Page 35 of The Trouble With Her Duke
Rosalind, Aimee’s aunt, was dressed in a tasteful deep rose-colored dress with pearl accents. Approaching him, she held out her hand. “It’s wonderful to have you here, Your Grace. Allow me to make introductions. “I believe you know the Duchess of Featherly.”
“I do, indeed. Your Grace . . . Sophy, it’s always a pleasure,” he said, giving her gloved hand a light kiss.
She nodded.
“Your Grace, it’s so nice to see you,” the Duchess of Leighton said, smiling flirtatiously at him with her gloved hand extended. Dressed in an emerald-green dress with a slightly plunging neckline, the buxom redhead patted the cushion next to her on the settee and invited him to sit next to her. “Please call me Bianca.”
“Your Grace, it’s so nice to see you again,” Damon said, giving a light kiss to the back of her hand.
“Give him more room, Bianca! Don’t frighten him off before the front door even closes,” whispered the Dowager Duchess of Richmond to Bianca.
“I suppose you want him to sit next to you, Dora!” hissed Bianca under her breath.
“I planned to introduce you to Bianca and Dora, but they’ve taken care of that, nephew.” Rosalind chuckled. “Please sit where you’d like. I suppose you wondered why we invited you to tea.”
He smiled. “I believe it has something to do with Miss Hammond.”
“Good-looking and smart,” whispered Bianca to Rosalind.
Sophy gave Bianca a quelling look. “We have heard about your experience with governesses and hope to help you make this association with Miss Hammond a . . . lasting one. She was very good to me, and I believe she can make an excellent addition to your staff.” She paused. “How do you like your tea, Your Grace?” She poured his tea and indicated the three tiers of food on the table in front of him.
“Perhaps a small amount of sugar.” He normally drank his without sugar. Had he asked for some because he had noticed Miss Hammond liked sugar?
“Ooh! Just the way I enjoy it,” Bianca said, taking a sip of her tea. “You simply must try the lemon biscuits.”
“Oh yes! I agree! Delicious!” Rosalind said.
“The young woman wants to be successful. She was most excited after meeting with your housekeeper, Mrs. Jenkins,” Rosalind explained. “Her brother wants to marry her off to grow the business. Good man, but his interests don’t align with dear Lydia’s.”
“What are her . . . interests?” he asked, reaching for a lemon biscuit. Taking a bite, he gave a nod. “These are very good!”
“Told you!” Bianca said. “I’d never steer you wrong!”
“He doesn’t need steering, dear,” said Dora sweetly, picking the lint off the sleeves of her golden-colored gown.
“I got your note about delaying the maid’s return, and I am happy to do that. Lydia has indicated she has been most helpful, although she has no expectations to keep her. I asked her to allow Annabelle to accompany her to London as a chaperone. I didn’t want her traveling alone. The young lady desires a position as a lady’s maid, and I felt it was a way to help her learn. If you let me know when to send a carriage for her, I’ll take care of that.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary—at least until I speak with Miss Hammond about it. We haven’t caught up today. If she’s helpful to Miss Hammond, it’s a small price to pay for her comfort. I’m most eager for my children to have a governess they enjoy.”
“Good! We were hoping you would like her . . . as a governess,” his aunt added quickly.
“We were thinking of our own experiences with governesses. Most come into a situation where they need to establish themselves apart from their charges. However, we thought that in this case, seeing the traditional approach was not working, a more modern approach might,” Sophy began.
“I’m not sure I understand ‘modern’ in this context, but I’m all ears,” Damon said, munching on a second biscuit. He was going to have to have his cook replicate these. They were good!
“No, Your Grace. You are the complete package!” Bianca murmured before biting into a finger sandwich.
Giving Bianca an amused look, Rosalind explained, “We’re trying to suggest you approach things—on the surface—a little differently. For example, encourage her to dress in more colorful clothing. That won’t be easy because she prefers to be in the background and wears muted tones—even when she wears colors.”
He thought back to the first day he met her and recalled the more colorful dress she had worn. It was much more pleasing than the dowdy grey. He wanted to see her in colors.
“You and my mother agree,” Damon admitted. “She has encouraged me to do the same. I’ve already asked Miss Hammond to have some clothing made—at my expense, of course, that would afford her comfort and be colorful. Grey is an ugly color. I never liked it on my governess. It made me regard her as unapproachable.”
“Goodness! I adore color,” Bianca said, shifting herself in her seat to draw attention to her dress. “I believe certain colors portray us to our best advantage and we should wear those.” She smoothed her blue bodice to make her point.
“Yes, my dear. I think you have made that clear,” said Dora with an exaggerated eye-roll.
Damon bit his tongue to keep from laughing.
