claret?”
Marcus answered for her, “She will have the claret.”
Sarah very carefully and precisely cut her beef unto small pieces and had servings of asparagus and carrots. She felt so euphoric that she forgot to object to Marcus’ assumption that he would pay for the shopping expedition.
Finally, after the meal was concluded and Sarah had imbibed yet another kind of wine with her dessert no less, Lady Minerva stood. It was the signal for all of the ladies to stand and go to the next room.
Sarah hiccupped, and giggled. She swayed slightly as she stood. Marcus looked at her with concern and waved, motioning Bingham over to him. After a soft voice consultation he stood and said, “I believe I will join you ladies in the drawing room for coffee.”
Sarah wrinkled her nose and slurred her words slightly, “Eww, I don like coffee.”
Marcus said, with a smile, “Nevertheless, you will have coffee.”
Chapter 21
When Sarah woke the next morning her mouth felt as though she had been eating cotton the night before. She slowly cracked her eyes open and saw the sun streaming in the window mercilessly. She cautiously raised her head from the pillow. The room started spinning and it did not look familiar.
“Oh lord where am I? she groaned as she put a hand to her aching head. She looked down at herself she was dressed in an unfamiliar night dress. The window was partially opened
and the faint fragrance of lavender drifted in. Recognition dawned on her…this was the room she used last night to change for dinner. Why didn’t she go home from the dinner party? She remembered the feeling of euphoria the meal and the wine…oh my, the wine. What must they be thinking of her? She had been drunk!
“There you are love, awake at last,” said Beatrice from the door fallowing her was Johnson carrying a large tray of dry biscuits and tea. Beatrice smiled understandingly as Sarah winced. “Mama says you are to drink all of the tea and eat the biscuits. After you finish, Johnson will help you dress and you will come down to breakfast. Beatrice sat gingerly on the bed as Sarah nibbled on the morning offerings. “Don’t worry, Sarah, you could not know that we had an over eager footman who would keeping replenishing your wine.”
Sarah did feel better after she finished the food and tea. She gingerly went down the steps dressed in a morning dress from Beatrice. She expected to be alone at the breakfast table but surprisingly everyone was there.
“Ah, there she is!” Matthew said cheerfully. “I imagine you have a bit of a head this morning.”
Sarah glowered at him, not pleased at his loud voice. Marcus said, “Sh-sh keep your tone down. Don’t you remember how you felt-“
“Indeed, how we all felt,” Sir Horace interjected looking over his paper at Marcus.
“-the morning after Emily’s wedding,” Marcus concluded.
Matthew looked abashed, “Sorry, anyway I am to take you to pick up Lady Shannon and meet Beatrice and Emily at that fancy dress shop, Duponts.”
Chapter 22
They ended up going to the shop slightly later than planned as Sarah had prevailed upon Matthew to escort her first to the bank to access funds her father had deposited for her years ago. Sarah was bound and determined that Marcus would not purchase any of her clothing until they were wed. Sarah looked to Shannon sitting in the seat next to her in the carriage. Sarah, now that she was feeling more like herself, was quite excited at going to an exclusive London dressmaker. She firmly squashed the qualms she was experiencing over the thought of spending so much money. She was surprised when she glanced across the seat at Lady Shannon. Lady Shannon was glancing down at her gloved hands, nibbling her lower lip. She was not dressed much better than Sarah who was dressed in an ill-fitting gown that had belonged to Beatrice.
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