Page 21 of His Darling Duchess
He hesitated briefly before saying “It was my pleasure, Aurelia,” and bowing slightly before leaving her alone.
The door clicked shut behind him, and Aurelia mused that she didn’t think he was the sort of man who was prone to exaggeration, not one who would tell white lies to spare her hurt feelings.
Which meant he’d actually enjoyed showing her his house, even if only a little.
And that made her feel curiously warm inside, as though the hot tea she’d drunk with her breakfast was still heating her insides. Pressing both hands against her stomach, Aurelia walked over to sit down on the chair closest to the fire, testing its cushioned softness with pleasure.
So far, I think I like being Stowe’s duchess.
I think I like Stowe. He’s kinder than I expected, from that stern facade. More considerate. Gentler.
There was still a pleased little smile playing about her lips twenty minutes later, when the butler entered and formally announced “Lady Lymsey, Your Grace, accompanied by Lady Ophelia and Lady Viola.”
Chapter Nine
Lady Lymsey took onelook at her eldest daughter’s satisfied little smile and immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion, though it took some time for Aurelia to realise it, since Lady Lymsey wasn’t about to say anything unfit for maidenly ears with her two youngest daughters in the room.
Ophelia and Viola barely allowed their mother to get a word in edgewise for the first few minutes besides, exclaiming about the grandeur of the house and how exciting it was that their sister was now a duchess.
“I’m still me,” Aurelia said, laughing as she embraced them both.
“But shouldn’t we call you Your Grace now?” Viola asked.
“Indeed you should not!” With a shake of her head, Aurelia took Viola’s hand and led her to one of the comfortable couches, guiding her to sit down and gently tucking a wayward curl behind her baby sister’s ear. “The privilege of being a sister; I am Aur to you, now and always. And my husband, I assure you,has no liking for titles and formality. Call him Stowe and you will have his favour.”
“Oh, I don’t know if I could,” Ophelia, always the most timid of the three, quavered. “He looks very intimidating, Aur. Are you quite sure he wouldn’t mind?”
“Quite sure.” Aurelia nodded emphatically, beckoning Ophelia to take a seat on her other side, and then leaning in to impart confidentially, “He bade me call him Rhys, which is a name his mother gave him. My husband may have a forbidding mien, but he is a kind and gentle man beneath it, I believe.”
“Well, you should know.” Viola giggled, and Aurelia found herself blushing, quite unaccountably.
Looking up, she caught her mother’s eye and flinched. Lady Lymsey looked positively furious. Aurelia was opening her mouth to ask whatever was the matter when a knock at the door announced the arrival of a small procession of maids, bearing a tea tray with a most beautiful silver tea set, porcelain cups so delicate they were translucent, and plates of delicious-looking cakes.
“Goodness.” Aurelia stared wide-eyed as the maids efficiently placed everything on a table before her. “What a spread! And I only just finished breakfast, too!”
Viola giggled, eyeing the cakes hungrily. “I think your cook is eager to impress her new mistress, Aur.”
“Perhaps you’re right, and she is certainly succeeding. Please convey my compliments to Cook,” Aurelia asked one of the maids, who curtsied respectfully.
“Of course, your Grace, and Mrs. Tanwell asks if it will be convenient for her to attend you in half an hour to conduct you on a tour of the house?”
“Your staff do seem very eager to please,” Lady Lymsey noted, once the maids had departed. “Has Stowe given them specific instructions?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Aurelia shook her head. “They seem exceptionally loyal to him, though, and for good reason. A goodly number of the men are soldiers who served under Stowe during his army career.”
“Indeed?” Lady Lymsey looked surprised.
“I believe there has been a certain amount of re-training involved,” Aurelia said, “but they have, so far in my presence at least, tended towards excessive deference rather than the opposite.”
“Hm.” Lady Lymsey gestured towards the tea tray. “Well, my dear, I hope you’re not waiting for me to pour? We are in your house now.”
Aurelia had indeed been doing just that, quite unconsciously. With a laugh at her own foolishness, she reached for the tea caddy, turning the ornate key in the lock of the beautifully wrought silver box and opening it to reveal three glass containers, each filled with tea leaves.
“My goodness,” she murmured, taking a few moments to open each container and inhale the fragrance of the teas. Aware of her mother’s eye on her, she took her time selecting leaves to add to the hot water and made light conversation for the few minutes it took the tea to steep.
Lady Lymsey nodded her approval after the first sip, making Aurora breathe a silent sigh of relief. Now I just need to find out how Stowe likes his tea, she thought. Or if he even drinks tea. He’d taken coffee with his breakfast, after all, a beverage for which Aurelia had never acquired the taste.
Mrs Tanwell attended the Lymsey ladies punctually, and conducted them on a tour of the house. Aurelia admired the large rooms and high ceilings of the magnificent residence, impressed by the cleanliness of everything, though the furnishings and decor in many of the rooms were sadly out of date. A few of the bedroom suites and one small receiving roomhad been updated with fresh drapery and furniture, and Mrs Tanwell remarked that Lady Grantleigh had made some changes to those rooms. The housekeeper glanced sideways at Aurelia as she spoke, and Aurelia made a point of saying how much she appreciated Lady Grantleigh’s efforts and enjoyed her tastes.
