by Vikki Vaught
Lady Helton was sitting with her friends when they returned to the ballroom and Hanford took his leave, once she was back with Lady Helton. Helen watched him as he left the ballroom. Surely, he must return her regard, because that kiss had been simply marvelous and she was just sorry he had ended it, when they heard that noise. At least she knew she would be seeing him tomorrow, when he came to pick her up for their drive.
When they returned to the house, she told Lady Helton goodnight and went up to bed. Once Sally, her maid, helped her into her night rail, she told her to go on to bed. She sat down at her dressing table and began to brush her thick red gold hair until it shone. She had cut it short this past winter and while sometimes she missed her long hair, most of the time she enjoyed the freedom her short hair gave her. As she climbed into bed, she thought about the evening and she knew her feelings had grown much stronger for Hanford. She wondered where that kiss would have led, if they had not heard that noise. She probably should have protested when he touched her breast, but it felt so exciting, she had not wanted him to stop. Of course, she was not sure what would have come next, because he was the first man she had ever allowed to take such liberties. As she heard the clock strike two, she closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, she went about her morning ablutions and Sally laid out her new day dress, which was a soft pale blue with white trim. She was pleased with how nice the dress looked on her and it certainly brought out the color of her eyes. She was due to meet Susan so she hurriedly finished getting ready. They had arranged to go to the orphanage and Helen enjoyed playing with all the children. Whenever she spent time with them, she remembered how much she enjoyed playing with her nieces and nephews.
When she entered the breakfast room, Kathryn was already there. Helen went to the sideboard and filled her plate with sausages, coddled eggs and a muffin, then took a seat across from Kathryn. “Where were you most of the evening, last night? I never saw you at all last evening, from the time we arrived, until we left the ball. Have you met someone interesting?”
As Kathryn toyed with her eggs, she replied, “I spend most of the evening talking to Lord Walling. He’s an art connoisseur and has quite a collection. He’s offered to let me see his collection and Lady Helton said we could go to his home this morning. I can’t wait to see it. I also danced quite a bit and I actually had a very pleasant evening. What about you, what did you do most of the evening?”
Helen took a bite of her muffin, then wiped her mouth with her napkin and said, “I danced the supper dance with the Duke of Somerset and we took a stroll on the terrace. I think he returns my regard, because he kissed me and asked me to go driving with him this afternoon.”
With a wary expression on her face, Kathryn replied, “Helen you need to be careful. I don’t know that you should have let him kiss you. If anyone had seen you kissing, you would have ended up compromised. I know you care about him a great deal, but I don’t trust him. Something just doesn’t seem right with him.”
“Oh Kathryn you’re wrong. The duke is a very kind and sincere person. He would never do anything to hurt me. You just wait and see. He’ll be asking me to marry him very soon, because I’m sure he returns my regard.” Helen had finished her breakfast by this time so she stood up and said, “Well, I need to leave, because I’m meeting Susan at the orphanage at ten o’clock. Are you interested in coming with me?”
Kathryn rolled her eyes and with an exasperated tone, she replied, “Remember … I’m going to Lord Walling’s house this morning with Lady Helton. I’ll go with you next time. Enjoy your drive with the duke, but … be careful.”
Helen hurried up to her room to get her pelisse, and then she left for St. Mark’s. She took Sally and the footman, Charles with her for propriety’s sake. Since it was such a lovely day, she decided to walk. Susan was already waiting for her when she arrived at the orphanage and Helen rushed over to her as she said, “Sorry if I’m a little late. I misjudged the time. Since the weather was so pleasant today, I decided to walk. I hope you haven’t been waiting long. Did you have a nice evening last night?
With her usual enthusiasm, Susan replied, “I just got here, so no, I haven’t been waiting long. I had an excellent time last night. I enjoyed seeing several of my friends and the food was excellent. I saw you dancing with the Duke of Somerset last night and the supper dance at that! It’s not often that he dances the supper dance. What’s going on between the two of you?”
“Oh Susan it was so exciting. He’s such a wonderful dancer and I think I’m falling in love with him. We went for a walk on the terrace after supper and I … let him kiss me,” Helen answered with a dreamy look in her eyes.
Shocked, Susan asked, “My goodness, Helen where were you when he kissed you? That was certainly very bold of him. Is that the first time he has kissed you or did he kiss you last year too?”
Helen hesitated, but then she said, “Well, he did kiss me once last year at the end of the season, but this kiss was quite different, much more exciting! It made me feel tingly all over and I can’t wait for him to do it again!”
“Helen, you need to be very careful. I don’t want to see you get hurt. The duke has avoided marriage for many years, so he could be toying with you. Please protect yourself; I would hate it if you got your hopes up only to have them dashed,” she replied, with a worried look on her face.
Helen did not want to hear anymore talk like this, so she firmly replied, “Well, I believe he’s serious in his intentions towards me. He would never toy with my affections, because he just isn’t that type of man. I don’t understand why you and Kathryn can’t just be happy for me!” Helen looked up, saw the children coming out and said, “I don’t want to talk about this anymore and the children are coming anyway.”
They had a pleasant time playing with the children and as they were leaving, they agreed to meet again in three days. After a pleasurable walk back, Helen arrived home just in time for luncheon. Lady Helton and Kathryn had returned from Lord Walling’s and Kathryn was raving about all the incredible objets d’ art in his collection. She was also getting very excited about starting the Art Institute on Monday. Helen was happy for her, because she knew her art meant a great deal to her. It did seem that Kathryn was quite obsessed with her art, but Helen hoped she would still take time to enjoy the season. After luncheon, Bradford handed her a letter and it was from Melody. She wrote that she missed them, but that she hoped they were having a wonderful time in London. The children were all healthy and growing like weeds. Henry was getting nervous about the baby. The waiting was extremely difficult for him and there were still almost two months before the child was due to make its appearance.
The duke arrived promptly at four o’clock for their drive. Hanford looked so handsome today in his deep gray dress coat and light gray embroidered waistcoat, which made his unusual silver eyes sparkle. His snowy white cravat was tied in an intricate pattern and he had on black breeches and black tasseled Hessian boots. As usual, Hanford was dressed in the height of fashion, which was one of the things she liked best about him. As he drove his high perch phaeton through Hyde Park, they talked and laughed the entire time. Helen could not help noticing all the gorgeous flowers scattered around the park. The scent from all these flowers was intoxicating.
Hanford pulled back on the reins to slow the horses down, then said, “Lady Helen I’m enjoying our drive and I hope we can do this quite often this season. You look very pretty today. The sun is shining so brightly, it brings out the gold in your beautiful hair. How are you enjoying the season so far?”
“Why thank you, your grace.” Helen was so pleased he had noticed her appearance and awarded him a brilliant smile as she continued, “The season has been quite enjoyable so far. We went to Drury Lane the other night and saw the Shakespeare play As You like it, and it was wonderful. We have also gone to the opera. I have always loved music ever since I was a small child. I play the pianoforte, but I don’t sing. I leave the singing
to my sister-in-law the duchess; she has an amazing voice. I always think of angels when I hear her sing.”
“I must hear the duchess some time,” he said. “I play the pianoforte as well. I find it very relaxing after a difficult day in Parliament. I have been working on getting a bill passed and I’m getting quite a bit of opposition from the Whigs. I don’t want to bore you so enough about that. Let’s just enjoy the rest of our drive.”
The only problem with the drive was that it was over much too quickly for Helen. When they returned to Lady Helton’s house, he helped her down out of the phaeton and he held her longer than was necessary. Every time Hanford touched her, she felt such a strong connection to him. She knew … she was falling in love with him.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue