The Decadent Duke

by Virginia Henley

  The Prince of Wales took her outstretched hand to his lips in a theatrical show of affection. "My dearest Georgianna, I am ever at your command.’’ He bestowed an elegant bow upon Lady Melbourne. "Lizzie, you look charming, as always.’’

  "Ravishing,’’ Bedford said with a leer. "I know a surefire cure for banishing boredom.’’

  "Devil roast you, Francis. Your cure takes nine months,’’ Lady Melbourne drawled. "Do try not to gloat over your bachelorhood. You will be ensnared in the tender trap sooner or later.’’

  The Duchess of Gordon, well versed in protocol, came to greet His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, before she acknowledged her other guests. "Such an honor, Yer Highness.’’ Her words were calculated to stress that the honor was his, not hers. Then to prove her point, she dipped her knee and afforded the gentlemen an eye-popping view of her lush breasts.

  "Jane, darling,’’ the Duchess of Devonshire gushed, "you’ve outdone yourself. Young Cornwallis is quite a catch.’’

  Jane glanced at Francis Russell. "You should have seen the one that got away.’’ She slapped her thigh and laughed at her own wit.

  The men and Lizzie, thoroughly amused, joined in her laughter.

  "Georgianna, dearest, it won’t be long before you are husband hunting for yer own daughters. Shall I lend you my rope and teach you how to tie a Gordon knot?’’

  "My dear Jane, the Devonshire girls won’t need a noose,’’ the duchess said sweetly.

  Jane Gordon was too good-natured not to laugh at the riposte. "Yer wit is exceeded only by yer beauty,’’ she said generously.

  "Dare I hope that you will be serving your magnificent Highland salmon, my dear duchess?’’ Prinny was almost salivating.

  " ’Tis the thing that makes a Gordon invitation the most sought after in London—that and our famous whiskey punch.’’ The duke owned a salmon fishery on the River Spey, and the wagons that arrived from Scotland always carried barrels of Scotch whiskey.

  The Gordon sisters gathered around the bride. Georgina kissed Louisa’s cheek. "You are now Lady Brome, freed from Mother’s control. I urge you to spread your wings like a butterfly.’’

  Charlotte scoffed. "You two young hellcats were never under her control. Whenever the two of you conspired, mayhem and madness were sure to follow.’’

  Louisa protested, "Georgy was the instigator. I but followed her brilliant suggestions for diversion.’’

  "I have no trouble believing you. She is a triple threat. The little baggage has Mother’s beauty, breasts, and boldness.’’

  "You forgot my bawdy sense of humor,’’ Georgina protested.

  "You got that from Mother too.’’ Charlotte nodded her head in their mother’s direction. "Look at her, she’s got a royal audience at the moment.’’ She spied the Duchess of Devonshire. "Ah, I believe I owe you a guinea, Georgy.’’

  "I don’t want your guinea ... what I do want is an invitation to Marylebone Manor, where you’re staying for the summer. I don’t fancy being the lone chick in the nest with Mother for a while. You don’t think Lennox will object to my visiting, do you?’’

  "Lud, no. He’s engrossed in the infernal Marylebone Cricket Club that he founded in Dorset Fields. The children will be avid to have you, so I suppose I can force myself to endure you for a fortnight.’’

  "Georgina, you’re always welcome at Kimbolton Castle,’’ her sister Susan reminded her.

  "Oh, never fear, you and the handsome Duke of Manchester will be next on my list.’’

  "Hmm, handsome is as handsome does,’’ Susan declared with a toss of her head to show that married life was not all blissful.

  "Oh, please, no complaints in front of the bride. You will give her a disgust of marriage,’’ Charlotte declared.

  Georgina hooted. "If she doesn’t have a disgust of marriage from observing our parents, the Duke and Duchess of Manchester’s trivial tribulations won’t make much of an impact.’’

  "You speak the gospel truth.’’ Charlotte looked at their sister Madelina, who had been widowed and remarried within the past year. "You’re on your second husband. Surely you can conjure some words of encouragement and wisdom for the bride.’’

  "Live in the country and keep your husband away from London politics, prostitutes, and private gaming houses.’’

  "Lud, Madelina, your life must be dull as ditch water. Still, I suppose one of us had to take after Father.’’ The Duke of Gordon preferred the country life on his Highland estates and came to London only when it was absolutely necessary. Alexander and Jane had been living separate lives for the past decade.

  Georgina glanced across the room at her mother. I find politics as fascinating as she does, thank heaven. Jane was holding court with the prince and the Duchess of Devonshire. The two rivals have far more in common than they would ever admit. Both are leading political hostesses who love being the center of attention. Each is a beauteous, sensual woman, who sets the fashion in clothes, decor, food, and entertainment. Both are married to powerful dukes of the realm who have shamed them by being blatantly unfaithful with more than one mistress.

  Georgina closed her eyes until the tightness left her chest. In spite of her gregarious personality, her parents’ estrangement since she was a child had left her vulnerable and often insecure. I shall never get trapped in a loveless marriage, she vowed. I’ll never allow myself to become a victim!

  Georgina moved among the throng of invited and uninvited wedding guests with ease, despite the grandeur of their titles. She saw the Marquis of Lansdowne with two of his sons, and knew they would both be eager to partner her when the dancing began.

  Georgina paused to speak with Lord and Lady Holland and make them feel welcome. "Beth, it is lovely to see you again. Henry, I insist that you partner me in a Scottish reel when the dancing commences.’’ Henry and Beth had met and fallen in love on the Continent, despite the fact that the lady was already wed. Because of the romantic liaison, her husband was granted a divorce and Henry Fox did the honorable thing and married her immediately.

  Georgina spotted Lord and Lady Jersey too late to avoid exchanging pleasantries. She strived valiantly to keep a straight face. It vastly amused her that George, Earl of Jersey, was the Prince of Wales’s lord of the bedchamber, while at the moment Frances, Countess of Jersey, was mistress of Prinny’s bedchamber.

  The countess lifted her lorgnette. "You’re the young one, if I’m not mistaken. Such a pretty little thing.’’

  "Why, thank you, Lady Jersey.’’ You’re the current one, if I’m not mistaken.

  Frances Jersey’s eyes narrowed as she watched Georgina greet the prime minister and Henry Dundas, the home secretary, with casual familiarity. The young one stood on tiptoe to bestow a kiss on each gentleman. "I still haven’t fathomed whether Jane Gordon is sleeping with William Pitt or Henry Dundas. What do you think, George?’’

  "I think people who live in glass houses shouldn’t speculate.’’

  "Rubbish! Risqué speculation is the spice of a woman’s life.’’

  Georgina spied her brother speaking with a fashionably dressed male who affected an air of haughty superiority. "Hello, George. Promise you’ll partner me in the first strathspey?’’

  "My pleasure, sweetheart,’’ Lord Huntly assured her.

  Francis Russell glanced down at the exquisite female whose shiny black curls were piled atop her head and adorned with rosebuds. She wore an elegant white empire gown that displayed her lush upthrust breasts to perfection. His arrogant indifference rapidly dissolved as his cock began to harden, and he experienced a throbbing erection.

  "Huntly, I demand an introduction to this lovely young goddess you have been keeping to yourself.’’

  "She is my sister and strictly off-limits to you, Bedford. She hasn’t even come out yet.’’

  Georgina gave the Duke of Bedford a saucy smile. "When I do come out, I shall be delighted to make your acquaintance, m’lord.’’

  The buffet tables in the two
supper rooms were laden with every delicacy known to fashionable society, as well as a goodly supply of more hearty fare that would appeal to males with healthy appetites and the royal princes who overindulged in the deadly sin of gluttony every day of their lives.

  The Duchess of Gordon’s liveried servants plied the guests with champagne and her famous whiskey punch, inducing them to lose their inhibitions for when the musicians began to play.

  After a couple of hours, the elegant contradances and cotillions gave way to more lively country dances, and the crowded ballroom rang with the joyous laughter of people who were truly beginning to enjoy themselves.

  At midnight, the bride and groom cut the wedding cake and were feted with toasts wishing them happiness and fruitfulness. All the guests trooped outside to wave the newlyweds off on their honeymoon. Then, en masse, they hurried back to the ballroom to indulge in the raucous and decidedly scandalous Scottish reels and strathspeys, where arms and legs became entangled, breasts bounced indecently and threatened to escape their confines, while skirts and kilts swung high to display frilly undergarments and the occasional bare buttock.

  The festivities did not end until six o’clock in the morning. The Gordon sisters linked arms with their mother as they bade their exhausted guests good-bye.

  Georgina watched the Prince of Wales sway precariously as he made his way down the front steps and murmured to her mother, "I warrant he’s had one sip too many of that which is fermented!’’

  Chapter 2

  Georgina’s lashes fluttered and her eyes flew open. What the devil was that? She heard a crash, followed by raised voices. Damn and blast—they’re at it again! Her heart sank at the realization that her parents were having one of their vicious rows. Their tempers were so volatile that neither Jane nor Alexander Gordon spared a thought for either family members or servants who might overhear them.

  "Not one penny more!’’ The duke’s deep voice rumbled like thunder. "Nay, not a brass farthing more!’’

  "You unreasonable swine! I cannot manage on the annual pittance you allow me.’’ The duchess was primed and ready to do battle.

  "Pittance?’’ Alex bellowed. "Only an avaricious vulture like ye would call four thousand pounds sterling a pittance!’’

  "Scot skinflint! Penny-pinching miser! You are one of the wealthiest dukes in the realm, yet you expect yer duchess to live like a bloody pauper. I cannot hold my head up in society.’’

  "This miser has just laid out two thousand to pay fer yer fancy firkin society weddin’. Yer head is so high, ’tis in the clouds. If yer no’ careful, ye will be a bloody pauper.’’

  "Don’t threaten me, you uncouth Highland bully,’’ Jane screeched.

  Georgina, whose bedchamber was directly over the library, drew up her knees and laid her forehead against them. Please stop!

  "I’m generous to a fault, woman. I provided Louisa with a dowry of three thousand pounds and she isna even ma’ daughter!’’

  "How you have the bare-faced gall to cavil over Louisa’s legitimacy when you have at least half a dozen of yer bastards living at Gordon Castle is beyond belief!’’

  "Ye refuse to share ma bed,’’ he accused. "I’m a mon, not a bloody monk!’’

  Georgina pulled the covers over her head with trembling hands.

  "Alexander Gordon—Cock o’ the North! I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole!’’ Jane vowed.

  The library door crashed and Georgina sprang from her bed, threw open her wardrobe, and began to pack her clothes into a large traveling trunk. When it was full, she threw a bed robe over her nightgown and made her way into the east wing, where most of the guest bedchambers were located.

  She paused at her sister Charlotte’s door and tapped lightly.

  "Come.’’

  Georgina turned the knob and the door swung open to reveal her eldest sister struggling to sit up against her pillows. "Oh, you’re still abed.’’

  "Of course I’m still abed. What the devil time is it?’’

  "It’s after nine. I’ve been packing.’’ Georgina hesitated. "Didn’t you hear the row?’’

  "I heard something, but Lennox’s snoring blotted it out.’’ She glanced at her sleeping husband. "What were they rowing about?’’

  "Money. As usual.’’

  "I should have known.’’ Charlotte saw her sister’s pallor. "Don’t be upset, Georgy. You’ll feel better once you’ve eaten. I’ll come along to your room, and we’ll order some breakfast. That’ll give Champagne Charlie here some time to sleep it off.’’

  The sisters made their way back to Georgina’s spacious bedchamber and Charlotte pulled the bell rope. She inspected her sister’s packing. "You’ll need sturdy walking shoes. The whole area surrounding Marylebone Manor is quite countrified.’’

  A maidservant answered the summons. She bobbed a curtsy. "The duchess asks ye to join her downstairs fer breakfast.’’

  "How did she know Charlotte and I were up?’’

  "She didn’t. The duchess said any of her daughters would do.’’

  "Lumped together like a gaggle of bloody geese,’’ Charlotte snorted.

  "Speak for yourself,’’ Georgina protested. "I’m a swan.’’

  Charlotte sighed with resignation. "She most likely feels in need of reinforcements. You may tell Mother we’ll be down.’’

  The sisters didn’t bother to dress; they went down in their bed robes and slippers. Unconventionality reigned supreme in the Gordon household, and each member felt free to dress and speak exactly as she pleased.

  "Good morning, my wee lassies. I think you will agree the wedding was a triumph! I can’t wait to read what the Times will have to say.’’ Jane showed no visible signs that the row had ruffled her feathers or cast the slightest shadow over her spectacular social achievement.

  "You have the true stamina of a Highlander. You amaze me. I don’t know how you do it,’’ Charlotte declared.

  "You forget ... I was a Maxwell long before I was a Gordon. Resilience was bred into my bones.’’

  As Georgina watched her mother lift the silver covers on the sideboard and fill her plate with gammon ham, lamb kidneys, and eggs, she suppressed a shudder. She served herself with a bowl of oatmeal and poured on a liberal amount of cream and honey. "Charlotte has invited me for a visit, and I have accepted,’’ Georgina said in an attempt to forestall any plans her mother might conceive. I invited myself, but Mother isn’t to know that.

  "I thought we might go to the play tonight, or perhaps Ranelagh, but apparently the pair of you are abandoning me to my own devices.’’

  "It’ll give you a chance to spend some time with Father,’’ Charlotte said with a straight face.

  "You know he can’t abide London for more than five minutes. He’s returning to Fochabers.’’

  "When?’’ Georgina dropped her spoon.

  "Already left for all I know ... or care,’’ Jane said lightly.

  Her youngest daughter jumped up, almost oversetting her chair. I can’t let him go without saying good-bye. Georgina rushed upstairs to the bedchamber her father always occupied when he stayed at the Pall Mall house. She saw to her dismay that it was empty and that the sheets had already been stripped from the bed. She ran to the window and saw that the black traveling coach was standing outside the stables and the team of Cleveland bays had already been harnessed for the long journey.

  Georgina flew down the stairs, hurried through the kitchen, and ran as fast as she could toward the berlin coach. "Father, surely you weren’t leaving without saying good-bye?’’

  Alexander took his breathless young daughter into his arms. "Ma wee lass, I thought ye’d still be sound asleep. Will ye miss yer old dad?’’

  She pressed her face against his caped greatcoat. "You know I will. I was hoping to sketch you in your kilt. You looked so grand in your wedding finery yesterday.’’

  "All my lasses have had drawing lessons, but ye are the only true artist, Georgy. I treasure that sketch ye did o
f me fishin’ in the Spey. Next time ye come to Fochabers, we’ll go fishin’ again—just the two of us.’’

  "I’ll come before autumn is over, I promise.’’

  "Good lass. Well, I’m away—can’t wait to get the stink o’ London outa ma nostrils and fill ma lungs wi’ the invigoratin’ air o’ Scotland.’’

  Georgina stood waving until the black coach went through the gates and turned toward Piccadilly, unmindful of the stable hands gaping at her dishabille.

  Three hours later, Georgina stepped up into her sister Charlotte’s carriage, which bore the ducal arms of Richmond on its door. Charles Lennox, mounted on a Thoroughbred, saluted his wife and took off at a gallop.

  The carriage lurched forward. "Wretched driver,’’ Charlotte complained. "My stomach is queasy before we even start.’’

  Georgina gave her a speculative look.

  "Yes, I’m breeding again.’’ She sighed heavily. "I’ve produced six children in the past eight years, and now I’m caught again. All Lennox has to do is throw his trousers on the bloody bed.’’

  "Well, at least they are all fathered by your husband.’’ Georgina smiled at her fondly. "That must be some sort of a record in London society.’’

  Charlotte laughed wryly. "I have neither time nor inclination to take a lover.’’

  "No doubt a diabolical plan by Lennox to keep you for himself,’’ Georgina teased. She tentatively ran her tongue around her lips, and then blurted out, "Who is Louisa’s father?’’

  Charlotte stared at her youngest sister for a full minute, then recounted what she knew. "When Mother was your age, she fell madly in love with an Edinburgh lad from the Fraser clan. He was sent to fight the war in America with the Fraser Highlanders and it broke her heart when she got word that he had been killed.

  ’’Her Mother insisted she accept a proposal of marriage from the wealthy, powerful Duke of Gordon, since such a miraculous offer from one of Scotland’s highest nobles would never come her way again. After a year of mourning her first love, Mother gave in to the relentless pressure and did her mother’s bidding.