Eloisa James - Duchess by Night (3 page)

Poor Lady Beesby, Harriet said.

Isidore laughed. Not with Beesby. That was just entertainment. No, I mean to create a true scandal. The kind of scandal that wil force my husband to return to England. Harriet suddenly noticed that Isidore had a very firm jaw.

I hate to use my misbegotten history as an example, Jemma said, but my husband never found my scandals an adequate reason to travel from England to France. And your husband is somewhere in the Far East, isnt he?

Harriet silently agreed. Propping up a drunken judge had caused her to see any number of cases involving scandals caused by women. Often their husbands didnt bother to travel to the next county to rescue them. But then, dukes and duchesses never showed up in the shire court of the Berrow duchy and presumably the duke cared for his reputation.

I pity Cosway, Vil iers said languidly. Jemma, have you a chess set in this parlor?

She shook her head. No. And you know that the doctor told you to stay away from chess. You need to recover from those fevers, not exacerbate your tired brain by thinking up intricate plays.

Life without chess is paltry, Vil iers growled. Not worth living.

Benjamin would have agreed with you, Harriet said, before she thought. Her husband had kil ed himself after losing a game of chess.

To Vil iers.

There was a drop of silence in the room, a moment in which no one breathed. Then Jemma said, We al wish Benjamin were here to play chess with us.

Vil iers turned his face to the fire and said nothing, but Harriet felt a rush of acute shame, along with the memory of his stammering apology. Vil iers had been dying, literal y burning up with a fever, and hed come al the way to Jemmas house just to apologize to her for winning the game that led to Benjamins suicide.

I wasnt referring to hishis death, Harriet scrambled into words. Merely that, if a doctor had told Benjamin that he couldnt play chess

For a whole month , Vil iers put in.

Poor Benjamin would have been enraged. Crazed.

I would be rather crazed myself, I think, Jemma said.

That tyrannical Scottish surgeon of yours could at least al ow us to continue our match, Vil iers growled. One move a dayhow difficult could that be for my festering brain to handle?

You truly cant play chess for a month? Harriet asked.

Its not so terrible, Jemma said. You can read books. Though not books about chess, of course.

A month , Vil iers said.

There was a world of leaden boredom and misery in his voice, so much so that Harriet couldnt help smiling. Youl have to find other interests.

Women, wine, and song, Isidore suggested. Classic male occupations.

I cant sing.

Beautiful women, preferably mermaids, are supposed to sing while you quaff wine, Harriet pointed out, rather liking the image of the Duke of Vil iers surrounded by sirens. If she were a siren, she would try to sink his vessel.

If you know of any mermaids, do send them my direction, Vil iers said, closing his eyes. Right now I am far too tired to pursue a woman, fish tail or no.

He did look white. Given that Harriet loathed him, she was feeling provokingly sympathetic.

I know! I can use you in my scheme, Isidore exclaimed.

No. Vil iers stated, not opening his eyes. I never join schemes.

A pity, Isidore said. I am quite sure that the news that his duchess was frolicking with the infamous Duke of Vil iers would summon my neer-do-wel husband. Cosways solicitor last indicated that he was somewhere in Ethiopia. Apparently hes discovered the source of the Blue Nile. And arent we al happy for him?

But if the duke returns to defend your reputation, poor Vil iers would have to fight another duel, Jemma said. Your husband probably fights off cannibal tribes over his morning cup of tea, Isidore.

Im in no shape to emulate the cannibal hordes, Vil iers said, ladling his voice with such a layer of dramatic gloom that they al started laughing.

Then I need someone with your reputation, Isidore said.

You cant be serious! Harriet exclaimed. Are you real y hoping that a scandal wil make your husband return?

Isidore looked at her, one eyebrow raised, her lips curved in a hard little smile. Can you think of one single reason why I shouldnt try? I am married to a man whom I have no memory of meeting. He shows no concern for my whereabouts, and has never answered a single communication I sent to him, though I know he receives my letters.

Surely mail goes astray between here and the Blue Nile.

Occasional y I receive a note from his solicitors in London responding to something in a private letter I wrote to him. I am tired of this situation. I am married to the Duke of Cosway and I want to be a real duchess.

Why does Cosway stay away from England? Vil iers asked, opening his eyes. Are you so very terrifying? He peered at her in an interested kind of way.

Why dont you go to him? Harriet asked, at the same moment.

He is an explorer, Isidore said with withering scorn. Can you see me on a camel, trotting around looking for the Blue Nile?

Harriet couldnt help grinning. She herself was a sturdy type who probably couldif she had toclamber up onto a camel. Isidore, on the other hand, looked as exotic and delicate as an orchid.

Cant his mother summon him? Jemma asked.

She pleads failure, Isidore said. And says that nothing wil bring him back home, that he is the most stubborn of her children.

I met Lady Cosway several times, Jemma remarked. If she put her foot down, the King of England would bow to her wil . Id back her over her son.

Thats just what I think. Im trusting her to gauge the scandal and force him to return.

How long has it been since he was in England? Harriet asked.

Eighteen years. Eighteen! I could divorce him on some sort of grounds, I suppose.

Non-consummation would be a possibility, Vil iers noted.

But Im not stupid. It is a great deal better to be a duchess than not to be a duchess. Ive lived on the Continent. I visited Jemma in Paris, and spent a great deal of time in my favorite of al cities, Venice. But now I want my life as an adult woman to begin.

And I cant do it while caught in this half-life!

Harriet blinked at her. It sounded as if Isidore were voicing the same things she had just been thinking to herself.

To be brutal y honest, Isidore continued, Im tired of sleeping alone. If Cosway turns out to be a horrible sort of man with whom I dont want to spend time, wel , then I might leave him and return to Italy. But at least I wont have this talismanic virginity any longer. And I might have a child.

Harriet choked, and even Vil iers opened his eyes. Did I hear the word virgin?

Isidore, you are being deliberately provoking, Jemma said, handing her a smal ruby glass of cordial. You are trying to shock us.

I assure you that I am horrifical y shocked, so you can relent now.

Virginity is a womans most valuable possession, Vil iers said, looking not in the least shocked.

Nonsense, Jemma said briskly. Since were al being so remarkably intimate, I dont mind pointing out that a virgin without a brain is a useless creature.

Ah, but a virgin with a brain is beyond the price of rubies.

I have beauty too, I might point out, Isidore said.

Vanity, thy name is woman, Vil iers said. But he was smiling. I gather you intend to impress upon your husband the possibility that you might birth a cuckoo to inherit his dukedom.

More to the point, Jemma put in, impress it upon his mother. Because if Cosway were interested in his estate, he would have come home years ago.

You truly mean to lose your virginity? Harriet asked. It was so fascinating to see another woman face lonelinessand do it with al the courage that she, Harriet, lacked. Isidore wouldnt sit around on the side of a bal room weeping onto a stuffed goose.

I havent made up my mind yet, Isidore said airily. I shal make that decision based on how long it takes my husband to return. I just need a potent kind of man.

In order to father your child? Vil iers asked. May I say that this is a fascinating conversation? I cant say Ive ever seen adultery planned with such ruthless lack of emotion.

Id prefer he were potent in terms of scandal, Isidore said. Someone like you, Vil iers. If I were flirting with you, the news would travel to Africa by the end of the month. Harriet, you must know whos the most scandalous man in England besides Vil iers.

Oh, Vil iers isnt truly scandalous, Harriet said.

Vil iers opened his eyes. You surprise me, Your Grace. Truly, you do.

I dont know why. You never real y step beyond the bounds of the commonplace.

I have children out of wedlock, Vil iers said, looking slightly wounded.

What nobleman doesnt? Harriet retorted.

I am lowered by a sudden sense of my own inadequacies, Vil iers said. Not truly scandalous. Commonplace. My pride is dashed to the ground.

Harriet ignored him. There are no interesting men in the ton.

Worse and worse, Vil iers mumbled.

Then who is the most scandalous man in England, to your mind? Isidore asked.

Lord Strange, of course, Harriet said.

Lord Strange? Isidore asked, knitting her brow. Surely a lord is part of the ton .

Not Strange, Vil iers said, sipping a glass of water. Strange is the richest man in England, give or take a shil ing or two. At some point the king gave him a title. After al , he keeps rescuing the English economy. Strange could certainly afford to pay for a dukedom if he wished, but he told me that the only reason he accepted the title was because he liked the sound of Lord Strange.

Hes odd, very intel igent, and truly scandalous, Harriet said. Not like the men who claim to be rakes in London but real y just trot around after opera singers

Vil iers groaned.

Hes mad for architecture, by al accounts, and has built his own replica of the leaning tower of Pisa, she continued.

Ive seen the original, Isidore said. Surely Strange didnt gain his interesting reputation by copying defective Italian architecture?

His reputation stems from the motley col ection of loose people with whom he lives, Harriet said.

Actors and actresses, Vil iers put in. Those who work the streets, and those who work the court. Inventors. Scientists. Strange boasts that every interesting person in the country passes through his estate at some point.

Its true, Harriet said. I no sooner read about someone powerful in government, or at one of the universities, but the gossip columns note that hes visiting Strange.

How did he come by al his money? Isidore asked. Is he a merchant of some kind?

Oh, no, his father was a perfectly respectable baronet, Vil iers answered, with a beaky head, like an old eagle. There was some sort of problem with the family years ago. Could be his mother flew the coop. Or a sister. Perhaps an aunt? At any rate, Strange is a gentleman born and bred, but youl never seen him in the normal haunts. He goes where he wishes, while hosting an endless house party.

I would love to pay him a visit, Jemma said. I bought a gorgeous little chess queen that he had sold to a curiosity shop. He promised me the whole set if I gained the courage, as he put it, to pay him a visit.

Bril iant! Isidore said. I shal travel there at once!

Oh, but Jemma said.

But what? Isidore interrupted. I wish to make a scandal, and this man appears ideal y suited to create one for me. I shal brush shoulders with al those light-skirts and theater people and have an excel ent time doing so. And meanwhile I shal flirt madly with my host, thereby creating a scandal that wil burn its way straight to my husbands ears.

Youre planning to flirt with Strange himself? Harriet said. Your reputation could be ruined throughout England, merely by walking through the doors at Fonthil , let alone by flirting with Strange. No one flirts with Strange.

Why on earth not? Isidore asked. Is he hideous? I flirt with everyone! Unless she wrinkled her nose is he shorter than Lord Beesby? There are certain physiques in which I cannot feign interest.

Oh no, hes actual y quite good-looking, Harriet said.

Then I shal be the first to flirt with him. In a very public way, natural y.

He doesnt flirt, Harriet explained. From what I understand, he beds women but doesnt toy with them.

He shal flirt with me, Isidore announced. Ive yet to meet the man who couldnt be taught to flirt. Al one has to do is lead him to think that bedding is a possibility and voilà!

Harriet laughed. Id love to see your lessons!

Then you must come with me, Isidore said, grinning at her.

I? I could never do such a thing. You couldnt real y mean to visit Fonthil . Its just not done. Not done byby us, I mean.

Us? Isidore said scornful y. Us is short foolish men like Beesby, and tal , uncaring men like my husband. What do I care for us?

It is useful to have a good reputation, Jemma said.

How would you know? Isidore demanded. You left your husband years ago, Jemma. Left him in England and went to Parisand dont tel me that you were tending to your reputation al those years! Not when you had parties that even Marie Antoinette hesitated to visit

Though she always did, Jemma put in.

But you have skirted the edges of propriety for yearsyes, and wel beyond propriety, Isidore stated. And now you say there is a place in England which you dare not visit? Why? What could happen to you there? Wil you be struck by a great desire for an actor and have an affaire with a man from a different class?

Wel

But Isidore was just gaining her stride. Because that is what you are real y talking about! she said, her Italian accent increasing.

You, al of you, are saying that Strange is scandalous and not one of us because he is a mere baronets son. Because he, unlike al of us, is not a duke or a duchess!

Harriet looked around. Until that moment she had not realized that they were al duchesses, except for Vil iers, who was a duke.

Apparently, we live in such rarefied atmosphere that we cannot flirt with men who do not have a ducal crest on their carriage doors, Isidore said scathingly. You , Jemma, you who set Paris on its ears with your parties of half-dressed satyrs, you cavil at the idea of Strange because he is not a duke!