Page 22 of Ne'er Duke Well
“My darlings,” she said, bending to take in the children more closely. “What a delightful surprise you are! I would be so pleased if you would accompany me in the carriage. Will you do me the honor?” And she held out her arms for the children to escort her like a plump little queen.
Freddie and Lu exchanged puzzled looks but agreed.
“Are you Lady Selina’s mama?” asked Freddie as Thomasin allowed them to pull her out of doors.
“I’m not her mama,” said Thomasin, smiling down at them. “Lady Selina’s mama died when Selina was only six. But I love her just as well as any mama ever loved a daughter.”
As they followed Thomasin and his siblings, Peter watched Selina’s face soften with pleasure. “No child was ever more petted,” she said on a laugh.
“That superlative,” said Lady Judith drily, “might apply to you or Will equally.”
Selina’s expression grew momentarily shuttered, and Peter thought about Will Ravenscroft, her twin. Peter knew they had been close, had seen them share a quip or an embrace half a dozen times his first few months in England. But then Will’s wife and son had died in childbirth, and Will had bought a commission and sailed to the Continent to lose himself in war and violence.
“You must miss him,” he said to Selina, and her eyes flickered up to his in surprise.
“I do,” she said. Her voice was a little rough. “Every day.”
“Do you hear from him often?”
One corner of her mouth lifted. “As often as the post can deliver. Sometimes we get four or five or ten letters at a time, allthe regiment’s mail coming to us at once. But come,” she said, and she reached out to take his arm. “We should follow our families.”
“I’m not sure Miss Dandridge is prepared for my sister.”
“Don’t let Thomasin fool you,” said Selina. “She’s tougher than she looks.”
“Is she ready with a rapier, then? Because the promise of swordplay is really the only way I got Lu into the carriage this morning.”
Lady Judith made a sound of amusement as they caught up to Thomasin and the children. “You might be surprised to know that Miss Dandridge was the one who supported Lady Selina’s desire to train in fencing with her brother. For my part, I was entirely against it.”
“It’s true,” said Selina. “Thomasin convinced Nicholas to let me learn to fence with Will. And Thomasin taught me to play all sorts of card games ladies aren’t expected to know.”
“I drew the line at pugilism,” said Thomasin cheerfully.
“What’s pugilism?” asked Freddie.
“Boxing,” Selina said. “I really wanted to learn to box. Still do, in point of fact.”
Lu looked as though she might collapse to the cobblestones in shock.
“I had another carriage brought ’round,” said Thomasin. “Are we waiting for Lydia, or is she meeting us at the Park?”
“She’ll meet us there,” said Selina. “She and Nora went ahead this morning.” She peered at Peter as he helped Lady Judith up into the Stanhope carriage. “I hope you don’t mind. I’ve taken the liberty of preparing some topics of interest you might converse upon with Lydia and the others.”
Apparently all the Ravenscrofts knew about his impending… What to call it? Duchess hunt? Courtship in triplicate?
“I look forward to hearing your suggestions.”
And so, in the carriage, she plied him with recommendations. Lydia Hope-Wallace, it seemed, had a considerable interest in political machinations. “I’ve no idea what she’s talking about half the time,” Selina said. “But if you talk to her about the work that interests you in the Lords, she’ll know precisely what you’re referring to and will have suggestions about how you might achieve your goals.”
He had to admit, Lydia Hope-Wallace did sound like a very useful duchess.
“She seems a bit diffident,” he said, hoping that wasn’t a wildly inappropriate thing to say.
“Oh,” said Selina, and her mobile mouth turned down. “Well. Yes. Well, no, actually, not at all. Not once she gets to know you. You simply need to make her feel comfortable with you.”
“Er,” said Peter. “All right.” He wondered if Selina had any suggestions forthat, but none seemed forthcoming.
“Miss Duggleby,” Selina said, “is also quite clever. She is fascinated by antiquities.”
