His Unlikely Duchess

by Amanda McCabe

  ‘And so we’ll go there, one day very soon,’ Aidan said. ‘But for now, what about some rock candy? Or ginger beer? Not a Champs Élysées café, I know...’

  Lily caught his hand in hers with a smile. ‘Rock candy sounds like exactly what I want right now.’

  They quickly put their shoes back on and joined the crowds making their way to the pier, no longer a duke and duchess, just a couple enjoying a day out. Lily gorged herself on candy floss and sugared almonds, got giddy on shandy and laughed as she watched Aidan win at the ball-toss game and hand her the tiny teddy bear prize. It was a wonderful day, almost perfect, she thought. She wished it would never end.

  * * *

  ‘Aidan! And your lovely bride,’ someone called from across the plush lobby. It was Lord and Lady Orwell, Aidan’s travelling friends she’d met at the engagement ball.

  ‘David, what a surprise,’ Aidan said affably, giving his friend’s hand a hearty shake. ‘And Cora!’

  ‘Since Cora heard you were coming to Brighton, she wanted to see it for herself,’ David said.

  ‘And I’m so glad I did,’ his wife said with a little smile beneath her beribboned straw hat. ‘It’s just like when I was child! Summer holidays with Nanny.’

  ‘It makes me think a bit of Newport,’ Lily said. Though the strictures of Newport had never held the glorious freedoms of the pier and the rocky beach. ‘Paddling on the shore with my sisters, that sort of thing. I dare say it’s nothing to adventuring down the Nile, though.’

  ‘Oh, do have dinner with us tonight,’ Cora said. ‘I know it’s your honeymoon, but a bit of company can’t be amiss, I hope? The restaurant here at the Grand is quite nice and we can tell you more about our travels. Perhaps even a spot of gossip about your new husband, Duchess!’

  Lily glanced at Aidan and could tell from his hesitation that he, too, was reluctant to give up their moments alone. But she knew very well that all too soon there would be duties, people to meet, conversations to get through; they might as well start now.

  ‘Of course,’ Lily said with a smile. She lowered her voice and whispered to Cora, ‘I should certainly dearly love to hear all the gossip about Aidan from before he met me.’

  Cora laughed merrily. ‘Oh, my dear Duchess! I confess we were a bit surprised to hear he would marry and so soon after returning to Roderick. All the ladies in Egypt quite adored him! There was this Italian marchesa...’

  Lily’s smile stiffened, and she nodded. She wanted to hear a bit of gossip, true, but maybe not quite this much.

  On the other hand, her father did always say information was power. And she needed all the information she could find to make her marriage work. ‘That would be lovely, thank you,’ she said.

  * * *

  It was very late, surely nearly dawn, Lily thought as she peeked past the silk curtains of the bedchamber. Even the lights of the pier were extinguished, the beach silent, the stars blinking overhead. Yet she couldn’t sleep.

  She turned to look at Aidan—her husband, how strange that still sounded!—sprawled asleep on their bed, his hair bright and tousled. How lovely it was to remember those hours in his arms, to know this was surely only the beginning. Yet how frightening, too, to look into their future and see the uncertainty.

  Dinner had been more fun than she had expected, laughing with his friends over old travels, but worrying as well. Cora was a gossip, and had whispered to her about Lady Rannock. Lily was appalled at how Aidan’s family must have suffered when his brother loved her, but what would happen now? She had to learn to be a duchess, to make her husband happy, and she realised suddenly she hadn’t the first idea about him, really.

  What had she got herself into?

  Chapter Twenty

  Lily watched as the scenery flashed past the train window, growing more country-like with every mile. Hedgerows and fields replaced towns and villages and she knew Roderick itself wouldn’t be far. The sunlight and salty sea breezes of Brighton, the carefree days of wading in the cold sea, playing games on the pier and getting sick on too much candy floss as she and Aidan laughed together seemed so far away.

  Aidan sat across from her in their compartment, intently going over a stack of papers that had arrived for him their last day at the Grand. Her laughing, tousled husband now seemed to disappear behind the screen of the duty-worn Duke, but she trusted he was still there. Somewhere. Surely he would come out when they were alone again? Maybe if he let her help him with those papers, let her come to see the estate as theirs now?

  She glanced around the train carriage through the sliding doors. It was sparsely populated and everyone else was quietly going about their business, reading or dozing or, like her, staring out the windows. She thought of her father and his private railroad carriage, all blue velvet and gold swags, vases of roses and champagne glasses. She wondered idly what Aidan would think of possessing such a thing and decided that the rugged adventurer David and Cora had told her about would scorn it altogether. Then again, Old King Coal’s money was now at his disposal.

  She checked the enamelled watch pinned to the lapel of her brown velvet travel suit. She thought of the night Aidan gave it to her, their wedding night, and smiled a secret little smile. Yes, her husband was surely still there, somewhere inside the Duke.

  ‘I think we’ll be at Roderick Halt station soon,’ she said.

  ‘Hmm?’ He looked up at her, his eyes still hazy with distraction. ‘Oh, yes, of course. Are you ready, then?’

  ‘Ready to arrive? Yes, I suppose. I could certainly do with a cup of tea.’

  He laughed and, unlike his usual sunny chuckle, it seemed harsh, humourless. ‘I think you will find a great deal more than tea waiting.’

  She saw what he meant as the train pulled into Roderick Halt. She’d expected the carriage from the castle to be waiting, but a large crowd jostled on the platform, which was decorated lavishly with bunting and flowers. She could hear the sound of a brass band playing and she nervously straightened her velvet hat with its spill of creamy silk roses.

  ‘Ready?’ Aidan said with a smile. At least this time it was warm and reassuring.

  ‘I suppose I must be,’ she answered. She took his arm and they stepped down from the train.

  The band struck up another tune and Lily pasted a bright smile on her lips as she studied the crowd. The mayor of the village, Mr Bybee, the vicar, every shop owner she could remember and a clutch of children from the local school waving their little flags. All watching her.

  The stationmaster stepped forward, his hand holding that of a tiny girl in white lace who offered a bouquet of red roses with a shy little curtsy.

  ‘Welcome home, Your Grace,’ he said. ‘And to your fine new Duchess. This is my daughter, who is also called Lily.’

  ‘That is certainly one of my very favourite names,’ Lily said gently as she bent down to the child’s level and accepted the roses. Little Lily buried her face shyly in her father’s coattails, making everyone laugh.

  She listened as the stationmaster and then the mayor gave long speeches of welcome and presented Aidan with the gift of a green leather cover for the local train timetable. Aidan stood close to Lily, sometimes taking her arm, always smiling, but she had the unmistakable sense that he was far away from her.

  The vicar, Mr Bybee, was the last to make a speech, his flowery words taking even longer than the mayor’s, but Lily had to smile at his sincerity.

  ‘I can see my Duchess will have many friends in her new home and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your welcome of her. I hope we shall see you all at Roderick for the autumn fête in a few weeks, where I can thank you properly.’

  ‘Autumn fête?’ Lily whispered. That sounded like something the Duchess would have to organise and oversee, and she suddenly realised that Duchess was her.

  ‘An event that Roderick hosts every year,’ Aidan answered. ‘Don’t wo
rry, my dear, everyone there knows exactly what to do.’

  But she did not. Before she could ask more, he was swept away to speak to the village councilmen and Mr Bybee led Lily to the edge of the platform. ‘I do hope I may call on you very soon, Your Grace, with news of all the various charities and committees the Duchess of Lennox traditionally chairs. I’m sure you must be eager to know all about your new home.’

  ‘Indeed I am, Mr Bybee, and I’m glad I can come to you for advice,’ Lily said, realising that this was her new home and she was meant to lead it. She would need all the advice she could find. ‘I’m anxious to get to know the people.’

  He beamed at her from behind his spectacles. ‘Excellent, excellent! I can send word every morning about which families in our parish might need extra assistance or a personal visit that day, as I always have with the Duchess.’

  Lily wondered how many people there were in the parish and how she would find them all. But she did want to help. ‘That would be so kind, Mr Bybee, thank you.’

  Aidan took her hand and led her towards where their carriage waited, an open landau in the Lennox green and gold, bedecked with garlands of flowers. Much to her surprise, as they took their seats, the horses were unhitched by a crowd of tenants and pulled away through the land, amid more cheering crowds. Floral arches had been erected all along the way, even over the gatehouse to the castle, and Lily laughed.

  ‘Is this what the Queen feels like every day?’ she said.

  Aidan studied it all with a warier air than the awe she felt. ‘It’s the way when a Duke of Lennox gets married.’

  Lily peeked ahead to the waiting house where the servants formed two long lines up the front stairway and the Duchess waited at the top to greet them—already dressed in her travel suit, as if she couldn’t wait to depart and hand over all the duties to Lily.

  Lily shivered and clutched at her bouquet. Aidan’s hand, which had held hers so warmly, fell away so he could wave and she felt suddenly alone on the precipice of this strange new life. Would the man on whom she had built such tentative hopes ever come back to her now?

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Lily stared down at Lady Heath’s leather seating chart, her eyes almost crossed from trying to figure it all out. Mrs Bright, the housekeeper, had left the copy of Debrett’s for her to try to decipher the labyrinthine ways of aristocratic hierarchy, but even so she wasn’t quite sure.

  She switched around two of the cards, but noticed it still left her with a question—there were two countesses, friends of the now Dowager Duchess, coming, so which should be seated where? Was Lady A. due the seat to Aidan’s left, or Lady B.? And then there were the Rannocks. And Lord Clarendon, Lord Shelton’s cousin.

  Lily frowned as she looked at the Rannocks’ cards, left to the side on the desk for the moment. When the Duchess had written to Lily after their return from Brighton, asking if she and Lord Shelton could possibly have their engagement dinner at Roderick—‘after all, it was my dear home for so long and, now I must bid it farewell, I do feel so sentimental’—Lily hadn’t been able to say no. But now it left her with her first party to plan as Duchess of Lennox.

  Lily sighed and pushed the seating chart aside for the moment to concentrate on the stack of new menus the cook had left. She felt more sure about those, as she had watched her mother plan twelve-course dinner parties regularly in Newport. Yet she still wasn’t certain about English tastes and she knew it had to be perfect for her mother-in-law.

  She gave up for the moment and stared out the window. She’d had her desk moved into the Yellow Drawing Room, where she had a long view over the lawns to the lake and the summer house, but she wondered if that had been a good idea. It was a beautiful, gold and green late summer day and she longed to be outside in it, away from the endless letters and menus and Ladies A. and B.

  She groaned. Would she ever be a proper duchess? What was more, would she ever be alone with Aidan again?

  The silvery perfect days at Brighton seemed to slip further away with every moment. Ever since their train journey home and their carriage was pulled up the drive to Roderick, he had been different. Strained, worried. Distant. Their nights were glorious, filled with kisses and caresses, silly whispers. Then in the morning he was gone, riding out after his early breakfast, not returning until near dinner, when they would eat at opposite ends of the vast table. There was no time for the giggling moments, the little jokes, like on their honeymoon. The servants were always watching, watching, and Aidan seemed so preoccupied.

  Lily sighed and reached for the seating chart again, as well as the little notebook full of instructions on Roderick that the Dowager Duchess had left for her before departing for London. Surely she was just being silly? Aidan had so much to do and so did she. She was charge of the house now and there were hints that the Prince of Wales wanted to come later in the season for shooting. She had to learn everything, for Aidan.

  But when she tried to study the closely scribbled notebook, listing every plant in the hothouse and where the fruits were sent, every servant, every storage room, every piece of linen and where it went, she kept thinking about Brighton. About Aidan’s laughter as they dashed into the sea, his hand warm in hers. Would she ever see that Aidan again?

  The drawing room door opened and Aidan was there, as if summoned by her thoughts. He wore his riding clothes, his hair tousled, his cheeks reddened from the ride.

  ‘You’re home!’ Lily cried happily.

  ‘Yes, I thought I’d better make myself presentable before we left for dinner at the vicarage,’ he said.

  ‘Oh, yes,’ she said quietly. She’d almost forgotten. Mr Bybee had been so eager to tell her of all the work to be done at the church and village, and was so happy when they had said they would dine with him. She did need allies, and it had seemed a fairly painless way to ease herself into the social life of the neighbourhood. Now, as she looked at her husband, so handsome after his day in the fresh air, his green eyes glowing, she wished they could just stay home alone by the fire, eat their dinner off trays and just be Aidan and Lily for a while.

  Not that anyone would ever be allowed to dine off trays at Roderick.

  ‘Were you at the Halls’ farm today?’ she asked.

  ‘The Home Farm fields. I’m hoping to call on the Halls tomorrow.’

  Lily sighed. ‘I do wish I could go with you. I’m aching for a good gallop and it would be nice to see sweet little Meg again.’ Her father had sent some horses before he left for New York, replenishing their stables just as they filled the house with plasterers and painters and joiners.

  ‘Then you should. Meg would love to see you again.’ He bent to kiss her cheek and she inhaled deeply of his lemony, sunshiny scent. He seemed to bring the fresh day into the stuffy drawing room with him, the feeling of freedom.

  ‘I have an idea I’d love to talk to them about, for a local school,’ she said.

  ‘A school?’ he said, his voice surprised, though she didn’t know why he should be.

  ‘Of course. I want to do what I can to help the local people. There are so many children on the estate, a proper school would be a fine thing for them. Don’t you agree?’

  ‘Of course. But you have so many things to occupy you right now.’

  ‘Nothing so important as the people,’ she said firmly. ‘I also have more ideas, if you’d like to read over them? We could maybe ride over the estate soon and see about a suitable property.’ She handed him a folder of notes, hoping he would approve. ‘After all, it’s our money now, yes?’

  ‘Yes,’ he murmured as he leafed through the folder, though she couldn’t see if he was happy or not. ‘Our money.’

  ‘Perhaps I will indeed go with you to the Halls’, if I can get ahead on these blasted seating charts today.’ She laughed. Surely she was becoming more English if she could curse now like an Englishwoman.

  ‘Is this for Mama
’s dinner?’ Aidan asked, studying her stack of cards, his sleeve brushing her bare neck above her frilled collar and making she shiver. ‘Where do I sit, then?’

  ‘Between your mother, and I don’t know who, it’s all such a muddle! Lady A. or B.? Or my mother, maybe? If she can come to Roderick. Her last letter hinted she’d love to see it again before she goes back to New York. She and the twins have been so busy enjoying the last London parties.’

  Aidan gave an exaggerated shudder. ‘Oh, no, not both mothers!’ He picked up Lady Rannock’s card. ‘What about Melisande?’

  Lily frowned. He seemed rather too interested in sitting near his old sweetheart. ‘Lady Rannock? Is that the correct seating? I’ve been looking at Debrett’s...’

  Aidan laughed and dropped the card. ‘Never mind all that, this is just an informal dinner party at our own home. Melisande is an old friend and I hardly know Mama’s countesses. But I think you should put her next to Lord Clarendon, yes?’

  ‘Lord Clarendon?’ Lily said slowly. Did he really not wish to sit next to Melisande? Or was it a feint, to distance himself? She wished she did not feel quite so in the dark about it all. ‘If that’s what you want.’ She picked up the card and carefully slotted it into place on her chart.

  ‘Mama is sure to pick everything apart no matter what we do,’ Aidan said lightly. ‘We just have to show her, show everyone, that Roderick is our home now as well as the ducal seat. We can do things in a new way, arrange them as we like. You’re the Duchess now.’

  ‘I’m the Duchess,’ she whispered. She wasn’t sure she believed it yet.

  Aidan kissed her again and turned towards the door. ‘I’d best ring for a bath before tea. Shall I order the carriage for seven?’

  ‘Yes, of course.’ The door closed behind him and the drawing room seemed to quiet again. She turned her gaze back to the garden, now gold and pink as the sun started to sink.

  She pushed away the seating chart and menus, and went over to the fireplace. She stirred up the embers there, despite the warmth of the day and the fact that the footmen took their fire-setting duties very seriously. She looked up at the portrait of the young Duchess over the carved mantel, her bright green eyes, so much like Aidan’s, watching everything.