“And what is that, my dear?” Ariadne said in her most theatrical version of the dutiful wife.
“I have heard that the attorney, Henry Mercer, is spreading news abroad that the Duke of Hillington is searching for a wife.”
“The Duke of Hillington? I thought I had heard that he had seemingly sworn off the idea of matrimony. He must be some years more than thirty, surely?” Ariadne’s interest was piqued, as it always was when talk of men of great title abounded.
“It would seem that he is keen to ensure the Duchy remains within the family line. If you ask me, he ought to have seen to that years ago, but still, we might do very well out of this indeed.” He cast an eye over his daughters, both of whom looked suddenly very excited.
“I wonder if I will be able to meet him, Papa?” Georgiana took the lead, as she always did in these matters.
“Yes, but both of us. Not just you, Georgiana. And I am the oldest, do not forget,” Patience spoke in a tone which reminded Ella of an angry, buzzing wasp.
“Of course, you will both meet him, my dears,” Ariadne said in an attempt to soothe them.
Ella simply continued to eat her meal, not quite sure whether she was hurt or amused by the fact that nobody suggested for a moment that she ought to meet the Duke of Hillington. Not that she knew the Duke of Hillington nor cared to. If the Earl of Dandridge was anything to go by, Ella had had quite enough of titled men to last a lifetime.
“Yes, you must both calm down.” Ronald laughed, sounding every bit the amused, indulgent father. “You will both meet him soon enough.”
“Do you know something, Papa? Is there something more that you have not told us?” Patience said in an excited squeak.
“Nothing much,” he said and shrugged in a teasing manner. “Except that the Duke of Hillington is to give a masquerade ball, and the finest families of the county will be invited.”
“And do you think that we will be invited, Papa?” Georgiana said hurriedly.
“Did I not say that the finest families would be invited? And are we not among the finest families for many, many miles?” He was trying to remain amusing, but Ella could see the little bristle of annoyance about him. His ego really knew no bounds.
“Oh wonderful, how exciting!” Georgiana said, unaware of the offence she had just caused. “When is it, Papa? I really must have a new gown, for I have nothing at all to wear.”
“And I must have a new gown too,” Patience said, keen not to be left out, as seemed to be her normal state of being. “I must have a gown as fine as the one that Georgiana is to have. Finer, really, since I am the oldest, and if the Duke is going to marry either one of us, it ought to be me.”
“Do not be so silly, Patience, no Duke in his right senses would marry you. If he is to choose between two sisters, he will undoubtedly choose the prettiest.” Georgiana sounded so pompous that Ella had to fight an urge to pick a potato up from her plate and throw it right at her.
Instead, she contented herself by looking down at her plate to hide the smirk of disdain on her face. For all that the young Bellville women thought they were so very fine, when it came to men of title, they were truly desperate. Not only were they desperate, but it did not bother them at all to show it. Ella knew that she would have more pride than to squabble over a man at the dinner table, especially one to whom nobody had yet been introduced.
“My dear girls, you are both so beautiful that the Duke will be hard pressed to choose between you,” Ronald said, and Ella bit hard on her bottom lip. She really did want to laugh now. “You will both go to the masquerade ball, and you will both have gowns made especially. I shall have a seamstress sent for tomorrow, and she will see to it that your gowns are not only beautiful but ready in time. For I believe that the ball is not far away.”
“Oh yes, how wonderful. I will be fitted first, of course,” Patience said in her competitive, desperate manner. “I shall be fitted first because I am the oldest. I do not want to come second.”
“You will have to come second when the Duke chooses me, Patience. Perhaps it is best that you get used to it now,” Georgiana said spitefully, and Ella winced.
Really, that sisters could be so very cruel to one another was amazing to Ella. And not only that, but their father seemed to tolerate it as if competition of such magnitude was all very natural. It was not natural at all; it was ugly and demeaning, and Ella thought it ought not to have been encouraged. She also conceded that it had probably been allowed to go on for so long that it would be almost impossible to stop it now.
“Well, we all have something to look forward to now, do we not?” Ariadne spoke again. “And I do so love a masquerade ball. It is so exciting, is it not?”
“Yes, very exciting, my dear.” Ronald gave her a tense smile. “But I think it probably best that we take only Patience and Georgiana. No need to confuse things, is there?” He spoke without even looking at Ella.
So, she was to have no right to attend the ball with her family. Ella looked to her mother to see if she could find at least the smallest sign that she was on her daughter’s side.
“Very wise, my dear. We would do well not to be too great a party,” she answered her husband without even looking in her daughter’s direction.
Once again, Ella felt very alone. She knew she did not care to go to the masquerade ball, and she cared even less for the fortunes of the Duke of Hillington and his search for a wife to bear him children.
He sounded very tedious indeed, and she thought that it would serve him right if he ended the rest of his days stuck with either Georgiana or Patience Bellville. That would teach him to search for a wife in same the manner that a farmer might look for a cow at market.
But even so, she still did not care to be left out in that way. She did not want to be with her family, but she did not want to be left at home and without any thought at all.
As Georgiana and Patience continued to argue over a man whom they were obviously convinced would only have eyes for one or the other of them , Ella found the familiar curiosity and amusement creeping in again. She wondered what sort of spectacle they might make of themselves if their competition would be so open when they were out there in the world.
And suddenly she needed to know, she wanted to see it with her own eyes. Ella wanted to see just how badly Patience and Georgiana Bellville behaved in such circumstances. As cruel as it seemed, Ella wanted to amuse herself at their expense. But she knew it was borne of her own hurt.
And it was then that her little seed of an idea for attending the masquerade ball unknown and unannounced began to germinate.
Chapter 6
“Now are you absolutely sure that William does not mind?” Ella whispered to Violet, despite the fact that the two women were alone in her chamber. “I mean, I should not like to think that he feels forced into it.”
“No, Miss Winfield, he is very keen to help.” Violet’s pretty little round face seemed to glow with excitement, almost as if she was the one who was about to secretly attend a masquerade ball unannounced.
When Ella had first told her maid of the news of the Duke and how badly Patience and Georgiana had behaved on account of it, Violet had been all interest. And when she had told her how the Earl of Dandridge had stated most firmly that she could not go, Violet had quickly retorted that it was because Miss Winfield was much more beautiful than his own daughters, and he was likely scared that the Duke would fall for her and not for one of his own offspring.
The declaration had, of course, been quickly followed up with embarrassment and apology, something which was beginning to become a habit. It was clear to Ella that Violet was a passionate young woman who often spoke before she thought of the consequences. But she likely did so more often with Ella because she was less afraid in her company.
Either way, Ella found it most endearing and had come to regard little Violet as very much her only friend in all of Dandridge Hall. And that feeling had given her the confidence to tell Violet that she was working
on a scheme of her own to attend in secret and spy on the girls, just to see how badly they behaved.
And then, of course, she admitted that she truly did not want to be left out of things. To have been told that she would not have the right to attend with her family had hurt her very badly, and she thought that if she could attend anyway, without their knowledge, she would have won a little battle, not to mention her self-respect. The idea of spying on Patience and Georgiana was really secondary to her own feelings.
Violet had understood immediately and, without even asking William, one of the Earl’s second-footmen, she offered his services. It soon became clear to Ella that there was a certain understanding between Violet and William and that William was much more likely to do Violet’s bidding than his master’s.
And, after a few minutes conversation with William, Ella also realized that he was young and spirited, keen for adventure in whatever form it took. No doubt helping her to get to a masquerade ball without being caught appealed to his boy’s spirit.
“And anyway, he has use of the little cart for errands and what have you. It is not a cart that His Lordship uses at all. It is for the servants only so nobody will see anything amiss in him taking it out for the evening.”
“And he does not need to come too far onto the Duke’s estate. He only needs to go in a little way, and I believe you said there are some woodlands?”
“Yes, you can see them quite easily from the edge of the estate. I think you would easily hide the cart in there for a few hours and not be seen, especially if everybody is at the masquerade ball anyway.” Violet was almost as excited as William had been.
“Right, I need to wear a gown that nobody will recognize me in. Although, in truth, my mother has paid so little heed to me in the last year that I could probably pick from half a dozen that she would not recognize.”
“Then what about this one, Miss Winfield?” Violet said dreamily as she reached up to take down a gown in a rich plum shade. “It really is beautiful.”
“I have always thought it a little dark for me, given that my hair is so very dark. So I have never worn it.”
“Your hair is dark, but your skin is very pale, Miss Winfield. I think it would look very dramatic indeed, especially with the golden mask and your hair done up in curls. Add white gloves to it, and I think you would look a real sensation.” Violet was getting excited again.
“Yes, curls,” Ella said with equal excitement. “If you gave me a full head of curls, my own mother would not recognize me. I usually wear it up and curl only what frames my face. But to have curls everywhere would be wonderful. I would feel that my disguise was complete, and it would give me such confidence.”
“Then is it settled, Miss Winfield? This beautiful dark gown with your hair in curls and your golden mask?”
“Yes, Violet, it is settled,” Ella said and reached down to pick up the mask that Violet had procured for her.
It was very pretty indeed, and quite birdlike in its appearance. But it was also very full, covering a good deal of her face, leaving only her eyes, mouth, and chin exposed. To satisfy herself once more that it was, indeed, a good enough disguise, she lifted it to her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
She imagined her hair all done up in curls, and she thought that, as long as she did not find herself in company with her family at all, they would have no reason to suspect that the young lady in the golden bird mask was somebody they knew, and certainly not Ella herself.
For a moment, she was overcome with a little nervousness at the idea of being caught. If the Earl found out that she was there, Ella could hardly begin to imagine the sort of trouble she would be in.
And then she thought of how casually she had been dismissed, not only by Ronald Belville and his daughters, but by her own mother also.
She was the only one set to stay at home, left alone with little more care than if she had been a servant. Now, the idea was far less frightening and did, instead, seem to lend a certain amount of silly excitement to the whole excursion.
If her life was to be battened down by a stepfather who was afraid she would steal the limelight from his daughters, and a mother who would do anything to appease her new husband, then it was clear that Ella was going to have to carve out some sort of life for herself. And if that meant that she would seek a little adventure here and there, then that was what she was determined to do.
Feeling suddenly very brave, like a pirate or something, she turned to Violet, full of excitement, and pulled her to her, hugging her tightly.
“What on earth would I do without you, Violet?” she said enthusiastically.
“Oh, Miss Winfield, you will make me cry,” Violet squeaked, her voice tiny like a child.
“I do hope I do not get caught tonight,” Ella said and leaned back, looking at her maid with a comical look of fear on her face.
Violet laughed helplessly, and Ella joined her. It was such a wonderful feeling to laugh again, and she could hardly think that she had laughed so openly and so guardedly since before her dear father had died.
She knew that without Violet, life at Dandridge Hall would have been so much more dreadful. And certainly, her little plan would have come to naught because there was no way she could have made it to Hillington Hall that night on her own. She had needed help, and she had been offered it immediately.
“Can you imagine what the Earl will do to me if he ever finds out?”
“Then we must see to it that he never finds out, Miss Winfield,” Violet said firmly. “You just must be sure that you leave the ball before everybody else. However much fun you are having, you must not stay. And you must keep your eye on the Earl and Countess at all times, for they cannot leave before you.”
“Quite so, or they might discover that I am not here at all.”
“And you must take care to stay away from them all night. You must not study them so closely that they realize you are looking, or they might recognize something about you, even if it is just the way you walk or stand. You really will have to keep your wits about you for the whole evening.”
“Yes, and I ought to be afraid of it all. But really, Violet, the more you say, the more excited I feel.”
“Oh, Miss Winfield.” Violet placed a little hand on either side of her own face. “But you must be careful, whatever happens, you must be careful.”
“I will, I promise.”
“And you really must return to William long before the ball is over, for I could not bear to think that either one of you might be discovered.”
“I promise, Violet. Now stop worrying.” Ella smiled broadly at her maid and determined that she would be very careful and do everything that Violet had suggested.
With her heart beginning to beat just a little faster, she sat down at her dressing table as Violet began to make her straight, dark hair a head full of curls.
Chapter 7
As Ella crept through the great estate of Hillington, careful to not make a single sound, she could hardly breathe properly for the excitement. But it was not the ordinary excitement that she had come into contact with in her life, but rather a dreadful, overpowering excitement that was tinged with fear.
Nonetheless, it was strangely invigorating, making her feel alive for the first time since her father had passed away and her life had taken a turn for the worse.
When she reached the edge of the woodland, she peered out towards the front of the great Hall itself. It was a truly magnificent sight, a mansion so large it made Dandridge Hall look like nothing more than a worker’s cottage. She had never been to the home of a Duke in all her life and had hardly imagined that such places existed.
The great gravel apron in front of the immense doors and stone steps at the front of the hall was well lit with numerous great torches, whose flames bobbed and weaved inside their glass cages. There were so many that the hall could be seen so clearly on that dark night, and she could easily make out the great height of the building, not to mention so many
windows that it almost took her breath away.
There were carriages pulling up here and there all over the gravel apron, and there was much movement and excitement. Ella immediately realized that this would work in her favour, certainly in terms of keeping her illicit entrance secret. She would simply sneak right into the middle of all the commotion and follow in on a wave of guests, silently sneaking past their host as everybody present clamoured for his attention.
And, when the time came, Ella was surprised to find that it really was as easy as she had imagined. She attached herself to a great swathe of people, all of whom seemed almost to be in competition to get to the stone steps first.
But it was that sort of genteel competition that was common amongst the upper classes, the sort of competition that was made very plain by dint of the fact that everybody taking part tried to appear not to be. It was comical in its own way.
Kind Ella and the Charming Duke_A Historical Regency Romance Page 5