Page 14 of Courting Scandal With The Duke
Chapter Three
The morning after their visit to Almack’s, Barbara popped her head into her aunt’s chamber. Originally, the room had been Barbara’s, but Aunt Lenore had discovered the noise from the street at the front of the house had disturbed her sleep, so Barbara had been agreeable to exchange it for her quieter room at the back of the house.
Good morning, Aunt Lenore,’ she said cheerily. ‘I shall return in about two hours.’
Aunt Lenore peered at her from amid her pile of pillows, her cap slightly askew and a cup of chocolate steaming on the night table beside her bed. ‘Where on earth are you going at this ungodly hour?’
‘It is nine in the morning,’ Barbara said. ‘Hardly ungodly. I am going riding. I understand that if one wants a good gallop it is the only time of day when it is possible.’
‘Ladies don’t gallop in Hyde Park,’ Lenore said.
Barbara raised an eyebrow. ‘This one does.’ Or perhaps since she had no wish to be thought of as a lady,she should have given a different reply. Still, she didn’t want to completely ruin Aunt Lenore’s morning.
‘What do you think of my riding dress?’ She’d had it made in Paris.
Aunt Lenore gazed at the fitted riding dress that had been tailored like a man’s but fit Barbara’s shape to perfection. ‘It’s…unusual. A little severe, perhaps. But unlike the gown you wore last night, at least it is perfectly respectable, I suppose.’
Barbara slapped her top hat against her hip, causing it to open up, and popped it on her head. ‘I will see you later.’
‘Barbara!’ She could hear her aunt’s voice as she continued on her way downstairs. ‘That hat…’
Yes. It was a man’s top hat. And one of the tallest to be had. The milliner had added a bit of netting to it as a nod to a veil. Not at all the sort of thing a fashionable young lady would wear to go riding in London. She had worn it in Paris to great acclaim.
‘Good morning, Countess.’ Outside the front door, the stable master held a gelding ready at the mounting block.
‘Good morning, Soames. How are you this morning?’
‘Well, my lady. Thank you. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for this hack.’ He shook his head.
She looked the horse over. A rather rangy, big-boned animal. ‘It was the best to be had?’
‘Yes, Countess. Might I recommendpostponing your ride until I can find something more suitable for a lady? It’s as bad-tempered a horse as I have ever come across.’
It certainly wasn’t anything like the dainty little mare she had borrowed in Paris. And in that regard the horse was just right for her purposes. ‘Nonsense, Soames. He looks fine.’
‘Very well, Countess,’ Soames said, looking resigned. ‘But if you’ll take my advice, you’ll steer clear of his hind quarters. He bit Jack when he got too close this morning.’
Jack, the groom who would accompany her this morning, was already mounted and waiting on the only the only riding horse in her aunt’s stables. A rather elderly mare who looked as if she should have been put out to grass some time ago. Fortunately, it wasn’t used to carrying a ladies’ saddle. A lucky escape for Barbara.
She had thought to dispense with a groom’s services, but had changed her mind when the stable master had talked of riff raff and criminals and streets she should definitely avoid. It would be better to get to know London before she started riding out on her own. She might be contemptuous of Society’s rules, but she wasn’t stupid.
‘I will remember your advice.’ She walked around the front of the horse to the mounting block and Soames helped her up. The horse remained still. ‘He seems calm enough.’
She moved off at a walk, and the horse responded as he should. Perhaps he wasn’t quite as perfect as shehad thought. Oh, well. She would make the best of what she had. As usual.
Hyde Park was only a mile from her residence, and the streets were busy with tradespeople going about their business. Not unlike Paris. Or any of the great cities she had visited since she was fifteen. Traipsing along behind Father had been an education. She was a woman who had seen a great deal of Europe.
But oddly, this was her first visit to London.
And now she was apparently supposed to snare some unsuspecting Englishman.
Not if she had anything to do with it. Two marriages were enough for anyone. Her first had been a marriage of convenience. To help her father with his debts. Mr Twickenham had been rich and a confirmed bachelor, until he realised he needed a nurse in his old age. When she had discovered the financial arrangements her father had made with the autocratic old gentleman, she had been furious. She was unable to touch a penny of the money from her first husband until she was twenty-five. Still a year hence.
Then, she had let her heart rule her head, and married Helmut, Count of Lipsweiger and Upsal. He’d broken her heart with his philandering ways. But at least she’d been left with a fortune in jewels for her pains.
The jewellery from Helmut was going to be her salvation. She hoped. From what she had gathered, Father intended to use it as the dowry for her next marriage. She had other plans. But to sell it too soon wouldgive her away.
And she needed to find the right buyer.
