Page 16 of Daisy and the Duke
“Oh, Mama, may I?” Bella asked, her eyes widening.
“Certainly, darling. This will be a very important night. The night the duke first sees his future bride!”
Surely he’d be so dazzled by Bella’s beauty that Daisy would fade to nothing in her secondhand gown. But then she remembered the bolt of yellow cloth. The twentieth was soon, but the new style of dresses made for quick work. The bodice was simple and the skirt loose and flowing. Daisy even had some jewelry that had been given to her upon her mother’s death. The collection lay in a locked box that Daisy hid at the bottom of her basket of mending. She rarely had a chance to wear any of it, but there were fine pieces she could use for a dinner party. Not the beautiful ruby necklace, which was too fancy, but there was a lovely pearl pendant…or the silver locket with her mother’s hair curled inside. Yes, that would work very well. Daisy could also make an impression that night!
“I’ll go see that Bella’s gown is aired properly,” Daisy said quietly. “And I have some sewing to do as well.”
The others weren’t even listening, chattering about the potential guest list and who might wear what on the twentieth. Daisy slipped away, quiet as a mouse.
A mouse with a plan.
Chapter 5
Your Grace—
Deuced odd to have to call you that in a letter, but pleased as punch too. My friends ought to mount in the world. But duke! You’ve been keeping secrets from your friends! And you’re not the only one with a secret. I’ve got one too. But I have to share it with a few trustworthy men. Will you believe it? I have stumbled upon a diamond mine in the region of Golconda, which is not where my mother lives. It’s all mountains and rocks and damned snakes. I haven’t had to deal with one yet, but the locals kept yelling “Pamu!” at us. I finally learned it was “snake” in Telugu, which I don’t speak, as Mama taught me Hindi growing up. Dangers aside, there are reasons worth going. Diamonds are one such reason. I’ve partnered with another man, Joseph Rait, who I don’t know well, but he’s smart as a whip and has the eye for an opportunity. We have a line on a new source of diamonds and Rait bought the land quick as a wink, after I secured half of the amount. We appraised the few rocks found on the surface, and the jeweler said he hadn’t seen one so pretty in decades.
We’re already starting work but it will take some capital to really get the mine going, especially since I intend to do it right and pay a proper wage to everyone down to the boys feeding the donkeys that haul out the rock. You’d be shocked by how little most of these owners get away with paying their workers. And they’re not careful enough with safety either. I aim to show everyone it can be done another way. Of course, that means more investment up front, but I’m confident we’ll be repaid. Yes, we! I thought of you straight off. You saved my life in Spain, and don’t think I’ll forget it. I suppose that as a peer of the realm now, you won’t care to grub in the dirt (or finance the grubbing in the dirt, for it’s all these local lads who do the real digging). But I wanted to make you the offer first out of the great debt I owe you,Trisyour grace. As a partner, you’d have a full third interest in the mine. You, me, and Rait, and all the diamonds we could dream of. Just think of it! I’m so excited I can scarcely hold a pen. It’s been two days since the jeweler appraised and I’m still as giddy as a schoolboy.
Yours truly,
John Cater
John Cater! It had been a few years since he’d heard from his old childhood friend. Cater’s mother was Indian, so after his army service and the death of his father, he took her back to her family. But Tris and John had grown up in the same street in London, playing together whenever they could escape their chores.
Even now, he could summon up John’s image: a slight but sinewy figure, always in motion or about to leap into motion. He had a narrow face and smooth, deep brown skin like his mother, and a ready smile. Anyone who looked at John Cater could see the spirit burning inside. As a boy he was always looking for adventure, and that same impulse for excitement was part of why Tristan once had to save his life in Spain.
Tristan reread the letter once more, still dazzled by that one word:diamonds. It was so very different from the dull round of life in the English countryside.
That said, Tristan was slowly adjusting to life at Lyondale. Tucking the letter back into his jacket pocket, Tristan turned his mind to more immediate matters. As he’d mentioned to Jack, one unavoidable part of being Duke of Lyon was that he had to socialize with the local gentry. He’d paid no house calls so far—a duke did not have to stoop to visiting others. But guests seemed to call upon him with depressing regularity. He was actually relieved when Jack suggested that he hold a larger dinner for all the local worthies; it seemed to be the easiest way to be attentive to several people at once.
With the assistance of Miss Wallis, who chose the guest list to reflect the people in the area Tristan ought to know, invitations were sent. Almost within hours, replies were tendered, and Tristan tried to prepare himself to be congenial. At Jack’s recommendation, Daisy Merriot was specially invited. This met with Miss Wallis’s cheerful approval.
“She is a very sweet young lady. Miss Bella Merriot is the beauty, of course, but Daisy has lived at Rutherford Grange her whole life. She’s part of things here.”
“Miss Bella is not?” Jack asked curiously.
“Oh, Miss Bella is quite popular. She’s very charming, you’ll see. But the baroness is keen for her to marry high, and it’s inevitable that she’ll be gone soon, off to some great lord’s home as his lady wife.”
“Does the baroness have plans for Miss Daisy to marry as well?”
Miss Wallis shrugged. “I don’t think she’d object if Daisy accepted a proposal. But I can’t think what gentleman would offer for her, since she spends all her time running the estate. I believe it would fall to pieces without her.”
Clearly, Miss Wallis knew all the details of local life, so Tristan probed a bit further. He asked, “Can you tell me about exactly how the title fell to the current baroness? I’m surprised it didn’t go to the nearest male relative, no matter how far from the tree…as in my case.”
“Oh, the title for the barony of Rutherford is entirely different. From the very first, it has gone to heirs general, not just male heirs. According to legend, the barony actually began with a woman—a very strong-willed one, rumored to have defended the original castle against a siege with only half a dozen retainers. She insisted that a daughter was just as worthy as a son.”
“Strange though, that the late baron changed the will to not go to his daughter.”
“He was besotted by his second wife,” Miss Wallis said shortly. “I expect that had something to do with it. And of course, he could do as he wished.”
“He could have split the property.”
“As a matter of fact, he couldn’t. That’s the one thing no Lord or Lady Rutherford could have done over the centuries. The land can never be parceled out or sold off in pieces. It’s all or nothing. It has a certain logic—the land was fought for and defended with blood and sweat. To divide it is to weaken the family.”
Tristan nodded, though he wasn’t sure he agreed. According to such logic, it seemed as if someone was destined to lose.
On the day of the event, he almost called it off, annoyed by some little thing in the morning. “No one wants to come here for a meal, Jack,” he said to Mr. Kemble. “It’s all just theater. A table full of people I don’t know and will likely despise.”
