Page 34 of The Curious Life of the Unfortunate Duchess
“Yes, Father.”
“If there is nothing else,” Percival finalized. “Dinner will be served in minutes and you must dress. It is your first introduction to the Duchess and Lady Catherine, is it not?”
“It is.”
“Then you should deign to make a good impression, Liza. Off you go now.”
“Yes, Father.”
She turned away, the feeling of foolishness still lingering as she made her way back to her apartment.
“Is all well, Miss Elizabeth?” Cora asked nervously and Elizabeth nodded.
“It is,” she replied. “But I must hurry to ready myself for supper. I took longer than I intended.”
“I am the fastest abigail in the house,” Cora boasted, her hand immediately moving toward the back of Elizabeth’s dress to unfasten the dainty buttons. “The Duke insisted that I be matched with you.”
“Did he?” Elizabeth asked in surprise. She had never known a noble to involve himself in the schedule of servants before.
“Yes,” Cora replied. “He has been very eager for your arrival.”
Elizabeth turned, startled by the servant’s words.
My Lord,she thought in shock.There is certainly no resemblance to the servants here and the ones in Fife. How freely she speaks, like she has never seen the end of a willow switch!
Elizabeth was both fascinated and unnerved by the carefree chatter of her abigail. The servants had such freedom, such little fear. Yet there was still respect in Cora’s tone when she spoke of the Duke.
“Oh, forgive me, Miss Elizabeth,” Cora said, catching the expression on her face. “I did not mean to speak out of school but the sense of excitement in the air has been tangible since word of your arrival has reached Pembroke.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed!” Cora chirped, sliding the day dress from over Elizabeth’s corset and replacing it with an elegant but simple gown of cream and gold. The lace piping caused a glimmer to spark in Elizabeth’s galvanized eyes. As she turned back to study herself in the mirror, she wondered if her eyes were glowing so brightly because of the accents in her dress or because of the idea that the Duke had been so anxiously expecting her.
Whatever the reasons for the invitation, Elizabeth was there now and she had two choices in the matter—she could spend the month avoiding the Duke or she could enjoy her holiday just as her brother and sister intended to do. The decision was not difficult. Suddenly, Elizabeth found herself very eager to join the Duke and his family for dinner.
I will not fight it,she told herself with new resolve.Let us see what happens.
Chapter 11
Even Catherine was on her best behavior when the House of Gordon joined them for supper, a fact which did not escape Leonard’s notice. A small part of him wondered if she was scheming something beneath the surface.
“He is quite fetching, the young lord,” his sister murmured to him, her eyes trained on the boy admiringly. “He will be a strong man.”
“He is a boy, Catherine,” Leonard reminded her sharply and Catherine turned to him with disgust.
“Mind your thoughts, Leo. I meant nothing lewd in my comment. I was merely making an observation. The entire family is quite charming, I must say.”
Leonard was contrite. He realized his nerves had been fraught with tension for hours and he had not meant to unleash his angst upon Catherine. His sister had already moved the conversation away from him toward the Viscount as though Leonard had annoyed her with his response.
“Lord Gordon, how do matters fare in your duchy? I understand there was some discord recently among the peasants.”
Percival raised his eyes from his plate, apparently surprised by the political nature of the question. The Duke was furious with her subject choice. She was a lady and knew better than to broach topics of that nature.
“Catherine, it is not the place to discuss such matters,” Leonard muttered under his breath but the Viscount cleared his throat in embarrassment and nodded gravely.
“Unfortunately, there was a slight uprising but the matter seems to have been resolved for the time,” he replied quietly. “These things do happen, sadly. The duchy did suffer some financial setbacks as a result but I do hope the issues are behind us now. I daresay Pembroke has been dealt quite good fortune. You have not taken the monetary fall some of us have had to endure.”
Leonard detected no bitterness in his tone but all the same, the Duke was made uncomfortable by the conversation at hand. It was true—Pembroke had been blessed with fruitful lands and compliant peasants. Leonard could not recall a time in his life when an uprising had occurred. Most of that good luck had much to do with the way Aylmer had tended to his people, of course, but, again, it was not the place for such subjects. Unfortunately, Catherine did not seem to understand this and continued to speak against Leonard’s advice.
