Lord Morgan nodded again to the musicians who played an elegant tah-rah. Stepping up upon the dais he said, “My lords, ladies and gentlemen, I have the honor, and the pleasure to announce my daughter, Allegra’s, betrothal to Quinton Hunter, the Duke of Sedgwick.”
A burst of excited applause broke out, but before the couple might be overwhelmed by congratulations, the musicians began to play a country reel. The guests were forced to begin dancing once again. Sirena, however, managed to evade the dancers, and take her cousin aside.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded, outraged. “We have never before kept secrets from each other.”
“Because I wanted you and Ocky to enjoy all the attention generated from your betrothal. If I had told you that the duke and I were also betrothed, it would have hardly remained a secret, Sirena.”
“When did he ask you?” Sirena asked, excitedly.
“He and Papa came to an arrangement several weeks ago, and then he asked me,” Allegra answered her cousin.
“Do you love him?” Sirena’s pretty face was anxious.
“I barely know him,” Allegra replied.
“Then how can you marry him?” Sirena almost wailed.
“Sirena, my dearest romantic little cousin, he is the Duke of Sedgwick. How can I not marry him?” Allegra replied.
“That is so cold!” Sirena cried, her brown eyes filling with tears.
“No, it is being practical,” Allegra told her quietly. “I must be married, dearest one. Whoever I wed marries me for my money. How can I ever believe otherwise? You and Ocky marry for love, but few in our class have that luxury, sweeting. I am quite satisfied with this arrangement, I assure you.”
“As am I,” the duke said, joining them. “Please do not fret yourself, Lady Sirena. I intend taking good care of your cousin.”
“Come, sweetheart, I want to dance,” Viscount Pickford said as he also joined them. “People will talk if we do not, Sirena. Then all those husband-hunting gels will be after me again, and it will be all your fault, my darling,” he teased her, leading her away.
“She loves you very much,” the duke remarked.
“I love her,” Allegra replied. She slipped her hand through his arm. “Should we not also dance, my lord?”
“I dislike dancing,” he replied.
“So do I,” she admitted, “but it is my ball, and tongues will wag if we are not seen together tripping the light fantastic.”
He laughed. “What a fine sense of propriety you have, Allegra. You really are a very sensible young woman. More like your father than your mother, I think. You will not fall in love with someone else and leave me.”
“But you might fall in love one day and leave me,” she countered.
“I do not believe in love,” he said truthfully. “Love is the cause of more difficulties on this earth than even money, or the lack of it. Since by marrying you I become a rich man, and since I don’t hold with the chimera of love, there is little likelihood that I will ever leave you, Allegra.”
“You may change your mind when I begin restoring Hunter’s Lair, Quinton,” she teased him. “From what I have been told, I shall need to expend a small fortune on it.”
He laughed again. “I love the old place,” he admitted, “but I know it could use a bit of sprucing up. It is yours to do with as you will, my dear. Just leave the Great Hall for my hunting parties.”
“I agree,” she told him with a smile. “Now escort me back to the dance floor, and let us make everyone here tonight envious of us.”
“Why, Miss Morgan,” he teased back, “what a naughty girl you are. I did not expect it from such a proper young woman, but it is not an unwelcome side of you, I am thinking.”
“We shall have the summer to know each other better,” she replied. “I hope we shall still like each other when the summer ends. It will make for a much better marriage if we like one another, Quinton.”
He thought about her last remark afterward. She was a practical girl, but he sensed in her a vulnerability that he would wager even she wasn’t aware of in herself. For all her intelligence, and a season in London, she was still an innocent at heart. He found that he wanted to protect Allegra from any hurt. Then he smiled to himself. It would seem that no man could be free of a woman’s charms. When earlier that evening he had given her an amethyst ring set round with diamonds as a token of their pledge, she had almost squealed, catching herself in midcry. It had both touched and amused him.
“It is beautiful. How could you afford such a ring?” she demanded.
“It is a family piece,” he told her. “One of the few that did not go to pay gambling debts. I chose it because its deep color reminded me of your eyes, Allegra.”
Her mouth fell open in surprise. Then catching herself she closed it, saying, “What a lovely thing to say, my lord.” She held out her hand, admiring the ring some more.
He took her hand, and kissed it. “I may not love you, Allegra, but it is not difficult to say lovely things to you, my dear.”
“I am sorry I didn’t have this ring when I made my bow at court. All the other girls, especially the ones who were so high-flown with me, would have been pea green with envy!”
“Your curtsey put the others to shame,” he told her. “It was every bit worthy of a Duchess of Sedgwick.”
“I am amazed that I did not topple over in that ridiculous gown,” she told him. “One had to go sideways through the doors with those huge hoop skirts. It was all I could do not to fall on my bottom when I bowed. And the neckline was cut so fashionably low that my bosom was all but exposed to King George. But he didn’t seem to mind. As for the wig I had to wear, it weighed practically as much as a coach and four, Quinton. I thought my neck would crack with its weight.”
“I thought the doves flying amid the diamonds a rather nice touch,” he remarked, his silvery eyes twinkling.
Allegra laughed. “I vow, sir, if it were possible to use live birds some ambitious mama would do it. I prefer simple clothing.”
Like the gown she was wearing tonight, he thought as they danced the final minuet of the evening. Her high-waisted dress was a cream damask silk with an overskirt of shimmering sheer gold silk. Her little gold slippers peeped from beneath the gown, and gold ribbons were entwined amid her dark curls. Her slender neck was encircled with a strand of pearls, and she wore pearl earbobs in her ears. The effect was both elegant, rich, and yet simple. Looking really closely at her tonight he realized for the first time how absolutely beautiful Allegra was. Oh, yes, he had seen she was a beauty prior, and God only knows everyone said it. Rich and beautiful was all he heard this evening as he was congratulated. But he had not until now truly looked at Allegra.
Her heart-shaped face was perfectly formed. Her nose was straight, and just tilted ever so tightly up at its tip. Her eyebrows were thick and black, a sign of her Welsh heritage. Her violet-colored eyes, large and luminous, were edged with a heavy fall of black lashes. Her lower lip was fuller than the upper. It was a sensuous and tempting little mouth. He was even now contemplating kissing it. She was tall for a girl, but certainly not too tall for him. She was slender of limb, but her bosom was delightfully round and nicely shaped. He estimated one of her breasts would fit quite perfectly into one of his palms.
It was then he considered the possibility of bedding Allegra. He wasn’t certain how he would go about such a thing with a wife. She would, of course, be a virgin. He had never had a virgin. The fact that he didn’t love her bothered him not at all. He had never been in love with any of the women he had lain with, but this would, of course, be different. Allegra would be his wife. Could a man love a woman he bedded? Could a wife arouse his desires? Or was passion just a deliciously lustful pastime? And how would an amicably bred girl react to passion? He would have to be tender and gentle with her.
“The dance has ended, Quinton,” he suddenly heard Allegra’s voice saying. “Please pay attention, my lord, or you will have the gossips chattering about how
moonstruck you are. What on earth are you thinking about?”
“Bedding you,” he answered her honestly, and was rather pleased to see the blush that came to her cheeks. Innocence was a powerful aphrodisiac he was learning, feeling a distinct tightness in his breeches.
“Ohh,” she said, and began to worry her lower lip with her small white teeth. “I had not yet considered that part of our marriage.”
After the guests had departed, he led her out onto the terrace that overlooked the garden. He sat her down upon a marble bench, and took her hand in his. “You told me you wanted children, Allegra.” His eyes scanned her face for the truth.
“Oh, I do,” she answered him quickly.
“Then we must consummate our marriage, my dear. It is the only way we shall obtain children,” the duke explained, hoping such frankness would not shock or frighten her.
“I am not a fool, Quinton!” Allegra said sharply. “I know how children are conceived. I would be a complete puddinghead if I didn’t. Every girl knows, even if she feigns ignorance.”
“But you said …,” he began.
“I said I had not yet considered that part of our marriage, and I haven’t, but I know it must exist between us eventually,” Allegra replied. “Do not rush me, sir. I have never even been kissed.”
“That is something I can put aright now,” he told her. Then he touched her lips with his fingertips even as Allegra’s eyes grew wide. Her lips had a texture like rose petals. The duke tilted Allegra’s face up to his and kissed her gently, his mouth pressing lightly against hers. Shyly she kissed him back, and the sweetness emanating from her lips overwhelmed him, shocked him, sent his senses reeling.
“That was very nice,” Allegra told him. “Are you a good kisser, my lord? You see I shall never know another man’s lips, so I am naturally curious as to what your lovers have thought.”
He was torn by twin urges. The first was laughter. The second was shock at her candidness. “None of the ladies I have kissed, Allegra, has ever voiced displeasure,” he replied.
She sighed. “They probably wouldn’t unless you were absolutely awful at it. Women tend to be like that I have observed. We prefer peace.”
He felt irritated. “I am quite certain,” he said, “that I am an excellent kisser, Allegra. I cannot imagine why you should even ask such a question.”
“Oh, dear, I have ruffled your feathers, haven’t I, my lord? I am sorry.” But the smile upon her pretty lips contradicted her apology.
“Shall I obtain a list of satisfied ladies for you to query?” he demanded, refusing to let the matter rest. It was her first kiss, or so she claimed. She should have been thrilled down to her toes instead of demanding references attesting to his skills as a lover.
Allegra heard the annoyance in his voice, and now it was she who found herself irritated. “I am curious, Quinton,” she told him. “I have been taught that curiosity isn’t a mortal sin, but rather to be cultivated. As I told you, I have never before been kissed by a gentleman. I am sorry if my interest offended you. If you mean to wed me then you will have to get used to it, I fear.”
“I shall also have to get used to your bluntness,” he replied, his tone still distinctly annoyed.
Allegra burst out laughing. “Gracious, sir, we are having our first quarrel, and we are not even wed. I will wager that Sirena and Ocky have not quarreled yet.”
“They are in love. Cow-eyed, and moonstruck,” he answered her, a faint hint of scorn in his voice.
“And we are not in love,” Allegra said. She wasn’t certain now how she felt about that fact. Then she shook herself inwardly. Love led only to betrayal and unhappiness. Better a couple suit.
“You do not hold a grudge, do you?” the duke said to her, his humor beginning to return.
“Not often,” she responded with a small smile.
“Ahh, here you are, my dears.” Her aunt came out into the wide terraced balcony. “Your papa was looking for you, Allegra, but I see that you are fine. I shall tell him.” She smiled and hurried off again.
“Would you like to see the sunrise?” the duke asked.
“In London? Such a thing isn’t possible,” Allegra replied.
“We can take my coach and drive outside the city. There is time,” he said. “Perhaps Ocky and Sirena would like to come with us.”
“If you can manage to live with their constant billing and cooing,” Allegra told him, “I suppose I can, too.”
He laughed. “Is that your subtle way of saying you want to be alone with me, Allegra?”
“We are to be married in a few months’ time, Quinton. I want to know you better,” she said. “If you would really like my cousin and her affianced to come, however, I will send a servant for them.”
“No,” he said softly, and drew her into the circle of his arms. “I want to get to know you better, too, Allegra.” He looked down into her small face, a half smile upon his lips.
Her heart hammered suddenly. Damn, he was a handsome man! Those silvery gray eyes were mesmerizing. “Your eyelashes are surely longer than mine,” she said breathily.
He smiled openly now. “Are they?”
“Yes!” she said. Then her eyes fastened upon the mouth that had earlier given her her first kiss. It was a big mouth, and yet it had an air of delicacy about it.
“I think, Allegra,” the duke said, “that you need to be kissed once more before we go off to see the sunrise.” Then he kissed her again, this time his arms wrapping themselves tightly about her, his mouth pressing harder against her lips.
A shiver raced down her spine. For the briefest moment she felt weak and helpless, then the feeling passed as quickly as it had come. When he drew away she smiled up at him, but this time she uttered not a word. She had learned after their first kiss that gentlemen didn’t like to be questioned about their technique. As far as she was concerned his skills pleased her, and wasn’t that enough? It was going to have to be, she reasoned to herself.
The duke called for his carriage while Allegra sought out her father to tell him where they were going.
“It was a wonderful ball, Papa,” she said, finding him in his library with her aunt. “Thank you so very much.” She kissed his cheek.
“And to think you are to be a duchess!” her aunt enthused excitedly. “What a naughty pair you two were keeping such news from me these past few weeks.” She wagged a finger at them playfully.
“I wanted Sirena to have her due,” Allegra replied. “You know quite well, Aunt Olympia, that had my betrothal been announced when Sirena’s was, no one would have paid the least attention to my cousin at all. Part of having a successful season is having the people who thought little, or not at all of you, be astounded by your wonderful success in the husband hunt!” She laughed. “I doubt many thought that the modestly dowered baby sister of the Marquis of Rowley could bag an earl’s heir, but Sirena did with her sweetness and her charm. I wanted her to enjoy her triumph, not have to bask in the shadow of mine.”
Olympia Abbott’s hand flew to her mouth to stifle her cry. Then the hand fell away and she said, “That you love my daughter so dearly, even as if she were your own sister, makes me so happy.” Several tears slid down her cheeks with her pleasure.
“Now, now, my dear,” Lord Morgan said, and leaning over he wiped the lady’s tears from her cheek tenderly. “Of course Allegra loves Sirena like a sister, and have you not been a mother to my dearest child? The mother her own was not?”
“Ohh, Septimius,” the good woman murmured, somewhat overcome.
“The duke and I are going to ride out and see the sunrise,” Allegra said, wondering as she did if they even heard her. Then she departed the library, leaving her father and her aunt seemingly lost in each other. With a little encouragement he would marry her, Allegra thought, and it was, of course, the right thing to do.
The duke’s black coach was wonderfully well sprung and quite comfortable inside. It was drawn by four bay horses with blond manes and tails. The
coach took an easterly road leaving the city. Above them the sky was fading from black to a stone gray which eased into a blue that grew lighter and brighter. Atop a hill their vehicle stopped, and they descended into the road.
“Wait for us here,” the duke ordered his coachmen, and then taking Allegra’s hand they walked forward until ahead of them they could see the first faint ribbons of pink, peach, and lavender decorating the horizon. These colors were followed by a slash of red orange, and at last the sun. Red gold at first as it rose, mellowing as it slipped over the purview of the distant sea.
Allegra sniffed the fresh country air appreciatively. “Ahh, how good that smells,” she said. “It seems we have been in town so long that I had almost forgotten what good country air is like. We shall go home after Sirena’s wedding, and it cannot be soon enough for me!”
“You do not like London?” he asked.
“Oh, the city is a fine place to visit, but I certainly don’t want to live there, Quinton,” she told him. “Nor would I want to raise my children in London. Children need the countryside in which to ride, and to run barefoot through the dewy grass of a May morning.” She flung out her arms and spun about. “Just a few more weeks, and I shall go home.”
“Hunter’s Lair will be your home soon,” he told her.
“Is it beautiful?” she asked him.
“I think so,” he said softly.
“Then I shall love it,” Allegra told him.
“I think I had best get you home, Miss Morgan,” the duke responded with a smile. “The sun is now up, and you have been dancing all night long.” He took her by the hand again. “You danced very well with Prinny. You were every inch a Duchess of Sedgwick, my dear. I was proud.”
“Were you?” Her tone indicated that she didn’t really care if he was or not. “The prince is very handsome, but I think he is already running to fat. Did you see what he consumed at the supper buffet? I was astounded his waistcoat did not burst open with all the oysters he swallowed down so greedily.”
“You will learn not to speak so frankly out of my company, won’t you, Allegra?” the duke asked her.
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